Black Beauty

One day, Black Beauty pulls a light cart, driven by John, to take Squire Gordon to a nearby town. On the way there, they notice the river waters are rising, and there seems to be a risk of flooding. After the Squire concludes his business, they begin the drive home late that evening; by that time, a violent storm is occurring. As they drive, a tree crashes down on the road just ahead of them. Black Beauty is startled, but notes with pride that, “of course I did not turn round or run away; I was not brought up to that” (43).

They now have to take an alternate route, which delays their journey first. As they prepare to cross a partially flooded bridge, Beauty senses that something is wrong, and refuses to go forward, even when Squire Gordon urges him to walk on. While John and the Squire try to figure out what is going on, a farmer comes and warns them that the bridge has washed away in the middle; due to the rising water, this was not visible, but Beauty has saved them from a very dangerous situation. They go home by yet another route, and along the way, the Squire and John talk about the intuitive intelligence of animals. When they arrive safely at home, Lady Gordon is very relieved to see them safe, and both men praise Beauty for taking them home safely.

One day, John is riding Black Beauty, and they come across a young boy whipping and beating a pony for refusing to jump over a high gate. They watch as the pony eventually throws the boy; he lands in a hedge, and begs John to help him get out. John refuses, saying that the boy deserves what he got. John, however, does ride over to the farm where the boy lives, and explains what he witnessed. The boy’s father readily agrees that his son needed to learn a lesson, and thanks John.

When John gets home, he tells James about what happened. James knows the boy (Bill), and explains that Bill bullied younger boys at school. One day, Bill was also caught torturing some flies on the windowsill, and the schoolmaster rebuked him for his cruelty. James has always remembered the lesson that, “cruelty was the devil’s own trade mark, and if we saw anyone who took pleasure in cruelty, we might know who he belonged to”(48).

One day, Squire Gordon comes into the stable holding a letter, and begins to question John about James. The Squire asks if James is hard-working, efficient, honest, and whether John has any reason to mistrust him. John adamantly praises James, and says that he trusts James to meet all of his high standards. The Squire is pleased with this response; he summons James and explains that his brother-in-law, Sir Clifford Williams, needs to hire a new groom. The position with Sir Williams would be desirable, and a good step in James’s career. John and Squire Gordon say that they would be sorry to lose James, but also want to see him succeed: as John notes, “I would not stand in his light for the world” (50).

It is eventually decided that James will go to work for Sir Williams. In preparation for his new job, James begins to drive the horses as frequently as possible.

Squire Gordon and his wife take a trip to visit from some friends; the journey is long enough to take several days, and James is very attentive to make the journey as easy and pleasant as possible for the horses. They stop for the night at an inn, and an old ostler tends to Black Beauty very effectively and efficiently. Even James is impressed, and the elderly man explains that he has been working with horses for more than 40 years. He also comments that he can readily see how a horse has been treated, praising Beauty for being “well bred, well mannered, well cared for” (53).

The ostler asks James who he works for, and speaks admiringly of Squire Gordon. James and the ostler discuss the tragic death of Squire Gordon’s son in the hunting accident.

Later that night, Beauty observes a man named Towler come in to the stable while smoking a pipe. Towler is asked to climb up into the hay loft. Then everything is shut up for the night. Later, Black Beauty awakens to a stable filled with smoke. He and the other horses begin to be frightened and restless, sensing that something is wrong. One of the employees rushes in and tries to lead out some of the horses, but they are alarmed and refuse to go. The employee leaves; Beauty reflects that “no doubt we were very foolish, but danger seemed to be all round, and there was nobody we knew to trust in” (56).

Beauty begins to hear cries of “Fire!” from outside. The kind elderly ostler comes in and begins to lead some horses out; James also comes in, blindfolds Black Beauty, and deftly leads him out. James then goes back in for Ginger, and Beauty whinnies to encourage her to come out. The yard in front of the stable is growing increasingly chaotic as men try to get the horses out, and also salvage carriages and carts. Squire Gordon arrives, praising James for his bravery. The Squire escorts them all to safety a short distance away, and then goes back to tend to his wife.

