PART 3
Bending over, Felipe rubbed the foal's neck. The colt licked the little boy's hand.
He's so cute! Felipe thought, smiling. Switching ankles, he re-crossed his legs. Pieces of hay pressed against his hips; their tips pierced his trousers and dug into his skin.
Miguel returned with a sloshing pail and set it next to the colt. He bent over Felipe and tapped his shoulder. As the servant boy watched, Miguel stuck a finger into the milk and inserted it into the foal's mouth. The foal sucked the vaquero's finger dry.
"Goat's milk," Miguel explained to the boy. "With honey added. Good for the foal, easy on his stomach." Felipe smiled.
The vaquero's normally gruff expression now consisted of a twinkle and an amused smile. "All right, muchacho, it's your turn; I showed you how. You will do more good sticking that finger of yours into the foal's mouth than your own, no?"
Felipe blushed; he had not expected Miguel to notice what he had been doing. So far, only the de la Vegas had forbidden him to suck his fingers. Without signing a response, the little boy did as he was told. The foal sucked the milk off of Felipe's finger as the boy held it in its mouth. When he glanced up at the foreman, Miguel nodded his approval.
"Keep doing it, Felipe." Miguel nodded toward the foal. "We want the colt to drink as much of this milk as possible until we find him a nursing mare. Newborn foals need lots of milk to live and grow." Felipe looked at Don Rafael, who smiled and nodded.
"Listen to Miguel," the caballero advised. "He's one of the best with horses I've ever heard of." He wiped his bearded face with his linen handkerchief.
Nodding, Felipe stuck his finger back into the bucket. As the milk dripped off his fingertips, he inserted it between the teeth of the foal. Again, the foal sucked every drop of the milk.
A long time passed while Felipe kept doing so and the two men watched. Felipe would rub the foal's side while feeding it. The flickering torchlight cast shadows on the colt's face.
Poor baby! Felipe thought. He don't have a mamá or papá, either. Like me! He wrinkled his nose. Wish I could talk to him!
At last, a tap on Felipe's shoulder startled him. He half-twisted his upper body to see Don Alejandro and Don Diego standing behind him. Smiling, Don Diego helped the little boy to his feet. Because Felipe's legs felt tingly and numb, Diego supported him till feeling returned and he could stand on his own.
"Miguel tells us you've been doing a fine job feeding the foal, amigo." Don Alejandro smiled approvingly and patted the boy's shoulder. Felipe smiled back.
"He certainly has." Don Rafael ruffled the little boy's hair.
Miguel rubbed a large white cloth all over the colt's body. Felipe looked up at the de la Vegas, puzzled.
Don Rafael traced the outline of the little boy's face with his fingertips. "Felipe, one of the ways animals tell their own babies from others is by their scent. Their smell." Felipe furrowed his eyebrows. "A horse's sense of smell is much better than ours," the don explained, clasping his hands behind his back. "So much better than ours that he can smell scents we can't. To a horse, each baby has a different scent."
Don Alejandro agreed. "One of our other mares just lost a foal, Felipe," he explained. "That foal had a different scent that this one does. Unless this foal smells the same as that other one, the mare will not accept him as her own. If she does not adopt him, she will not nurse him. A foal needs to be nursed and trained by a grown horse, to learn proper horse behavior."
Rafael nodded agreement. "It's all too easy for a human caretaker to spoil a foal, and then he doesn't know how to behave."
The aged don turned around; watching him, Felipe did the same thing. Miguel was leading the foal out of the stall. "Come with us, Felipe, and we'll see what happens." Don Alejandro laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Miguel has rubbed the other foal's scent on him, hoping that will fool the mare into thinking he's hers."
Don Rafael grabbed one of the torches to light the way; Don Diego blew out the others. Felipe followed the men into the main part of the barn. A mare stood tethered to the door of another stall. Miguel led the colt toward her.
As Felipe held his breath, the mare just stared at the foal for a long moment, then sniffed it. Once, the boy glanced at his patróns. Don Diego crossed his arms and Don Alejandro clasped his hands behind his back, biting his lips. Don Rafael just stood stock-still, scarcely breathing. The fingers of his left hand hung loose in his vest pocket, and his right hand grasped the torch. Beams of torchlight formed an arc of on the hay-strew barn floor.
