The Horse, as Comrade and Friend 



nose high in the air, neck arched and drawn 

 far back, tail high and waving hke a flag, and 

 picking up her feet for all the world as if she 

 had been taught the Spanish walk. Out of 

 sheer excess of spirits, she would race up to the 

 other mares in the field and treat them as she 

 did her own mother. At first they resented 

 it, but after a while they regarded her as a 

 specially privileged person, and really liked it. 

 They always watched her, as one watches a 

 Star Performer, when the fit came upon her to 

 play these mad pranks. They were really 

 fond of this little sprite, and two of them, 

 who had their own foals, did a thing which I 

 have not seen before or since — they allowed 

 her an occasional suck — a privilege indeed. 



She never left me for long, whenever I was 

 in the field. She got to know the sugar pocket 

 so well she would put her nose in it and posi 

 tively refuse to take it out until she had grabbed 

 at least one lump. She would always suck or 

 lick my fingers whenever I gave her the chance. 

 If I sat on the grass she would come behind 

 me and put one foreleg over my shoulder, and 

 sometimes both. She would take my hat off and 

 shake it, drop it on the grass, and then nibble at 

 my ears. She always had a fancy for my ears. 

 I cannot conceive why, and licked and nibbled 

 at them, but never once hurt me. Her gentle- 

 ness in everything she did was her great 

 characteristic. She was tremendously keen in 



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