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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Meet the Wind Dancers

  CHAPTER 1: Fly Away Home

  CHAPTER 2: Camp Out

  CHAPTER 3: A Rotten Egg

  CHAPTER 4: The Wind Dancers Settle In

  CHAPTER 5: Saddled

  CHAPTER 6: Happy Trails?

  CHAPTER 7: Tie a Yellow Ribbon …

  CHAPTER 8: Home Again, Home Again

  There’s No Place Like … Home

  Preview: Magic Horses—or Not?

  Copyright

  For everyone at the Children’s Garden Preschool.

  —Sibley Miller

  For Jeff, Maren, and Reilly—thanks for ongoing support and consolation.

  —Tara Larsen Chang

  For Debbie, Rachel, Janie, and Julie with love for all the years of deep friendship.

  —Jo Gershman

  Meet the Wind Dancers

  One day, a lonely little girl named Leanna blows on a doozy of a dandelion. To her delight and surprise, four tiny horses spring from the puff of the dandelion seeds!

  Four tiny horses with shiny manes and shimmery wings. Four magical horses who can fly!

  Dancing on the wind, surrounded by magic halos, they are the Wind Dancers.

  The leader of the quartet is Kona. She has a violet-black coat and a vivid purple mane, and she flies inside a halo of magical flowers.

  Brisa is as pretty as a tropical sunset with her coral-pink color and blonde mane and tail. Magical jewels make up Brisa’s halo, and she likes to admire her gems (and herself) every time she looks in a mirror.

  Sumatra is silvery blue with sea-green wings. Much like the ocean, she can shift from calm to stormy in a hurry! Her magical halo is made up of ribbons, which flutter and dance as she flies.

  The fourth Wind Dancer is—surprise!—a colt. His name is Sirocco. He’s a fiery gold, and he likes to go-go-go. Everywhere he goes, his magical halo of butterflies goes, too.

  The tiny flying horses live together in the dandelion meadow in a lovely house carved out of the trunk of an apple tree. Every day, Leanna wishes she’ll see the magical little horses again. (She’s sure they’re nearby, but she doesn’t know they’re invisible to people.) And the Wind Dancers get ready for their next adventure.

  CHAPTER 1

  Fly Away Home

  One summer morning, as they flew across the dandelion meadow, the tiny Wind Dancers were especially bubbly.

  Kona whinnied happily as she pranced through the sunny air.

  Sirocco played a mischievous game of tag with the tiny butterflies in his magic halo.

  And Brisa tossed her well-groomed, blonde mane with extra energy.

  Why? Because Sumatra had just sung:

  “We’re going to see Leanna. We’re going to see Le-an-na!”

  Being near the girl who had brought the Wind Dancers to life with just one puff on a dandelion always made the magical little horses happy. Today was no different—until the four friends landed on the windowsill of Leanna’s room.

  Then their faces fell.

  “What—what’s this?” Brisa gasped.

  “A big mess is what it is!” Sirocco exclaimed. Normally Sirocco liked all things messy, but he knew Leanna, and she was a neat-as-a-freshly-combed-mane sort of girl. So he knew that something was up!

  “There are shorts and T-shirts and riding breeches everywhere!” Sumatra agreed. “And what are all those tubes and bottles?”

  Kona flew in for a closer look.

  “Shampoo, sunscreen, bug spray, and a travel-size tube of toothpaste,” she reported.

  The Wind Dancers also spotted a small pink diary and stationery with stamped, addressed envelopes.

  And all of this stuff was piled around a big, army-green duffel bag.

  “Leanna’s going away!” Brisa exclaimed.

  “Where to?” Sumatra gasped.

  Before the horses could speculate, Leanna herself tromped into the room with her little sister, Sara, on her heels. One of Leanna’s hands was hidden inside a tall black riding boot. With her other hand, she was polishing the boot’s shiny leather with a soft cloth.

  Leanna plunked the boot on the floor next to the trunk and tossed her sister a permanent marker.

