"Never Judge A Book Bye It's Cover"

"Jumpin' jackrabbits, Doc!" Mr. Rogers wailed when he got his first look at the new colt Doctor Dan just delivered.

Mr. Rogers is a horse rancher around these parts. He's had his ranch for years. His dad and grandad ran the place years before he did. It was his hope his son Junior would take over when he got too old to carry on.

"Doc, that young critter doesn't have a tail...just a little nub. What would cause that? Mrs. Rogers asked the vet.

"I'm not sure what causes it, I've seen it before though." Doctor Dan told him. "He may look a little strange but I can assure you he's healthy as a horse." The doctor joked trying to put Mr. Rogers' mind at ease.

"All joking aside, Mr. Rogers, he is healthy in every other way. You'll have to keep his sprayed with insect repellent though." He said. "That's what the good Lord gave these critters tails for...swatting flies."

"He won't be able to swoosh the flies off his back with that little nub so you'll have to do the job for him." Doc said. "So congratulations...what will you be calling him?" The vet asked.

"Well...I'll tell you...the fancy name I had picked out for this colt somehow now just doesn't fit him." Mr. Rogers answered. "I'll wait until Junior comes home and let him choose a name Doc, if that's okay?" Mr. Rogers wondered.

"That's fine, I'll check back in a few days. We can get all the paper work done after I check out the little fellow one more time." Old Doctor Dan said.

"What in the world will I tell Junior?" Mr. Rogers told his wife.

You see, for some time now Junior had been begging for his very own horse. One he could keep and not have to sell once it was weaned from it's mother. Every time he had to care for a colt until it was weaned he always got emotionally attached to them. He wanted one of his own to love and care for.

Mr. Rogers talked with the missus and they decided Junior was old enough and responsible enough to now own his own colt. They had promised this one to him but with this nubby tail...well, he just didn't know how Junior was going to take the news. It was nearly time for the boy to come home from school. Mr. Rogers would know then what to expect.

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers were discussing the situation when Junior came running in out of breath. He met Doctor Dan on the dirt road leading to their ranch. The doctor told the boy the new cold had arrived. He decided to let Mr. Rogers tell him about his nub of a tail.

"Dad...Dad, Dr. Dan said the colt has come...come on, let's go out to the barn...I want to see him." The lad was screaming with anticipation.

"Hold up now Junior, just hold up. We need to talk first." Mr. Rogers said trying to settle the boy down.

"It seems the colt was born with a slight birth defect. Now, before you see him...Dr. Dan says he's perfectly healthy...he just looks a little strange." The man told his son.

"A birth defect? I don't understand, Dad. Dr. Dan told us weeks ago the colt seemed to be doing just fine." Junior worried.

"Yes, he still is just fine...he...well...I don't know what more to say. You'll see when we get to the barn." Mr. Rogers hesitated.

When Junior walked through the tattered old barn doors he did so slowly, almost afraid of what he might see. He carefully moved around the old tractor and made his way around to the stall where the new colt and his mother were being kept.

The new colt was lying in the fresh hay Mr. Rogers had put out after the birth. It was hard to see all of the baby at first. At a glance he didn't see anything wrong. The little fellow then, wobbly, stood up and he was in full view of Junior.

"Oh my, Dad...I see what you mean!" The boy laughingly blurted out. "He doesn't have a tail! I was afraid to look, I didn't know what to expect. If a tail is all he's missing he'll be fine...won't he, Dad?"

"Yes, Doc Dan assured me he would be, Junior." The dad told his son. "We were worried you might not want this colt when you saw him. I'm glad you want him. A lot of young people wouldn't settle for anything but the best. I'm proud of you, boy."

"It's okay Dad, I'll be the only kid in Clayton County that has a horse with no tail. Neat, huh Dad?" Grinned Junior.

"Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it, boy." Mr. Rogers laughed with relief.

