"There!" said Twinkleheels. "There goes that whip. I'm glad I broke it.
Now I'll let Johnnie pull me down to a walk--but not too quickly."
With Johnnie Green tugging steadily, Twinkleheels changed from a run to
a canter, from a canter to a trot, from a trot to a walk; and finally
stood still.
Then Johnnie turned him around and rode slowly back to the barn. He
jumped down, unbuckled the girth, and drew off Twinkleheels' saddle.
"What's the matter?" his father asked him. "You haven't given up going
fishing--have you?"
"No!" Johnnie answered. "I'm going to harness Twinkleheels to the buggy.
And I'll cut a pole at the creek."
His father said nothing more. But he smiled a little to himself when
Johnnie wasn't looking his way.
"Boys will be boys," Farmer Green remarked after Johnnie had gone.
"Yes!" the hired man agreed. "And ponies will be ponies."
They may have been talking in riddles.
Anyhow, they seemed to understand each other.
THE END
* * * * * * *
Transcriber's notes
1. Punctuation has been brought into conformity with
contemporary standards.
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