My Friend Flicka

When Ken gets down to the house, his family is sitting down for breakfast. His father, referred to as “McLaughlin,” scolds him for his failing grades. Ken will have to repeat fifth grade.

The ranch’s foreman, Gus, comes into the kitchen and asks McLaughlin what his plans are for the day. When McLaughlin tells him that he plans to break the three-year-old horses, Ken’s mother, Nell, protests. She is adamant that it is too dangerous, but McLaughlin insists on doing it himself at a young age to preserve his relationship with the horses. Ken is shocked at his mother’s willingness to argue, even if his father doesn’t listen.

When Ken asks if he can help with bringing the horses in from the meadows, his father tells him it’s too dangerous. He then scolds Ken for not being careful when he rides, having broken a bridle and saddle reins and lost a saddle blanket in the last couple days. Ken argues that having a colt of his own would help, but McLaughlin insists that he is not responsible enough.

When McLaughlin and Howard leave, Nell consoles her son. She tells him that he can ride any of the horses. However, Ken is set on having a colt so that he has a “friend” that truly belongs to him. Although Nell sympathizes with him, she sends him out to feed the dogs, then to his room to study.

As Nell finishes cleaning up the kitchen, she thinks of her childhood back in Boston. In the city, she was able to live more freely and there were different expectations for her. Here, she is “the woman” of the house, responsible for cleaning and milking the cows. When she tries to take on different responsibilities, Gus and her husband take it as an insult. She hears the wind in the trees outside reminding her of the sounds of the sea.

Ken goes to his room to work on schoolwork. However, he gets distracted looking at the pictures on the wall and watching the horses out the window. His favorite picture shows two women embracing in a “desert land” with a man watching on; a quote in the corner reads, “Intreat me not to leave thee / nor to return from following after thee / For whither thou goest I will go, / And where thou lodgest I will lodge” (28). His mother comes in and tries to encourage him to write his English essay, hoping that he could still get credit for it, but Ken fails to even start before his hour of work is up.

Ken sneaks along the trail and hides along the irrigation ditch. He waits for his father to bring the 20 horses down from the meadows. After a few minutes, he falls asleep. When he wakes up, he runs onto the trail, scared that he missed the horses. Instead, he comes face-to-face with the lead mare, Rocket, who gets spooked and runs away.

As Ken watches on in horror, all the horses follow Rocket. They run toward a steep drop off known as the Rock Slide. However, at the last second, the stud, Banner, races to the front. When he stops Rocket, the other horses stop as well.

The horses continue down the trail. Ken hides by the side, hoping that his father didn’t see what happened. Instead, his father comes up, riding Shorty, and stops in front of Ken. Ken tries to apologize and explain what happened, but McLaughlin simply looks at him and then rides away.

Ken lies back down in the grass. He thinks of how much he disappointed his father and how he will never get a colt. Eventually, he falls asleep again for a few hours. When he wakes up, he makes his way back home, imagining that he is riding his new colt.

That night, Ken is quiet at dinner. Nell knows that her husband is angry about what happened, yet he refuses to bring it up. Instead, he talks with Howard throughout dinner about the horses. He expresses his frustration at how difficult Rocket is but emphasizes the importance of caring for all the animals they have, as they are their responsibility.

After, Nell lies in bed. She wishes that her husband would give in and let Ken have a colt, yet does not tell him so. As she listens to the quiet of the ranch, she thinks of how “lonely” it is compared to living in the city back East.

McLaughlin sits and looks at the accounts for the ranch. Nell asks him why he spends so much time with them when he never used to. McLaughlin explains how much more difficult things have gotten. They are rarely able to sell horses for more than they cost, especially with higher taxes on their purebreds. He is hopeful that things will get better, but they are close to bankruptcy. The conversation fills Nell with a sense of dread.

After Nell leaves, McLaughlin considers what to do with Ken. He knows that he should try to be closer with him, but Ken is too irresponsible. He wonders how to become “friends” with Ken over the summer.

After checking with his workers, Tim and Gus, in the bunkhouse, McLaughlin goes back to the kitchen where Nell is preparing her bread to bake the next morning. As McLaughlin sits and smokes his pipe, Nell brings up giving Ken a colt. McLaughlin insists that he is too careless. However, Nell argues that it may be what he needs to make him more responsible. Nell is adamant that, if they continue to wait for him to grow up, he will always be behind, especially with how smart and responsible Howard is.

In the Stable Pasture, the one closest to the stables, Rocket grazes alone. She struggles with the “agony” of the milk she carries. She searches for her filly, moving her way north to the fence. She neighs loudly, drawing the attention of the foals grazing on the other side of the hill. When Rocket’s filly hears it, she runs to the fence. Needing to reach her foal, Rocket manages to jump the fence—a feat that untrained horses typically can’t perform. Reunited, the filly nurses from her mother.

The next morning, Ken is slow to get out of bed. As the memory of stampeding the horses yesterday comes back to him, he feels shame at having to face his father. However, as his father grows angry when Ken isn’t at breakfast, Ken makes his way to the table.

To Ken’s surprise, McLaughlin tells him that he has decided that Ken no longer has to spend an hour on schoolwork each day. Instead, McLaughlin is going to let him pick a colt. Overwhelmed with excitement, Ken and his brother rush to the stables to get the Stud Book which lists all their horses.

Back at the table, Nell reads through the names, descriptions, and bloodlines. She tells Ken that she recorded 18 of them. However, a few did not make it into the book, as she could not track them in the pasture. McLaughlin points out that they were all bred from a horse named Albino, a reckless, all-white mustang that has always caused problems on the ranch.

As Ken reads the name of the horses, Howard makes suggestions for colts that will grow up to be big or fast. Meanwhile, McLaughlin emphasizes the importance of choosing a good bloodline.

Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Hicks. He has come to geld the nine two-year-old horses on the ranch.