Ernie Scruffpot, wood merchant and longtime resi- dent of Frimp-in-the-Marsh thought it a great idea to buy a chicken or perhaps even a pony, a friend to keep him company. Cyril, a roman -nosed bad tempered grey pony has his own ideas. Up for sale at Tickleford Market he is far from friendly, so why is Ernie even giving him a second glance? Especially seeing that Ernie has no experience at all with ponies naughty or otherwise.