She went closer and reached out to stroke the brown neck.
“Watch out, lassie, he bites,” said the man holding the rope.
Beth had woken very early and had lain in bed dreaming of the day ahead, and the sun was shining and the birds were singing and the excitement bubbling inside her made her feel that she would burst.
Today she was going with her Dad and Mother to one of the stock shows that were held annually in several of the country districts. Beth loved the shows and her greatest ambition was to have a pony and be able to compete in them. She was already a good rider, but her old pony Dick was well past the stage of being a show pony.
Going to the shows was not unusual, but today felt “special”, somehow, and Beth was sure something really exciting was going to happen today. She had discovered that at a number of shows there were raffles run to help raise funds, and this year at one of the earlier shows, there had been a pony as a prize. Imagine winning a pony, just like that! Perhaps today there would be a pony, waiting for someone to win, and if so, why not her? How she would love and care for him. Her dreams flowed around her…
“Beth”, called her Mother, “your breakfast is ready, so hurry along. We don’t want to be late getting away”.
Beth raced around, washed, dressed and brushed her hair and dashed to the table. Mother and Dad were already there and Mother had the lunch basket packed ready. Very soon, breakfast over, dishes done, beds made, the car packed and they were off.
This show was about 12 miles away but the roads were metal, very rough and with many potholes. There were a great many bends, which seemed to make the journey last a very long time. Beth didn’t like cars much, and got car-sick quite often, which didn’t help. She was quite sure the men who built the roads were paid by the number of bends they made, and was sure she could have made them very much straighter.
At last the Show Grounds came in sight. What a gay scene. Crowds of happy people in pretty summer clothing, brightly coloured tents housing the side shows, and of course, the main attraction — hundreds of handsome animals. For months the farmers had been preparing their particular animals for these shows and as a result, they all gleamed with loving care. The proud and stylish horses were of course Beth’s main interest, but she also loved the beautiful cows, the arrogant bulls, and the sheep and lambs. The smells were delightful. Even the pigs got a quick look, the wee piglets causing her to linger for a moment. They were cute, and so clean and shiny.
Then she hurried on round the ring, to see what was being raffled today. Spotting a crowd of people, she went to see what was causing the interest, and lo and behold, a pony!
A shaggy little brown pony, with a long black mane and tail. Beth stood and gazed at him, delight surging up within her. Here was “her” pony, she was sure of that fact. It just remained for her Dad to win him for her.
As she looked at the pony, she realised how sad and frightened he was, with all the people crowding round and the children yelling and pushing closer. She went closer and reached out to stroke the brown neck.
“Watch out, lassie, he bites,” said the man holding the rope.
Beth ignored the advice and stroked the trembling neck, feeling the trembling gradually stop, and a great warm glow spread through her— and, she was sure, into the pony.
It was love at first sight. No one else could have this frightened, unhappy little animal. He was hers, and she was sure he sensed it too.
Just as she was about to rush off to look for her Dad, a voice said in her ear, “Do you like him?” And there was Dad.
“Oh yes, he is just right. Please get him for me. He is so frightened of all these people.”
“Well,” said Dad, “I will try, but it is not as easy as that. The raffle today is a bit different. You have to guess his weight, and that won’t be easy.”
“Yes, I know that Dad, but he was so frightened and I’m sure he wanted me to have him. Please try hard, I do want him so much…”
In Beth’s eyes, her Dad could do anything, so she was sure he could guess the pony’s weight. The tickets cost 1/- (that is, about 10 cents) and Dad took several, how many Beth had no idea.
She waited patiently while Dad stood and gazed at the pony, walked around him, and felt him gently here and there, and then filled in his tickets. Then they went off to place their tickets in the box with all the others.
Now there was nothing to do but wait till the Show was over and the results made known. To Beth the day seemed as if it would go on forever. She did all the things she usually enjoyed so much, like riding the merry-go-round, looking at all the side shows and eating candy floss, but somehow today they didn’t seem so exciting, and her mind was with the little brown pony.
She also went with Mother into the big Hall to see all the contributions from the Ladies of the districts. Beautiful sewing, delicious cooking and preserves, and sweet smelling, delicious prizes. Generally it was fun looking to see who had won prizes, but not today.
Lunch was eaten, sitting on a rug on the grass at the edge of the horse ring. Beth crept away with some bread and an apple, and sped off to find her pony. She confided to the man in charge of the pony that, “My Dad is going to win this pony for me.”
“I don’t think it would be a very good pony for a little girl like you, Beth. How old are you?”
“I am nearly 10 and I can ride quite well now,” said Beth.
“Oh well, perhaps you might manage, but you will have to be very careful. He hasn’t been broken in properly and he has a nasty temper.”
Beth stroked the pony’s neck and privately thought that the man didn’t know what he was talking about. She was sure the pony remembered her, and took the bread and apple from her very daintily, and ate them.
The Grand Parade was held after lunch, and the animals all wore their ribbons proudly, and slowly made their way round the ring for the crowd to see. Quite often a calf or lamb escaped from its small owner and had to be chased. Beth had once led a pet lamb in the Parade and had felt very proud of its red ribbon.
Finally the long day was drawing to a close and the farmers were loading their stock for the return home. Beth became very anxious about the result of the raffle, but there was no announcement. They waited as long as possible but finally had to leave as the cows were waiting for the evening milking.
Beth was very quiet on the journey home. She did her usual jobs, such as feeding the hens and ducks, and taking the cows to their night paddock. After dinner she helped Mother with the dishes and at last it was bedtime.
As she kissed Mother and Dad goodnight, Dad said “Don’t be too upset, Beth, there will be other ponies.”
Lying in bed she thought over the day’s excitement and all the hopes she had cherished. She felt sad for the pony that she must have missed winning, and hoped that whoever did win him would be kind to him and love him. She was sure they would have got along famously. She had even thought of a name for him, “Peter”.
Sleep was creeping up on her, and she dimly heard the telephone ringing. Dad answered it and she could hear his deep voice for a minute or two. Then she heard his footsteps as he came through to her room.
“Are you still awake, Beth? That was Mr. Brown, ringing with the results of the raffle for the pony. You have won him.”
What delicious joy. “Goodnight, Peter.”