The Lonely Pony Read Online Free PDF Page B

shoulder.
    â€œWow,” Lolli commented. “I’m not sure this one is serious.”
    â€œYeah,” Zach said. “The girl thinks she can keep Lola in her bedroom like a dog or a cat.” He laughed. “She must not know how much a little pony can poop!”
    â€œEw!” Janey made a face at him. “Never mind—here’s another one.”
    She scanned the next message:
    I always wanted a pony like Lola! But I need to change her name to Rebel. That’s because I’m going to take her to the rodeo and use her to rope cows like a real cowboy. Please write back and tell me when you can bring her to my house. Thanks, Robert.
    â€œRoping cows at the rodeo?” Lolli said. “I don’t think Lola would be very good at that!”
    â€œYeah,” Zach said. “Roscoe would be a better rodeo horse than Lola.” He laughed. “My cat Mulberry would probably even be better!”
    Lolli took the tablet from Janey and scrolled back to the earlier messages, reading over them quickly. “Some of the people who wrote earlier sound okay, at least,” she said. “This girl says she has a really big backyard with lots of grass. And this other one says she’s ridden ponies at the fair a bunch of times so she knows all about them.”
    â€œOkay,” Zach said. “So how do we decide who gets her?”
    â€œWe’ll figure it out,” Janey said. “But let’s wait a little longer so more people have a chance to see her.”

    All day Tuesday, Lolli couldn’t stop yawning. She and the rest of the Pet Rescue Club went to her farm right after school to take care of Lola. Lolli started pulling some hay off a bale, but she had to stop and yawn threetimes in a row.

    â€œAre we keeping you awake?” Zach joked. “Maybe you should take a nap on that hay instead of feeding it to Lola.”
    â€œSorry.” Lolli stifled another yawn. “I’m not used to getting up so early every day to do chores.”
    Adam nodded. “I know what you mean. When I first started dog-walking before school, it was hard to wake up sometimes.”
    â€œNever mind,” Janey put in. “We got a bunch more messages about Lola today. Some of them sound pretty good.”
    Zach grinned. “No more rodeo riders?”
    â€œNo more rodeo riders.” Janey rolled her eyes. “I wrote back to that kid Robert and told him Lola didn’t want to be a rodeo pony.”
    â€œSo how are we going to figure out whogets to take Lola home?” Lolli asked.
    Janey bit her lip. “I’m not sure,” she said. “Maybe we should ask Ms. Tanaka for help.”
    â€œOur homeroom teacher?” Adam looked surprised. “Why?”
    â€œShe told us she used to ride horses when she was younger, remember?” Lolli said. “Asking her is a great idea, Janey!”
    She only wished Ms. Tanaka was there to ask right away. Maybe that way Lola could find a home today and Lolli wouldn’t have to wake up early again tomorrow!
    But when she looked at Lola nibbling her hay, Lolli decided she really didn’t mind one more early morning. Not if it meant finding the perfect home for the sweet little pony.

    By the time school ended on Wednesday, several more messages had come in about Lola. “Good,” Janey told Lolli as the two girls walked outside together. “That way Ms. Tanaka will have plenty to look at. Look, there she is!”
    Ms. Tanaka was one of the bus monitors that day. Janey and Lolli waited until she’d finished helping some first graders get on their bus. Then they hurried over and told her what was going on.
    â€œYou took in a pony?” Ms. Tanaka looked impressed. “Wow, I didn’t realize you kids knew how to take care of horses!”
    â€œWe don’t,” Lolli admitted.
    â€œAt least we didn’t,” Janey added. “We’re learning fast.”
    â€œYeah. But