Poco the Painted Pony
 

Poco was born on a warm spring morning among the flowering sagebrush.  Poco quickly jumped to his feet and in no time at all was running around the big pasture where his herd lived.  The big pasture was surrounded by hills that circled and protected all the ponies. Poco thought it was a perfect place to live.

Poco grew quickly and discovered that he was different form the other ponies in the herd.  Poco was black with big white splashes of hair all over him, but everyone else was only one color. He was also smaller than all the other colts that were his age. His mother and father told him that this made him very special, but Poco was unsure.  He didn't like being different.

Despite his small size, Poco was very fast.  He ran to the top of the hills everyday while the others stayed in the pasture.  Every night his mother would call to him to come back to the pasture with the rest of the herd. Poco also grew a long main and tail.  The other colts were jealous of his long hair, so they teased him about being so small.  But Poco knew he could run faster that any of the other ponies.

Summer came and went and autumn was getting colder every day.  The pasture were the herd lived was running out of grass quickly.   One night the rain began to fall and the hills became covered in deep snow.  The pasture began to fill with water and all the ponies were cold and hungry, but no one knew what to do.

As the storm poured rain and snow, the herd huddled together to keep warm.  Once all the ponies were asleep, Poco snuck away.  He ran to the top of the hills, and as he did, the clouds parted and the moon rose.  Poco had never gone any farther than the top of the hills, but the snow sparkled like a million little sequins and the moon lit a path for him.  He ran through the mud and the snow.  Poco was cold and wet so he ran harder and faster than ever before.

He ran all night under the cold winter moon.  Just when he thought he couldn't run anymore, the sun began to rise.  Poco stopped to catch his breath and noticed that he was standing in a field of tall grass.  Thick trees to block the wind and protect the herd surrounded the field.  Poco was so excited that he reared and jumped into the air.

Poco's mother and father were very worried when morning came and he was nowhere to be found.  They looked all over the wet pasture and the snow covered hills but could not find him.  Imagine their surprise when they spotted a black and white colt standing in the snow.  Poco was exhausted. His mane and tail were tangled and his tired legs were covered in mud. 

Poco quickly gathered the herd and told them of the grassy pasture that he had found.  As a new storm began to roll in the whole herd started out for their new home.

From that day on, all the ponies thought that Poco was special.  It was not his size or color that mattered, but his heart.