He and Mrs. Rogers were worried the boy would be disappointed with the colt. They couldn't have sold the colt since he didn't have a tail, nobody would want it. This way they weren't actually going to out much money because Dr. Dan donated his time as a gift to Junior.

Junior was a good boy who had a lot of friends. He was the kind of kid who would walk that last mile for you if you needed him to. Doctor Dan knew he had his thirteenth birthday coming up so this was his birthday gift to him.

If a young man in these parts didn't have his own horse by the time he reached his teens it would be a social disaster...at least that's how the young boys saw it.

Junior climbed inside the stall for a better look at the new arrival. He carefully checked him from his head to his tai...well, you get the picture.

"My, but you're a pretty little thing. I'll bet you'll be the fastest runner in the county won't you, boy?" Junior said as he was rubbing the colt's long neck and legs.

"And now...a name...what shall we call you?" He said.

"Well, it's no since trying to hide the fact you don't have a tail because I think everyone will notice that right off." He thought to himself.

"We'll just name you Nubby and act like we were expecting a colt with no tail all along. What do you think, boy?" The boy asked.

The little colt looked up at Junior as if he understood every word he was saying. There was already a special bond beginning with the two youngsters...one that would last for some time to come.

Doctor Dan came a few days later to check out the colt once more. Again he assured Junior and his dad the little colt was otherwise fine. He was perfectly healthy.

While he was there he showed Junior how to keep the rear end of the colt sprayed with a repellent.

"It's not necessary to cover his entire body with it, just the area he normally would have hit with his tail." The doctor told the lad. "You keep him sprayed in the summer, keep his tummy full, give him a lot of love and I can promise you he will be fine." He assured the boy.

After hours of begging and pleading from Junior his parents agreed to let him sleep in the barn to be near the colt. There were still a few weeks of school left before the summer break and his parents were concerned he would let his homework suffer while he cared for the colt.

They finally agreed with a couple of conditions. One, that his homework would be done inside the house as soon as he comes in from school. The other condition was all his chores would be taken care of before he left for school in the mornings. This would leave the biggest part of the afternoon and evenings he could be with the colt. The two youngsters were rapidly becoming best friends.

The next few weeks seemed to drag by slowly. Junior couldn't wait until school was out so he could devote most of his time to Nubby. Of course he still had a mess of chores to do every day but he managed to get them done before breakfast every morning. Once in awhile Mr. Rogers would have Junior help him with repairing fence posts but, for the most part, Junior's day was clear to do everything he wanted with Nubby.

There wasn't a day went by Junior didn't fuss over that colt. If he wasn't spraying him he was brushing him. It's a wonder Nubby had a coat of hair left.

Except for his tail he was a fine looking piece of horse flesh. Junior knew it too and he bragged about Nubby to all his friends. Mr. Rogers thought it would be best for the youngsters not to come around until Nubby was weaned. He didn't want Nubby's mom to get excited while she was still nursing him.

Usually the mare was pretty evenly tempered but you never knew what a mama might do if she felt her baby was in danger. A bunch of rowdy boys was not the best thing to have around her right now.

It seemed like to Junior it took forever until his father thought it was safe enough to bring his friends around but the day had come.

Junior couldn't wait until Rusty, Joey and Mickey saw his most prized possession, Nubby. The three boys got their first horses this spring as Junior did. Junior had seen their colts and thought Nubby was the best by far. He had told the boys about Nubby's tail, or lack of it, but I guess the old adage is right. One picture is worth a thousand words. Junior wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"What do you guys think of Nubby...isn't he neat?" Junior asked the trio.

"Well...I, er...I...I don't know what to think, Junior." Rusty told him.

"I think he's kind of weird looking if you ask me." Mickey volunteered.

Joey slowly walked around him a few times looking him over then...

"Well...I'm just glad he's yours and not mine because I think he's the stupidest looking thing I've ever seen."

With this uncalled for remark the three boys roared with laughter and began making all kinds of wise cracks about Nubby.

