Our greatest pleasure was when we were saddled for a riding party.
The master got on Ginger, the mistress on me, and the young ladies on Sir Oliver and Mary Legs.
We cheerfully trotted about together.
The mistress was light, her voice sweet and her hand so light on the reins that I was guided almost without feeling it.
One day, after one of our rides together, I asked Sir Oliver why his tail was so short.
It was only six or seven inches long.
I inquired what accident could have caused it.
Accident, he snorted with a fierce look.
It was no accident.
It was cold-blooded cruelty.
When I was young, I was taken to a place where they cut off my tail, clear through to the bone.
How dreadful, I exclaimed.
Dreadful, yes, it was dreadful.
The pain was terrible and it lasted a long time.
What a torment it is when the flies settle on you and sting and sting and you have no way to brush them off.
Thank goodness they don't cut off tails anymore.
Why did they do it then? asked Ginger.
"'For looks, for fashion,' said the old horse, stamping his foot.
"'There weren't any well-bred horses in my time that didn't have their tails shortened.'
"'I suppose it's fashion that makes them in London strap our heads up with those horrid metal bits,' said Ginger.
"'Of course it is,' he said.
"'It is not right.'
Merrylegs agreed with our comments and then had a question of his own.
"'Can anyone tell me what blinkers are for?'
Merrylegs had never understood why horses were fitted with black eye patches.
"'They're supposed to keep horses from getting scared,' answered Justice, a friendly horse in the field.
"'They are meant to keep horses looking toward the front so they don't cause an accident.'
I think, said Sir Oliver, that blinkers are dangerous in the night.
We horses can see much better in the dark than man can.
Can't they see the way God has made us and meant for us to be?
Ginger asked.
Merrylegs thought that was enough talk for the day, so he led us to the orchard, where we munched on the apples that lay on the grass.
One day in late autumn, I was pulling the dog cart.
This was an easy cart to pull.
It was light, and the high wheels ran along so smoothly.
There had been a lot of rain, and we went merrily along until we came to the low wooden bridge.
The man at the gate before the bridge said the river was rising fast.
Many of the meadows were under water.
In one low part of the road, the water was halfway up to my knees.
However, my master drove me gently and we made it.
When we got to the town, my master's business lasted a long time.
By this time, the rain was coming down hard.
I heard my master tell John this was the worst storm he had ever been in.
The branches were swaying and the roaring sound was terrible.
I wish we were out of these woods, said my master.
Then we heard a groan, a crack, and a splitting sound.
An oak tree crashed down in the road before us.
I stopped still and trembled.
What shall we do now, my master asked.
We must go back to the other road and try the wooden bridge, John answered.
So back we went.
But the moment my feet touched the first part of the bridge, I knew there was something wrong.
I came to a dead stop and would not move.
Go on, beauty, said my master.
There's something wrong, sir, said John.
Come on, Beauty, what's the matter?
Of course, I couldn't tell him, but I knew that the bridge was not safe.
Just then, the man from the gate ran out of the house, swinging a lit torch for us to see.
Hello!
Stop! he cried.
The bridge is broken in the middle.
If you try to move forward, you'll be swept away and drowned.
Thank goodness, said my master.
You beauty, said John.
He took my bridle that I wore on my nose and gently turned me around.
The wind seemed to have calmed some, though it was still dark.
I trotted quietly along.
I could hear my master and John talking quietly.
I heard John say that if we had moved forward, the river would have washed us all away.
He said that God had given men reason to find out things, but he had given animals the sense to know about things more quickly and surely than men.
He had many stories to tell about animals that had saved men's lives.
At last we came to the gates of our home.
The gardener was standing at the entrance, looking out for us.
The mistress had been frantic with worry that we had been in an accident.
She had sent James off on justice to find us.
We saw a light at the hall door and at the upper windows.
Are you really safe, my dear? my mistress called out as we approached.
Yes, my dear, but if your black beauty had not been wiser than we were, we should have all been garried away in the river.
I heard no more because they walked into the house, and John took me to the stable.
What a good supper I had that night.
Bran mash and crushed beans with my oats, and John softened my stable with thick straw.
I was very glad, for I was tired from our long day.
