Chapter 1 The Butterfly Queen Whatcha doin Aunt Jane I asked The stable was quiet The horses were out in the pasture She swooshed a pitchfork through a pile of hay Mucking out Queenie’s stall It’s extra messy today Looks like the horses had a party Aunt Jane isn’t my real aunt She owns Storm Cliff Stables The best 4
camp around Everyone just calls her Aunt Jane Can we help I asked her That’s sweet of you to ask Dani Kianna fingers Pretty please with a cherry on top crossed her Two cherries said Carly Gabriela didn’t say anything Her nose was stuck in a book Again Carly pointed to a wheelbarrow It was full of stinky manure Gross She pinched her nose Never mind I don’t wanna help Kianna pinched her nose too 5
But I just held my breath I can hold it for over a minute Around stinky manure you get a lot of practice A clean stall helps the horses stay healthy said Aunt Jane We try to muck each stall twice a day We’ll teach you Pony Girls soon enough Pony Girls are first-year campers We’re eight years old Gabriela said I know how already Then she reached for Aunt Jane’s hand But shouldn’t you take off your ring My mom never wears her rings when she’s cleaning 6
Gabriela is my cousin But we barely know each other She lives in California thousands of miles from where I live in Costa Rica I thought we’d be best friends this summer But now I wasn’t so sure I wasn’t even sure we’d end up being best cousins Aunt Jane twirled the ring around her finger It’s my lucky ring I never take it off It was my grandmother’s She pressed it against her heart Gabriela handed the book to Aunt Jane Look at chapter five 7
