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5. Becoming a job horse

My master had many carriages for rental. He rented them out with his horses. Sometimes

his men drove the carriages, and sometimes the customers drove them. All kinds of people

rented me. Some of them didn't know anything about horses. They were very bad or careless.

Because I was good tempered, my master rented me to the most ignorant customers.

The master fed and looked after me in the other horses very well, but the stable was very dirty.

There I became friends with many different horses. They were all very tired and had sad life stories.

One day a very kind gentleman hired me for a carriage. His name was Mr. Berry, and he liked me very much.

He knew I was unhappy and deserved a good place. And he bought me. He treated me very well and

kept me in a very nice stable. But his head groom was a thief. He stole my oats and

other food every day and sold them. So I was hungry all the time, and I became weak and

unhealthy. Mr. Berry sent his groom away and hired a new groom, Alfred. This man knew nothing

about grooming. He never cleaned the stable. The dirty air in the mud in the stable made me ill.

Mr. Berry sent Alfred away too. He decided not to have a stable or horses anymore.

He sent me to a horse fair. I was for sale as a job horse. The fair was an amusing place with

all kinds of horses. Some were young and healthy, some were old and weak. A lot of men looked at

me. They looked into my mouth and at my legs and eyes. The rich ones walked off when they saw my

scars. Some of the men were very kind and patted me. They asked questions about me.

I liked one of these men very much. He was not a gentleman, but he was very gentle. I hope this

man buys me, I said to myself. He was a small, friendly man. He loves horses, I thought. He offered

twenty -three pounds for me, but the seller refused it, so the man walked off. I was disappointed.

He wants to buy me, but he doesn't have much money, I thought to myself again. Five minutes

later he came back. I was so glad and I've reached my head towards him. He stroked my face and said,

well, we suit each other, don't we? And to the seller he said, I'll give you twenty -four pounds

for this horse. Give twenty -five and take him, said the seller. Twenty -four pounds, not a penny

more, the small man said. I'll write. Pay the money and the horse is yours, said the seller.

The small man fed me at an inn. Then we went to London and stopped on a narrow street in

a poor part of the city. There were stables on one side. My new master whistled and his

wife Polly came out of a small house with two children.

Look, Harry and Dolly, your father brought us a handsome horse, she said to the children

cheerfully. The children patted me. Dolly was very young, but she wasn't afraid of me.

My master led me to a small stall in a comfortable, clean stable. There was an old white horse

in it. His name was Captain. This was a poor but very happy family. They loved each other.

My master's name was Jeremiah Barker, but everyone called him Jerry.

Jerry was a cab man, and he had a small carriage. He didn't earn much money. That night, Captain

spoke to me in the stable. You are a cab horse now like me. It is very tiring and difficult

to be a cab horse in London. But we are lucky because Jerry is a very kind man. He is not cruel

like other cab drivers, he said. Captain was a noble horse. When he was young, he belonged

to an army officer. Captain also gave me some information about our job.

Jerry worked sixteen hours every day. He harnesses only one horse to his cab. I will

work in the mornings, and you will work in the afternoons.

We will each work for eight hours a day, he said.

In the morning, Captain went to work with Jerry. When Harry came home from school, he gave

me food and water. And when Jerry came home for dinner, Paulie cleaned his cab. After dinner,

Jerry and Paulie put on my harness together.

What a good, tempered horse! What is his name, asked Paulie? Jerry said, I don't know. The

seller didn't tell me. Let's call him Jack, like our last horse.

Then Jerry and I went to a good part of the city. We arrived at a cab stand on a wide street.

There were tall buildings and many shops on it. Many horse cabs were waiting in a line.

We went to the end of the line and began to wait.

While we were waiting, a big cab man came near us. He was the oldest cab driver at the

stand. They called him Governor. He looked at me carefully and examined my legs, my body

and neck.

You have a good horse, Jerry. He is the right kind for you, he said. The other cab drivers

also looked at me. They said I was a very good horse.

I was very tired in my first week. Driving in London was very hard. The streets were

full of horse cabs, carts and horses. But Jerry was a very good driver. And he was very

gentle to me. He never whipped me. He made me go with just a light touch of his whip.

