Black Beauty Synopsis
Excerpt from Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse
The first place that I can well remember was a pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it. Some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end. Over the hedge on one side we' looked into a plowed field, and on the other we looked over a gate at our master's house, which stood by the roadside; at the top of the meadow was a grove of fir trees, and at the bottom a running brook, overhung by i a steep bank.
While I was young I lived upon my mother's milk, as I could not eat grass. In the daytime I ran by her. Side, and at night I lay down close by her. When it was hot we used to stay by the pond in the shade of the trees, and when it was cold we had a warm shed near the grove.
There were six young colts in the meadow beside me; they were older than I was. I used to run with them, and had great fun. We used to gallop all together round the field, as hard as we could go, and some times we had rather rough play, for they would bite and kick, as well as gallop.
One day when there was a good deal of kicking, my mother whinnied to me to come to her, and then she said: I wish you to pay attention to what I am going to say. The colts who live here are very good colts, but they are cart-horse colts, and they have not learned manners. You have been well-born and well-bred; your father has a great name in these parts, and your grandfather won the cup at'the races; your grandmother had the sweetest temper of any horse I ever knew, and I think you have never seen me kick or bite. I hope you will grow up gentle and good, and never learn bad ways; do your work with a good will, lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick even in play.
I have never forgotten my mother's advice. I knew she Was a wise old horse, and our master thought a great deal of her. Her name was Duch ess, but he called her Pet.
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About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781528462303 |
| Publication date: |
19th April 2018 |
| Author: |
Anna Sewell |
| Publisher: |
Forgotten Books an imprint of Fb&c Ltd |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
76 pages |
| Suitable For: |
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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About Anna Sewell
Anna Sewell was born on March 30th 1820, in Norfolk in England and was crippled while still very young. As such, she spent much time on horse-drawn carriages that allowed her some freedom of movement, and she developed as a result a great concern for the proper treatment of animals. Sewell's mother was a successful writer for children and Sewell spent time editing the texts and becoming acquainted with writing.
Sewell wrote only one book: the famous and enduringly popular Black Beauty (1877). She lived as an invalid for most of her existence, and Black Beauty - the tale of a mistreated horse with a happy ending - was written entirely in the last decade of her life when she was confined to her house. The story came from the horse's mouth, literally, as the horse spoke of extremes of joy and suffering. It was perhaps this humanising of the beast that made it such as success both as a book and as a catalyst for change in people's attitudes towards animals.
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