'Your boy's got too heavy a hand, Deacon
Jones,' said I, when he described the horse's actions to me. 'You may
depend upon it, a four-legged creature, unlike a two-legged one, has a
reason for everything he does.' 'But he's only a draught horse,' said
Deacon Jones. 'Draught horse or no draught horse,' said I, 'you're
describing a horse with a tender skin to me, and I don't care if he's as
big as an elephant.' Well, the old man grumbled and said he didn't want
any thoroughbred airs in his stable, so I bought you, didn't I,
Dutchman?" and Mr. Wood stroked him kindly and went to the next stall.
In each stall was a small tank of water with a sliding cover, and I
found out afterward that these covers were put on when a horse came in
too heated to have a drink. At any other time, he could drink all he
liked. Mr. Wood believed in having plenty of pure water for all his
animals and they all had their own place to get a drink.
Even I had a little bowl of water in the woodshed, though I could easily
have run up to the barnyard when I wanted a drink. As soon as I came,
Mrs. Wood asked Adele to keep it there for me and when I looked up
gratefully at her, she said: "Every animal should have its own feeding
place and its own sleeping place, Joe; that is only fair.
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