This is Diamond, my pony, who lived in the pasture where The Eye Tree grew. He hated the tree, or feared it. At any rate, he never stood beneath it.
No animal did. They wouldn’t even go near it, unless they had to.
I don’t know what she told them. I don’t think I want to know. It was enough to see all the horses, and sometimes cows too, leap into a gallop as soon as they passed the invisible line at the utmost reach of her east-facing branches. They usually didn’t stop until they were a couple of acres away.
Likewise, any self-respecting animal did not stand long within The Stick House. Often and often, the horses congregated on the back side, or south of it, where the north winds were cut down, and where The Eye Tree could not clearly see.
Once in a while Diamond stood within, however. He was a different kind of horse, whom my sister hated.
This was because of the Indian on the pony which appeared late one night…
Part 7
To be continued…
