A Star Discovered Read Online Free PDF Page B

him over in his
     weakened state. He stood with his head down, snorting low through his nostrils while they stroked him softly on the shoulder.
     Willie was busy going from one leg to the next, running his fingers along the fine bones and searching for injuries.
    “Oh, Star, I’m so sorry,” Jody whispered. “I didn’t know you would get all tangled up like that!”
    “Willie, is he alright?” Mary asked fearfully. “Did he break anything?”
    “Don’t look like it, but it’s a wonder,” Willie said. “Lucky he didn’t get himself thrown down on top of the thing. Then you
     woulda had a mess. Now would one of you mind tellin’ me what the idea was of tyin’ him out here all night long with nobody
     watchin’ him?”
    Mary and Jody looked at their feet. Before they could answer, Willie continued, “First, you never tie any horse, a young’un
     especially, to a piece of machinery. In fact, you never tie them out to anything unless you’re there to watch them. Second,
     you never put a horse out on grass for that much time unless you get his stomach used to it first. You’re lucky he didn’t
     founder. Must’ve got tangled up early in the night, ‘cause if he had grazed all night long, you’d have a ruined colt right
     now.”
    No reply from Mary or Jody.
    “Now it looks like he’s gonna be alright—no broken bones or even any cuts or bruises. He’s just worn out from tryin’ to get
     himself on his feet all night. See if he’ll walk with you, Jody, and we’ll get him back to the stable.”
    Jody took a step and tugged gently on the lead rope. At first, Star simply stretched out his muzzle and sniffed her, unwilling
     to move.
    “Don’t stand so close, and give him a little more rope. Let him want to follow you, rather than pullin’ on him,” Willie suggested.
    Jody walked forward until she was holding the very end of the lead rope and stood patiently, waiting until Star felt ready
     to walk with her. He lowered his head and sniffed the ground.
    “Come on, boy,” Jody encouraged quietly, giving the gentlest of tugs on the rope. Star shook his head and finally took a tentative
     step forward, then another, until he was walking stiffly and laboriously behind Jody. Mary and Willie walked along beside
     them until the four of them reached Lucky Foot Stable and Star was safely inside his stall.
    “Now we’ve got to keep an eye on him all day and look for any swellin’ in his legs,” Willie said, watching as Star drank a
     little more water from his bucket. “In fact it might be a good idea to hose his legs down with some cold water to keep the
     swellin’ from startin’ to begin with. Mary, I want you to make up a hot bran mash, about half a scoop with a little molasses
     in it, and let him have that. And Jody, get a soft brush and brush him real gentle to see if you can find any sore spots,
     that way you can tell if there might be some bruises we can’t see. Then we can rub him with a little liniment to help his
     sore muscles.”
    Before Willie could finish his sentence, Mary was at the feed bin scooping up bran and Jody was selecting the softest brush
     she could find from her tack trunk. She went to Star and ran the brush tenderly over his whole body, mindful of any flinching
     he might do if she hit a sore spot. Miraculously, Star seemed fine except for a tender spot on the side of his head where
     it had rested on the harrow tooth and another on his shoulder where he must have rubbed it on the ground while struggling
     to stand. He even rubbed his head up and down, up and down on Jody’s arm just like he always did.
    “Oh, Star, don’t be nice to me. I don’t deserve it,” Jody cried, trying again to choke back her tears. “I promise I will never
     leave you alone again!”
    “You can leave him alone, just not tied out,” Willie said matter-of-factly. “Now there’s no use cryin’ over spilt milk. Lucky
     for everybody, he’s not really hurt. He’ll be feeling fine in a