He had found plenty of things for him to do, too. Alec never had known there was so much to be done around a house—and his father hadn’t missed up on a thing. The front and back porch gleamed with new paint. The garage doors now opened easily and stayed open. The cellar shone with cleanliness. And Alec never knew so many leaves could fall from trees. One day he would rake up and burn hundreds of them; the next day the yard would be covered again. Then with the coming of cold weather, there was work to be done in the house. Luckily enough, even though it was now January, snow hadn’t fallen and the walks didn’t have to be shoveled.

There was still no news about the Black’s parentage.

“I’m afraid it’s no use, Henry,” Alec told him.

“Don’t give up yet, son,” Henry replied, but Alec could tell that he, too, had very little hope.

One afternoon, Alec walked toward the barn. The sky was overcast and the air cold. “Have to take it easy with him today,” he thought. He pulled open the barn door. Henry sat in his favorite chair, tipped perilously back on two legs against the wall. He was looking at the Black, who was moving restlessly in his stall.

Henry turned as the boy closed the door. “Hello, Alec,” he said.

“Hello, Henry. What’s the matter with the Black?”

“He’s all right,” replied Henry. “Kept him in all morning, though, and he’s pretty fidgety. The ground’s pretty hard, and I didn’t want him out there by himself. He’ll feel better after you’ve given him a few turns around the field. Do your best to hold him down.”

The stallion snorted and reached his head out toward Alec. Alec went over and placed a hand on his nose. “Hello, fella,” he said. “Want to get some air, don’t you?” The stallion shook his head.

“How’s everything at school?” Henry asked.

“Managing all right, Henry. Made up most of my work, and things seem to be working out better than ever before. Guess it must be the regular hours,” and he laughed.

“Yep,” said Henry. “Keep it up, Alec, and we’ll show your folks that you can raise a champion race horse and get good marks at the same time!”

Alec looked out the window. “Henry,” he exclaimed, “look, it’s snowing!”

The front legs of Henry’s chair came down with a bang. He went to the window beside Alec. “Sure enough it is,” he said. They watched the snow fall heavier and heavier. “Well, it’s about time, anyway. Never seen it hang off so long before,” he said.

“Yeah,” said Alec glumly, “and I can just see myself shoveling tons of it off the walk!”

A regular blizzard started raging outside. “Sure is coming down,” said Henry.

The Black was watching the snow, too. His eyes were wide with wonder, his ears pitched forward. “Henry,” said Alec, “look at the Black. This is the first time he’s seen snow!”