ANNA KREBS
THE PONY STORY.
My mother was once that little 7 year old girl,
Anna, in her best dress, jogging along on her pony on the dusty road to
Milwaukee. Being the youngest, she was the tail-end of a long line of family,
riding to the circus. In the early summer the farm folk around St. Lawrence
and neighboring communities made this yearly trip; it was for them a grand
and exciting event.
As they jogged along, Anna would call out now and
again, "Wait for me!" and "Slow down!" all the while urging Little Boy
to speed up.
At one point, as she watched them intently, the
last horse in front of them rounded a bend in the road, and she, anxious
to catch up, kicked her pony a bit too hard. He gave a hop and lost his
footing at the edge of the road. Down he slid, and off she came. They rolled
the short distance to the bottom.
By the time the dust had settled, Anna realized
she and Little Boy were all right. She stood up, caught the bridle, and
they scrambled back up to the road.
The first time she told me this story, I asked "Did
you cry?" She laughed, and said "We were all right. . .just dusty. Well.
. .a little bunged up." She explained that all she could think of really
was that she did not want her family to know that they had fallen. When
they reached the road, she brushed her dress as best she could, smoothed
her hair and mounted the pony.
The whole episode had happened in a matter of minutes,
and they managed to catch up with the end of the line as it was disappearing
around the next curve.
Mama said she was sure no one ever knew.
"But why did you mind?" I asked.
"I guess it was my pride," she answered. "Besides,
I didn't want my brothers teasing me forever about it."
Was it that same pride that kept her silent till
she was about 3 years old? She claimed she wanted to speak well when she
finally thought she was ready. No baby talk for her. Her mother told her
they were all wondering whether she would ever speak!
At home again, Anna and Mike, who was 9 years old
and her great pal, practiced the tricks they had watched the fancy circus
riders perform on their beautiful exhibition horses. The kids' mounts were
two big plow horses that lumbered patiently about, not minding Mike and
Anna straddling them, and trying to dance on their backs in a brave effort
to look and act like real circus riders!
NEXT: THE LITTLE KITCHEN
MAID.
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