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It was my second horse sale but this time I was put with the old, broken-down horses. We were a sorry bunch and the buyers who came to visit us weren’t much better. They were mainly poor old men looking for a cheap horse to help them earn some money. I waited nervously hoping that my next owner would be a kind one,
After a while, a well-dressed man with a young boy came past, and when they looked at me I pricked up my ears.
‘That horse has seen better days,’ said the man. ‘He’s got a lovely head. I expect he used to pull a carriage.’
‘Poor thing,’ said the boy, coming to stroke nose.
I nuzzled him gently and the boy laughed.
‘Let’s buy him, Grandfather. I bet you could make him young again like you did for Ladybird.’Grandfather laughed too. ‘Will, I’m not a magician. Ladybird was a young horse who only needed a rest. I can’t make an old horse younger.’
‘This horse is special and he’s not that old,’ said Will.‘The boy’s right,’ said the groom who’d brought me to the sale. ‘This is a fine horse. All he needs is a rest and he’ll be as good as new.’
Grandfather looked me over, gently peering inside my mouth and feeling down my legs. He asked the groom to trot me up and down and I arched my thin neck and held my tail high, Grandfather shook his head. ‘I must be mad,’ he said, getting out his wallet.
‘Thank you,’ said the groom. ‘You won’t be disappointed.’
Will skipped excitedly by my side as the groom led me to a stable at an inn next door to the fair. Then, after a good feed and a rest, I was led back to Grandfather’s house and put in a meadow.
Will visited every day. He was kind and gentle and he called me his ‘Old Crony’. I loved the time he spent with me. I followed him around the field and we became best friends.
With good food and complete rest I soon grew fit. By spring I was acting like a young horse. Grandfather tried me in a lightweight carriage and was very pleased with me. Will and Grandfather carried on putting me in a carriage until one summer’s day I was ready to be sold.
‘I know of a home that would be perfect for this horse,’ said Grandfather.
That home belonged to Ellen and Lavinia, two sisters who needed a horse to pull their carriage. They agreed to see me, and Will helped to get me ready.
‘Do your best, Old Crony,’ he said, as we walked up their drive.
I was nervous, and glad that Will had come with me, especially when the sisters saw me. My scarred knees put them off trying me at first. Will begged them to change their mind and finally they did. The groom was called to take me to a stable, but he was disappointed with me too.
‘Old Crony is an excellent horse.’ Will told everyone. ‘I promise you that you’ll love him.’
The next day the groom was brushing my face when he stopped and said thoughtfully, ‘How strange! You’ve got a star just like the one on another horse I knew. His name was Black Beauty. He was a great animal. I wonder what happened to him?’
The groom sighed and continued brushing me until he reached my foot. ‘Black Beauty had a white foot and so have you!’ cried the groom and suddenly he was examining me all over.
‘Black Beauty had a small scar on his neck right here… just like this scar!’ The groom’s voice rose with excitement. ‘It’s you! It’s Black Beauty. Do you remember me? Little Joe Green ho nearly killed you the night you went for the doctor?’
Joyfully, Joe threw his arms around my neck and hugged me.
I didn’t recognize this fully grown man with the black beard as the little Joe Green from my past, but I was very glad he had remembered me.
‘My poor Black Beauty! You must have been so badly treated. But now you’re home! Be good when Ellen and Lavinia try you out. They’ll make excellent owners.’
That afternoon, Ellen and Lavinia took me out with their carriage. I did my best and they were very pleased with me. Joe told them how once I’d belonged to Squire Gordon and they were amazed because they knew him too.
‘We must write and tell the squire and Mrs Gordon that we have bought their favourite horse,’ cried Ellen excitedly.
So I stayed with Joe, working for Ellen and Lavinia, and everyone called me by my old. Name, Black Beauty. I’ve been here a whole year now and I’m very happy. Joe is the kindest groom ever and my work is easy and fun. Will, comes to visit me and we are special friends. But best of all, Ellen and Lavinia have agreed that I will never be sold again.
At last my troubles are over. I feel I have come home. Sometimes, before I am properly awake, I like to imagine that I am still in the orchard at Birtwick Park. It is peaceful] there standing with my old friends under the apple tree.