The Horse with the High-Heeled Shoes

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The Horse with the High-Heeled Shoes

   Author:  Louis Slobodkin
Copyright Date:  1954
Publisher:  Vanguard
Pagination:  32 pp.

     Elizabeth was a Lady Horse. And because she was a Lady Horse, she had long sweeping eyelashes, a lovely curly mane

(with bangs), a long pretty neck, and naturally a very gentle shape. And of course her well-brushed tail was wavy.
     Elizabeth had long slender legs, and because she was a Lady Horse, she did not wear just ordinary iron horseshoes.... Oh, no!... Elizabeth wore high-heeled horseshoes! And they were not attached to her hoofs with nails like ordinary horseshoes. They were tied on with large, red leather bows!
     When Elizabeth went out she wore a hat (one with flowers), and when she stayed home she sometimes wore curlers because her mane was not naturally curly.
     Elizabeth lived along with a number of other horses in something that might be called a Horse Apartment House.

It was really a four-story stable with two elevators. All the horses had private steam-heated stalls. The horses who lived in this apartment house were all very elegant saddle horses and carriage horses. No truck horses or old vegetable-wagon horses lived here. The rent was rather expensive.
     When Elizabeth first came to live in the Horse Apartment House one spring day, the horses who already lived there were all very friendly to one

another. They neighed and nickered as they passed one another in the park or along the street. And that’s what they did in the stable as they went up and down the elevators together or put their heads over the walls of their private steam-heated stalls.
     But none of the horses ever neighed or nickered at Elizabeth. Because Elizabeth never neighed or nickered back. They all thought she was haughty and proud. But the truth of the matter is that Elizabeth was really a very shy horse, and she thought it was not ladylike to neigh or nicker at other horses.
     Elizabeth belonged to Miss Crumpet, an old-fashioned lady. Miss Crumpet was so old-fashioned she always rode side-saddle. She believed both lady horses and lady riders should dress and behave as ladylike as possible. And she was the one who brought a special hairdresser to curl Elizabeth’s mane and to wave her tail. Miss Crumpet saw to it, too, that the blacksmith always made high-heeled horseshoes for Elizabeth.
     A few days after Elizabeth came to the Horse Apartment House, another horse came to live there, too. He was a young horse with a sleek dark coat, and he was so handsome that when that when Elizabeth first saw him as they passed each other in the doorway she almost swallowed her bit. Her hat slipped sidewards, and she stumbled on her high-heeled shoes. The new horse smiled gently and watched her pass without a word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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	Elizabeth was a Lady Horse. And because she was a Lady Horse, she had long sweeping eyelashes, a lovely curly mane

(with bangs), a long pretty neck, and naturally a very gentle shape. And of course her well-brushed tail was wavy. Elizabeth had long slender legs, and because she was a Lady Horse, she did not wear just ordinary iron horseshoes.... Oh, no!... Elizabeth wore high-heeled horseshoes! And they were not attached to her hoofs with nails like ordinary horseshoes. They were tied on with large, red leather bows! When Elizabeth went out she wore a hat (one with flowers), and when she stayed home she sometimes wore curlers because her mane was not naturally curly. Elizabeth lived along with a number of other horses in something that might be called a Horse Apartment House.
It was really a four-story stable with two elevators. All the horses had private steam-heated stalls. The horses who lived in this apartment house were all very elegant saddle horses and carriage horses. No truck horses or old vegetable-wagon horses lived here. The rent was rather expensive. When Elizabeth first came to live in the Horse Apartment House one spring day, the horses who already lived there were all very friendly to one
another. They neighed and nickered as they passed one another in the park or along the street. And that’s what they did in the stable as they went up and down the elevators together or put their heads over the walls of their private steam-heated stalls. But none of the horses ever neighed or nickered at Elizabeth. Because Elizabeth never neighed or nickered back. They all thought she was haughty and proud. But the truth of the matter is that Elizabeth was really a very shy horse, and she thought it was not ladylike to neigh or nicker at other horses. Elizabeth belonged to Miss Crumpet, an old-fashioned lady. Miss Crumpet was so old-fashioned she always rode side-saddle. She believed both lady horses and lady riders should dress and behave as ladylike as possible. And she was the one who brought a special hairdresser to curl Elizabeth’s mane and to wave her tail. Miss Crumpet saw to it, too, that the blacksmith always made high-heeled horseshoes for Elizabeth. A few days after Elizabeth came to the Horse Apartment House, another horse came to live there, too. He was a young horse with a sleek dark coat, and he was so handsome that when that when Elizabeth first saw him as they passed each other in the doorway she almost swallowed her bit. Her hat slipped sidewards, and she stumbled on her high-heeled shoes. The new horse smiled gently and watched her pass without a word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .