Bob's Escape
Tracy Seeger
It was a beautiful summer day. I woke up early, just as the sun was rising, and the birds were beginning to sing. All the other horses were still asleep, and it was far too early for any of the yard staff. I wanted to get out of my dark stable and run around in the sunshine, but I knew I had a long wait until anyone arrived to let me out. I hadn't planned to escape, I just wanted to sniff the fresh air that was drifting through my stable door. But as I pushed my nose against the door, I felt it move. So I pushed a little harder, and to my delight it swung open completely! Slowly, I poked my head out of the stable, and looked to see if anyone was about. There was no one in sight, not even Felix the farm cat, so I quickly trotted out of my stable, through the yard, and over towards the paddock.
The sun felt glorious on my back. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the smell of the flowers around the farm filled my nostrils as I trotted. Before I knew it I was running faster and faster. When I stopped I realised I had run right past the paddock, and was near the stream right at the bottom of the field. I stood there for a while, looking around. On the other side of the stream was a beautiful green field, and I longed to taste the grass growing in it. I decided the stream was narrow enough to jump, so I trotted back a little way, then raced towards the stream again, jumping into the air just as I reached it.
I landed safely on the other side, and immediately began eating the grass. It was delicious, fresh and green, and still damp with morning dew. After I had eaten for a little while, I decided to go exploring. I had never been on this side of the stream before. There was a small forest not far away, so I trotted gently over to it. As I reached the edge of the forest, I stopped. It was quite dark inside, and there were lots of trees and bushes. It was nice and warm in the sun, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go into the cool forest. But I decided that if I got too cold I could easily come back out, so I started walking into among the trees.
I walked slowly, stopping often to sniff interesting plants, or to look up at the tops of the tall trees. After a while the trees got so thick that I could hardly see the sky above me, and I began to get very cold. I decided that I had had enough adventure, so I turned around to head back out of the forest. But when I turned round, I realised that I could not see the edge of the forest at all. I looked all around, but there was no path, and I could not see the green field through all the trees. Trying to stay calm, I began trotting in what I thought was the right direction, but after a while I realised that I did not recognise any of the plants or trees around me, and I realised that I was lost!
I didn't know what to do. I started trotting in another direction, but I still could not find the way out. I stopped, and started neighing, hoping one of the grooms would hear me, but no one answered. Then, suddenly, I heard a small voice say,
"Are you lost?"
I looked all around, but I could not see anyone. Then the voice said,
"Down here!"
I looked down at the ground, and there was a little grey squirrel. He was sitting on his back legs, holding a nut he had just found on the ground.
"Oh, hello." I said to him. "Yes, I'm afraid I am lost. Do you know the way out of this forest?"
"Of course I do," said the squirrel. "I live here. I know everything about this forest. My name is Sam Squirrel."
"Hello Sam Squirrel," I said. "My name is Bob. I live at the farm on the other side of the stream."
"Wow, you are a long way from home," said Sam. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," I said, "my stable door came open this morning, and I wanted to get out into the sunshine, so I ran out of the farm yard, and down to the stream. The grass in the field on the other side of the stream looked so good, I jumped over so I could eat some. Then I saw this forest, and decided to come and explore. But I think I came in too far, and now I can't find the way out. Please Sam, can you help me get home?"
"No problem," said Sam. "You're not too far away actually. Let me hop on your back, and I'll guide you out."
So Sam hopped up onto my back, and told me which way to go to get back to the green field. It didn't take us long to get there, and I was very relieved to see the green field again, and feel the sun on my back. I was so happy, I almost ran off with Sam still on my back!
"Thank you Sam," I said. "I hope I will see you again. If you ever want another ride, just hop on over to the farm. Bye!"
"Bye bye," said Sam, and he scampered off back into the forest to look for more nuts. I ran quickly back down to the stream, and jumped back over where I had crossed before. As I got near to the farm yard, I could hear people calling my name. As I came round the corner, I saw Michelle, my groom. As soon as she saw me she cried out, and ran over to me.
"Oh Bob! There you are. Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you!"
I nuzzled Michelle's neck as she stroked me, and let her lead me over to the paddock. I wished I could tell her all about my adventure, but I knew she didn't understand me. When the other horses arrived in the paddock I told them all about the stream and the green field and the forest. And Sam Squirrel of course! When I went back to my stable that evening, I found that Shane had put a strong new bolt on the door, so there was no chance of me getting out again. I wasn't sorry about that though. It had been a very exciting morning, but I was very glad to be back at the farm with my friends.
Copyright © 2009 Tracy Seeger. All rights reserved.