She could scarcely believe her eyes! There, in the veil of fog, and mounds of overgrowth stood the remains of a crumbling, abandoned carousel. She could see the still figures of encircling horses, their glory and finery dulled by exposure to the elements. "How can this be?" the young girl thought. Carefully she stepped onto the decaying platform. The horse nearest her looked frozen in time, wild mane billowing out from its arched neck, it hooves rearing up as it seemed to jump into the air. Even covered in old grime the horse was magnificent. It was strange, but she thought she heard faint music coming from the carousel. It was so very faint she attributed it to her imagination. She patted the neck of the wild horse and stepped into the stirrup hanging from his ornate saddle. As she settled herself onto his back she felt it tremble, or did it? She couldn't be sure. These were carved pieces of wood after all! It felt good to be on the back of a horse again, even one that wasn't real. Gently she patted her steed on the neck. "Good boy," she said softly. As if in response there was again a small tremble. She looked around her, it must be because it is old and not used to having weight on it. As her gaze scanned across the mirror closest to her, she saw movement. It almost seemed that the horse reflected in it had given its head a slight toss! "Wow! Her fancy was getting the best of her!" the girl laughed. Mom always said she had a wild imagination! She began to shift her weight to climb down from her chosen mount when she perceived something else. It had grown lighter even though it was getting close to evening. In the woods it always seemed to get dark earlier than at their house, so why was it lighter? It was then that she saw...