The Lonely Pony (5 page)

“Besides, there could also be some weeds out there that she shouldn't eat,” Lolli's mother said.

Adam glanced at the sheep and goats. “But those guys eat out there all the time.”

“Yes, but sheep and goats have very different digestive systems from ponies,” Dr. Goldman said. “They can eat a lot of weeds and plants that would poison Lola.”

Janey's heart sank. “So what can we do to keep Lola safe?” she asked. “I don't want her to eat something poisonous!”

“We have some extra fencing stuff in the barn,” Lolli's father spoke up. “You kids could build her a little pen inside the pasture.”

“That's a great idea.” Dr. Goldman smiled at him. “If you build it in a spot where the grass is a little sparser, Lola can graze safely without being able to eat too much rich stuff. And you can make it small enough to check for any possibly dangerous weeds and remove any you find.”

“And feed them to the goats,” Zach added, scratching one of the goats over the fence.

Janey sighed, glancing at the house. Her stomach rumbled.

But Janey wanted to help Lola, and that meant her empty stomach would have to wait. “Okay,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “Let's build a pen.”

Lolli's father helped the kids fetch some step-in fence posts and a couple of rolls of woven wire. “This stuff might not hold a full-sized horse,” he said, scratching his head uncertainly. “But it should be good enough for a pony like Lola.”

Lolli's mother put Roscoe in the house. Then she returned and held Lola's lead rope, letting the pony nibble on the short grass beside the driveway while her husband, Dr. Goldman, and the kids got to work on the fence. Before long Janey was sweating more than ever. Building fences was hard work!

But every time she wanted to quit, she
just looked over at Lola. That made her work even harder.

It took a long time, but finally the pen was ready. They'd built it along one side of the barn, where there was a deep overhang that Lola could use for shelter if the sun got too strong.

“Perfect!” Lolli's father declared at last. “Want to check it out, Lola?”

Dr. Goldman led the pony into the pen. She took off the lead rope and left Lola to explore.

Lola sniffed at the gate as Lolli shut it. Then she turned and looked around the pen. The goats and sheep were standing in their pasture on the other side of Lola's new fence, looking in. Lola whinnied at them, then trotted over to say hello through the wire. After that, she started to graze on her side of the fence, while the other animals nibbled the grass on their side.

Dr. Goldman smiled. “Ponies and horses are herd animals. Lola is probably happy to have company after being by herself for a couple of months.”

“Maybe we can find her a home with other ponies,” Adam said.

“Yeah.” Janey glanced at Lolli's house. “Since Lola is having a snack, maybe it's time for us to have one, too?”

“Soon,” Lolli's mother said. “You still need to set up a tub with water. And there's not much grass in the pen—won't we need hay?”

“The Valentines are bringing the supplies they have.” Dr. Goldman shaded her hand against the late afternoon sun and peered down the driveway. “A-ha! Here they are, right on cue!”

A moment later, an SUV pulled to a stop nearby. Tom hopped out of the driver's seat. “Oh, look at that!” he exclaimed as he saw Lola. “She's found some friends.”

The back of the SUV was crammed with hay bales, and there was a big, black tub for water in the backseat. “Come on, kids,” Dr. Goldman said. “Let's get this stuff unloaded.”

Half an hour later, Janey was so exhausted she wanted to lie down on the grass and take a nap. She and her friends had hauled the heavy bales of hay into the barn. They'd dragged
the water tub into the pen, then hooked up the hose to fill it. They'd opened one of the hay bales and carried part of it out for Lola to eat. They'd found a spare shelf in the barn to store the grooming tools, a spare halter, and a few other items Tom had brought.

Meanwhile, Dr. Goldman had left with Tom, promising to return with her car to drive them all home. Janey couldn't wait!

But when she looked at Lola and saw her nibbling hay or grass, or sipping water, Janey felt happy and satisfied. “Lola is so cute,” she told Lolli as they watched the pony. “I'm sure it won't take long to find her the perfect new home.”

Lolli nodded, looking just as tired as Janey felt. “I'm glad she's here, even if she's
a lot of work.”

Janey giggled. “After this, taking care of Roscoe will seem super easy! Oh, and your new bunny, too, if you get him.”

“Yeah.” Lolli shot a look at her parents, who were helping the boys put away the hose. “Still, I think I'll wait and ask if I can get the bunny until after Lola goes to her new home.”

“Here we are, Farmer Janey,” Janey's father joked as he pulled into Lolli's driveway the next day. “Better get going on your chores!”

Janey smiled. “Thanks for the ride, Daddy.”

She jumped out of the car. Adam and Zach were already there with Lolli, watching Lola eat grass in her pen. They'd come straight over after Adam's morning dog-walking jobs.

“You're late,” Zach called when he spotted Janey. “But don't worry, we saved all the stinky pony manure for you.”

“Gee, thanks.” Janey rolled her eyes. “How's Lola?”

“Great,” Lolli said. “After we feed her and clean up her pen, maybe we can use those brushes Mr. Valentine sent to groom her.”

Janey nodded. “Good idea. We want her to look good for her photo session.”

“What photo session?” Adam asked.

Janey held up her tablet. “I want to take some pictures of her to put on the blog. That will help her find a home faster.”

“Good idea.” Lolli picked up a pitchfork. “But first, let's get to work.”

The kids worked hard. They cleaned up all the manure Lola had made overnight, using the pitchfork to put it in a wheelbarrow and then dumping it in the compost pile behind the barn. They scrubbed out the
water tub and filled it again. They put out more hay.

“Okay.” Lolli brushed hay off her hands. “Now for the fun part!”

She hurried into the barn and fetched the bucket of grooming tools. There were several brushes, a wide-toothed comb, a hoof pick, and a bottle of spray-on conditioner.

“Get ready for your beauty treatment, Lola!” Janey sang out as the kids entered the pen.

Lola was eating the pile of hay the kids had set out. She barely looked up when they started brushing her.

“Good girl,” Janey said. “You want to look pretty, don't you?”

Adam leaned over to peer at the pony's
tangled mane. “I think I'll try getting some of these burrs out.”

“Good idea,” Janey said. “Her mane looks totally vile.”

She handed Adam the comb. He grabbed it and got to work.

After close to an hour, the pony looked much better. Janey stepped back to survey their work.

“She looks great,” she said. “See if you can get her to keep her head up so I can get some good pictures.”

They spent the next several minutes on the photo shoot. It wasn't easy, since the pony preferred eating over posing. But finally Janey got some cute photos of Lola.

“Want me to upload them for you?” Zach offered.

Janey nodded and handed over the tablet. Zach knew just about everything about computers and technology, so she knew he'd do a good job of cropping and positioning the photos.

“Thanks,” she said. “You can upload the
text I wrote, too, okay?” She pointed out the file on the desktop.

“Sure,” Zach said as he got to work.

Lolli peered over his shoulder. “What'd you write?” she asked.

“Just a short entry about Lola,” Janey said. “I did it last night after dinner. Zach can read it to you when it posts.”

A second later, Zach cleared his throat and started to read: “ ‘Meet Lola, the cutest little pony on the planet! And guess what? She's looking for a new home, so some lucky person will get to pet her adorable face every day! Contact the Pet Rescue Club if you want to be that person! Lola can't wait to meet her new best friend!' ”

“How does that sound?” Janey asked the others.

“Fine, I guess,” Adam said. “I've never had to write an ad for a pony before.”

“Yeah.” Lolli looked over Zach's shoulder as the first photo appeared below the text. “Anyway, it hardly matters what we write. As soon as people see those pictures, they'll be lining up to take Lola home!”