As a child, Ms. Pauline Taite saw a gleam of humor and intelligence in the eyes of their gray mule, Alec, that most people did not see. He gave help when it was needed and added a lot of fun when things were dull. Above all, these stories reflect the value of family, friends, trust, dependability and other traditional values that seem to have been forgotten in so many of the trendy children's story books. Many people might just look past Alex for something more exciting. Alex brought values to our family and was as much a member of our family as anyone. All of the stories in this collection,...