2 Birtwick Park

I was beginning to grow handsome.My coat was fine and soft, and was a shiny black. I had one white foot,and a pretty white star on my forehead. When I was four years old,Mr Gordon came to look at me.He looked closely at my eyes,my mouth, and my legs, and then I had to walk and trot and gallop for him.

'When he has been trained,'Mr Gordon said to my master,'he will do very well.'

My master liked to train his horses himself before selling them,and the next day my training began.

To train a horse is to teach him to wear a saddle,and to carry a man,woman or child on his back.The horse must also learn to wear a collar, and to stand still when it is put on;then to have a carriage fixed behind him, and to go fast or slow,whichever his driver wishes. He must never bite or kick or talk to other horses, and must always do what his master tells him,however tired or hungry he feels.

Like all horses that have grown up,I had to wear a bit and bridle.A bit is a great piece of cold hard metal, as thick as a man's finger,which is pushed into a horse's mouth between his teeth and over his tongue, with the ends coming out at the corners. It is held there by straps which go over the horse's head,under his neck,round his nose and under his chin.Reins,which the rider holds,are fastened to each end of the bit.Slowly, with my master's kind words and gentle ways, I learned to wear my bit and bridle.

Next there was the saddle.My master put it on my back very gently, then fixed the straps under my body, speaking qui-etly to me all the time.Then one morning, he got on my back and rode me round the field on the soft grass.He did this every day until I was used to it. Then he took me to the village where a man fixed metal shoes on to each hoof.My feet felt heavy and strange,but I got used to this,too.

There were more new things to wear.First,a heavy collar on my neck,and a bridle with great side pieces against my eyes,called blinkers.With these on,I could only see in front of me.But in time I got used to everything,and could do my work as well as my mother.

For a fortnight, my master sent me to a neighbour's farm for another kind of training, which was very useful to me.One field was next to the railway and had sheep and cows in it, and I was put in among them.I shall never forget the first train that thundered by, and how I galloped to the far side of the field,trembling with fear at this terrible noise.But after a few days I cared as little as the sheep and cows when a train passed by.

It was early in May when a man came to take me away to Mr Gordon's house.My master said,'Goodbye,Darkie.Be a good horse,and always do your best.'I put my nose into his hand and he patted me kindly,and then I left my first home.

* * *

Mr Gordon's house,which was called the Hall,stood in Birtwick Park,near the village.We went into the Park through a large gate,then trotted along a smooth road between some trees to the house and gardens.Beyond this were the stables.

There was room for many horses and carriages.My stable had four good stalls and a large window.It was very pleasant.The first stall was called a loose box,where a horse is not tied up all the time but is free to move around as he likes.It is a great thing to have a loose box.The groom put me into it and gave me some oats.Then he patted me,spoke kindly,and went away.In the stall next to mine stood a little fat grey pony.

'Hello,'I said.'What is your name?'

'Merrylegs,'he said,turning round.'I'm very handsome.I carry the young ladies on my back, and sometimes I take Mrs Gordon out in one of the carriages.Are you going to live next to me in the box?'

'Yes,'I said.

'Then I hope you are well-behaved,'he said.'I don't like anyone who bites.'

A horse's head looked over from the stall beyond.It was a tall brown mare, and she did not look pleased.'So it's you who has turned me out of my bx,'she said.

'I'm sorry,'I said,'but the man put me in here,so it is not my fault.I don't want to argue with anyone;I just wish to live in peace.

Later,Merrylegs told me about the tall brown mare.

'Ginger has a bad habit of biting people,'he explained.'One day,she bit James in the arm,and Miss Flora and Miss Jessie, the children, were afraid to come into the stable after that.If you don't bite, I hope they'll start to come again.'

I told him I never bit anything except grass and could not understand why Ginger bit people.

'No one was ever kind to her before she came here,'said Merrylegs.'John and James do all they can to please her,and our master is never unkind.I'm twelve years old, and I know that there isn't a better place for a horse all round the country than this.John has been here fourteen years and is the best groom there ever was.And you never saw a kinder stableboy than James.There was no reason for Ginger to bite anyone.It's her own fault that she did not stay in the box.'

The name of the groom was John Manly.The next morning, he got out his brushes and gave me a good grooming,then put a saddle on me.He rode me slowly at first,then at a trot, then at a gallop.As we came back through the Park, we met Mr and Mrs Gordon.They stopped and John jumped off.

'Well,John, how does he go?'said Mr Gordon.

'He's a fine horse,sir,'said John.'He's fast,but the light-est touch of the rein will guide him.They were shooting birds near Highwood,and a gun went off closeby. He pulled up a lit-tle,but I just held the rein and he wasn't frightened at all. It's my opinion he was never frightened or beaten when he was young.'

'Good,'said Mr Gordon.'I'll ride him tomorrow.'

I remembered my mother's advice, and the next day I tried to do exactly what my master wanted me to do.He was a very good rider,and when he came home his wife was waiting for him at the door.

'How do you like him, my dear?'she asked.

'I have never ridden a more pleasant horse,'answered Mr Gordon.'What shall we call him?'

'What about Blackbird,like your uncle's old horse?'said his wife.

'He's far handsomer than Blackbird,'said Mr Gordon.

'Yes,'she said,'he's quite a beauty, and he has a kind, in-telligent face.Shall we call him Black Beauty?'

'Black Beauty-why,yes,I think that's a very good name,'said Mr Gordon.

John went into the stable and told James.

'I'd call him Rob Roy,'said James,'if it did not remind ev-eryone of the past.I never saw two horses more alike.'

'That's not surprising,'said John.'Didn't you know that Farmer Grey's old Duchess was the mother of them both?'

So poor Rob Roy who was killed at the hunt was my brother! Now I understood why my mother was so unhappy when he died.

John was very proud of me,and seemed to know just how a horse feels.And James was kind,too.

A day or two later,I went out in the carriage with Ginger.I wondered how we would get on together, but I found it easy to trot along beside her.

Merrylegs was a happy little pony and was everyone's favourite.We were soon great friends and I became quite happy in my new home.