This was interesting! And a very carelessly
constructed piece of fence, indeed! He would investigate. The blunder
colt was never too hungry to cease grazing and turn toward adventure.
He nosed one of the props. He leaned against it heavily, deliberately,
and rubbed himself. Verily "His eye had all the seeming of a demon's
that is dreaming"--of unalloyed mischief.
The prop creaked, finally became loosened, and fell. The colt sprang
back awkwardly, snorting in indignant surprise. "The very idea!" he
would have said, even as he would have chewed gum and have worn a
perpetual tear in his trousers had he been human.
With stiff stealthiness he approached the break again, pretending a
hesitancy that he enjoyed immensely. He reached under the lower wire,
neck outstretched, and nibbled at a bunch of ripe grass. There was
plenty of grass within easier reach, but he wanted the unattainable. A
barb caught in his mane. He jerked his head up. The barb pricked his
neck. He jerked harder. Another prop became loosened. Then he strode
away, this time with calm indifference. He pretended to graze, but his
eye roved back to the break. His attitude expressed a sly
alertness--something of the quiet vigilance a grazing horse betrays when
one approaches with a bridle.
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