Gypsy: A Horse Story

By Rosie Rollins

Rosie and Danny are brother and sister who live on a big cattle ranch in the wilds of Wyoming. The ranch has been in their family for over a century, so they know the land wellor so they think. One day, something very strange happens. Two tiny horses appear, no bigger than a foot, and the kids name them Gypsy and Buck.

Rosie isnt sure she wants to tell anyone about the tiny horses. They might think shes crazy! She keeps the mysterious creatures a secret for a while until she finally decides to tell her parents and the vet, Dr. Adams. Gypsy and Buck shock everyone, but her father has an answer. His grandfather always said the ranch had a secret

Is it possible the little horses have been appearing at their family ranch for decades? As Rosie does some researchand digs into her great-grandfathers journalsshe begins to believe the horses have something to do with earthquakes. Its a magical mystery that travels through time, but Gypsy is the only one who knows the whole truth!

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532015175

Rosie Rollins

Rosie Rollins was born loving horses of all sizes, shapes, and colors. This story was inspired by her childhood dreams and is very real! Rosie currently lives in Jamestown, Tennessee.

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Copyright © 2017 Rosie Rollins.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-1518-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-1517-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017901349

iUniverse rev. date: 02/16/2017

Did you see that? asked Rosie.

No, what? replied Danny.

I saw something move over there in the bushes. It may have been a feral cat, but there was something different about the way it moved. Not like a cat… it… uh… pranced or jumped.

Come on, you’re imagining things again. Let’s go get that ice cream we talked about.

No, come help me look for it. I know I saw something—something very different from anything I’ve ever seen or imagined. Get a stick and let’s look through the underbrush.

Ten-year-old Rosie Alden and eight-year-old Danny Alden were out exploring on the cattle ranch that their folks owned. It was a centennial ranch, the Alden Cattle Co., as it had been in the Alden family for well over one hundred years. The ranch was thousands of acres of lush grassland surrounded by mountains that were dotted with aspen and pine trees. Rock and shale covered the hills, but the grassland had small bushes, like sagebrush, willows near the creeks, and rabbit bush along the paths.

Rosie was blonde, skinny, and athletic, with a lot of energy and endless curiosity. Danny was a redhead and all boy. He liked anything to do with the cows, horses, and farm equipment. Both children loved to ride as much as possible. Exploring on the ranch was their favorite pastime. They had learned to ride as toddlers and were very much at home on a horse. They both rode like pros, so their parents didn’t worry about their safety when they went out riding. They rode fourteen-hand quarter horses that they could jump on and off of with no problem. A horse’s height is measured in a unit called a hand, which is four inches. If a horse is less than 14.2 hands, it’s called a pony. So, Rosie rode Blu, a fourteen-hand bay gelding, and Danny rode Impy, a fourteen-hand red dun gelding. Both horses had been born and raised on the Alden ranch and were well trained for ranch work. Rosie’s folks, Clay and Becky Alden, took great pride in raising good-quality quarter horses to work their cattle.

Tie Impy up here next to Blu so we can search these low bushes. Watch for rattlesnakes! There shouldn’t be anything like a cat out here. Oh, maybe it’s a porcupine! That wouldn’t be good. Be careful, Danny. Oh, Bella’s joined us. Come here, Bella, and help us search for whatever it was I saw.

Bella was their yellow lab dog, and she loved to work cattle with Clay and ride trail with Rosie and Danny.

Danny mostly just went along with whatever Rosie said, so he replied, Okay, but I sure didn’t see anything, which makes it hard to know what I’m looking for. I’m for taking our lunch break and eating a granola bar while we’re off the ponies.

Rosie rubbed Bella’s head and tried to put her on a scent, but Bella was more interested in a treat at the moment. As the kids were poking around the bushes, Bella suddenly stopped, lifted her head, and turned around slowly. There was a rustling in a nearby bush that drew the dog’s attention. Her nose went to the ground. Bella sniffed at a bush.

Bella, what do you see, girl? asked Rosie.

Danny said, I sure don’t see anything.

Suddenly something burst from under a nearby rabbit bush. It took off like a shot, and Bella was on it!

What is it, Bella? shouted Rosie, now excited that there really was something there. Rabbit? Fox? Porcupine? Snake? Yikes! What is it, Danny? Do you see anything?

Bella was now about twenty feet from Rosie, who was poised, head raised, staring at something not visible to the kids. They dashed over to where Bella was standing but still couldn’t see anything. Bella leaned against Rosie’s leg and looked puzzled. She had seen something but had left it alone. She was a smart ranch dog and knew when to chase