Hazelnut The Great

• Kate Kelly-Johnson, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2007

In 2007 in an old broken down cottage there lived the Knucklebore family. Now this was a normal day for the Knucklebore family but not for little Lucy, she was getting ready for the horse championships in one hour.
Meanwhile in the family room it wasn’t that normal, they had just found out that there was a horse flu going around, and at the split second it was so quiet all you could hear was the ticking of the clock. Her mum and dad looked at each other and said, “we can’t tell her it will break her heart.”
As Lucy walked out of her room she saw her mum and dad looking at the TV like her baby sister had just thrown food at it. “Mum, dad come on, we’ve got to go. Why are you staring at the TV?” Lucy asked. “Um…we were just looking at how um bad the weather is,” her mum quickly said. When they got to the stables, Lucy ran straight towards her loving horse Hazelnut. Lucy had owned Hazelnut for over five years. Her step mum bought Hazelnut for her when she was three year old and she hasn’t seen her since (or Auntie Ellie).
As she put the blanket on, buckled up the saddle and clipped everything on, her riding instructor, Miss Lannie came in. “Hi Lucy, nice to see you, um how are you holding up darling, you must be devastated to hear the news?” “What are you talking about?” Lucy asked. “I can’t say, excuse me,” Miss Lannie said sadly and ran out. Lucy wandered over to her parents thinking, “what news is she talking about?”
All the parents were watching TV, so she looked up and suddenly as she was watching, her whole horse riding life flashed before her eyes, before she fell backwards, just in time to see her mum turn, panic and shout.
When she opened her eyes, all she could feel was the slimy lick of Hazelnut’s tongue. All she wanted to know was the news, so her mum walked over behind a tree and told her the bad news, all you could hear then was the faint sound of crying.
“If you’re a horse lover I think you’d better close your ears because I just received a message from the Mayor. He said that all horses have to be put down if they live with more than 20 other horses,” the reporter said. “The landowner said, “Ok people you know what to do.”
Of course Lucy didn’t want to be there when they put her beloved horse Hazelnut down so she just gave her a kiss and ran home. Just as she left someone special pulled up in a car and asked her mum where she was, but instead she heard the news and drove to Lucy’s house. As Lucy just got inside the door bell rang. “Who is it?” she sadly asked. “I don’t know, you are going to have to come out, NEIGH.” “Hang on, I know that voice, AUNTIE ELLIE,” Lucy shouted. “Look who I happened to buy on the way here, a horse that happens to look exactly the same as Hazelnut,” Auntie Ellie replied. Lucy gave her a big hug and wouldn’t let go. She was so excited to have another horse that she named it Hazelnut the 2nd.