Flicka

I live on top of the world,

in the Never Summer Mountains of Wyoming,

8,000 feet closer to the sky.

In my mountains,

when spring finally comes to save me from a perpetual winter,

the world comes to life again,

and I remember what it is I'm here for.

I'm the only daughter in a long line of ranchers.

And when we let our horses out for the first time every spring,

I love to watch them rediscover the world.

I can see in them an expression of my own restless spirit.

Charged with an appetite for adventure,

they take to the land without hesitation.

They are pure power.

When I see them running wild and free,

I often think of the first horses

and how they were the true pioneers of America.

- -

Thank you, sir.

Time's up, Katy.

See ya!

- How'd you do? - Not too bad.

Oh, Katy!

I'm so glad I saw you before you left.

Can you give this to Howard for me?

Not a problem.

Thanks.

I think I'm gonna be seeing a lot of you this summer.

- Um, bye, Gracie. - See you next year, Miranda.

Hey, Jenny, wait up.

- Kathy McLaughlin. - Yes?

You need to come see the headmaster.

Bye! See ya!

Have a good summer!

Seems like I dropped you off yesterday.

Daddy.

Let's go home.

Okay.

Howard!

This is so cute, it's crazy.

What do you think? Too many horses?

Too much?

Too babyish?

- Shall we do it? - Mom!

- I know, I know, chill. - You got it.

- -

- She's here! -

My baby.

Has anybody seen my daughter?

Mom!

I missed you so much!

- How are you, baby? Oh... -

Oh, thank you.

- Howard! -

What?

This is from your fan club.

Hey, you okay?

Oh, he's gonna kill me.

How bad could it be?

- Worse. - Worse?

- Mm-hm. - You can tell me later.

I think your mom will finally sleep through the night.

Who wants to go runnin'?

Guess I can't avoid the inevitable.

Got to face him some time.

- - What is it, Yankee? Easy.

- - Hold on!

Yankee!

You scared it off!

- Norbert, it's your lucky day. - Oh, is that right?

You ready to meet a miracle on four legs?

Three-year-old stallion I been saving just for you.

- Something, ain't he, honey? - Mm, beauty.

Yeah, I can't use any more quarter horses.

I mean, any profit in middle manning horses

is fading faster than a mountain sunset.

I'll get Howard to bring him around.

No, now, I don't need him for the rodeo, either.

Folks are just bored with calf-roping and barrel racing.

- Howard! - Well, here's my check.

Now, just hold on a minute.

Now, I don't need any more horses, unless...

you might have something a little more interesting.

- For instance? - Mestengos.

Mustangs.

That's right, wild horses.

More loco the better.

- Morning. - Morning, hon.

No mustangs around here.

Them four-legged parasites can strip ten acres of grassland overnight.

Wild horse racing's my biggest draw now.

I had a purse last year near $10,000.

Only takes one mustang foal to ruin a herd,

and then my quarter horses wouldn't be pure quarter horse anymore, would they?

All I'm saying is, if you had a herd of mustangs around here, I'd buy 'em all.

If I had a herd of mustangs around here, I'd be ruined.

Rob, it's fine. It's fine.

Well... Nell, it's always a pleasure to see you.

- Thanks. - But as for your husband here, uh...

gelding would be my suggestion.

I'll see y'all next year.

Bye.

There goes money we already spent.

It's easy being a rancher with good luck.

We'll get by, like always.

Howard, call your sister, start muckin' the stalls.

Yes, sir.

- Mm! - She left before I got up.

- She what? - I'll go do it myself.

- You good boy. -

Where's Katy?

She must've taken Yankee out.

And for your dining pleasure, gentlemen,

wild gooseberry pancakes with crème fresh and rosemary chicken sausage.

Well, who lives better than us?

Uh, let me think... the Rockefellers.

Speaking of which,

you gonna put your brand on that little schoolgirl this summer?

You know, Jack, we stopped branding our females a few years back.

- Isn't that right, Rob? - Kinda miss it, though.

Well, take it from an expert, don't let that little flicka get away.

- The what? - It means, uh, "pretty girl" or somethin'.

- That's what Gus calls Katy. - Oh, he does, does he?

A flicka is just a young girl... innocent.

You can see in her face the beauty she will become.

I, uh, I think it's Swedish.

My mama used to call my little sister flicka.

I just saw a lion on the mountain. Dad, it was right there in front of me.

And this horse, this mustang, it just ran off the lion...

Slow down, Katy. Was it a lion, or was it a horse?

- It was both. We need to do something. - Where'd you see this lion?

I don't know where I saw it exactly, but it was there.

- Oh, did you see Sasquatch, too? - Somebody ask your opinion?

Katy, wait. What is this on your face?

You have blood all over you.

- It was a lion. Honest. - Well, as long as we're being honest,

do you have something you need to tell me?

About school?

- Did you tell him? - I didn't say anything.

The headmaster faxed this to us this morning.

Do you want to read it? Help me understand something, Katy.

He said he gave you the topic to your final essay in advance,

and you turned in a blank paper.

Not one word in two hours for the exam.

I wrote it in my head.

I just didn't... put it down.

In your head. Hmm.

Wouldn't have made a difference, anyway.

They just want us to spit back exactly what they want to hear.

I have an opinion, it's just not their opinion.