Secondhand Horses Read Online Free

them thought they were the smartest S.A.V.E. Squad girl. Sunny knew they were both smarter than she was. Aneta was, too. For a moment, Sunny’s delight in the night dimmed. Were they smart because they finished stuff? And if they were, did that mean she was
dumb
?

Chapter 6
Sunny Starts Something
    E sther and Vee were waiting at a corner next to a sign pointing right: P ETTING Z OO . The two girls danced around the sign, sweeping their arms toward it like game-show girls.
    “This is for us!” Vee said.
    “Perfect for the S.A.V.E. Squad!” Esther agreed with a happy bounce.
    “Petting zoo!” Aneta squealed.
    Sunny snapped her fingers and spun. “Let’s go!”
    A few more steps and they saw the large pen surrounded by little children. Inside waddled a goose that made Esther laugh with his disgust for some things he picked up, bobbled around in his beak, and then spit out.
    “Do you see what I see?” Vee was frowning.
    “Yeah,” Sunny said. “The animals are dirty, and the pen needs new sawdust.”
    Aneta pointed out a brown-and-white pygmy goat and a small boy nearby. “Look what that boy is doing. He will get bit if he keeps doing that.” Nearby, a large reddish pig with floppy ears seemed to snuffle in agreement.
    A sandy-haired boy about C.P.’s size—C.P. was a neighbor boy who was always eating and who had helped the girls out before—was jabbing a cotton-candy paper cone at the goat. Whenever the goat went to grab it, the boy would laugh and jerk it away. The goat stamped its foot, rising up on back legs silently, as though shadowboxing with the pest.
    “C.P. would never do that.” Esther placed her hands on her hips.
    Sunny glanced at Vee and Aneta, who nodded and made faces. When Esther planted her hands—or worse—her fists on her hips, you’d better watch out.
    A horse, standing in the middle of the enclosure, was a perfect miniature of a horse in Western movies—a dapple gray, a showy silver tone.
    “Oh, look, Esther! A miniature horse.” Sunny tried to distract her.
    The little horse swished its tail and waggled its head to dislodge a pesky fly. Sunny’s brows slammed together. That horse should have a flowing full mane and tail. His coat should shine. It would if it were brushed, but the tangled mane and tail held wisps of hay and small clods of dirt. The horse was quietly chewing a mouthful of hay from a meager pile on the ground near a half-empty bucket of gunky water. The horse’s gaze flickered over to Sunny, bobbing its head in a friendly way.
    It was too late, though, to sidetrack Esther. “Hey, kid!” Esther marched over to the boy. “Don’t do that. It’s mean.”
    “Mean!” Aneta echoed. She was right behind Esther, and, as the tallest Squader, towered over the boy. About the only thing that would make Aneta leap in without thinking was someone being mean to animals. That’s what made her such a good S.A.V.E. Squader.
    “You’re not the boss of me!” The boy poked the goat again.
    “I’ll distract the goat, and the kid will leave.” Sunny grabbed an oversized red bandanna tied to a rail on the metal corral. She would flap the bandanna like a matador with his cape. The mini horse raised its head and neighed, the cutest miniature neigh Sunny had ever heard.
    “Aww! You’re just the cutest.” Sunny dropped the red kerchief on the ground as she slipped through the fence to pet the little horse. She stroked the small velvety nose and whispered, “I wish you could live in my backyard. Hey, why not my room?”
    Large brown eyes, fringed with heavy eyelashes, looked up at her. The horse ducked its head—in agreement, Sunny was sure—then stamped its foot right on Sunny’s.
    “Yow!” She yanked her foot out from under the mini’s. The horse hopped backward. Teetering on one foot, Sunny collided with the goat who had backed away from the annoying kid. He bumbled into the boy who, by now, had leaned half his body through the middle rail, waving the paper cone. Boy