The hay bale rocked a little, but seemed steady enough. At least until Bob leaned forward just a little too far. The hay bale suddenly tilted, and threw him over the edge. Bob yelled in fear, for he was sure he would hit one of the stall walls and be killed or badly hurt. Instead, he landed on thick straw inside one of the stalls.
Hitting the ground hard, Bob had the breath knocked out of him, and lay helpless for a minute. A dark shape loomed over him, and he realized he was in the stall of the Haflinger stallion! Unable to move, he could only watch as the big animal snuffled his hair curiously, and then lipped his face.
After a minute or two, he was able to stand up and ease his way out of the stall. A quick check of his hands showed that nothing had hapened. He shook his head, feeling sillly for beleiving the boy's story.
Roy was grinning at him from the barn's main door. "Ayep! I told you all it took was one touch. You'll be a fine, handsome animal."
"Don't try to pull that crap on me - I know better!" Bob snorted and started to push past the boy.
"The only crap you will be making is horse crap, mister." Roy chuckled. "Or are you just someone who is really horse-faced?"
Confused, Bob felt his face - and discovered that it stuck out a lot further than it used to. And it was getting larger every moment. "What's ahappening!?"
"You're turning into a Haflinger. Gonna be a real purty animal, too. Wonder if you'll be a mare or a stallion?"