Peg Leg Gus

By Martin Duffy

A young girl, Flo, befriends an old horse kept in the stables of her riding school. She learns that this horse, Augustus, was once a world champion show jumper but is now crippled and bitter. Is it Flo's imagination or is there always the same magpie somewhere near this horse? Little does she know that the two animals are lifelong friends who share a magical secret. Flo soon discovers that she is finding her way into more than simply the story of Augustus, the once-famous horse now nicknamed 'Peg Leg Gus'.

This is a story that touches on sadness and loss in a way that is often avoided in books for younger readers. It is a book about hope and love and how a girl’s open heart transforms the bitter and wounded old horse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Oct 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781805146230

Martin Duffy

Martin Duffy is an award-winning Irish director, writer, film editor and script consultant living in Berlin. His films have been for young audiences and his best-known work is THE BOY FROM MERCURY. His writing ranges from family and social history to comedy and animation.

Book preview

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Copyright © 2023 Martin Duffy

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

Matador

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ISBN 978 1805146 230

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

for my daughter Ellen,

with my love forever

Contents

1

The Old Horse

He was never friendly, but somehow Flo liked him. At the end of each riding class she would go to the fence and watch him. She had started into the habit of offering him an apple, and even when other horses would come to her she would ignore them or shoo them away to let him know that the apple was for him. But he kept his distance. If he glanced at her at all, it was with little interest. But Flo would not give up – she was made of stronger stuff and could not be put off by the rudeness of the old horse.

Yes, he had a limp when he walked. And yes, she had been told by her teacher that the old horse would not let anyone ride him. Maybe it was the mystery of his grumpiness that made her more interested. After all, the bond between man and horse had grown over many thousands of years and she was puzzled to know that there was a horse who shunned contact with people. She was also fascinated by his beauty. His coat was faded and it was hard to tell if that glowing white was not in fact heightened by grey hair, but he had a dignity about him. A dignity that merited a better name for him than Peg Leg Gus.

Flo had learned much about the old horse. She knew that he had once been a champion jumper – known then as Augustus – and had won many prizes before a tragic accident that left him lame. He was the son of Julius, another champion and in years past Augustus had sired other champions. He now lived in retirement on the stable’s grounds.

He was known to be unpredictable and unfriendly. He had never been safe for young people or for pupils of horse riding, and in time he came to be left alone by horses and people alike. He was kept on the stable lands out of respect for his past achievements. But respect, rather than love, was what others felt for him.

Yet Flo would end each weekly lesson by going to the fence with her apple and trying to encourage him to come to her. It was only when her mother arrived to collect her that the young girl would throw the apple into the field as near as possible to Gus and walk away – often glancing back in the hope that there would be some sign of interest from the old horse. There never was. And she never knew if Gus or one of the other horses ate the apple.

Patience and time yielded one strange clue. Flo realized that Gus usually stood near a tree and on a low branch of that tree there was often a magpie. Was it possible the two were friends? If so – might she make friends with Gus by gaining the confidence of the magpie? She wondered then – what do magpies like? What would be a treat that could lure the bird?

After her next class Flo went to the fence but this time she was equipped for a different approach. She threw fresh berries, from her parents’ garden, into the field. At first, some young horses came to investigate the food. But Flo threw harder and the berries landed near Gus. Flo could see some interest from the magpie. He tilted his head from side to side. It seemed like he was examining the offering and the little girl. But he did not accept the gift.

It took the arrival of winter to change the magpie’s mind. One day Flo ended her lesson and went out to the frost-hardened field with her apple and her bag of berries. She threw some as far as she could and they landed near the tree. Then she waited and hoped. The offering was irresistible to the magpie. He flew down and happily tucked into them. Flo was sure that she saw old Gus look to her for the first time. His long white mane quivered as his head turned to her. She held out the apple for him.

Come on Gus, come on, she urged.

But he did not move.

Flo threw more berries but sparrows and crows began to descend. Then her mother arrived and Flo, once more, had to throw the apple