A Dream Come True, Almost

The hotel and the resort seemed very tame after his adventure in the desert. The little horse grew tired of sitting by the pool. He did not like the walk around the resort. He had to be very careful not to get hit by golf balls, and the concrete paths were hard on his hooves. The flamingos still laughed at him whenever he walked out the front of the hotel. The little horse ignored them and held his tail high, his ears pricked forward, but he could feel himself blush as they squawked at him.

On the last day of his travels the little horse accepted an offer to go for a drive to explore the high country behind the resort. To his great delight the car drove higher and higher into the rocky country until at last they were on a mountain pass. Up and up wound the road. The scenery changed from barren dessert with cactus and scrub to green fields and pastures to towering green forests. The little horse trotted from one side of the car to the other, taking it all in. He was driving into the mountains.

They stopped at a little mountain village everyone got out of the car. They walked around the town a little bit. Someone bought candy and gave the little horse a bite. It was delicious—home-made fudge, his favorite. They found the ranger station and asked if there were hiking trails nearby. The little horse’s ears pricked forward. He could not believe his good luck! Hiking in the mountains!

The little horse started off on the trail. Up and up it wound. The altitude was high already. He was careful not to push forward too fast because he ran out of breath if he hurried. The day at the hotel had been warm, but this air was crisp and clean and cool. Soon the little horse found himself walking through patches of snow. He nibbled at the snow and kicked it into the air with his front hooves. Then he lay down in the snow and rolled! It was cold, but it felt so good!