I saw many cab horses in London. Most of them worked long hours without any water or food.

Jerry never made me run fast. When passengers wanted to go somewhere fast, he didn't take

them. He didn't even accept extra money. He knew all the shortcuts to the hospitals and

to the train station. When somebody needed to go to these places, we made fast journeys.

I did my best to please Jerry, because he was as good as my first master, Farmer Grey,

and my first groom, John. He gave me and captained a day's rest on Sundays. He did not work

that day. Polly and Harry often came to see me in the stable. They gave me apples or bread.

I was a happy horse again, just like in my black beauty days.

One day, when we were waiting in front of a big park, a shabby old cab drove up beside

us. An old brown horse was pulling the cab. The horse looked at me carefully and said,

Black Beauty, is that you? I was shocked. It was Ginger. She looked very different.

She was very thin and weak. I felt sorry for her because she looked very tired and ill.

Ginger, I'm so happy to see you. What happened to you? I asked.

Lord Wesleyan sold me to a cab stand. I had many owners after that. They were all very

bad and they made me work too hard. But you look good. I am glad.

Then her driver whipped her and they left. I think she died a few weeks after that.

It was a very rainy and cold day. The traffic was very heavy because there was an election

in London that day. There were many cabs and carts in front of us and we couldn't move.

Just then a young woman carrying a small child came near us.

Can you please tell me the way to St. Thomas Hospital? And how far is it from here?

She asked Jerry. My child is very ill. I'm a stranger here. We came from the country

this morning. They say the doctors at St. Thomas Hospital can save my child.

Oh, the hospital is a long way from here. You can't walk there in this weather. And the

child is too heavy for you, Jerry said. Get into my cab. I'll drive you there.

I can't do that. I don't have enough money, said the woman.

If I ride in your cab, I can't buy a ticket for the train home.

I don't want any money from you, dear. I just want to help you.

I know you're feeling because I am the father of two young children, Jerry told her.

Then he jumped down and helped the woman onto the cab. The child was crying and Jerry

patted him kindly. When we arrived at the hospital, Jerry helped the woman again.

The woman thanked him several times. You're so kind and helpful. I'm glad I met you, she

said, and Jerry led her through the big door.

When we were leaving, a lady stopped us and got in. She wanted to go to Paddington

station. Then she recognized Jerry.

Jeremiah Barker? Is that you?

You, the kind man, she said. Then she asked, how is Paulie? How are the children?

And Jerry told her about their life on the way.

The lady was Paulie's old mistress in the country. Before she got off the cab, the

lady asked Jerry, how about your health? Do you still get ill every winter?

Yes, madam, I do, and it's getting worse and worse every year. But I must work even

when I'm ill, answer Jerry.

You must get another job, Jerry, driving a cab in cold weather is very risky.

Maybe you should work in the country as a groom or as a gardener.

I'll ask my friends. I'll send Paulie a letter if there is a good job.

Thank you, Mrs. Fowler. That's very kind of you, Jerry said politely.

The lady thanked him and got off. She gave a tip of ten shillings for Dolly and Harry.

That winter Jerry was very ill. He was coughing all the time and had a high

temperature. He stayed in bed for a whole month.

The governor sometimes drove his carriage and gave Jerry the earnings.

One day, Harry was cleaning Captain together with the governor. Dolly came into

stable. She was very excited.

Hey, Harry! My mum is very happy. She received a letter from Mrs. Fowler.

Mrs. Fowler needs a new coachman in her country house. She wants us to go there.

She will give us a cottage. Oh, that's wonderful. I hope there's a school there.

I can also work as Mrs. Fowler's gardener. Or as a stable boy.

Does father know about this? Harry asked.

Mother's upstairs in his room now. She's telling him the news.

Jerry and Polly discussed Mrs. Fowler's offer for a week and finally decided to accept it.

We can go there in April. I think you will recover before that, Polly said.

I was so happy for this family, but I felt sad because I didn't want to part from them.

This will be another sad change in my life, I said to myself.