Dream Horse Read Free Page A

hour,” he said, after asking his mother if she could drive him. “I’ll meet you there, in front of the place, okay?”
    “Well, sure, but is this a good time for you to go over?” Lisa asked.
    “Absolutely,” said Phil. “I’ve been working with Teddy, and he’s in a foul mood. To tell you the truth, I’m glad for an excuse to stop and give us both a rest. It’s almost like what happened to Stevie, in fact. I was out on the jump course, and one of my sister’s cats ran out in front of Teddy and spooked him. He shied sideways, and I just flew off him. I landed on my rear with my feet sticking straight out in front of me. I felt so dumb! So, Teddy’s spooked, and I’m sore on my saddle seat. Too bad I can’t stand up in the car on the way to the hospital! Anyway, I’ll see you there in one hour. Bye.”
    “Bye,” Lisa said. She hung up the phone. One hour would give Carole and Lisa just enough time to put together a goody basket for Stevie. There was work to do.
    An hour later, Lisa’s mother dropped the girls off in front of the hospital at almost exactly the same momentthat Mrs. Marsten let Phil out of their car. Lisa was carrying a bag for Stevie. Phil had a bag in his hand, too.
    “What did you bring her?” Lisa asked.
    “Oh, it’s just funny stuff,” said Phil, almost embarrassed. “You know, Stevie-like things.”
    “We know,” said Carole. “We brought her a jar of monster goo.”
    “You’re kidding! So did I,” said Phil.
    “I guess we all know Stevie, huh?” Lisa joked. “Well, we also brought her a book of knock-knock jokes—she’ll really like those, don’t you think?”
    “I hope she likes the book of knock-knock jokes you brought as much as she likes the one I brought,” said Phil.
    “Really?” asked Carole.
    “Really,” said Phil. “Like you said, we know Stevie.”
    The three of them laughed. It turned out that they had brought some different things, too. Phil had a teddy bear—a gift from his horse, he said. Carole and Lisa had brought a Slinky and a selection of cassettes. They were glad to see that Phil was lending her his portable tape player.
    The three of them entered the hospital and followed the guard’s instructions to find Stevie’s room.
    Stevie was asleep when the three friends walked in.There was a bandage around her head, secured under her chin. She looked weak and small in the large hospital bed, surrounded by control devices. It looked very official. On closer examination, Lisa realized that one device was to adjust the bed, another was for the television, and the third was to call a nurse. Stevie, always interested in controlling things, was clutching all three in her hands.
    Their tiptoe steps awoke Stevie. Her eyes fluttered open. She smiled at her friends.
    “How are you feeling?” Phil asked.
    “I feel great,” Stevie told him. Lisa and Phil each handed her a bag of goodies. Stevie loved her presents and gave her friends hugs. She said there was a young doctor who was going to particularly appreciate what she had in mind for the monster goo.
    “What’s the bandage for? Did you cut yourself or something?” Carole asked. She couldn’t remember anything about the accident that would have required a bandage.
    “It’s to hold an ice pack in place,” Stevie explained. “The thing about concussions is that they come with major headaches. The ice helps. The bandage is just to get sympathy because the doctor says I’m really not very sick.”
    “Well, that’s good news,” said Phil. “How can anyonehave any fun in a hospital if they’re really sick?” he joked.
    Stevie smiled. “Well, if you’re really sick, then you won’t notice how awful the food is.”
    “Stevie, you haven’t been here long enough to have a meal,” Lisa reminded her.
    “Oh, right,” said Stevie. “But when it comes, I know it’ll be awful. All I’ve had time to do is sleep, and every time I do that, somebody comes in here and asks me what my name is or