#3: A New Friend (Tales of Sasha) Read online

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real

  people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters,

  places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any

  resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is

  entirely coincidental.

  An imprint of Bonnier Publishing USA

  251 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010

  Copyright © 2017 by Bonnier Publishing USA

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  Manufactured in the United States of America LB 0417

  ISBN: 978-1-4998-0398-3 (hc)

  ISBN: 978-1-4998-0397-6 (pbk)

  First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  is available upon request.

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  Contents

  1. Just Like Me

  2. A New Friend

  3. The Toucan Brings

  a Message

  4. Who Are You, Really?

  5. Let’s Dance

  6. Gone!

  7. Bend, Cross, Spring!

  8. A Big Sneeze

  9. Two Friends

  CHAPTER

  1

  Just Like Me

  “Wait for me!” cried Sasha. She tried to

  catch up. She flew higher. She flapped

  her wings faster, but she still couldn’t

  reach them.

  Thick clouds rolled in, making it hard

  to see. Now she didn’t know which way

  to turn. Then Sasha’s breath caught in

  her throat.

  Three horses flew out of a large

  cloud! One was yellow, one was blue,

  and one was purple. Their colorful wings

  shone bright against the gray sky. They

  were just like her. They were horses

  that could fly!

  Sasha had never met another flying

  horse before. She just had to talk to

  them—now!

  The three horses darted in and out of

  the clouds. They flew in crazy patterns.

  “Wait for me!” she called again.

  The three flying horses didn’t wait.

  Sasha was the fastest horse in her

  valley. She had won every running race.

  But flying was different than running.

  Horses didn’t fly in a straight line.

  “Keep going!” Wyatt called to her

  from the beach. The sand at his hooves

  sparkled with magical jewels. He raised

  his tail in a salute.

  Sasha saluted back. Wyatt was her

  best friend. He had traveled all the way

  from their home in Verdant Valley to

  Crystal Cove with her.

  “That must be Sapphire!” Wyatt

  pointed at the blue horse.

  Sasha flapped her wings as fast as

  she could. She had heard stories about

  Sapphire, but she’d never met her. Sasha

  had never met any flying horses. Until

  now, she’d thought she was the only one.

  She had so many questions for them.

  “Sapphire! I’m back!” cried Sasha.

  Sapphire swooped low and out of

  sight.

  She didn’t hear me, thought Sasha.

  Then Sasha spotted the yellow horse.

  She sped over to him.

  “I just learned to fly!” she called.

  The yellow horse soared higher and

  out of sight.

  He doesn’t care, thought Sasha.

  The purple horse zoomed by.

  “Hello!” called Sasha.

  The purple horse didn’t answer.

  Instead, she tucked her head and

  somersaulted in the air.

  Sasha gasped. That was amazing!

  “Your turn,” called the purple horse.

  Sasha looked around. Who was she

  talking to?

  The purple horse pointed her braided

  tail at Sasha.

  “Me?” Sasha gulped. She didn’t know

  if she could do gymnastics and fly at the

  same time.

  The purple horse waited.

  Was this a test? If she passed, would

  the purple horse answer her questions?

  Sasha took a deep breath. You can do

  this, she told herself. Head first, legs in,

  tuck, and roll. Go!

  The world spun upside down. Wind

  rushed up her nostrils, and her stomach

  twisted. Then she was upright again and

  flying. She heard Wyatt cheer. She had

  done it!

  The purple horse smiled. “Fly with

  me!” she called.

  Together, they soared through the

  clouds. The warm wind blew their

  manes. Sasha smiled. She had made her

  first friend in the Land of Flying Horses.

  CHAPTER

  2

  A New Friend

  The purple horse and Sasha glided down

  to the beach. Sasha’s hooves kicked up

  a huge spray of sand and jewels as she

  skidded to a stop.

  The purple horse laughed. “What’s

  with your landing?”

  “Sorry.” Sasha bit her lip. “I just

  started flying.”

  The purple horse’s violet eyes grew

  wide. “You just got your wings? So cool!

  I got mine last year.”

  Sasha admired the purple horse’s

  shimmering wings. “Yours are so much

  fluffier than mine. Why?”

  “I put honey on them to make them

  fluffy,” said the purple horse.

