Once again, inclement weather was keeping the Horsefeathers Gang inside for turnout-time. The horses never minded this, as everyone knew they had the coolest and coziest arena in the land, created by many loving hands. No place could match it for its good vibes. Such an environment lent itself to many spirited discussions on a wide variety of subjects, ranging anywhere from Conga lines to flat-screen TV’s.

However, this day was turning out to be much different than most. Usually, the horses would charge in, race around like maniacs, have a good roll, and then pair off into their little alliances. Ice was Calvin’s idol, of course; he followed his hero everywhere. Poco and Harley seemed to gravitate towards each other, perhaps because they looked a bit alike? And Big Red had his mini-me, Red Rover, forever tugging at his halter. As for Scatman, well, he didn’t really have a close buddy to pal with. Being a horse and all, he really didn’t mind. He had food and shelter, and he considered himself lucky to be part of a happy herd. He liked to quote one of his favorite characters, the wise old ewe in the movie, “Babe.” She always said, “The way things are is the way things are.”

Being flight animals, horses are always keenly aware of any change in their environment. Today as they trotted through the gate, there wasn’t one horse that did not notice the strange new “thing” next to the bleachers. Of course, none of them would admit to have any feelings of trepidation. They all just galloped around happily, snorting and kicking up their heels, as if the “thing” wasn’t even there. Then all of a sudden, Big Red just stopped dead in his tracks.

“OK, I can’t stand it anymore. Do you guys see what I see over there?” he asked. “Yep, looks like a tree to me,” answered Harley. “But what’s it doing inside? And what’s with those leaves? They have writing on them.” Ice, the reader of the group, walked over closer to see if he could read what the leaves said. “Why, it looks like a list of things that cost money,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff here. Bale of hay $5.… Fly spray $15...1 Riding lesson $50.….vet bills for a year $1000! Wow- a year’s boarding for one of us is $14,400 !!!!! The horses listened attentively, and the more Ice read, the more their mouths dropped open. “Wow, it sure costs the humans a lot to take care of us, doesn’t it,” said Calvin. “They must really love us.”

“Well, how does this Giving Tree thing work?” asked Big Red. “I’ve heard some humans say something about money growing on trees. Is it some kind of magic?” “There’s no magic involved at all”, said Ice. He explained that Nick and Kristi had written out a list of the things they need to buy to keep the barn running. These items were written on the leaves with the prices. If a person wished to donate any money, they could take a leaf and put it in an envelope with the money. It was kind of like a Wish List. “A Wish List is a great idea!” exclaimed Poco. “I’d like a year’s supply of peppermints delivered to my stall!” The horses all chuckled and started added their own wishes, most of them rather frivolous. scatman's wish

Scatman listened from the sidelines, enjoying the gang’s silliness. He had a secret wish of his own, but did not want to say it out loud. “I wonder if the Giving Tree could get me a turn-out pal of my very own,” he thought. “One like my friend Bratlee, someone I could run with, like when I was a young’un.” He smiled a sweet horsey smile, remembering those days. He had been a strong, muscular young colt, and was usually the first to be picked to play in all the exciting horsey-games that young colts love. He was still quite strong, although he had some aches and pains and had slowed down a bit. He hoped that a lot of people would donate to the Giving Tree, allowing him and his gang to continue helping people for many years to come. “Anyone who gives money to the Giving Tree will be my new friend!” he said, under his breath. Big Red, who was standing near him, overheard what he had said and told the others. “Hip-Hip-Hooray, Scatman! You are so right!” they all neighed, and then they all started running madly around the arena, with none other than Scatman in the lead (at least for awhile).

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