Pete and the Gray Mare

Pete, Thelma and Kenyon were on their way to school in the Mormon colonies in northern Mexico.  Thelma was the youngest.  She was in first grade,  Pete was in second grade and Kenyon was in the third grade.  The were traveling in a buggy pulled by the old gray mare.  They started to cross a deep ravine, but when they got to the bottom of the ravine, the mare balked.  Kenyon was in the back of the buggy reading a book and Thelma was at a loss as to what should be done.

Pete decided to take matters into hand and get the buggy moving.  He scouted around in the bottom of the ravine and found some rotting railroad ties.  He laid the ties and some kindling in a pile below the stubborn old mare.  A match was lit and soon there was a blazing fire below the reticent animal.  As the flames reached the mare's belly and the hair began to burn, she took off like a bolt of lightening.  Pete was left in the bottom of the ravine as Thelma squealed away in a cloud of dust.

A long walk home gave Pete time to think about what he had done.  There was a little bit of dread about the consequences, but the thought of the mare's bare belly made him giggle with delight.

When he got home, Kenyon had indignantly told Grandpa what Pete had done.  Grandpa merely turned his head and chuckled at Pete's ingenuity.