Six-year-old Benny Alden bolted awake in the middle of the night. Where was he? He sat straight up in bed. His heart drummed.
This wasn’t his bed!
Far away, a horse whinnied. Benny breathed a deep sigh. Now he remembered. He was on vacation with his brother and sisters at the Dare to Dream Ranch. This was their first night sleeping in the bunkhouse. But—what woke him?
Benny slid out of bed, careful not to wake his big brother Henry asleep in the top bunk. He tiptoed past his sisters. Twelve-year-old Jessie’s arm flopped over the side of the top bunk. In the bunk below, ten-year-old Violet cuddled her stuffed panda. The girls did not stir as Benny tiptoed past.
At the window, Benny pulled aside the curtain and peered out. The sliver of moon gave off little light. Benny could barely see the large barn in the distance. Far away, the horse whinnied again. But Benny could not see any horses. He listened to the night sounds. Crickets chirruped. Soft winds creaked the rocking chairs on the bunkhouse porch.
Wait! Were those voices? Whispers? Benny listened hard. A sudden gust of wind rustled the trees. He didn’t hear any more voices. Maybe what he’d heard was just the sound of the wind.
The horse whinnied a third time. Benny heard a faint clip-clop of hooves. A truck engine started up. He listened as the truck drove away. Then, silence.
Benny yawned, then yawned again. He’d better get some sleep. Tomorrow was the Alden children’s first full day working and playing at the Dare to Dream Ranch.
Fourteen-year-old Henry woke at dawn. He jumped down from his bunk and looked out the window. Far across the ranch, he saw cowboys on horseback. “Eeeeee-haaaa!” came their faint shouts. “Eeeeee-haaaa!”
Henry ran to the bunks. “Wake up,” he said, gently shaking his sleeping brother and sisters. “The wranglers are bringing the horses in from the pasture.”
The excited children quickly washed, then dressed in jeans and T-shirts. They put on cowboy hats to shade them from the sun and cowboy boots for riding horses. Then they ran to the corral. The corral was a circle as big as a schoolyard, with a rail fence all around. The children scrambled up and sat on the top rail to watch. Wranglers on horseback called out “Eeeeee-haaaa,” as they shooed horses in.
A spirited black horse ran into the corral. It had a large white spot shaped like a dragon on its back. “Dragon!” yelled Jessie, clapping her hands. Her favorite horse looked up and shook its head.
The other children searched for their favorite horses. Their grandfather, James Alden, often brought them to the Dare to Dream Ranch to ride. He and the owner, Cookie Miller, were childhood friends. Cookie had taught the children how to ride, and the children practiced hard. Each time they came, they rode better and better.
When Cookie heard that Grandfather Alden was going away on business for a few days, she invited the children to stay at the ranch.
“You’ll have to work, just like regular ranch hands,” she told them. “But you’ll also get to ride.” The Alden children liked to work, and they loved to ride. “Yes!” they had said, at once.
A small white horse with black dots walked into the corral.
“Lots-o’-Dots,” called Benny. The little horse looked up and snorted. It trotted over to Benny. “He remembers me!” Benny cried. Lots-o’-Dots had been brought to the ranch a month ago. Benny was the first guest to ride him. The horse nuzzled Benny’s pocket. “You’re looking for a treat, aren’t you?” said Benny. “I’ll bring you something from breakfast.”
A powerful brown horse burst into the corral. Henry put his thumb and pinky in his mouth and blew out a short, shrill whistle. The horse whinnied and reared up on its hind legs, pawing the air. Then it pranced over.
“Hey, Lightning,” said Henry, scratching the horse behind the ears. “How are you, boy?”
Violet waited and waited, searching for her horse. “Does anyone see Daisy?”
“The horses are still coming in,” said Jessie. “Daisy will be here soon.”
But Violet was afraid Daisy was gone. Daisy was one of Dare to Dream’s “rescue horses.” These were horses rescued from all over the country. Some had wandered away from their homes. They were found sick or hungry or injured. Cookie nursed them until they were well. Then she found good families to adopt them. A year ago, a Boy Scout troop had found Daisy wandering the hills of Montana. The gray horse was skinny from hunger and hurt by a bobcat’s bites. The troop sent Daisy to the Dare to Dream Ranch. Last month, when Violet came to ride, Daisy’s wounds had healed and she’d grown nice and plump.
Violet watched the horses filling the corral. Most were regular horses, the ones ridden by wranglers and guest riders. But a few, like Daisy, were rescue horses.
“I still don’t see her,” said Violet. “Maybe she’s been adopted.” She did hope Daisy found a family to love and care for her. But Violet wished she might ride the gentle gray horse one more time.
“There,” cried Jessie, “there’s Daisy.” And coming into the corral, prancing as prettily as a princess, was Violet’s very favorite horse. “Here, Daisy. Here, girl.” Violet laughed as Daisy danced over.
Suddenly, a wrangler came riding fast around the barn. Her face looked grim under her red cowboy hat. Her horse thundered past the corral as it raced toward the main house.
“Something’s wrong,” said Henry, jumping down from the fence. The other children followed, running full speed. By the time they reached the ranch house, the wrangler was on the front porch talking excitedly to Cookie.
“Gone,” the young woman was saying. “We must call the police. Someone stole Honey and Bunny!” |