Hazel Waits for Gobble — Every morning before Thanksgiving dinner, Hazel set herself the same tiny challenge: stand beside the barn path without swishing her tail until the turkey bell went gobble-gong. Read the full story →
Every morning before Thanksgiving dinner, Hazel set herself the same tiny challenge: stand beside the barn path without swishing her tail until the turkey bell went gobble-gong. She lasted three breaths on Monday, seven on Tuesday, and on Wednesday she made it all the way to a crow’s sneeze. The barn smelled like hay and dusty wood, and the corn leaves went shh-shh, as if they were laughing into their sleeves.
Until one day, a gust slipped two maple leaves into Hazel’s mane and tickled her cheek. Because of that, she clenched her smile and stared at the pumpkin by the path. Because of THAT, the pumpkin wobbled in the mud, bumped the signpost, and made the Thanksgiving sign tap-tap-tap like tiny hooves. “No tail,” Hazel whispered, while her ears twitched and her nose wriggled.
Finally, the turkey bell rang from the kitchen yard: gobble-gong! Hazel’s tail flew up in a grand, swoopy victory swish that sent the stuck leaves spinning like orange stars. If you ever spot a horse standing very still near a pumpkin, check her mane—she may be saving her biggest swish for the bell.
