Gypsy by Olivia (primary phonics txt) 📖

The cool night breeze blew gently, thirteen year old Ann crept silently through the house, avoiding the squeaky floor board. She did not dare to risk anything that might wake her dad. After she eased the white storm door open and then shut it she took off across the yard, pulling on her worn, brown cowgirl boots as she went. Even with the breeze the night was warm and the double doors to the barn had been left open.
Ann’s dad owned a huge ranch where they trained rehabbed horses to do western sports. Ann’s mom had been killed on the way home from a horse show by a drunk semi driver. The horse was also killed, it was Ann’s mom’s horse so Ann liked to think that they went together.
Ann had her own horse, it was the foal of her mom’s and Ann had trained and raised it herself.
She slipped into the barn and grabbed Gypsy’s bridle off the hook. Ann then pulled open the stall door and hushed the whinny that she was greeted with. Ann knew that their one stable hand, Jim, was a light sleeper and his room was at the end of the barn. The barn was shaped like an, I, with his room, the tack, feed, and storage rooms were at the end.
Once they were far enough away from the barn and Ann jumped on Gypsy she pushed her into a gallop. They flew across the field and then reached a trail. They slowed to a trot. On and on they went, not only was it enjoyable, but, if someone really demanded a good reason for her to be gone, she could say that she was practicing for the endurance competition that she was signed up for in two weeks. And it really wasn’t a lie! The moon was their guide and together they reached the seven acre pond and Ann knew that it was time to head back.
As they rode away Ann turned around and took one last glance at the moon’s reflection as it shimmered on the water.
Again they soared over the field, Ann perched the jockey position. She whispered Gypsy’s show name, “Go Last Diamonds, go!” Ann pulled her up early so they would not make to much noise. As they got closer Ann also pulled off the loud bridle and pulled Gypsy along by her mane even though it was not needed. Gypsy would never leave her. Ann put Gypsy in her stall and began to head back to the house.
It was then that Ann heard the voices.
At first she thought that the voices must be Jim or her dad but then she realized that the voices belonged to neither. The voices moved out back so Ann skirted through the front door and around to where the voices were. They had re-entered the barn so Ann followed them from outside the barn, peering through the cracks.
They had entered the hay stall that was located beneath the hay loft. Ann crouched down and to her luck found a big crack to look through. The men were complete opposites, one was tall, one was short. One had dark hair, one had pale blonde. One was fat, one was short. The list went on.
The short one pulled out a match box and struck a match. Ann looked around for the lamp or candle that they must be planning to light but could not find one. The man threw the match into the hay and the flame had soon engulfed one bale. The another. Them another. And then one more.
By now Ann was gone, racing through the barn. She grabbed a pitchfork off the wall and found it to be shockingly heavy. She looked down, a shovel.
Even better. She ran up behind the two men who were making a quick escape out back and she brought the shovel down on the short one’s head with all her might.
”How dare you?” She screamed. His body crumpled to the floor and the other man stared at her, jaw dropped.
Ann began to run back the isle, throwing open stall doors as she went. She did not care where the horse went just as long as it was out. Besides, their property was all fenced in anyway.
Ann got to the stall that was closest to the hay stall that was now roaring with fire. Ann felt her legs go weak, the smoke and heat beginning to take it’s toll. Ann raised her hand and literally slapped herself across the face. Now was not the time to faint!
She grabbed the handle on the stall and then tore back her hand from the scalding handle. She screamed out in agony. Either way she was not going to let the bay inside burn to death. Thinking quick Ann grabbed the bay’s halter off the hook and crumpled it into a bal that she used to shove open the handle with. After opening up seven more doors Ann came to the last one. The horse inside was going insane bolted out the door the second that it was opened. As it did so the horse planted one hoof on Ann’s foot. Ann heard the crack and crunch before she felt the pain. She fell over but knew that there was no time to just lay there so she began to army crawl along. But it was hopeless, the barn was now a raging fire and would soon collapse.
Ann would die.
Suddenly she heard a clatter of hooves and raised her head. There was Gypsy, soaked in sweat and eyes rolling. She was standing there with clearly no intention to leave without her friend. Now Ann just had to get on, standing was nearly impossible and she knew that she could not do it.
“Go!” She screamed through her tears. Instead Gypsy lowered herself to the ground and Ann painfully heaved herself onto her back. With a few clucks over tongue Ann was charging out of the barn just before it collapsed and into the cool night.
Ann fell off Gypsy into her father’s arms and began to sob. After some she calmed down and was taken to the hospital.
Ann was on crutches for six weeks. The man that Ann had not hit with a shovel had dragged his fallen companion out of the barn where they were both caught by the police who had arrived with the firefighters and were taken to jail. Apparently they had worked for a rival training barn that was not doing well and thought that if Ann’s farm burned down the horses would come back to them. Ann and her father despised the training facility but never thought that they were in danger, they would have never even considered doing something like what they did to them! In the end it turned out that Ann’s broken foot was the worst injury that had happened. Jim had escaped through the window and the man Ann had hit only suffered from a slight concussion.
Even with her traumatic encounter with criminals in their barn Ann’s love for horses grew and the barn was completely rebuilt. Soon Ann was once more sneaking out for her midnight rides with her best friend, Gypsy.

Publication Date: 04-14-2010

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