important?” Judge Yeck interrupted quickly. “Please tell me how that is possibly relevant to what we’re doing here.”
Blaze tried to explain. “Well, Your Honor, we need to prove that—”
“Here’s how we do things in Animal Court, Mr. Blaze. Ms. Spangler, please tell me what happened. Just forget all the stuff your lawyer has told you, and tell me what Pete here did to upset you.”
“I’m Pete,” Pete said.
“Yes, we know.”
“Yeck, Yeck, Yeck.”
“Thank you, Pete.” A long pause to make sure Pete was finished for the moment, then the judge waved at Ms. Spangler. She began, “Well, on Tuesday of last week, we were in the middle of a lesson. I was in the arena, on foot, with four of my students mounted, when suddenly this bird here came out of nowhere, squawking and making all kinds of noises, just a few feet above our heads. The horses freaked out and bolted for the barn. I almost got trampled. Betty Slocum fell and hurt her arm.”
Betty Slocum stood quickly so everyone could see the large, white cast on her left arm.
“He swooped down again, like some crazy kamikaze, and chased the horses as they—”
“Kamikaze, kamikaze, kamikaze,” Pete blurted.
“Just shut up!” Ms. Spangler said to Pete.
“Please, he’s just a bird,” Judge Yeck said.
Pete began saying something that could not be understood. Anton leaned over and whispered to Theo. “He’s speaking Creole.”
“What is it?” Judge Yeck asked.
“He’s speaking Creole French, Your Honor,” Theo explained. “It’s his native tongue.”
“What’s he saying?”
Theo whispered to Anton, who whispered right back. “You don’t want to know, Your Honor,” Theo reported.
Pete shut up, and everyone waited for a moment. Judge Yeck looked at Anton and said softly, “Will he stop talking if he’s asked to stop talking?”
Anton shook his head and said, “No, sir.”
Another pause. “Please continue,” Judge Yeck said.
Judy Cross took over and said, “And then the next day, at about the same time, I was giving a lesson. I had five of my riders on their horses. In the course of any lesson, I yell instructions to my students, such as ‘Walk on,’ and ‘Halt,’ and ‘Canter.’ I had no idea he was watching us, but he was. He was hiding in an oak tree next to the arena, and he started yelling, “‘Halt! Halt!’”
Pete, on cue, yelled, “Halt! Halt! Halt!”
“See what I mean? And the horses stopped dead still. I tried to ignore him. I told my students to remain calm and just ignore this guy. I said ‘Walk on,’ and the horses began their movements. Then he started yelling, “‘Halt!’ ‘Halt!’”
Judge Yeck held up both hands for silence. Seconds passed. He said, “Please continue.”
Judy Cross said, “He was quiet for a few minutes. We ignored him. The students were concentrating and the horses were calm. They were in a slow walk, when suddenly he started yelling, ‘Canter! Canter!’ The horses bolted again and began sprinting all around the arena. It was chaos. I barely escaped getting run over.”
Pete squawked, “Canter! Canter!”
“See what I mean,” Judy Cross gushed. “He’s been harassing us for over a week. One day he’ll drop from the sky like a dive-bomber and frighten the horses. The next day he’ll sneak up on us and hide in a tree and wait until things are quiet before he starts yelling instructions. He’s evil. Our horses are afraid to come out of the barn. Our students want their money back. He’s killing our business.”
With perfect timing, Pete said, “You’re fat.”
He waited five seconds, then did it again. “You’re fat.” His words echoed around the room and stunned everyone. Most of the people looked at their shoes, or boots.
Judy Cross swallowed hard, closed her eyes tightly, clenched her fists, and frowned as if in great pain. She was a large woman with a wide frame, the kind of body that had always carried extra weight, and carried it badly.
Blaze tried to explain. “Well, Your Honor, we need to prove that—”
“Here’s how we do things in Animal Court, Mr. Blaze. Ms. Spangler, please tell me what happened. Just forget all the stuff your lawyer has told you, and tell me what Pete here did to upset you.”
“I’m Pete,” Pete said.
“Yes, we know.”
“Yeck, Yeck, Yeck.”
“Thank you, Pete.” A long pause to make sure Pete was finished for the moment, then the judge waved at Ms. Spangler. She began, “Well, on Tuesday of last week, we were in the middle of a lesson. I was in the arena, on foot, with four of my students mounted, when suddenly this bird here came out of nowhere, squawking and making all kinds of noises, just a few feet above our heads. The horses freaked out and bolted for the barn. I almost got trampled. Betty Slocum fell and hurt her arm.”
Betty Slocum stood quickly so everyone could see the large, white cast on her left arm.
“He swooped down again, like some crazy kamikaze, and chased the horses as they—”
“Kamikaze, kamikaze, kamikaze,” Pete blurted.
“Just shut up!” Ms. Spangler said to Pete.
“Please, he’s just a bird,” Judge Yeck said.
Pete began saying something that could not be understood. Anton leaned over and whispered to Theo. “He’s speaking Creole.”
“What is it?” Judge Yeck asked.
“He’s speaking Creole French, Your Honor,” Theo explained. “It’s his native tongue.”
“What’s he saying?”
Theo whispered to Anton, who whispered right back. “You don’t want to know, Your Honor,” Theo reported.
Pete shut up, and everyone waited for a moment. Judge Yeck looked at Anton and said softly, “Will he stop talking if he’s asked to stop talking?”
Anton shook his head and said, “No, sir.”
Another pause. “Please continue,” Judge Yeck said.
Judy Cross took over and said, “And then the next day, at about the same time, I was giving a lesson. I had five of my riders on their horses. In the course of any lesson, I yell instructions to my students, such as ‘Walk on,’ and ‘Halt,’ and ‘Canter.’ I had no idea he was watching us, but he was. He was hiding in an oak tree next to the arena, and he started yelling, “‘Halt! Halt!’”
Pete, on cue, yelled, “Halt! Halt! Halt!”
“See what I mean? And the horses stopped dead still. I tried to ignore him. I told my students to remain calm and just ignore this guy. I said ‘Walk on,’ and the horses began their movements. Then he started yelling, “‘Halt!’ ‘Halt!’”
Judge Yeck held up both hands for silence. Seconds passed. He said, “Please continue.”
Judy Cross said, “He was quiet for a few minutes. We ignored him. The students were concentrating and the horses were calm. They were in a slow walk, when suddenly he started yelling, ‘Canter! Canter!’ The horses bolted again and began sprinting all around the arena. It was chaos. I barely escaped getting run over.”
Pete squawked, “Canter! Canter!”
“See what I mean,” Judy Cross gushed. “He’s been harassing us for over a week. One day he’ll drop from the sky like a dive-bomber and frighten the horses. The next day he’ll sneak up on us and hide in a tree and wait until things are quiet before he starts yelling instructions. He’s evil. Our horses are afraid to come out of the barn. Our students want their money back. He’s killing our business.”
With perfect timing, Pete said, “You’re fat.”
He waited five seconds, then did it again. “You’re fat.” His words echoed around the room and stunned everyone. Most of the people looked at their shoes, or boots.
Judy Cross swallowed hard, closed her eyes tightly, clenched her fists, and frowned as if in great pain. She was a large woman with a wide frame, the kind of body that had always carried extra weight, and carried it badly.
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