A Horse's Tale, Chapter 26

A Horse's Tale, Chapter 26, I will show them.

As Rob pulls up to the house, Rob says, "It was good visiting your parents.", Steph nods as gets out, and looks around, "I am going to check on the horse's I will be in a little bit." Rob nods and goes inside. Rob looks around most of the dogs are asleep, only a couple raise their heads as he enters, "I hope the horses are doing as well as the dogs."

Steph heads in the familiar circle, the Lady's Parlour, the Football Field then the back row. Horse's are sleeping or trying to sleep, only a couple are up looking for bits of hay. A couple greet her as she walks by, as she finishes the rounds she heads between the round pens, Justice is asleep on the ground, as is Violette, in the center Round Pen LB, and Glory are both asleep, Ruby is up eating, and Sampson is no where to be seen. She looks around, and spots him up by the house, she takes off at a trot, turns to a fast walk, then ahhh, a walk, "I am getting to old for this, SAMPSON come here." Sampson being a mule just stops, not one to follow directions most of the time. Steph finally catches up, and Sampson is carrying a bag in his mouth, not a Wal-Mart bag, but a Gym Bag. "Sampson what are you up to?" Sampson looks around to make sure no one is listening, Spirit said that someone called me Petite, and said I should go find Jim and work out."

Steph nods, having no idea what he is talking about, "What do you have in the bag?" Sampson drops the bag on the ground and very carefully pulls on the zipper. Steph reaches inside to see what he has, being that it is dark, the light of the full moon should help a bit. "Let’s see ahhh, hmmmm, four rubber covered horse shoes, or mule shoes in your case, and a hmmm, a pair of exercise pants. Well seems you have everything you need." Sampson continues "Oh a bag of chalk in case I need to work on my floor routine and the parallel bars, whatever they are." Steph nods, "Well looks like you have everything you need, to exercise." Sampson looks at Steph, "EXERCISE, no way." Steph looks at him in a puzzled way, "Well if you are going to the Gym, that must mean you going to exercise." Sampson shakes his head. "No not going to the Gym, going to find Jim, he is an old friend, he lives in Barstow, we used to work together, pulling things." Steph asks "Do you know where Barstow is and how far it is?" Sampson nods, "Its down the road, 107 miles, Spirit gave me a map." Steph nods, Sampson continues, "I will be back in the morning, all buffed up, Petite, I will show them." Sampson carefully closes the gym bag, picks it up and heads towards the gate.

Steph watches in what can only be described as total ahhh, well amazement. Sampson gets to the gate, opens it, which is good, since it is locked with a paddle lock, and steps out and closes it. As Steph stands there, Sampson turns to the road as the big white bus from the retirement community pulls up, Sampson gets on, and the door closes, and the bus drives off.

Steph says to herself, since no one is nearby, "Well this seems to be a coordinated effort." Steph turns to the house, and begins to walk back, she looks over to check on the chickens, Tootsie, and Electra, "Why did I just let Sampson get on a bus to Barstow? Dang I am really getting to old for this, when the mule's take advantage of me." As she steps on the patio, Electra jumps up, startled by something, Steph looks a over to the left and Ruby is walking toward her, "And where the heck do you think you are going?" Ruby takes a few steps, "I am going to Curves, ya know the spa for ahhh, Lady's." Steph smiles, "Well only one mule out the gate at one time, you will have to wait for another time." Ruby kicks the ground, "Dang, I knew this would happen." She turns and walks back to round pen.

Electra looks at the now dejected Ruby and back to Steph, "Don't worry Electra you will learn about these kind of things." Finally one of the guard dogs comes out, well not really a guard dogs, its Bruno, "Can I help, Can I help?" Steph looks down, "Well if you want your head kicked in, it is the mules, everything is fine." Bruno with a worried look, "No nope, no mules, not good." He turns and goes in the doggy door, Steph turns looks back at the gate, "I wonder what he thinks he can get done in a few hours in Barstow?" She turns and opens the door, Bruno rushes out the doggy door, "I forgot I need to pee." Steph nods, and goes inside. Rob looks up, "What is going on, Bruno just ran outside Twice?" "Steph turns to the door as Bruno returns, "Oh, he had to pee." Rob smiles, "What else is going on?"

"Well it seems someone made the comment that Sampson looked petite. So he off to Barstow to meet an old friend named Jim, I guess to exercise. He said he would be back in the morning." Rob looks at Steph, "Stephanie, it’s a hundred miles to Barstow, it will take him two, maybe three days to get there." Steph looks at Rob, "Oh, that isn't a problem, he is getting a ride on the bus from the retirement home." Rob, "Oh, that makes it all better. What horse would call him petite, he can out pull 90 percent of the horses, and walk most of them into the ground on one of this bad days. Jeez, I can't believe any of the horses would say that." Steph nods, "Well he said he would be back in the morning, we will see how un petite he has become." Rob, "Was Fred driving the bus?" Steph shrugs, "Couldn't see for sure, how many nanny goats does the retirement home have driving buses?" Rob, shakes his head, "Don't know, wonder who told Sampson about the Petite comment, he doesn't listen to many of the horses?", Steph says, "Sampson said it was Spirit that told him, he gave him a map to Barstow." Rob looks up again, "I wonder Spirit is trying to pull a trick on Sampson." Steph thinks for a while, "No horse even a young one is dumb enough to try and trick a mule, are they?" Rob only has to think a while on this one. "No one even our horses are that dumb." at that they both head off to bed, knowing that Sampson is in the care of a nanny goat from the retirement home and will be back in the morning.

Steph and Rob awake to the quiet of the desert morning at MHR, all is well, Steph with a cup of coffee in hand steps out on the patio, she looks around, Jason is starting the morning routine of feeding the horses, Steph looks to the forward Round Pen, Glory, Ruby, and LB, are waiting for breakfast. Sampson has not gotten back, she starts to wonder if it was a good idea to let Sampson go to Barstow, just at that moment, she hears breaks squealing out by the gate, a white bus, the one from the retirement home comes to a halt, Sampson steps off, opens the gate, and proceeds to walk back to the round pen. As he walks past Steph on the edge of the patio, he says "What do you think now?" Steph doesn't really see any difference, other than a ribbon around his neck, "What is the ribbon for?", Sampson turns his head, "It’s says Number One Mule. This will show them." His head held high, he walks back to the Round Pen.

As he opens the gate to the Round Pen, Ruby starts to run, Glory starts to chase him, and LB, just kind of stands there wondering what the heck is going on. Sampson closes the gate on the Round Pen, all seems normal. As Steph starts to turn to go back in the house, Spirit puts his head on her shoulder, "See I knew that would work. Confidence is all that is needed." Steph reaches over and rubs Spirits nose, "Thanks. oh, by the way who is Jim?" Spirit smiles, "Oh, Jim is a Zebra, that got a degree from UCLA, very smart equine to be sure."


To be continued.

Author Samm