The next morning was quiet. Alec came to feed me and left in a hurry. He said something like "school" but I couldn't be sure. Napoleon didn't know what it meant either, but Alec seemed happy, so I suppose everything was fine. Tony came for Napoleon soon after, and Henry opened the barn doors so I had access to the paddock. I spent the day grazing quietly.
Alec came back when the sun was burning high, and he had two people his age with him. He hollered a hello to Henry, who was still keeping an eye on me. He needn't have worried. I was staying put after all the excitement of yesterday. I whistled a greeting to Alec, but was wary of the newcomers. I trotted down to see the boy, but stopped short when the other boys moved closer to see me. I whinnied a challenge at them, and trotted away again, turning to snort at the. The boys seemed afraid of me and ran into the barn. I could see their faces at the window staring at me. Good, they're gone. Alec came into the field and I galloped to him. I want to play! I swerved when I came close and waited for him to chase me. He didn't run after me like he had on the island. Has he forgotten the game? I galloped back and pretended to run him down, but checked at the last moment, and bolted away. I looked back and he was still standing there. Hey, come on! Chase me! Finally the boy remembered the game and ran after me. I galloped down to the end of the field. After a few minutes of chasing, he managed to corner me. I dashed this way and that, trying to get by him. Finally I decided to go for it and he slapped my on the rump. He got me! I trotted down to the middle of the field and shook my head playfully. Fine, it's my turn. I charged the boy and he dodged out of my way. We took turns doing this, just as we had on the island. It was the best fun I'd had in a long time.
Finally, the boy tired, and called off the game. He went to sit on the fence by Henry to watch me, as I wasn't done yet! I turned and put on my gallop as fast as I could in the field, my black mane and tail flowing behind me. After I reached the other side, I slid to a stop and watched the two of them sitting there and talking, presumably about me. I grazed as I cooled down from the game. I threw my head up as I heard the boy whistle for me, and galloped back to him. He clipped a lead rope on me and led me back to the barn. Just as we were about to enter, I spooked. The two boys in there were shouting! I'd forgotten about them, and snorted. It seemed that Alec and Henry had also forgotten them too. They quietly came out of the barn and left. I whinnied softly after them in amusement.
The boy came back in the evening to feed and brush me. Tony had already brought Napoleon back and fed him. Apparently the old fellow is always hungry, for he tried to steal my oats. I nipped him playfully and he pulled his head back disappointedly. Silly fellow, you had your own already!
The pattern of the days was very much the same. In the morning the boy would come and feed me, groom me, and turn me out in the paddock. Sometimes he would ride me if he had time. If not, then after he came home from school, he would ride or play with me then. Sometimes Napoleon didn't work, and was turned outside with me. We would graze and swish flies and and stand under the shade of the trees. I learned a lot about the weather...it was so different than the desert. Sometimes it would rain for days on end. Then Napoleon and I were confined to our stalls until it was sunny again.
Eventually I noticed that the weather had been growing colder. Napoleon looked furrier, and I thought at first something was wrong with him. He shook his head and I understood that this was normal. The ground grew harder and galloping was a little more jarring on my legs than I was used to. I understood how to run on sliding sand, but this was different. What was happening to the world? The trees soon lost their greenery and the world was fire. Bright orange, flame red, and golden yellow decorated the trees. There were a few though, the curious needle-like ones that did not undergo any changes. The coloured trees eventually dropped their leaves and the green grass was carpeted with leaves, leaving the trees bare. I wondered what happened to the trees. Were they dead? The weather continued to get colder, and it made me wilder. I had to move to warm up!
One morning, I was more cold than usual, and danced around my stall. Henry looked at me, and warned the boy when he arrived for breakfast. I wanted to gallop around! There was something strange in the air, and I didn't know what it was. It only me more restless than usual. Napoleon nickered at me. He knew what it was all about. He felt the same restlessness but at his age didn't show it as much as I did.
I looked out my door. Something strange was happening! White flakes were falling down from the sky? What kind of weather did this world have? I snorted at the flakes. They kept falling. In fact they fell so thickly that they covered the ground soon enough and I couldn't see far into the field. Finally after a while, they stopped falling, and the sun came out again. Alec grabbed my lead rope, and I was excited. I wanted to run! I almost barged past him, but remembered my manners in the nick of time. He led me outside and I stopped at the white stuff and sniffed it. It was very cold up my nose and I snorted it out again. The boy picked up some in his hands and I saw it vanish almost immediately. How? I poked it again with my nose. Alec encouraged me to walk on it. Wait, I changed my mind...I don't want to walk on that! But he talked to me, and I stepped on it. I pranced about, treating the white stuff like it was hottest sand, except that it was cold. After a little while, I discovered that I liked the feel of it. It was different than sand, but had a similar give to it.
I decided it was worthy to roll on. I circled and dropped down. It felt nice, so I went ahead and lay on my side. I scrunched around, then rolled over and kicked my legs in the air. It was wonderful! It was cold and wet, but it felt good on my coat. I squirmed around for a minute, then righted myself, and heaved up. I shook my coat vigourously and the white stuff...snow, I found out later...went flying everywhere. Alec patted me, and Henry gave him a lift on my back. He made me walk down into the snow. Since the field sloped downward, it was deeper closer to the other end. I tried to break into a trot, but the boy wanted me to walk. Since I was unfamiliar with the footing, I complied. After I got the hang of it, the boy knew it too, and let me break into a canter. This was fun! I liked the the snow sprayed around beneath my hooves.
The boy rode me back to the barn and hopped off. He took the lead rope off me and let me run about some more on my own. That evening, it turned even colder, and when I was brought in, Alec put a blanket on me. Napoleon was already wearing one. I was curious, but soon felt far warmer than I had in a while. I fell asleep perfectly warm and content.
