Anna on the Farm by Mary Downing Hahn, Diane de Groat Read Free Book Online Page B

some other time.
    "Let's go a little faster," Nell says.
    Anna holds Silver Heels' mane. He picks up speed. The gentle rolling motion of his walk changes. He trots, bouncing Anna up and down. The summer air feels cooler as it rushes against her face. She wishes they could go even faster.
    After a few minutes, they come to a low point in the road. On either side, the trees lean toward each other as if they're holding hands to make an arch. They cast deep green shadows on the road. Anna sees a bridge ahead.
    "Silver Heels needs a drink," Nell says. She slides down from the horse, but she tells Anna to stay in the saddle. "I'll lead him to the creek."
    Nell guides Silver Heels off the road and along a mossy path. Honeysuckle drapes a fence and wild grape hangs from the trees. Sunlight dapples the leaves with gold. It splashes down on Nell and Silver Heels, too, making patterns everywhere.
    Anna hears the stream before she sees it. The water is shallow, but it races over stones, making a loud chatter. While Silver Heels drinks, Anna pretends she and Nell are princesses in a magic land. She can almost see fairies hiding in the leaves. She can almost hear them laughing.
    Nell sits on the bank and pulls off her tall boots. "My feet are so hot," she says. "Let's wade in the stream."
    Nell helps Anna down from Silver Heels' back, and the two girls splash into the cold water. The stones are slippery with moss. Suddenly, Anna's feet slide out from under her and she lands with a big splash in the middle of the creek. For a moment, Anna is too surprised to move. She just sits in the water, soaked from the waist down.
    Nell leans over her. "Are you all right, Anna?"
    Anna takes the hand Nell offers and tries to stand

    up. Whoops. Her feet slip again. This time both Anna and Nell end up in the water. They look at each other. Anna worries Nell might be cross. After all, it's Anna's fault Nell slipped, but Nell begins to laugh. Anna laughs, too. The two of them sit in the creek and laugh and laugh and laugh.
    "Oh, dear," Nell says at last. "What will your aunt say when you come home soaking wet?"
    Anna grins. "She won't say anything. She'll be laughing too hard." Though she doesn't say it out loud, Anna is glad Mother is in Baltimore. She would not laugh at the sight of a dripping wet daughter wearing overalls.
    "Your aunt is a peach." Nell takes Anna's hand and leads her to the bank. Silver Heels lifts his head from the water and blows a puff of air through his nose. Nell nuzzles his head and gives him a hug.
    "Such a good boy," she whispers in his ear. Then she boosts Anna onto the horse's back and leads him to the road. Nell climbs into the saddle and heads back the way they came.
    Anna wishes the day would never end. "Will you come see me again?" she asks Nell.
    "Of course," Nell replies. "We'll go riding again, too. Would you like that?"
    "Oh, yes," says Anna. "Yes, I'd like that very much."
    "Maybe we'll even cool off in the creek again," Nell says with a laugh.
    Anna would like that, too. Her wet overalls feel nice against her skin.
    Near the lane leading to Uncle George's farm, Nell points ahead. "Look, Anna. Here comes Mr. O'Reilly with the mail."
    Way down the hill, Anna sees a big cloud of dust billowing toward them. She hears a loud chug-chug-chug. Out of the cloud comes the dirtiest, noisiest car she's ever seen.
    Silver Heels neighs and turns his head this way and that. Nell clucks and nudges his sides with her knees. "It's just Mr. O'Reilly, silly," she tells the horse. "You see him almost every day."
    When Silver Heels finally stands still, Nell slides out of the saddle and helps Anna down from his back. "Sorry," she says, "but Mr. O'Reilly's car spooks him. I'll have to ride home across the field."
    Anna watches Nell leap into the saddle. Silver Heels jumps the fence as if he has invisible wings. Nell turns and waves good-bye. Then she and the horse vanish into the woods like magic.
    "Princess Nell," Anna thinks, "and her