Read Online Horse-Sitters by Bonnie Bryant - Free Book Online

like you did really well on a quiz, or your parents decided to put in a tennis court, or, oh, I don’t know, Pine Hollow is being invaded by giant green lizards …”
    Lisa gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no! Mr. Munch! I forgot all about him. But where did you …?”
    “In the gray polo pony’s new stall,” Stevie said casually. “But I think they’ll get along just fine, don’t you?”
    “Very funny,” Carole said. She paused to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Hauling bales was hard work. “Where did you put him?”
    “He’s in the tack room,” Stevie said. “Now would you mind filling me in?”
    They told her the whole story, including Carole’s plan to keep Mr. Munch in the garden shed. “I guess we’d better get it over with,” Carole said. “You’re off the hook, Stevie. I’ll ask Max. You guys can keep working on getting those polo ponies settled.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Stevie challenged her. “How come we have to keep doing this backbreaking work while you get the easy part?”
    “Do you want to trade?” Carole asked.
    Stevie thought for a moment. Did she really want to explain to Max why there was an iguana in his tack room, and then convince him to let them keep it in his garden shed? Suddenly lugging straw and filling water buckets didn’t sound so bad after all, and she said so.
    When Carole had gone, Lisa turned to Stevie. “Do you realize what you’ve gotten us into?” she asked.
    “Sure,” Stevie replied. She grinned and started singing “We’re in the Money.”
    “But, Stevie,” Lisa interrupted her, “we’re supposed to earn all that money by taking care of
nine
horses. Nine.
And
one iguana. And in the meantime, we’re supposed to do our normalchores, go to school—oh yeah, and eat and sleep if we have any spare time. I’m not sure we can do it.”
    “But it will all be worth it when we have those things we wanted,” Stevie said. “Just imagine the look on Veronica’s face when Belle has a bridle identical to Danny’s.” She grinned. “I bet Veronica will throw hers away immediately. Anyway, I don’t see what you’re so worried about. The Saddle Club can do anything, remember? And this time, what we’re doing is heading for easy street.”
    “Not so fast,” Lisa said grimly. “First we have to survive the next five or six days. And I have a feeling
that’s
not going to be easy.”

“U GH . M Y BLISTERS have blisters,” Carole mumbled from her position on the Lakes’ living room sofa.
    “My blisters’ blisters have blisters,” Lisa countered, not moving from the spot where she had collapsed on the floor in front of the TV. “Stevie, what was that you were saying earlier today about easy street?”
    Stevie groaned. “Don’t mention streets to me,” she said. “That reminds me of walking. And I can’t think of anything I’d like to do less right now. Except maybe stand up.” She was sprawled in a large, comfortable easy chair. There was a bag of potato chips on the table beside the chair, but Stevie hadn’t eaten any. It required too much effort to reach over and get one.
    It was Friday night, and the girls were gathered at Stevie’shouse for a sleepover. Usually their sleepovers involved more talking than sleeping, but it seemed this one might be an exception. The girls had barely managed to stay awake through their late dinner, which Stevie’s parents had reheated for them when they arrived. And when Mr. and Mrs. Lake had offered to take them to the movies, The Saddle Club had been too exhausted to accept. They had barely managed to work up the energy to wave good-bye when Stevie’s parents and brothers had left the house.
    “I can’t believe we got everything done today,” Carole said.
    As her friends thought back on all the work they’d done, they had to agree with her. The girls had worked hard getting the polo ponies’ stalls into shape. They’d also removed the traveling bandages and given each horse a quick