From their new stable, Beauty and Ginger can hear the terrible sounds of two horses burning to death. The next day, they learn that, although Towler denies it, he seems to have taken his pipe up into the hayloft, carelessly starting the fire. They reflect on John’s firm stance of not allowing smoking anywhere near the stable at home.

Beauty and the humans continue their journey, and arrive safely at the home of the Squire’s friend. After a short visit, they return home, and upon their return, Beauty hears John talking with James. James asks who will be coming to replace him, and James says that it will be a young boy named Joe Green. James is surprised, because Joe is so young, but John explains that Joe is intelligent and eager to learn.

John goes on to explain more about his own history: he and his sister Nelly were orphaned at a young age, and left in a precarious position of poverty. However, Squire Gordon and his wife stepped in and ensured that John and Nelly were able to find work, and were trained to develop skills. Now, they both have very good lives; as John explains, “I have top wages and can lay by for a rainy day” (60). Because of this experience, John believes that it is important to be helpful and caring for those in need.

Joe Green begins working at the stable, and James leaves. Everyone is sorry to see James go, but they also become fond of young Joe.

One night, shortly after James leaves, John comes into the stable in the middle of the night, and wakes up Black Beauty. Squire Gordon’s wife has gotten seriously ill, and John needs to ride as fast as possible to get the doctor. Beauty gallops as fast as he can to get John to the town where the doctor lives. When they arrive, the doctor explains that his own horse is ill, and asks if he can ride Beauty back to the estate. The plan was for Beauty to only have to gallop one way, but John believes that Black Beauty can rise to the challenge.

Beauty rushes back to the estate, and the doctor hurries inside. Because of his grueling journey, Beauty is exhausted. Joe cares for the horse as best as he can (John is still making his way back from the town), but he is inexperienced, and gives Beauty cold water, which leads to the horse getting very sick. John nurses Beauty very tenderly, and explains that Beauty has saved Lady Gordon’s life: “The Doctor had said if we had been a little longer it would have been too late” (66).

John continues to nurse Black Beauty during his illness; one day, Beauty hears John talking with Tom Green, Joe’s father. Tom asks John to be kinder to Joe, since Joe blames himself for Beauty falling ill, and is very depressed. John admits that Joe did the best he could, and agrees to be kinder to him. However, John becomes annoyed when Tom says that Joe’s mistake was “only ignorance.” John gives several examples of people who caused significant damage through careless mistakes, and shares his view that, “[ignorance] is the worst thing in the world, next to wickedness?--- and which does the most mischief, heaven only knows” (68).

Beauty recovers, and Joe grows more confident. One day, Joe is riding Beauty when they come upon a man beating the horses struggling to pull his heavy wagon. Joe asks the man to stop, and offers to help lighten the load, but the man is rude to him. Joe hurries to the supervisor of the brickyard where the man works, and tells the supervisor what he saw. When Joe gets home, John notices that the boy is upset; when Joe explains what happened, John praises him for standing up for what is right. Later, they hear that, due to Joe’s eye-witness account, the man driving the horses has been charged with cruelty and endangerment. Beauty notices that this experience seems to have been transformative for Joe: “He was just as kind and gentle as before, but there was more purpose and determination in all that he did” (72).

Black Beauty has now lived at Squire Gordon’s estate for three years. Squire Gordon’s wife continues to be ill, and her doctor eventually says that she must leave England, and move to a warmer climate. The departure of Squire Gordon and his family means that their employees will have to find new roles, and the horses will have to find new homes. Merrylegs is sold to a local clergyman to live out his days in peace, and Joe is hired to go there as well. John is not sure what he wants to do next; Ginger and Black Beauty are sold to the Earl of W., who is a friend of Squire Gordon. Everyone is very sad to see the Squire and his wife depart; after seeing them off, Beauty returns to the estate with John, but notes that, “it was not our home now” (75).