The next day they gathered at the barn again. This time Byron was there too.

  Their mum poked her head into the barn and asked, “Did one of you boys write the word ‘Appaloosa’ on the bedroom wall?”

  Both boys shook their heads.

  “Hmm,” said their mother. “Well, don’t be out too long, I’m cooking macaroni for lunch.”

  “Macaroni! Macaroni! Macaroni!” squealed Callie with glee. “I want macaroni!”

  “You don’t need to eat anymore,” said Carla.

  “But I want to! I want to!” screamed Callie. Then she marched off. “Macaroni! Macaroni! Macaroni!”

  Once more, Benjamin put the saddle on Casper.

  Once more, Casper stamped his foot three times.

  Once more, Benjamin reassured him by patting his neck and talking softly.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Twice more, Casper nudged Benjamin’s pocket.

  Once more, Benjamin promised him treats later.

  Thrice more, Casper pawed at the ground.

  Once more, Benjamin got on the horse.

  And once more, Crissie fell right through it!

  “Well, maybe tomorrow,” said Carla.

  “I’m going inside to watch TV,” said Cassie. “If I can.”

  The next day, exactly the same thing happened again, except only Carla was watching this time. “I’m sure you can do it if you really really focus,” Carla told her younger sister.

  But the same thing happened the next day.

  And the next day.

  And the one after that.

  One afternoon, after yet another failure to get on the horse, Crissie came inside and found her sister, Cassie, watching TV with Byron and his dad.

  “I’ve figured something out,” Cassie told her sister proudly. “If I yell in his ear loud enough, he’ll put it on whatever channel I want. Did you know there’s a whole channel dedicated to nature? It had an episode about outer space and we just watched one about different types of clouds. Did you know that clouds really do have different names, just like the stars? There’s stratus, nimbostratus, altostratus, cirrostratus, cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, cumulonimbus and a whole bunch more!”

  “That’s a lot,” said Crissie. Even if she hadn’t been thinking about horses, she didn’t think she could remember that many words.

  “You know, maybe sharing our house with them is not so bad after all,” said Cassie. “Callie, I think you’re going to have to stop drawing on the walls. I don’t want to scare them away anymore.”

  “Nimbostratus! Nimbostratus! Nimbostratus!” declared Callie, and she marched off.

  “That’s the one you see, just before it rains,” replied Cassie.