YA novel. One scene in the book: On a dare a boy sprints across a pasture to touch a dead and decomposing cow and race back to his friend. Instead, he slips and falls inside the rotting carcass. Read late 1960s/early 1970s.

[Mitch]

I read this book in the late 60s/early 70s when I was in 6th or 7th grade and have never forgotten that scene. I hope to read it again to see if it is as funny now as it was then.

[Rainbowheart]

Red Sky at Morning

If I hadn’t tripped just as I got to the horse, I believe I could have made it. It’s hard to hold your breath for a long time when the air’s thin, and I wasn’t used to the altitude yet. I honestly think I could have carried it off if my foot hadn’t slipped on a beer bottle. When my chest hit the horse about midships it made a noise like an orange being squeezed, and the horse’s ribs began a slow caving-in movement. I pushed myself away and my hand went through his skin, surprising me so I took a deep breath without meaning to.