  “Help me out, won’t you?” she said. “Mom wrote my name in most of my clothes already, but there are a few extra things I have to pack before tomorrow. Everything has to be labeled!”

  “Why should I help you,” Sara began, jutting out her lower lip, “when you’re about to leave me for a week at horse camp? It’s no fair!”

  The Wind Dancers gasped and gazed at each other.

  “Horse camp!” Brisa breathed.

  “Wait a minute,” Sumatra replied. “A sleep-away camp with horses? That’s like a dream come true!”

  “Especially for Leanna. She thinks horses are the best!” Sirocco crowed. “Because we are, of course.”

  Kona laughed at Sirocco, but a moment later, her brow furrowed with worry.

  “Horse camp sounds exciting,” she said, “but won’t Leanna miss her family while she’s away?”

  “We’ll miss her!” Brisa lamented. “A whole week without Leanna to visit? Whatever will we do?”

  Sirocco rolled his eyes.

  “Sure, we’ll miss Leanna, but we’ll still have plenty to do,” he scoffed. “We’ll have adventures and make appley treats and visit the big horses at their paddock. You know—the usual!”

  “The usual,” Sumatra murmured with a frown. “The usual is so … usual. Do you know what would be unusual?”

  “What?” Brisa said, blinking her pretty, wide eyes.

  “Horse camp!” Sumatra whinnied. “Why don’t we go with Leanna?”

  “But, but,” Sirocco stammered, “we don’t know where this camp is. It could be very far away!”

  “What does it matter?” Sumatra responded. “We’ll just hitch a ride with Leanna the way we did when we went to the county fair. It’ll be easy!”

  “And what about our apple tree house?” Kona said nervously. “If we leave it for a week, it’ll get very dusty. Or worse! Some squirrel or chipmunk might think we’ve abandoned it and move right in!”

  “Horse camp sounds awfully … rustic to me,” Brisa said, eying Leanna’s tubes of bug repellent and sunscreen. “What about my beauty routine? Do they even have mirrors there?”

  “I don’t know!” Sumatra replied, her eyes gleaming. “We don’t know anything about horse camp. That’s what makes it so exciting!”

  “Or crazy,” Kona offered, “depending on how you look at it.”

  “Hello?” Sumatra scoffed. “Remember, this is horse camp we’re talking about. We’ll feel right at home there!”

  “Home away from home,” Sirocco corrected her.

  “If that’s not an adventure,” Sumatra responded coaxingly, “I don’t know what is! Come on. I’ll even make us all backpacks out of my magic ribbons!”

  “Well, there will be other horses there to show us the ropes,” Kona said. “Or I guess I should say the reins.”

  “And I suppose I could pop a few of my magic jewels onto a cabin wall to serve as mirrors,” Brisa said, casting an affectionate glance at the halo of rainbow-colored gems that bobbed around her.

  “And I bet my sleep buddy, Jeepers, would like to come along,” Sirocco said, shuffling his hooves as he thought about his plush froggi
e.

  “Of course!” Sumatra said. “Leanna’s bringing her favorite things to camp.”

  She pointed with her nose at their friend’s pink diary and a small pile of model horses.

  “I’m going to bring my favorite things as well,” Sumatra added, doling out nose nuzzles to the other Wind Dancers. “My friends!”

  “Okay,” Kona said with a grin. “You win! Let’s go pack.”

  “Pack!” Brisa whinnied, leaping off Leanna’s windowsill and hovering in the air. “It’s going to take me all afternoon to gather up my beauty supplies in time to leave tomorrow.”

  “Not to mention some snacks!” Sirocco said, launching himself toward the Wind Dancers’ home.

  “And our courage,” Kona added, flying after her friends.

  “Don’t worry,” Sumatra called. “Once we get to horse camp, you won’t even think about home!”

  CHAPTER 2

  Camp Out

  By the time the Wind Dancers arrived at horse camp, home was all Sumatra could think about!