The foal wobbled toward the mare's nipples. To Felipe's relief, the mare did not try to stop him. Taking one of the nipples in its mouth, the colt started to suck on it.
Relaxing, the three men sighed with relief. "Well done, Miguel." Don Alejandro smiled.
"Gracias, patrón." Miguel nodded acknowledgement, then gazed at the boy. "Felipe's the one who really deserves thanks. He fed the foal constantly, just as I showed him. He didn't stop till you brought the mare to the barn."
Don Alejandro smiled approvingly at Felipe, then glanced at his timepiece. "Well, it's been about 12 hours, now, since Princesa first went into labor. It's dawn, now."
Handing the torch to Miguel, Don Rafael hugged Felipe to his side, then looked at his uncle. "What are you going to call him?"
Don Alejandro scratched his head. "I don't know, nephew. I'm going to have to think about it."
Don Rafael nodded. "When the colt is old enough to train, I should like to buy him." He gazed at the colt as he spoke.
Don Alejandro and Don Diego looked at each other. Felipe could see silent communication going on between them. Holding his breath, he silently prayed that Don Alejandro would say no. He didn't want that colt to go anywhere!
"I'll tell you what." The aged don touched his nephew's shoulder. "When the colt is four or five years old, I'll give him to you. He comes from excellent stock; you'll be able to breed him and sell his offspring for a good price."
Don Rafael smiled his thanks. "Si, tio, y gracias. Indeed I will."
Felipe frowned. A heavy stone lay in his heart. This wasn't fair; he loved that colt!
Seeing his disappointment, Diego knelt before the boy. "Felipe, listen to me." He brushed the little boy's damp hair out of his eyes. "My father told me, months ago, that he was going to give Princesa's child to Rafael if it survived. He wants Rafael to have the colt because he loves my cousin. The foal will be well-cared for and well-treated by Rafael and his ranch hands, when the time comes."
Don Alejandro nodded agreement. "That's right, Felipe; he will be. My nephew's very good with horses, and he treats them well." He squeezed the boy's shoulder, coaxing a reluctant smile out of the boy. "At any rate, the colt won't be going away from here till he's four or five years old, at least--you'll be 11 or 12 years old, by then. So you'll have ample opportunities to play with him for the next few years." The elderly caballero glanced at his foreman. "Maybe Miguel will let you help him care for the orphan foal in between your duties."
Miguel nodded. "I have no objection. When I'm around, that is; I don't want the boy alone with the colt or any other."
Felipe smiled at the prospect. At the moment, the colt, having eaten his fill, backed away and the mare licked him. As the servant boy watched, he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't realized until then how sleepy he had become.
Miguel blew out the torch, then opened the barn doors; reddish-orange sunlight flooded the entrance. Don Rafael glanced at his timepiece. "Well, I've got to get ready to go, Uncle Alejandro. It's time I went back to Santa Barbara; I've got a ranch to run, as you know. I'll be back for Christmas, though." He looked at Felipe. "I have this young man to visit, now. We horse lovers must stick together, you know." His eyes twinkled.
With a grin, Felipe nodded agreement. Laughing, Don Diego crossed his arms while Don Alejandro clasped his hands behind his back. "You'll stay with us one more night, won't you?"
"Yes, uncle." Don Rafael nodded. "I'm going to take a siesta now. I'm tired."
"We all are, so we will all nap. Including a sleepy young boy I see standing near me." Don Alejandro's eyes twinkled at Felipe.
The little boy approached the wobbly colt and petted him. Yawning again, he suddenly realized that he hadn't thought of Rafael Lopez or his friend's aunt and uncle in the last few days. Moreover, he liked this Rafael he'd come to know very much.
Felipe sighed. I wish Rafael Lopez was here. He shrugged. Oh, well. At least now I've got this baby horse to play with.
Smiling and then yawning yet again, he bent over to hug the foal. He then followed the men out of the barn and back to the house, rubbing his eyes. To the east, a reddish-orange sun hovered just above the horizon.
THE END