The Horse that went to Church.
Maggieand May had a dear old horse which was a great pet, and its name was Bobbie.
Cows milked (left) Cows fed (right)
Now Bobbie was very, very wise, and if I were to tell you all the funny things he did, why, I should fill this book so that there would not be room for anything else.
Of course, these two little girls lived in the country; for boys and girls who live in towns very seldom have a horse to play with.
Flying bird in the field
It was harvest time, and the reapers were very busy cutting down the golden corn and binding it into sheaves.
Have you ever been in a harvest field on a summer afternoon? I can tell you it is delightful, and those of you who have not been there have missed something very nice indeed.
Now every afternoon there was great runningto and fro in the farm kitchen, for Mollie, the cook, was putting into a basket tea, and bread and butter, and scones, and all sorts of good things for Maggie and May to take to the workers in the harvest field.
At four o'clock the stable boy opened the stable door, and out trotted Bobbie, saddled; for he, too, was going to the harvest field.
Maggie would ride upon his back, and May would carry the basket; and when the workers saw them coming they would all sit down in a corner of the field waiting to have tea.
Bobbie knew the road to the field quite well, but, sad to say, he was very lazy, and would not hurry at all. Then Maggie would drive him close to the hedge, and pretend she was getting a stick to whip him with. When she did this he began to trot, and never stopped until he came to the gate in the field.
Geese searching food on the side of the path
When tea was over, and all the things were gathered into the basket again, these two little girls would both get on Bobbie's back, one behind the other; and he galloped off, for he was thinking to himself, "Now I am going back to my stable and to a good feed of hay."
When all the corn was gathered in and sent away to be made into flour, Maggie and May went back to school. Bobbie went with them every day, for it was too far away for little girls to walk.
They would both jump upon his back, and with a "Gee-up, Bobbie," off he trotted.
Girls ride on Bobbie's back
Every Sunday Bobbie went to church. I do not mean that he went into church, for I am afraid the seat would not have held him,and he would have looked rather funny.
As soon as the first bell rang, the stable boy harnessed him to the trap, and round trotted Bobbie to the door of the house.
When the second bell began to ring Maggie and May got into the dogcart and drove off to church. When they got there Bobbie was put into a stable not far away until the service was over.
Now one Sunday morning these two little girls could not go to church, so that Bobbie was not harnessed as usual.
When the first bell began to ring Maggie said to May, "Listen, May; I think I hear Bobbiecrying for us. Let us look out of the window."
There, with his head looking over the stable door, was Bobbie, whinnying as loudly as he could.
"Look, look!" cried May; "he is trying to get out."
Just then Bobbie gave a great jump over the door, and was trotting off to church.
He went straight to his stall in the stable, and remained there until the service was over; and when the other horses backed out, Bobbie did the same, and came home, no doubt feeling that he had done his duty.