Old Bird

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University. She is the author of several books, including The
Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret
Laurence: The Long Journey Home.

This charming tale of an old horse that proves she is just as useful as
a young one is based on a true story.

Papa buys an old horse to carry his two small sons from their homestead
to the schoolhouse and back. The walk takes Archie and his six-year-old
brother, Arnfeld, two whole hours each way, and there are chores to be
done when they get home. Though the hard-working pioneer family already
owns two horses, a third one is clearly needed.

Bird, the old mare that Papa buys at auction, has a personality all her
own. First, she insists on sharing the barn at night with the other
horses, although there is no spare stall. When Papa, trying to keep her
out, creates a latch that Bird cannot open, she shows her displeasure by
bucking the boys off en route to school. Papa threatens to sell her the
next day, but the boys insist that “old Bird” just wants to plow
like the other horses. And indeed she does. The three horses make a fine
team. Pleased, Papa lets her into the barn. The farm is now a place Bird
can call home.

Author Irene Morck has written several children’s books, including
Five Pennies: A Prairie Boy’s Story and Tiger’s New Cowboy Boots.
She and her husband live on a farm in Alberta. Muriel Wood’s softly
coloured full-page scenes nicely capture working life on a farm,
striking prairie landscapes, and old Bird’s stubborn determination.