and wildflowers surrounded Sam the magic of it all making her dizzy As the unicorns kicked up their feet and whinnied Sam laughed exhilarated to be there with them Since coming to Foggy Harbor to stay with her Uncle Mitch for the summer she’d learned an amazing truth Uncle Mitch was part of a secret legacy to protect the creatures on Unicorn Island a place hidden from view by a magical fog bank What was even more amazing was that she was now officially an apprentice unicorn protector Uncle Mitch had been grumpy when Sam had first arrived but she quickly understood that his grumpiness was 3
because of his important duty to keep the unicorns safe And after she and her new friend Tuck had helped heal Barloc a sickly unicorn born the previous month she knew she’d do everything she could to guard the entire herd too Sam ran on leaving the unicorns behind She raced to the stone hut on the edge of the meadow where Tuck was talking to Uncle Mitch Did you see their gait Tuck asked as she reached him Their what Sam bent over to catch her breath Verny landed nearby matching her long deep exhalations with his frosty ones How the unicorns run Tuck 4
said nodding toward the meadow The herd had ambled off toward a thick grassy patch and was munching contentedly but Barloc stayed with Sam He nuzzled her shoulder and she nuzzled him back having cared for him every day since his birth I’ve been studying all about horses and gait Tuck continued Unicorns are naturally single foot gaited which is really rare It means they have one foot on the ground at all times Their gait makes for a much smoother ride You’re going to make a great horse vet someday Tuck Thompson Sam grinned wiping sweat off the 5
