An interview with Charlene the Star

"Good morning, Charlene, it's a pleasure to be talking to you this morning."
"Thank you, Deanie, I'm delighted to be spending time with you today. I know that my big brother, Charlie, and my friend, Hattie, have already had an interview with you. I was hoping it would be my turn!"

• Charlene, I know that your family is famous for racing. Have you tried it?

"Yes, I have, but it just wasn't fun for me. I thought running in circles couldn't be more bor-ing. Besides, I wasn't very good at it either. I wasn't fast. Do you know anyone who likes to be a slow racehorse? Actually, I might not have tried racing at all, but my mom said I should at least try it, to see whether it was fun. She was right about that because otherwise I wouldn't have known whether it was my favorite thing or not."

• How did you show your trainer that you didn't like racing?

"Oh, that's a great question, Deanie. I did lots of things to show them that racing just wasn't my thing. For example, I ran around the racetrack yawning as widely as I could. That didn't seem to work, so I did my crow hops. You know, they're the little bucks that I do when I'm having a tantrum. FINALLY, they got the idea that I'd rather do something else."

• What did you think you wanted to do instead, Charlene?

"I thought about becoming a model. I do have nice legs and I think they would have looked beautiful under the spotlight. My red coat(the hair covering my body) would have looked pretty under the lights, too. But, I would have always had to diet-yuck! And I would have had to give up my favorite  treat, peppermint candies! That would have been very hard indeed."

• What did you do instead?

"Oh, I can't give away everything that happened, but I did discover my talent. Now I love what I'm doing. It's really great fun."
What would you like children to remember about your story?
"I'd like all of the children to remember that it's okay if you have different talents than your friends. We all look different and we have our own special skills that we need to develop so we do our best. I think every child needs to learn this lesson."
"Thank you so much, Charlene. We had a lovely time today and you answered the questions very well. I'm sure children will enjoy learning more about you."
"You're welcome, Deanie. it was such fun. Actually, it was my first interview. I must do more of these. I'll recommend them to my friends."