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עמוד:27
Pablita A True Story Every morning Pablita , the horse , and her master , Pedro , went to the market to get fruit and vegetables . They sold the fruit and vegetables in two villages . They went to one village in the morning , and they went to the other village in the afternoon . Pablita always walked slowly through the streets as Pedro called out : "Apples ! Tomatoes ! " Everyone knew Pedro's friendly voice . Pablita knew her job and she did it well . Pablita always did what Pedro wanted . A high mountain stood between the two villages . Many years before , people had built a tunnel through the mountain . Cars , wagons , trucks , bicycles and carts went through this tunnel . Every day , at noon , Pablita went through the tunnel that connected the two villages . At noon on July 2 , 1988 , Pablita and Pedro were close to the tunnel as usual . Suddenly , Pablita stopped walking . Pedro was very surprised . He didn't see anything unusual . What was wrong with Pablita ? Why had the horse stopped before the tunnel ? Pedro called , "Come on Pablita , we don ' t have all day . " Pablita took two steps and then stopped again . Pedro climbed down from the cart . Maybe there was a stone in Pablita's hoof . He picked up Pablita's foot and looked at it . But there was no stone . Pedro climbed back onto the cart . He called to Pablita again . But she would not enter the tunnel . This was as far as she was going . Pedro got down again . This time , he tried to pull hard on Pablita's reins . But Pablita would not move . Many cars were behind Pablita . The tunnel was very narrow , so the cars couldn't pass Pablita . Drivers yelled and blew their horns , but Pablita stood still . The drivers began to shout impatiently . A police car came , and the policeman took over . "Let's lift this horse and clear the road , " the policeman said to the drivers . Soon , eight people stood around Pablita . Together , they tried to lift her off the ground . She didn't fight them , but her feet wouldn't move . They couldn't lift her . "Take off the cart ! " someone suggested . The men took off the cart and wheeled it to the side of the road . Pablita still didn't move . Many people gathered around her and tried to pull her . Pablita stood still , ready to fight . 6 Suddenly , everyone felt something strange . Was the earth moving ? It went very quiet . Time stood still . Then , the earth moved again . This time everyone was sure — the earth was shaking wildly . The movement became stronger and stronger . The people were very frightened . Then , there was a noise . It grew louder and louder , sounding like an endless roar . Right before everyone ' s eyes , the tunnel collapsed . Gradually , the noise became softer until it sounded like faraway thunder . Dust covered Pablita , the people and all the cars . Everyone stood silently , in shock . The tunnel was gone . In its place , there was a mountain of earth , Did Pablita know what was going to happen ? Some people in the village think that she knew that there was going to be an earthquake . Others think that maybe she was just acting strangely . One thing they all agreed on was that Pablita was a hero . She saved the lives of many people .
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