“Oh, how nice!” cried Mabel, clapping her hands.
When George and Mabel got back from their drive George spoke to his father about teaching Tinkle to do some tricks.
“I hardly think you can,” said Mr. Farley. “But you may try. Better ask Patrick about it, though. He knows a lot about horses and ponies.”
“Teach Tinkle tricks, is it?” asked Patrick when George spoke to the coachman about it. “Well, maybe you can. He’s young yet. You can’t teach an old pony tricks any more than you can teach an old dog. We’ll try some day.”
A few days after this Patrick called George out to the stable yard where Tinkle was standing.
“What are you going to do?” asked George.
“Teach Tinkle his first trick,” was the answer. “He is going to learn how to jump over a stick.” Patrick put two boxes, about two feet high, on the ground and laid a stick across them. He led the pony close to the stick and stood there beside him.
“Now, Master George, you stand on the other side of the stick, and hold out these lumps of sugar,” said Patrick. “We will see what Tinkle will do.”
George held out the sugar a few feet away from Tinkle’s nose. Tinkle could smell it, and he wanted it very much.