When Angela’s family relocates from the city to the country, she feels betrayed and isolated. To escape her new home, she imagines herself a bird that can fly away, or a snake that others will respect. Fearful she’ll be stuck alone forever in her imaginary world, she’s surprised to make a new friend, Linda, on her first day at school. Angela discovers that Linda loves horses like she does, and that a horse stables named Fair Oaks is close to her house. When her mother explains they can’t afford for her to ride at the stables, she stomps off down a hill in the backyard to an old shed. Riding at the stables is the only thing that will make her like this awful place. Suddenly, an Arabian mare mysteriously appears! Wondering at first if she has walked inside one of her daydreams, Angela decides to keep the horse. What can it hurt? After all, the gray mare is lost, and she walked right onto Angela’s property. Soon a deputy sheriff comes knocking on the family’s door looking for a horse that has disappeared from Fair Oaks. Did the stables mistreat the maremaking her run away? After Angela shares her “red secret” with Linda, she must decide what to do about the beautiful mare. Even the resourceful Linda cannot help Angela, when she must make the biggest decision of her life.
When Angela’s family relocates from the city to the country, she feels betrayed and isolated. To escape her new home, she imagines herself a bird that can fly away, or a snake that others will respect. Fearful she’ll be stuck alone forever in her imaginary world, she’s surprised to make a new friend, Linda, on her first day at school. Angela discovers that Linda loves horses like she does, and that a horse stables named Fair Oaks is close to her house. When her mother explains they can’t afford for her to ride at the stables, she stomps off down a hill in the backyard to an old shed. Riding at the stables is the only thing that will make her like this awful place. Suddenly, an Arabian mare mysteriously appears! Wondering at first if she has walked inside one of her daydreams, Angela decides to keep the horse. What can it hurt? After all, the gray mare is lost, and she walked right onto Angela’s property. Soon a deputy sheriff comes knocking on the family’s door looking for a horse that has disappeared from Fair Oaks. Did the stables mistreat the maremaking her run away? After Angela shares her “red secret” with Linda, she must decide what to do about the beautiful mare. Even the resourceful Linda cannot help Angela, when she must make the biggest decision of her life.