Unfortunately, the sound of boots on the pavement alerted them that someone was coming. They had no choice but to stop.
The man had returned.
"Trying to escape were we?" he asked.
Emily looked at Alison and Stephanie as they ran to the back of the pen. The looks of terror on their faces betrayed their emotions. Emily turned around.
"Please, let them go. I'll do anything you ask," Emily said.
The man rubbed his chin. "You're a brave little jenny. I'll give you that. Anything you say?"
"Yes sir," Emily said.
In truth, Emily was scared almost out of her mind. The instincts she felt seemed to grow stronger with her emotions. She needed every bit of self-control she had to keep them from overwhelming her.
"There's one problem, my girl. We can't have talking donkeys telling people where they came from. It would cause problems," the man said.
"Please, don't hurt us," Emily said. "What did you do with Evelyn and Nicole? You didn't hurt them did you?"
The man smiled.
"You'd like to see them wouldn't you?" the man asked.
Emily nodded.
"That's the problem, Emily. They were good donkeys. Donkeys bray and they brayed. You three did not," the man said.
The man petted Emily over the gate down her neck and back. It felt wonderful.
"There is still plenty of beer and other treats left," the man said. "There's no need for us to be enemies or for you to see me as a monster. I think you all just need a little help to become the young braying jennies I need you to be."
He stopped petting Emily.
"Can't you change us back and make us forget coming here?" Emily asked. "Then you won't have to worry."
The man rubbed his chin as though in thought. "An interesting idea, young lady, but if I could do that then why would I allow all of your fellow jennies to remember ever being anything but?"
Emily hung her ears. At the same time, knowing Nicole and Evelyn remembered made Emily feel better. Also knowing the Coachman's power had its limits also helped.
"The beer sounds okay but I'd rather have water," Emily said.
The Coachman shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself, girl. I assure you that you three are not going to be changing back. Your life as donkeys can be easy or it can be difficult. It's up to you."
Her situation was starting to feel all the more real. Emily more than anything wanted to relax and needed a vacation. However, Emily knew that she needed to be safe and in control of her situation to get that vacation. Right now, she was neither safe or in control.
"No, please, no," Emily said, tears forming in her eyes. "Just let us go home and be girls again. We won't tell anyone!"
"Yeah mister, we can pretend we never came here," Alison said.
"Yeah, we won't tell," Stephanie said.
"Do I take your word for that?" the man asked. "Tell me something, what's to stop you from telling once I leave you? I am not a fool."
"What about if we promise to never tell anyone?" Alison asked.
The man smiled. "If only it were that simple. But, we all know that promises can be broken by even the best of us."
The man again petted Emily a few times.
"I'm afraid you're donkeys from now on. You should have thought of the consequences of acting like asses when you still had the chance."
Emily hung her head and ears. This was it. From that point forward, Emily and the others really were going to be donkeys.
Her horror increased when she heard a bray come from the direction of Alison and Stephanie. Emily looked back to see Alison and Stephanie recoiling in horror.
"I just brayed," Alison said. "Emily, I couldn't help it! What if I get worse?"
"There are worse things to be than asses" the man said. "I'll be generous and allow you to decide what happens next. You have an hour."
The man walked away. Emily walked over to Alison and Stephanie.
"Did you really bray?" Emily asked.
Alison nodded as a tear formed in her eye.
"What if that means it's too late for me and I'm going to be like the others?" Alison asked.
Emily shook her head. "We can't give up. But if you start braying and can't stop, I'll ask the man for some beer so you won't be alone."
"Thanks Emily," Alison said.
"Emily, I really don't mind being a donkey," Stephanie said. "I'd much rather be on my uncle's farm with his donkeys. I know he'll take care of me if we can escape, get there and somehow let him know who we are."
"I guess we don't have a choice. He's not going to change us back," Emily said. "I don't know what else to do. We're going to have to fake bray."
Stephanie walked over to and nuzzled Emily. "Come on, being donkeys isn't going to be so bad."
"Let's try fake braying first," Stephanie said. "Maybe we'll be lucky and he'll believe it and we can tell the truth to the person he sells us to."
"Yeah" Alison said. "So, we start pretending to bray now?"
Emily nodded. It was a long shot but she knew that they had to try.
She wished this was a dream or story where she could stop reading or wake up if things got scary. Failing that, she wished it was a daydream where she could control what happened.
Being stuck this way with no immediate way out or possibly no way out at all was a terrifying concept. A vacation was one thing. Accepting that from that point on, they were all donkeys and that was that was something Emily didn't want to consider.