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YDS Publishing Simplified Readers. Level. A2. Black Beauty. by Anna Seawell.

Chapter 1. My First Home. I don't know much about my early days. I just remember a big

beautiful meadow. There was a small pond in the middle of it. There were shady trees

around the pond. And there were beautiful water lilies in it. On one side of the

meadow, there was a field. And on the other side, there was a big gate. It was the

gate to my master's house. I was too young to eat grass, so I fed on my mother's

milk. My mother took good care of me. At day time, I ran by her side, and at night,

I lay next to her. When the weather was hot, we stood by the pond under the trees. On cold

days, we stayed in a warm shed on the farm. Then I was old enough to eat grass, and my

mother began to work for our master, Farmer Grey. Sometimes he rode her, and sometimes she

pulled his carriage. I often played with the other colts in the meadow. We galloped around

the pond and had lots of fun. One day while I was playing, my mother called me and gave

me some advice.

You are a very good colt, she said. Your friends are good too. But they are cart horse

colts. You come from a very good family. Your father has a very good name in this area.

Your grandfather was Lord Wesleyan's best horse. The horse is in our family never kick

or bite. I hope you will be gentle like them. You must not have bad habits. Never kick or

bite, and always obey your master. I never forgot my mother's advice. She was a wise horse,

and our master liked her very much. Her name was Duchess, but he called her pet.

Farmer Grey liked me very much too. My mother and I were his favorite horses. He called me

darky because I was black. He often came to the stable and patted us. He gave us our favorite

foods like bread, apples, or carrots. In fact, Farmer Grey was kind to all of his horses.

He gave us good food and a pleasant place to live in. He spoke to each of us very kindly

and softly. We all liked him. My mother loved him. When she saw him at the gate, she always

nayed happily and ran toward him. Something memorable happened when I was two years old.

I was feeding in the meadow. My mother was standing by me. Suddenly we heard dogs barking

loudly. My mother recognized the sound. She said it was a hunt. She led me to the gate.

I think the dogs saw a rabbit. They will come this way now. They want to catch the rabbit,

she said. I was very curious and excited because I didn't know anything about hunting.

My mother was right. The dogs were near the gate in a few seconds. They were running faster and

barking more loudly, and some men on horseback were following them. Their horses were galloping

very fast. Then the dogs began to run in many directions, with their noses close to the ground.

They are sniffing the ground. They are trying to find the rabbit, my mother explained.

Then she said, Oh look! That poor rabbit is trying to pass through the gate. I hope she can escape.

But she couldn't. And the dogs all jumped on it and killed it. Then the gentleman on horseback

arrived and whipped all the dogs off the rabbit. Then they picked up the rabbit's bloody carcass.

They seemed very happy. When the dogs and the riders were leaving, we saw a horse in the

horse, lying on the grass without moving. I also saw two riders. One of them was injured.

The other rider was lying still. Some men came running towards him. My master raised his body

from the ground. The rider's head fell back and his arms hanged down. Everyone was sad and quiet.

There was something wrong. One man cried out, It is George Gordon, the squire's son. He's dead.

Then some men went near the horse lying on the grass. They examined him. One of the horse's legs

was broken. A man went into my master's house and came out with a gun. I heard a bang and the

shriek of the horse. My mother said very sadly, Oh! They shot Rob Roy. I loved him. He was a very

good horse. Poor Roy. A few days later I heard the church bells ringing for a long time.

Then I saw many black carriages with black horses on the way to the church. My mother said,

They're taking young George to the churchyard. They will bury him. He is gone forever.

He was squire, Gordon's only son. I didn't understand my mother's words at that time.

I knew only one thing. A terrible thing happened to Rob Roy and to the young gentleman and to the

rabbit. As I got older, everyone said I was a handsome horse. I had a soft bright black coat.

One of my feet was white and there was a white star on my forehead. When I was four years old,

squire Gordon came to look at me one day. He examined my eyes, mouth, and legs. He made me walk,

trot, and gallop. Darkie is in very good form.

Now he must learn to work, he said, to Farmer Gray. You should start training him for work.

That night my mother whispered to my ear, A horse must learn how to move a cart or a carriage,

and how to handle the equipment. He should be quiet. He must not talk to the other horses

when he is carrying passengers. I promise, I will be a good obedient horse, I told her.

And remember this, when your harness is on, you cannot jump for fun. You cannot lie down,

even when you are very tired. The next day my master began to train me.

He started with the bit. The bit is the worst part of a horse's harness. It's a cold hard iron thing.

They place it in your mouth and it hurts. You can't move it because a strap keeps the bit

over your tongue all the time. The strap goes over your head, under your mouth, and across your nose.

My mother and other horses always had a bit in their mouth. I knew that, so I stood patiently and

quietly when Farmer Gray placed the bit in my mouth. He did so very gently, so I didn't kick or bite.

It hurt at first, but later I didn't mind it. Then they put a saddle on my back.

Luckily, it did not hurt. They put the bit in my mouth and the saddle on my back every day,

and Farmer Gray walked with me around the meadow. After each walk, he gave me some oats,

patted me, and said nice things. So I was not afraid of the bit or the saddle any longer.

Then, one day, he got on my back and sat on the saddle. He made me walk slowly around the field.

It was difficult to walk with a man on my back, but I didn't mind it.

I was happy to carry this kind man on my back. After that, he rode me for an hour every day.

One day my master took me to the blacksmith's shop. The blacksmith took my feet in his hand,

one after the other, and cut away some of the hoof.

Then he made four pieces of iron in the shape of my feet. He firmly put them on my feet.

My feet became very heavy and hard with these iron shoes. In time, I began to like the shoes

because they protected my feet from the stones. Then my master taught me to wear the carriage harness.

It had many parts. First, he put a stiff heavy collar around my neck.

Then, he put blinkers at the sides of my face next to my eyes. I couldn't see the things on the left or right.

I could only look straight ahead. Also, there was a small saddle with a strap.

The strap went right under my tail. I wanted to kick, but I couldn't do such a bad thing to my master.

After some time, these things became like a part of my body. I hated them, but I had to wear them when I was working.

My master trained me to drive a carriage, too. I pulled the carriage together with my mother.

She taught me to follow the driver's orders. She also gave me some new advice. She said,

I hope you will have good drivers, and I hope your masters will be nice and kind.

Some men can be very cruel and bad at driving, but you should do your best and protect our family name.