"Come here, Diamond!" was all her answer.
So he opened his door and trotted down the long stair and out into the yard. A great puff of wind at once came against him. He turned and went with it, and it blew him up to the stable door and kept on blowing.
"She wants me to go into the stable," said Diamond. "But the door is locked."
Just then, a great blast of wind brought down the key upon the stones at his feet from where it was kept hanging high above his head. He picked it up, opened the door, and went in without much noise. And what did he hear? He heard the two horses, Diamond and Ruby, talking to each other. They talked in a strange language, yet somehow he could understand it.
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself," old Diamond was saying, "sleek and fat as you are, and so lazy you get along no faster than a big dray-horse that is pulling tons!"
"Oh, I like to be fat and lazy!" said Ruby.
"And you like to hear master abused on account of you, too, I dare say," replied old Diamond angrily. "Why don't you get up a little speed, while you are drawing a fare, at least! The abuse master gets for your sake is quite shameful! No wonder he doesn't get many fares when he has you!"
"Well, if I worked as hard as I could, I'd be a bag of bones like you!"
"I'm proud to work!" said old Diamond. "I wouldn't be as fat as you, not for all you're worth. You are a disgrace! Look at the horse next you. He is something like a horse—all skin and bones. He knows he has got his master's wife and children to support and he works like a horse!"