There were pieces of straw sticking out of my warm brown hair and the heat was starting to make my head hurt, but it was my job to watch over May. I stroked her muzzle along the line of white that stretched from the middle of her forehead to the middle of her nose. She nuzzled me with her head.

"You're going to be okay, May. I promise. Oh! That reminds me!" I said. I reached down into my boot and pulled out a small bag of sugar cubes. "I snuck these from King's stall, so don't tell." I whispered. May's eyes lit up and she struggled to get to her feet. I gently pushed her back down. She laid back down, her belly swollen with her colt. It was due soon, so I had to watch her incase it came. I put a sugar cube in my hand and she licked it up. I rubbed her honey colored neck and ran my fingers through her coarse black hair. I felt her shuddering breaths as they went through her neck. Usually we weren't so stressed about a mare giving birth, but May was terribly sick. I rubbed her stomach and felt a weird movement. Suddenly, May let out a neigh of pain and rolled onto her side, panting heavily. I sprang to my feet and raced from the stables to my house. I flung the door open and screamed;

"May is having her colt!" My dad jumped our of his chair along with the other stable-hands and they sprinted to the stables. I tried to follow, but Dad pushed me back.

"Not this time, Elizabeth." He said. Then he was gone. I stamped my boot and sat down at the kitchen table. I sat there for what seemed like forever when Dad and the others came back in. They looked very sullen. I stood up fast and my chair fell over.

"What's wrong? What happened? Is May okay?" I asked. Dad looked at me.

"May is fine, but...." He trailed off and I ran to the barn. I ran to May's stall and stepped inside. May was lying down, watching her colt wobble around. The colt was midnight black with a splatter of white on his chest. His hair was as black as the rest of him and he looked strong and healthy. His eyes kind of had a milky look to them. He kept bumping into walls and tripping over himself. I smiled and slowly walked over to him. I put my hand on his back and he jumped. I pet him and he nuzzled me. He nudged my face with his nose and sniffed me, tickling my cheeks and making me laugh. I got down on my knees and hugged him. Dad stood just outside the stall, watching me.

"Does he have a name yet?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Well then, we have to think of one!" I said, rubbing the little horse's nose. He sneezed and I laughed again. "How about...... Jay? That's kind of what the mark on his chest looks like anyway." Dad cleared his throat.

"Kinda looks like a bat to me. Have you ever heard the phrase, 'as blind as a bat?'" Dad asked.

"Yea, so? What's that got to do with.....oh. Oh no!" I said. I spun on my heel to face the little horse that was hopelessly tripping over his own feet and shaking his head from hitting it on the wall so much. I waved in front of his eyes and he didn't respond. I took a sugar cube out of my bag. I held it out in my palm, right in front of his right eye. Jay sniffed the air and turned his head towards me, trying to figure out where the cube was. He crunched on it and I sank to my knees.

"He's blind!"