Winter Wonderland #5 Read Free

her. She spun around to see her little brotherbrushing snow off his coat as he stepped into the barn.
    Catching sight of Preeti and Comet, Viren froze.
    “Where did that pony come from?” he gasped, his big brown eyes like saucers.

Preeti racked her brains as she tried to come up with something. What could she say to Viren? How could she explain Comet’s presence?
    “I found Comet in . . . um . . . the garden,” she began. “He must have wandered in . . . from that empty field next to the road or something,” she went on, gaining confidence as she rememberedthat ponies were sometimes tethered there. “Comet looked cold and hungry, so I decided to bring him into the barn.”
    “He was pretty clever to come here, wasn’t he?” Viren went up to Comet and stroked his nose. “Poor thing. I bet you couldn’t get to the grass, because of all the snow.” He turned back to Preeti. “How come you know his name?”
    “I don’t,” Preeti fibbed. “I called him Comet because . . . I’ve . . . um, always liked that name.”
    “I like it, too. It suits him,” Viren decided. “Comet can stay here, can’t he? It’s nice and warm, and we can feed him straw and stuff.”
    “Ponies eat hay. Straw’s just for their beds—” Preeti started explaining when Comet neighed eagerly.

    “I would like to live in here, very much. It is a safe place.” He pricked his ears as he swept the barn with keen eyes.
    Preeti did a double take. What was Comet doing? He had just given himself away in front of Viren!
    But her little brother appeared not to have noticed anything odd. It was very strange.
    Trying to gather her wits, she said, “Well—I don’t suppose anyone’s going to come looking for Comet until the roads are clear. And he does need somewhere to shelter from the—”
    “So we
can
keep him? Cool!” Viren interrupted. “Great! I’ll go and tell Mom and Dad and Grandma. I’m going to get a brush so I can groom him. We’ve got a pet pony! We’ve got a pet pony!” he chanted in an annoying singsong voice, jumping around.
    Before Preeti could protest that Comet was actually
her
friend and that he definitely wasn’t anyone’s pet, especially not Viren’s, her little brother had slipped outside. She went to the door and saw him scuttling back to the house through the tracks she’d made earlier.
    “I’m going to tell everyone about Comet. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces!” he shouted over his shoulder to her.
    Preeti gave a sigh and tried not to feel too disappointed. She’d been really excited about doing that herself. Even if she could only say that Comet was a normal pony who had turned up looking for food and shelter.
    She turned back to the magic pony. “Now that Viren’s decided that you belong to both of us, we’ll never get rid of him. He’ll be trailing around with us all the time.”
    “Viren seems like a nice little boy,” Comet neighed.
    “But he can be a real pest,” Preeti said, shaking her head slowly. “Everyone letshim do whatever he wants. So he’s totally spoiled.” But something else was bothering her. “How come he didn’t seem to hear you speak to me just now?”
    Comet wrinkled his lips in amusement. “I used my magic so that only you will be able to see and hear me. To anyone else, I will seem like a normal pony.”
    “Really?” Preeti felt herself cheering up. Viren might have laid claim to Comet, but only she had been trusted with her new friend’s wonderful secret!

    “Comet had better live in our barn until the weather breaks and we can find out who owns him,” Mrs. Nimesh was saying as Preeti came back into the house. “I know it’s not an ideal stable, but it’ll only be for a short time.” She smiled at herdaughter. “It looks like you have a pony to take care of, after all, Preeti!”
    “Yay! Isn’t it great?” Preeti felt her grin stretch from ear to ear.
    “And I do, too. Comet’s half mine!” Viren