The Boy and the Forgotten Horse

Daniel, a seven-year-old with curly dark hair, carries a canvas tote bag with his favorite book about a brave rabbit. On a class visit to Mrs. Ellis's animal rescue sanctuary, most children rush to the goats and rabbits, but Daniel notices a chestnut horse standing alone under a big oak tree. Chester is old and shy, with a grey muzzle, a white blaze and one cloudy eye, and he keeps to himself. Instead of approaching him directly, Daniel sits on a flat rock nearby and begins to read aloud in a soft, steady voice.

Day after day, Daniel returns after school with a new book, and Chester slowly steps closer, waiting by the fence at three o'clock because he knows the sound of Daniel's voice. When Daniel's friend Priya asks to listen too, the two read together, and soon other children join the circle around the old horse. Mrs. Ellis, watching from the barn door, sees how happy Chester has become and proposes a weekly reading program called Reading to Rescues, where children bring books and blankets to read beside the goats, rabbits and chickens. This calm, warm tale by Ebru Mina TOMURCUK can be read on Onlinemasal Com.Tr.