Chapter One
Spirit is a wild horse living in the woods near Alabama. He is a fine stallion and the leader of his herd. One day, as Spirit and his herd are running alongside a train, the whistle blows. A girl named Ashley pushes open the door of the train car, spots the herd, and reaches out to pet Spirit. But her aunt, Marie, pulls her back inside. Ashley tries to hold on, but just then, two horse catchers arrive and attempt to capture one of the horses from Spirit's herd. Spirit instructs his herd to run the other way, and they do, but he ends up getting caught. Ashley yells, "No!" but her aunt finally pulls her back inside and takes her to her father.
Chapter Two
Ashley, her dad, and her aunt arrive at Miradero. When Ashley sees Spirit, she tells her dad, "That's the horse I saw from the train! You said they wouldn't hurt him!"
"They're not," her dad replies. "He's just not used to this, okay?"
Ashley nods. They walk to their new house and unpack. The next morning, she heads to her new school, but before she goes, she visits Spirit, gives him an apple, and says, "Before I go to school, I'm going to try to make friends today, and you should too." Spirit shakes his head yes. "Alright, bye! See you later, horse."
Chapter Three
After Ashley leaves for school, three men arrive to try to train Spirit. One of the men is named Sage, but Spirit shows them he's unbreakable. Meanwhile, at school, Ashley makes new friends named Stacy and Kate. At first, they think she doesn't like horses, but after school, they see her petting their horses, Tugga Boo and Zoey. They're surprised, but they warm up to her. Then Becky, a girl who likes to think she's the queen, arrives.
Chapter Four
Becky says, "I'm a lady, and I don't like horses."
Stacy responds, "Then why was she petting them?"
"Because she was just being nice," Becky says. Stacy and Kate apologize to Ashley and leave.
Ashley asks Becky, "Why did you tell them I don't like horses? Now they think I hate them."
"Oh, please, you're just a city girl," Becky sneers.
"Well, I was, but now I'm out here, and I think I'm going to like it better than the city," Ashley replies.
Becky retorts, "Horses smell, and they're disgusting." Just then, Tugga Boo uses his hoof to kick dirt onto Becky's dress. "Oh, you stupid horse! You got dirt on my dress!" she shrieks. After that, Stacy and Kate don't like Becky anymore.
Chapter Five
One day, Ashley hears Stacy and Kate talking about going on a ride. When she gets home, she asks her aunt, "Where is Dad?"
"He went to work on the new railroad tracks. They're blowing up part of a mountain to make room," her aunt replies as Ashley hands her some firewood. Ashley runs to where Spirit is kept, opens the gate, and Spirit takes off. Ashley nearly falls off, but Spirit catches her, and she climbs back onto his back. He gallops toward the train.
"We have to rescue Stacy and Kate!" Ashley shouts.
Kate sees her and says to Stacy, "I thought she couldn't ride."
"They're about to blow up the mountain!" Ashley warns. They all jump onto their horses and race away, barely escaping the blast. Ashley's dad and Stacy's dad arrive on horseback, and Stacy's dad shouts, "Are you girls crazy?"
Stacy tries to explain, but Ashley takes the blame for them. After that, Ashley and Spirit become friends, and so do Ashley, Stacy, and Kate.
THE END.
