series, I have told you about Minnie's
pet parrot, her pet cat, and her pet dog. In this one, I shall give you
an account of her pet pony, and also tell you anecdotes of other
horses.

Star was the name she gave her Shetland pony, I suppose because he had a
white star on his forehead, which showed very distinctly from the
contrast with his dark bay hair.

He was about three feet high, with a short neck and a long black tail.
He was very affectionate and gentle, loving his little mistress, and
neighing pleasantly whenever he heard her voice.

The little girl seldom went out to the stable without asking the cook
for a piece of bread for Star. Sometimes she did not give it to him at
once, but hid it under her apron. The pony soon learned this trick, and,
if the bread was not forthcoming, lifted the apron with his teeth,
whining like a child, until she put it in his mouth.

During the summer months, Star was kept in the pasture, where the grass
was very green. When he was thirsty, there was a clear, running brook at
the end of the pasture, where he could go and drink. If the weather was
very hot, he liked to go and stand in the water and cool himself.

Star had a companion to stay with him in the pasture, and help him eat
the young, sweet clover. This was Nannie, the lamb, who never, if she
could help it, was out of his sight for a moment. Wherever Star went,
Nannie tried to go too; or, if she could not, she bleated continually,
refusing to eat until his return.

Mr. Lee's place contained near a hundred acres. There was a farm house
about two hundred rods from the mansion, and a nicely gravelled road
leading past the lawn through the garden, connecting them.

Here, almost every pleasant morning, Minnie could be seen trotting her
little pony back and forth, and Nannie running along by his side. After
a few months, Star became so well accustomed to his young mistress, that
he would walk by himself from the stable door, when the groom had
buckled on the saddle, to the bottom of the stone steps where she used
to mount. Her father soon taught her to put her foot in the stirrup, and
mount by herself; and Star would stand quite still, turning his head to
see when she was ready; then, when she tightened the reins, and said in
her pleasant tones, "Come, pony!" away he would go down the avenue,
trotting or cantering, just as suited her best.

As Minnie grew older, her mother sometimes trusted her to go to the
village store