  To start with, the magical horses had hitched a ride in the back of Leanna’s family’s pickup truck. The drive to the camp—nestled in a green valley surrounded by tree-covered mountains—had been long and winding. Sumatra had gotten a little carsick!

  Then the horses—wearing their ribbony new backpacks—had followed Leanna and her family as they toured the camp.

  Their first stop had been Leanna’s cabin. Instead of walls, the place was sided with huge screens! You could hear every bird chirp, cicada trill, and squirrel-skitter through them.

  I wonder how anyone gets any sleep with all that noise, Sumatra had mused, picturing her cozy, quiet sleeping stall in the Wind Dancers’ apple tree house.

  Next they had gone to the dining hall, where the clatter of children’s voices, a hundred forks scraping plates, and all the strange food smells gave Sumatra a headache!

  After that, the group had checked out the pasture.

  Where are all the dandelions!? Sumatra wondered.

  And the arts and crafts cabin.

  You can’t make pottery with hooves, Sumatra realized sadly.

  The lake.

  I can’t swim!

  And finally, the stable, which seemed about a mile long. There were so many big horses in the endless row of stalls, that Sumatra felt too overwhelmed to introduce herself to any one.

  After that, the Wind Dancers followed Leanna and her family back to the cabin. The tiny horses hovered outside and watched Leanna hug her family good-bye.

  “I love horse camp already!” Leanna announced happily as she hugged her little sister, Sara. “Bye! See you in a week!”

  Sumatra felt her lower lip tremble a bit!

  “What’s wrong, Sumatra?” Kona said, looking at her fellow Wind Dancer with concern.

  Sumatra swallowed past the lump in her throat and stuttered, “N-nothing.”

  “Good!” Brisa jumped in to say. “Because you were right! Horse camp is so neat! I love being around all the children and big horses.”

  “And I love the mountain breezes!” Sirocco chimed in, taking several deep breaths.

  “And I’ve spotted a perfect place for us to stay,” Kona added. “A nice soft hay pile under the eaves just outside the stables. We can sleep beneath the stars. And in the mornings, I bet the big horses will share their horse pellets with us for breakfast.”

  Mountain breezes? Sumatra thought. Sleeping beneath the stars? Horse pellets?!

  “This place sure is different from home!” Sumatra couldn’t help but say.

  “That’s the whole point, isn’t it?” Sirocco said. “To be somewhere totally different? That’s what you said yesterday!”

  “Yes,” Sumatra replied slowly. “I just didn’t realize that different would feel so … different.”

  Sumatra found herself thinking about all the things they’d left behind.

  Just thinking about home made Sumatra feel a little sick.

  A little … homesick! she realized with a start.

  But clearly, Sumatra was the only one yearning for home.

  Brisa was lounging happily on the front porch of Leanna’s cabin, unconcerned, for once, about getting dirt on her pretty pink coat.

  Sirocco was doing backflips in the cool mountain air.

  And Kona was humming a carefree little tune as she watched Leanna and her cabin mates unpack and settle in. If the violet-black horse was still fretting about dust or squirrel squatters back in the Wind Dancers’ faraway tree house, she wasn’t showing it!

  What do I do now? Sumatra lamented silently. I convinced my friends to come to horse camp. Now they love it—and I want to go home!

  CHAPTER 3

  A Rotten Egg

  If Sumatra wanted to go home, her chance to speak up was now! The pickup truck with Leanna’s parents and little sister, Sara, would be leaving soon.

  So, Sumatra took a deep breath and got ready to tell her friends about her change of heart. But before she could utter a sound, a crackling filled the air.

  “Announcement, announcement!” sang a loud, disembodied voice. Sumatra whinnied in fright, but Sirocco’s face lit up.

  “Cool!” he neighed. “They’re going to tell us something on the camp intercom.”

  He pointed with his nose at a trumpet-shaped speaker mounted on a tree near Leanna’s cabin.

  “I bet we’re going to hear about our first horse-camp activity!” Kona said excitedly.

  Sumatra gulped.

