The Shining Stallion by Terri Farley

broomsticks. Her head pitched back, staring skyward, and then the little black-and-white goat collapsed.

Chapter 9
    H ad Francie had a heart attack? Could goats die so quickly?
    Darby’s fingers went limp. The feed bucket clanked on the ground.
    Still, Francie didn’t move. All four of her legs remained rigid.
    I killed her, Darby thought.
    She glanced around for help. “Cade! Kimo? Come here! Please hurry!”
    Cade came running. A truck door slammed, and Kimo hurried toward her, too.
    â€œWhat?” Cade yelled.
    She pointed and Cade hurried past her.
    Darby covered her eyes. She didn’t want to look,didn’t want to think what Jonah would say. The chain jingled. She imagined Cade lifting the little goat into his arms.
    But when she forced herself to look, Cade didn’t have his mouth pressed to Francie’s shiny little lips giving her CPR.
    Instead, he stood with his arms raised out to his sides, as if he’d been about to swoop down on her, but halted.
    Francie was standing up! She shook her head, and the fur-covered bobbles on her neck trembled. One hind leg jerked in a testing kick. Her tail twitched and her tawny eyes looked bewildered until she sniffed the breeze. Then she lowered her head, homed in on her scattered breakfast, and began eating.
    â€œShe was dead,” Darby said slowly. “At least, she looked like it.”
    â€œSure she did,” Kimo teased.
    â€œIt’s not funny!” Darby snapped.
    â€œFrancie’s a fainting goat,” Cade explained.
    Darby stared at him.
    â€œDid you say ‘fainting’?” Darby asked.
    Cade nodded.
    â€œAbout once a week, something scares her, and over she goes,” Kimo explained.
    â€œThat’s why she’s out here, where it’s pretty quiet,” Cade said.
    Chained under the lanai of Sun House, Franciewould be sheltered from sun and rain. No trucks would rumble by too close, Darby thought, and no strange horses would be charging down paths to the pastures below.
    â€œThe dogs are usually pretty good about leaving her be.” Kimo frowned toward the dogs. They’d crept closer after Darby had scolded them, but Kimo’s glare sent them slinking off again. “Jonah didn’t tell you she was a fainter when he told you how to feed her?”
    â€œIt was Megan. I guess she forgot,” Darby said. “Does fainting hurt her?”
    â€œDoesn’t seem to,” Kimo said. “It’s a breed trait.”
    â€œThere’s a whole breed of fainting goats? An animal that passes out when it’s under stress couldn’t make it in the wild.”
    â€œIt’s a man-made breed, yeah?” Cade glanced at Kimo.
    â€œMy dad says they were bred by shepherds. If wolves came down on a herd, the sheep ran. And the goat, uh, distracted the wolves.”
    Darby recoiled, then shook her head and said, “Nice deal if you’re the sheep.”
    Â 
    Later, after Francie had eaten her fill and Cade and Kimo had gone up to the office to talk with Cathy, Darby ran to Hoku.
    â€œIt’s just us girls,” she called quietly, then fed the filly and asked, “Are you ready for another jump rope song?”
    While the filly was still distracted by her hay, Darby began jumping and whispering, “Down in the valley where the green grass grows, there stood Hoku, pretty as a rose….”
    It was working. Just as the filly had loved her stories in the snow, she seemed to like the jump-rope rhymes. And she’s learning I won’t hurt her with the rope, Darby thought, so I’ll be leading her around in no time .
    â€œShe sang, she sang, she sang so sweet, along came…” Darby caught her breath, trying to think of horses Hoku would encounter here. “Uh, Luna, and kissed her on the cheek. How many kisses did Hoku get? One, two, th—” Darby missed a step.
    When she stumbled, Hoku only glanced at her. That was a good sign, Darby