Junior's feelings were hurt. He couldn't understand why they were making fun of Nubby the way they were. He had only good things to say about their colts. Even though Joey's colt is too skinny, he was polite enough not to mention it. Rusty's colt doesn't miss much being cross-eyed but he didn't make rude remarks about it. Mickey's colt has a pot-belly but he didn't make jokes about him either.

"Come on guys...I thought you were my friends. Why are you acting so rude?" Junior asked the youngsters.

"Oh...come on now, Junior. You have to admit he is pretty silly looking." Mickey bellowed.

"Yeah, he looks like a huge Cocker Spaniel." Rusty said laughing so hard he nearly fell off the split-rail fence he was straddling.

"No Rusty, he doesn't look like a Cocker Spaniel. He looks like a donkey you pin the tail on." Joey said as tears was running down his face from laughing so hard.

"Okay...that's it...you've seen enough of Nubby." Junior told the boys. "I think it's time you went on home now."

"We haven't seen enough of him yet Junior, when do we get to see his tail?" Rusty laughed.

With these words the boys roared with laughter and started meandering down the dirt road.

It was all Junior could do to choke back the tears that were swelling up inside him. He adored Nubby and he couldn't understand how three young men could be so cruel to one of their friends.

"Don't worry boy, they're just jealous that's all. You're my colt and I love you." Sadly Junior told Nubby.

Junior led the colt out of the training corral and into the barn. He really was disgusted with his friends. He couldn't believe anyone could be so out and out mean. He decided to talk to his father about what had happened. Maybe he could shed some light on why these young boys would act that way.

"Junior, unfortunately everyone isn't as polite and well mannered as you. I expecially hate it this particular time because they're your friends. You have to overlook cruel remarks people make about Nubby. The worst of it is there will probably be many more remarks made by other people too. Let's face it, Nubby is a novelty right now. Maybe as people get used to him they will settle down a little bit." Mr. Rogers told his son.

"But Nubby is really smart, Dad. Did you know he knows how to open the corral gate now?" Junior asked. "I think that's pretty smart but I only had to tell him once not to do it anymore...and he hasn't." Junior grinned.

"I know Son...Nubby is your horse and you don't have to worry about what other people think. Some people just don't know you should never judge a book by it's cover." He said.

"Huh...I don't get it, Dad." The boy told his father.

"Well, by that I mean...well... for some reason we humans seem to judge people by how they look, you know on the outside. We should be judging them by what's on the inside. You can't tell how good a book is going to be to read by just looking at the cover." His dad said.

"You mean just because someone is pretty on the outside...doesn't necessarily mean they're pretty on the inside. And just because someone is not so pretty on the outside...doesn't mean they're not pretty on the inside." Right, Dad?" The boy asked.

"Well, that's a little wordy, Son, but I think you get the drift of it. Your friends see Nubby as funny looking on the outside...what they don't know is how smart and talented he is on the inside. Once they get to know him better, you'll see, they'll regret they laughed at him. This also is a good thing to remember about people too, Son." The lad's father said with a wink.

"Thanks, Dad." The boy said with a grin. "I can always depend on you to help me understand things. I'll be glad when I'm grown so I will know everything like you do." The boy said.

"Oh Son...oh my goodness. That's another lesson, Son. Nobody knows it all...just some folks think they do." He said laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach.

Time has a way of slipping by quickly when you're on summer break. It seemed like just yesterday Doc Dan delivered the colt. Now he was growing into a beautiful horse...tail or no tail. Junior gave all his time to Nubby that summer and didn't see too much of his friends. He'd nod when he saw them at church services but that was about it.

The first day of school is always fun. You get to meet new people and see old friends. Speaking of old friends, Junior saw the three laughing hyenas walking toward him in the hall.

"Hey Junior, we didn't see much of you this summer. Are you still mad because we laughed at your colt? We were just poking fun...you know that, don't you?" Rusty asked.

"Yeah, I guess..."

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