  “But,” she said, “I’d rather—”

  “Attention campers and horses!” A jovial voice interrupted Sumatra. “It’s time to get yourselves over to the main riding ring for a little meet and greet!”

  “Goody!” Brisa whinnied. She launched herself off the porch and headed for the riding ring—without even bothering to dust off her pretty coat. She was really getting into this rustic thing! Still, Sumatra tried again.

  “But—”

  “If your backpack’s too heavy,” Sirocco interrupted Sumatra, “just leave it here. We’ll come back for it later.”

  He kicked his own backpack under a fern before flying after Brisa. “But—” Sumatra neighed once more.

  But—there was nobody left to hear her protest. Kona had darted after Brisa and Sirocco, too.

  So, with a gulp and a wistful gaze toward the parking lot—where Leanna’s parents and sister were cranking up their pickup truck to leave—Sumatra followed her friends.

  * * *

  As the campers streamed through one end of the riding ring, several camp counselors led several big horses through the other end.

  “Awesome!” Sirocco said. “Look at all those big horses!”

  “They don’t look anything like the big horses at home,” Sumatra pointed out. With another pang, she imagined lanky little Andy, proud Benny, sweet Fluff, and even haughty Thelma at their neighboring big-horses paddock.

  Kona only laughed.

  “Of course they don’t!” she said. “Every horse is unique.”

  “I know that!” Sumatra grumbled. “I just meant I miss—”

  “Hellooooo campers!”

  Sumatra was interrupted by a man riding a spotted gray gelding. The horse loped casually to the center of the ring.

  “The first rule of horse camp,” the camp director told the children, “is to relax. If you feel easy in your saddle, you’ll ride better. You’ll ride happier. It’ll make your horse feel happy, too! And that, campers, is why I have this…”

  He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small, white—

  “… egg!” The camp director smiled as he next pulled out a large spoon and placed his delicate egg on it. Holding the spoon out before him, he chirruped to his horse, who trotted gently around the ring. The egg bobbled dangerously on the spoon as the camp director balanced it.

  “It’s going to fall!” Sumatra neighed.

  “And splat all over that horse’s nice, shiny hooves!” Brisa added.

 
Somehow, though, the camp director and his big horse circled the ring without breaking the egg. The campers hooted and applauded.

  “Your turn!” the camp director told the children. “And remember, if you’re at all unhappy, that egg’s going to fall right off that spoon!”

  The campers giggled at this prospect.

  “So shake out those arms and legs, and have fun!” the camp director went on.

  Excitedly, the campers lined up behind the big horses. The first girl in each line was helped into her saddle, then given an egg and a spoon. The children giggled as they tried to hold the reins while at the same time balancing their wobbly, bobbly eggs. Almost immediately, eggs began falling to the dirt with cracks, thwacks, and splats!

  Sumatra had to admit, the egg-in-the-spoon game looked like fun, but that was all. It didn’t feel fun. Not to Sumatra anyway. She didn’t feel anything except homesick.

  Her friends, on the other hand, were completely egg-cited.

  “Whoo hoo!” Sirocco laughed as the big horses gingerly conveyed campers and eggs around the riding ring. “We’ve got to get in on that action!”

  Brisa giggled. But Sumatra focused on the game. Or rather, on a problem with the game.

  “We’re too little to tote around those big, heavy eggs!” she pointed out.

  Kona fluttered high into the air to scan the landscape.

  “A-ha!” she called to her friends. “I see wild raspberry bushes by the lake!”

  “Yum!” Sirocco said. “I could use a snack.”

  “They’re not for eating!” admonished Kona. “We’re going to carry those berries in spoons! Raspberries are just as delicate as eggs—and they’re the perfect size for us!”

  “Nothing’s more splatable than a ripe, juicy raspberry!” Brisa agreed with a grin. “They’ll make perfect ‘eggs.’”

  While Sirocco and Kona flew off to fetch raspberries, Brisa popped four bowl-shaped jewels out of her magic halo. She found four short twigs on the ground. Then she turned to gaze at Sumatra.