The Secret at Jefferson's Mansion by Ron Roy Page A

of the box and turned it. When he heard a click, Marshall lifted the lid.
    Inside were twelve small horses. Each was about six inches long. They were different colors. Some were wooden. Some were made of clay. One was made of cardboard and twigs tied together with string. Each horse lay in its own pocket, like chocolates in a box. They looked old.
    â€œCool!” Marshall said.
    KC wiped the inside of the box lid. “Someone wrote something here,” she said.
    Marshall ran his fingers over the words. “The letters are carved,” he said.
    THESE HORSES WERE CREATEDAND GIVEN TO ME BY MY DEAR GRANDCHILDREN.
    OF ALL MY WORLDLY GOODS, THESE I TREASURE THE MOST.
    Beneath the message were a signature and a date:
    THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1808
    â€œOh my gosh!” KC said. “These horses belonged to Thomas Jefferson!”
    â€œHow’d they get stuck in this closet?” Marshall wondered out loud.
    â€œMaybe his grandchildren put them there,” KC suggested.
    She gently picked up one of the clay horses. “Just think, some little kid made this about two hundred years ago,” she said. “Come on, we have to show these to my mom and the president!”
    KC placed the horse back in its spot,and the kids raced down the hallway. They found the president and KC’s mom in the private library, playing Scrabble. The three White House cats were each curled in a ball on the sofa.
    â€œI don’t think ‘pid’ is a word, dear,” Lois said to KC’s stepfather, the president.
    â€œYes, it is,” President Thornton said confidently.
    â€œThen use it in a sentence,” the First Lady said. She winked at KC and Marshall.
    â€œâ€˜Pid’ is short for ‘pigeon,’” the president said. “The pid flew into its nest.”
    â€œOh, pooh,” KC’s mom said. “You lose a turn for trying to cheat!”
    The president grinned. “Busted,” he said. “What have you got there, KC?”
    â€œCan you move the Scrabble board?” KC said.
    The president slid the board to one side, and KC set the box on the table.
    â€œWe found it in KC’s closet!” Marshall said. “It was hidden inside a wall.”
    KC opened the box, revealing the twelve little horses.
    â€œOh, how charming!” Lois said.
    â€œLook what’s written here!” KC said. She showed them the words Jefferson had carved into the wood.
    The president read the words softly. “Amazing,” he said.
    Lois lifted one of the horses from its pocket. “How do you suppose these got in that closet?” she asked.
    â€œThomas Jefferson left the White House in 1809,” President Thornton said. “I’m sure that ending his presidency and moving out was a confusing time. Imaginethe servants loading all Jefferson’s boxes and furniture into horse-drawn carriages. Maybe that closet just got overlooked.”
    KC stroked a little gray horse. “What should we do with them?” she asked.
    Lois replaced the horse she’d been holding. She looked at the president. “Any ideas?”
    â€œYes,” the president said. “These horses belong to Thomas Jefferson. They should go to his home, Monticello.”
    â€œI thought he lived in the White House,” Marshall said.
    â€œHe did, for the eight years that he was president,” President Thornton said. “But Monticello was his home before he became our third president. After he left the White House, he went back there to live.”
    â€œCool,” Marshall said.
    â€œCan we take them there?” KC asked.
    â€œI have meetings all next week,” said the president. “But you kids can go with Lois.”
    KC’s mom opened a table drawer and pulled out her calendar. She flipped over a few pages. “We can go on Wednesday,” she said. “It’ll be a great opportunity for you to see Monticello.”
    â€œWhere is it?” Marshall