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nydus/Black BeautyPublic

A memoir narrated by a horse whose idyllic time on an English farm prepares him for a life filled with constant change and varied circumstances.

Page 31 of 201
Table of Contents

VIII

After that he never dared to come into my stall again; either my heels or my teeth were ready for him, and he knew it. I was quite quiet with my master, but of course he listened to what the man said, and so I was sold again.

“The same dealer heard of me, and said he thought he knew one place where I should do well. ‘ ’Twas a pity,’ he said, ‘that such a fine horse should go to the bad, for want of a real good chance,’ and the end of it was that I came here not long before you did; but I had then made up my mind that men were my natural enemies and that I must defend myself. Of course it is very different here, but who knows how long it will last? I wish I could think about things as you do; but I can’t, after all I have gone through.”

“Well,” I said, “I think it would be a real shame if you were to bite or kick John or James.”

“I don’t mean to,” she said, “while they are good to me. I did bite James once pretty sharp, but John said, ‘Try her with kindness,’ and instead of

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