The
Horse With No Neigh
Hazel
sat forlornly gazing at the barn door. The inside was clearly visible, well-lit
with hundreds of twinkling yellow lights. She could see her friends laughing,
dancing, and enjoying themselves. It made her wince with jealousy. Hazel's Aunt
had spent hours encouraging her to overcome her painful shyness. They had
practiced karaoke for weeks until Hazel knew every word by heart. It was
through song that Hazel had finally found her neigh.
To ensure that Hazel
would not lose her newfound self-confidence, her Aunt had
made Hazel a beautiful rainbow sweater and an encouraging sign to
hang in her stall. "I'm
a rainbow sprinkle in a vanilla world," it
said. Hazel must have read those words a million times, but now she
sat miserable and alone, her eyes red-rimmed from her tears.
During all their hours of
practice, neither Hazel nor her Aunt could imagine that on the night of this
special annual winter event, the karaoke machine would not be working. When she
realized it, Hazel turned sharply and trotted out the door to the
farthest pasture where she could still see what was happening.
As the night grew
colder, Hazel found herself in a bit of a trance staring at the
yellow twinkling lights. Then softly she began to hear her Aunt's voice in her
head. One by one, her Aunt sang every song they had practiced. After she had
sung them all, her Aunt whispered, "Go back, Hazel. I'll be
your karaoke machine! Show them you are not the horse with no
neigh!"
Hazel felt a sudden
warmth flowing through her veins. She drew in a deep breath and pushed herself
to her feet as the cold air steamed from her nostrils. Hazel straightened her
beautiful sweater, threw back her mane, and galloped towards the lights in the
barn.
Darnell J. Knauss, Author
Cornelia Wenokor,
Illustrator
stamps: Katzelkraft
©09/01/2019
Vol. 1 Ep. 11
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