Sleepover Girls on the Range by Fiona Cummings Page A

up the dosh to rebuild Mrs McAllister’s stables. Cool, eh? Fliss takes all the credit for everything of course, but then we’re used to that!
    Well anyway, since the fire Mrs McAllister has had to keep her horses down at Mr Brocklehurst’s farm. And that’s where I went to see her a couple of weeks ago. When I got there, she was really excited.
    “The builders say my new stable block will be finished next week, Lyndsey. Isn’t that wonderful?” she grinned. Her eyes were shining, and I thought for a minute that she was going to cry. But I knew it was just because she was happy. I felt pretty top-banana myself. It seemed ages since the horses had had a proper home of their own.
    “They ought to have a stable-warming party or something!” I chuckled. Alfie, my very favourite horse, came strolling over to us. He stretched his neck over the fence and started to nuzzle my pocket to see if I’d brought him some of his favourite mints.
    “Hey Alfie, would you like a party?” I asked, patting his face.
    “Well, it’s funny you should mention that, Lyndsey,” said Mrs McAllister seriously. “Because I certainly want to do something special to mark the re-opening of my stables—”
    “A party!” I started to jump around. “Cool!”
    “Well, maybe not a party exactly. I had more of a public Open Day in mind,” she admitted. “Just to show that the stables are fully operational again. A lot of people cancelled their lessons after the fire because they thought my premises were unsafe, even though it was only the stable block that was damaged. I really need to build my business up again now, as my bank manager will remind me yet
again
when I meet with him tomorrow.” She grimaced, and a cloudseemed to pass over her face. But she soon brightened up again. “An Open Day should be a good opportunity to remind everyone that I’m really and truly back in business, don’t you think? Even my bank manager has to agree with that!”
    “An Open Day? OK!” I nodded. I mean, it didn’t sound as much fun as a party, but it should be fun all the same. “It worked when we had the Stable Fun Day, didn’t it?”
    “Well yes, you could say that!” Mrs McAllister looked dubious. “But I thought we could do something a bit different this time. I’m not sure what yet.”
    “Hmm – I’m sure we can think of something …” My mind started to race.
    Mrs McAllister looked at me.
    “Actually, you needn’t worry about the Open Day at all, Lyndsey,” she said quickly.
    I must have looked disappointed, because she started to laugh.
    “You needn’t look like that. It’s just that I’ve got something very special for you to think about.”
    “Oh?”
    “I haven’t forgotten how hard you and your friends worked to raise money for my stables,” she told me seriously. “And I’ve never really had a proper chance to thank you for it.”
    I didn’t know what to say, so I just blushed and shrugged my shoulders and mumbled, “You don’t have to do that.”
    “Oh, but I do, Lyndsey,” Mrs McAllister continued, “because if it hadn’t been for you lot, Sita would never have come along and put up the money for the stable block. I’ve a lot to thank you for, and so have the horses!”
    As if on cue Alfie began to whinny, and Marvel, Bramble and Trojan came over to join him at the fence. Mrs McAllister and I cracked up laughing.
    “You see, they know what we’re talking about!”
    When we’d made a fuss of the horses, Mrs McAllister went on:
    “So I’d like you to think of a special treat that I can give you and your friends. Is there anything you have in mind?”
    I thought hard – for about a minute – andthen I grinned.
    “Well there is something. But I’ll have to ask the others first.”
    I had thought of something so mind-blowingly wonderful, it was like a hot fudge sundae and a knickerbocker glory all rolled into one. All I had to do now was persuade the others. And I knew at least one of them wouldn’t