The next morning, Penny awakened in a sandy plain on a shore that had a forest near it. After swimming away from the Coachwoman's ship, Penny saw that shore and headed for it. It had been very difficult for Penny at all because she had hooves.
Penny sat on the sand. She felt better. stronger. Her heart leaped. Penny looked around her and saw the forest, it had tall trees and green and fresh grass and bushes. That caught her attention.
"Well, at least I won't go hungry here. There's plenty of grass to eat", Penny thought.
Penny didn't know where she was but she didn't care about it, she knew she was already free. She no longer had to worry about the Coachwoman and Farmer Nielsen. And that made her happy.
"Well, if I'm going to be an ass... I would be a free ass. I may never find a way to return to my human form, but that doesn't mean I can't make my own life. Maybe I'll get used to living in this forest. If a lot of animals do it, why not me? After all, I'm an animal." Penny kept thinking, imagining herself wallowing in the flowers, trotting along the forest paths, running on a shallow lake and braying happily through the tall trees and hearing her own echo.
Maybe she could start her new freedom running along the shore. So Penny got ready to start running. She pushed her hair back with a hand and then she stood on all fours laying her hands and knees on the sand...
Wait... Hands! Knees!
Penny gasped and looked down at herself. Hands! Arms! Legs! Feet! No hooves! No furry legs! No hairy body!
Penny turned and looked behind her, at the very end of her body. "Yessss! No tail! I'm a girl again!" she cried in disbelief. She held her hands up in front of her eyes, wiggling her fingers and giggling.
Next Penny ran her hands down her legs. "Feet! I've got real girl-type feet!"
Penny crossed her eyes to see and gingerly patted her nose, her cheeks, her mouth. She was normal! She felt giddy. Penny threw back her head and laughed out loud.
"But... how?," Penny asked herself how she had changed back into a human girl.
"Well, the important thing is that now I can return home... although staying in the forest forever is also a tempting idea. Living naturally." Penny began to doubt.
Penny scrambled to her feet and looked down at her body. "Oh, no!" she whispered. "I'm not wearing anything."