by John Steinbeck, 1937
Strange, unsatisfying little book about a little boy (Jody) who lives on a ranch with his mom, dad, and a ranch-hand, Billy Buck. His mean dad brings home a little red pony, a treasure, for Jody, to raise and train and have as his own. One day the pony is left out in the rain all day, even though Billy Buck promised to watch out for the rain. The pony gets sick and despite Billy Buck’s excellent vet skills and Jody’s tireless nursing, it dies. Dad decides to breed their old mare (Nellie) to a neighbor’s stallion and the colt will be Jody’s. Jody takes good care of Nellie. But when it comes time to have the colt, he’s in the wrong position and Billy Buck has to take a hammer and crash in Nellie’s skull and cut her open to deliver the colt. The colt is born but that’s the last we hear of it.
The version I read includes a last story, The Leader of the People, about Jody’s Grandpa coming for a visit and Jody’s Dad, Carl Tiplin, being cruel to him because he tells the same story over and over about how he led a wagon train on the Western migration to California. The book ends with Jody telling his grandpa he likes to hear his stories. They are sitting on the front porch and Jody goes in to make him a glass of lemonade. That’s it. The End. Never hear another word about the second Colt. Strange and sad.