  “Really?” Sasha wrinkled her nose.

  That sounded gross.

  “Not really.” The purple horse laughed

  again. “Honey would make my feathers

  stick together. I made that up. There’s

  no big secret. Your wings will grow

  fluffier the more you use them.”

  “Does that make flying easier?” asked

  Sasha.

  “So much

  easier! Fluffy

  wings are

  powerful.” She

  fanned out her

  wings and struck

  a pose. “Don’t I

  look superpowerful?”

  The purple horse

  laughed again. Sasha

  found herself laughing,

  too.

  “I’m Kimani.” The purple

  horse stood nose-to-nose with

  Sasha. “I’ve never seen you

  here in Crystal Cove.”

  “I’m not from here,” said

  Sasha. “I live in Verdant Valley.”

  “Where’s that?” asked

  Kimani.

  “It’s down the beach, over the lake,

  through the
fields, and on the other side

  of the big trees,” said Sasha.

  “You live on the other side of the big

  trees? For real?” cried Kimani.

  Sasha nodded. “I was left there when

  I was a baby. There was a note on my

  golden blanket. I don’t know who left

  me or why. I came here to find out. My

  name is Sasha.”

  Kimani reared up on her hind legs.

  “You’re Sasha?”

  “You’ve heard of me?” Sasha’s heart

  thumped with excitement.

  Kimani looked a little nervous. “You’re

  the real Sasha?”

  “I guess.” Sasha wasn’t sure what

  that meant.

  Kimani scanned

  the sky as if she

  were looking for

  someone. Then she

  twirled her tail.

  Three twirls one

  way, and then three

  twirls the other way.

  Sasha had never seen a tail move like

  that. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  Kimani quickly stopped spinning her

  tail. “Of course! I just, um, think the sky

  looks really pretty today,” she replied

  nervously.

  “Okay . . . ,” Sasha said, but she

  wasn’t convinced.

  “Hey!” Kimani exclaimed. “Who’s

  that?”

  CHAPTER

  3

  The Toucan

  Brings a Message

  “Ouch! These red gems get hot in the

  sun!” Wyatt galloped toward them.

  “That’s my friend, Wyatt,” Sasha told

  Kimani.

  Kimani stared at him. “Didn’t you get

  your wings yet?”

  “I’m never getting wings. Horses don’t

  have wings,” said Wyatt.

  “Are you sure?” Kimani spread her

  wings wide.

  “Horses don’t have wings where we

  come from,” explained Sasha. “I was the

  only one.”

  “That sounds like a terrible place,”

  said Kimani.

  “Not at all,” said

  Sasha. “Verdant Valley

  is great. We have a

  school and big fields

  to run in.”

  “We have a stream

  with cold water and

  a tall mountain with

  wildflowers,” added

  Wyatt.

  “My family is

  there.” Sasha told

  Kimani about her

  mother, her father,

  and her older sisters

  Zara and Poppy.

  “None of them have wings,” Kimani

  pointed out. “You should stay here.

  Crystal Cove is the Land of Flying

  Horses.”

  “Stay here?”

  Now Wyatt reared

  back.

  “Don’t worry,”

  Sasha told Wyatt.

  They’d left home

  at sunrise, and now

  it was sunset. Sasha missed her family.

  “I’m not staying. I only came to find

  other winged horses.”

  “It’s getting dark.” Wyatt tugged

  Sasha. They had a long journey back

  home.

  “Don’t leave!” Kimani looked at the

  sky again. “You have to wait.”

  At that moment, a toucan

  swooped down and landed

  on Kimani’s back. “I got

  your signal,” said the

  toucan.

  So that’s what the tail twirling was about,

  thought Sasha.

  “I have a message from Sapphire. She

  wants to see the new horse now.” The

  toucan spoke in a booming voice.

  Sasha turned to Wyatt. Many years

  ago, Sapphire had met their old teacher,

  Caleb. They were both foals, and Caleb

  had helped her when she’d hurt her wing.

  Before she flew away, she’d given him

  a magical map. Sasha and Wyatt had

  used that map today to find the flying

  horses. Wyatt knew how important

  meeting Sapphire was to Sasha.

  Wyatt nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “Not you,” said the toucan. “Just

  Sasha.”

  “Wyatt is not one of us,” explained

  Kimani. “He doesn’t have wings.”

