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the little saddle<\\h1>\par The Littlest Saddle\par \par It sat on its rack, lonely and still,\par Covered by blankets, smelling of sweat,\par Years had passed, as must they may,\par Forgotten, forlorn, and weathered by time.\par \par When I was born, and bright, shinny new,\par The little Boy\rquote s eyes, like stars did twinkle,\par Oohing and ahhing, and a birthday cake,\par On his face and hands and smeared on my seat.\par \par My place on a stand, like a trophy hard won, \par Polished and kept, at the foot of his bed,\par Last to be seen, as sleep filled his eyes,\par First to be touched, when breakfast was neigh.\par \par Now out grown with time, and replaced by another,\par Play day won and rodeo reared,\par Stored and forgotten, my shine dusted away,\par My place of honor, now a smelly ol\rquote stand.\par \par My fine tooling, with dust and dirt caked,\par My soft wool, now matted or gone,\par Rich leather, cracked and crying for oil,\par To the littlest saddle, it seemed life was gone.\par \par So slowly and quietly, the blankets came off,\par Light hits my face, as the dirt\rquote s washed away,\par Oils and creams rubbed into my skins\par My leather softens and shines and my life starts again.\par \par My old owner\rquote s now filled with the pride of his new Son,\par Blond hair tussled from a new little hat,\par Chaps and boots, just out of the box,\par The newest littlest, cowboy, walks stiffly with pride.\par \par The littlest saddle, now shinny and cleaned,\par Retrieved from its roost, with new honor and pride,\par The littlest cowboy, now has something to ride,\par The littlest saddle, with the youngest astride,\par Now a most precious item, in the littlest of eyes.\par \par }