Violet and Jessie stared after Peter as he hurried away.
“Will you go on the merry-go-round with me?” Benny asked, jumping up and down.
“Yes,” Violet answered, “but I think Jessie and I will sit in the swan chariot.” She needed to talk to Jessie about Peter McKenzie’s strange behavior.
“That’s okay,” Benny said with a smile.
So Benny rode the dapple gray, while Henry rode the chocolate brown charger. Henry’s fancy horse had a silky mane with a small carved angel clinging to the saddle.
“Wheee, here we go!” Benny shouted, slapping the horse’s side as if he could make it go faster.
Once underway, Benny held on to the mane, and every once in a while he reached down and touched the jewels tacked onto the bridle. Laughing at the horse’s up and down motion, Benny lifted his head high.
Sitting in the chariot, Violet asked, “Why do you suppose Peter wouldn’t let us see his sketch? He acted as if it were a secret.”
Jessie looked puzzled. “I know. I don’t know what he was trying to hide. It’s only a carousel horse.”
After the ride, the children walked over to the House of Mirrors. Henry bought four tickets, and they entered Karen’s latest improvement to the amusement park.
When they reached the first mirror, Benny gazed at himself. His eyes widened and his mouth formed a big O as he saw his funny image. There he stood, a tall thin figure, wavering back and forth.
Jessie, Violet, and Henry, three skinny tall forms, slipped by Benny and went into the corridors of hundreds of mirrors.
Wandering off alone, Violet stopped before a mirror. Her hand flew to her mouth at the sight of herself. The slender young girl was changed into a short squat person with a head that looked like a squashed pumpkin.
Giggling, Violet pointed at herself, unable to believe what she saw. “Henry!” she called.
Her brother hurried around a group of mirrors and stared at Violet’s image. He laughed. “Violet, is that you?”
She nodded, then laughing, pointed to his reflection. The tall boy was now short and fat. He looked as if he were three feet tall and three feet wide. Henry grinned. “We make a weird pair!”
“Jessie,” Henry said, raising his voice. “Come, look.”
But Jessie wasn’t in sight.
Violet, Henry, and Benny all turned a corner to see where Jessie had gone, but when they wended their way down one path, they were faced with more mirrors. They tried another way, but it was the same. Mirrors in front, mirrors in back, mirrors to the right, and mirrors to the left.
“Jessie!” Henry shouted, glancing around.
No answer.
“Jessie!” Benny yelled. “Where are you?” He fearfully glanced at Henry. “She’s gone.”
“I’m here,” came the faint response.
They weaved around one mirror, only to be faced with another.
Henry bit his underlip. “Where could she be?” he murmured.
“Jessie!” Violet said, her voice trembling, her heart pounding. She was beginning to feel frightened.
This time Jessie’s voice was loud and clear. “Here I am,” she said, stepping out from behind several mirrors.
“Jessie,” Benny shouted, running to her. “We thought you were lost.” He smiled at her. “I was scared.”
Jessie nodded. “I was beginning to think so myself.”
From then on the four of them stuck together. After a few false starts they finally discovered their way to the exit.
Outside, Violet said to Benny, “Are you ready to go home?”
“Not yet,” he said. “Could I ride one more time on the merry-go-round?”
“Sure, you can,” Henry said. “We’ll watch from here.”
“Did you pick out a horse you like?” Jessie asked.
Benny nodded and pointed to a light colored horse with a lovely red and turquoise saddle blanket. “I’ll give the dapple gray a rest. I want to ride the white one this time.”
Violet smiled. “It looks white, doesn’t it? But it’s really a very pale gray.”
Henry bought Benny a ticket, and the small boy ran to his chosen steed. Quickly he placed a foot in the stirrup and swung a small leg over the saddle.
The music began and the horses bobbed up and down. But as Henry, Jessie, and Violet watched, they were surprised to see that Benny’s horse stayed in one place. The gray horse went around in a circle with the others, but it didn’t move up and down.
Benny, digging his heels into the horse’s flanks, tried to make it move. Finally, he stopped and looked down at his horse. With a puzzled frown he glanced around. All the other horses were going up and down. Disappointed, he simply sat and waited for the ride to be over.
When the merry-go-round halted, Benny slid off his horse and came running. “The dumb horse didn’t move!” he complained.
Jessie studied the horse. None of the horses had ever been motionless before. Every one had moved up and down. What was wrong with this horse?
She glanced at Violet, who was chewing her underlip. Evidently Violet, too, thought something was wrong.
“I think we should tell Joshua,” Violet said.
For a moment Jessie didn’t speak, then she said thoughtfully, “Maybe it just needs oiling,” she said. “Joshua probably knows and the horse will be fixed tomorrow.”
“Okay, Jessie,” Henry said. He was puzzled, however, as he gazed at the horse. He hoped Jessie was right, and that it was just a little problem. |