  Sasha’s ears flattened against her

  head. The horses at home used to say she

  was different because she daydreamed

  about faraway places. Sometimes they

  wouldn’t be her partner at school.

  “I won’t go without him.” Sasha’s

  voice sounded strong, but her knees felt

  wobbly.

  Kimani shared a secret look with

  the toucan. Sasha was worried. Had

  she ruined her big chance to talk to

  Sapphire?

  Kimani shrugged. “Okay. Wyatt can

  come along.”

  Sasha and Wyatt grinned.

  The toucan led the way. The

  three horses headed down the beach

  and entered a jungle. Thick tropical

  plants crowded close together. Fuzzy

  caterpillars chewed fan-shaped leaves.

  Blue dragonflies swarmed above their

  heads. The air grew warm and sticky.

  Sasha blew her forelock out of her

  eyes. She wished for the cool shade of

  the cottonwood tree back home.

  Wyatt tried to munch a big flower.

  “I wouldn’t eat that,” warned Kimani.

  “Whoa!” Wyatt jumped back as a

  red horse poked her nose out from

  behind the flower.

  Sasha was about to tease Wyatt for

  being a scaredy-cat. Then she saw them.

  All of them.

  CHAPTER

  4

  Who Are You,

  Really?

  Sasha turned slowly in a circle.

  Pink. Lavender. Turquoise. Horses of

  all colors hid in the leafy plants. They

  stared at Sasha and whispered. Were

  they talking about her?

  “What’s going on?” whispered Sasha.

  “They’re friendly.” Kimani pushed her

  forward. “They came to greet you.”

  “Me?” asked Sasha. “They don’t know

  me.”

  “Everyone knows you,” said Kimani.

  Sasha chewed her lip. How could they

  know her?

  “Why are they hiding?” asked Wyatt.

  “They’re shy, and—” Kimani didn’t

  get to finish. A beautiful blue horse

  stepped into a clearing.

  “Sapphire!” Sasha began to trot

  toward her.

  “Whoa!” A yellow horse jumped out

  and blocked her path. “I need to check

  you first.”

  “Check me for what?” asked Sasha.

  “I need to be sure you are who you

  say you are,” he said.

  “Who else would I be?” Sasha was

  confused.

  “We should go,” whispered Wyatt.

  Sasha knew if she was going to get

  any answers, they would come from

  Sapphire. She locked eyes with the

  yellow horse. He was larger than any

  horse Sasha had ever met. “Fine. Check

  me.”

  He walked around Sasha. “She has a

  white patch on her back. It is the shape

  of a cloud.”

  A horse in the plants let out a ga
sp.

  “I’ve always had that patch,” said

  Sasha. “That’s where my wings come

  out from.”

  The yellow horse

  looked inside her

  mouth. “She is missing

  a back tooth on the

  left side,” he said.

  “It’s been missing since I was born,”

  said Sasha.

  Another horse gasped.

  The yellow horse nodded at the

  ground behind her. “Are these your hoof

  prints?”

  “Yes.” Sasha saw for the first time

  that her hoof print was different from

  Wyatt and Kimani’s. Hers had a heart

  shape in the middle.

  “The patch, the tooth, and the hoof

  print all prove it,” said the yellow

  horse. “She really is Sasha. Sasha has

  returned!”

  The colorful herd of horses burst out

  of their hiding spots. With a whoosh,

  they opened their wings and let out a

  huge cheer.

  They were cheering for her!

  CHAPTER

  5

  Let's Dance

  Sapphire walked toward her. “How did

  you find your way back to us?”

  Sasha showed her the blue feather

  and the magical map. “You left these

  with Caleb.”

  “He saved my life.” Sapphire closed

  her eyes, remembering him. “If he

  hadn’t fixed my wing, I would’ve been

  in danger.”

  “Danger? Why?” asked Sasha.

  Sapphire let out a long breath. “That’s

  a story for another time.”

  Now that Sapphire was here, Sasha

  was nervous. Sasha decided to ask her

  most important question first. “The note

  on my blanket said: ‘Please keep Sasha

  safe until we can see her again.’ Did

  you write that note? Did you leave me

  in Verdant Valley?”

  “It wasn’t me,” said Sapphire.