lordly fashion. You made me think of Turkey
Proudfoot."

"Ah!" Twinkleheels exclaimed. "I've just heard some news. I'm going to
the blacksmith's to-day to be shod. You know I've never worn any shoes.
And I've always wanted some."

Old Ebenezer smiled down at Twinkleheels.

"Well, well!" he said. "I don't blame you for feeling a bit proud. I
remember the day I got my first set of shoes. You see, I was young once
myself."

The old horse seemed to feel like talking. Twinkleheels was glad of
that, for he felt that he _must_ chatter about the new shoes he was
going to have--or burst.

"Of course," said Twinkleheels, "most folks are shod before they're as
old as I am. But I've spent a good deal of my time in the pasture and I
don't often travel over hard roads.... How old were you when you first
visited the blacksmith's shop?"

Ebenezer shut his eyes for a moment or two. And Twinkleheels feared he
was going to sleep. But he was only thinking hard.

"I must have been about two months old," Ebenezer declared.

"Goodness!" cried Twinkleheels. "I didn't suppose colts of that age ever
wore shoes."

"They don't," Ebenezer replied. "You didn't ask me when I had my first
shoes. You asked me when I first visited a smithy. At the age of two
months I jogged alongside my mother when she went to be shod. I must
have been about three years old when the blacksmith nailed my first
shoes to my feet."

Twinkleheels gave Ebenezer an uneasy glance.

"Does it hurt," he asked, "when they drive the nails into your hoofs?"

"Oh, no!" Ebenezer assured him. "To be sure, a careless blacksmith could
prick you. But Farmer Green always takes us to the best one he can
find."

"To tell the truth," Twinkleheels confessed, "I'm a bit timid about
going to the smithy. I don't know what to do when I get there. I don't
know which foot to hold up first."

"Don't worry about that!" said old Ebenezer. "They'll tell you
everything. Just pay attention and obey orders and you won't have any
trouble."

Twinkleheels thanked Ebenezer.

"It's pleasant," he said, "to have a kind, wise horse like you in the
next stall. There are some matters that I shouldn't care to mention to
the bays. They're almost sure to laugh at me if I ask them a question."

The old horse Ebenezer nodded his head.

"They're young and somewhat flighty," he admitted. "You know, they even
ran away last summer. You'll be better off! if you don't seek their
advice about things."