[00:00.00]Chapter 16.
[00:02.58]Home.
[00:06.94]It was my second horse sale, but this time I was put with the old, broken down horses.
[00:14.75]We were a sorry bunch, and the buyers who came to visit us weren't much better.
[00:20.75]They were mainly poor old men looking for a cheap horse to help them earn some money.
[00:29.61]I waited nervously, hoping that my next owner would be a kind one.
[00:37.64]After a while, a well dressed man with a young boy came past.
[00:42.70]And when they looked at me, I pricked up my ears.
[00:48.32]That horse has seen better days, said the man.
[00:52.58]He's got a lovely head.
[00:56.17]I expect he used to pull a carriage.
[01:01.75]Poor thing, said the boy, coming to stroke my nose.
[01:08.18]I nuzzled him gently, and the boy laughed.
[01:12.85]Let's buy him, grandfather.
[01:16.35]I bet you could make him young again, like you did for Ladybird.
[01:22.71]Grandfather laughed too.
[01:25.20]Well, I'm not a magician.
[01:28.80]Ladybird was a young horse who only needed a rest.
[01:33.77]I can't make an old horse younger.
[01:38.24]This horse is special and he's not that old, said Will.
[01:44.19]The boy's right, said the groom who'd brought me to the sale.
[01:50.64]This is a fine horse.
[01:53.68]All he needs is a rest, and he'll be as good as new.
[02:02.27]Grandfather looked me over, gently peering inside my mouth and feeling down my legs.
[02:10.18]He asked the groom to trot me up and down, and I arched my thin neck and held my tail high.
[02:19.59]Grandfather shook his head.
[02:22.29]I must be mad, he said, getting out his wallet.
[02:28.75]Thank you, said the groom.
[02:32.55]You won't be disappointed.
[02:36.44]Will skipped excitedly by my side as the groom led me to a stable at an inn next door to the fair.
[02:45.37]Then, after a good feed and a rest, I was led back to grandfather's house and put in a meadow.
[02:54.99]Will visited every day.
[02:59.95]He was kind and gentle, and he called me his old crony.
[03:08.10]I loved the time he spent with me.
[03:11.83]I followed him around the field, and we became best friends.
[03:23.57]With good food and complete rest, I soon grew fit.
[03:28.64]By spring, I was acting like a young horse.
[03:36.97]Grandfather tried me in a lightweight carriage and was very pleased with me.
[03:42.82]Will and grandfather carried on putting me in a carriage until one summer's day, I was ready to be sold.
[03:52.63]I know of a home that would be perfect for this horse, said grandfather.
[04:01.82]That home belonged to Ellen and Lavinia, two sisters who needed a horse to pull their carriage.
[04:11.26]They agreed to see me, and Will helped to get me ready.
[04:17.15]Do your best, old crony, he said, as we walked up their drive.
[04:25.09]I was nervous and glad that Will had come with me, especially when the sisters saw me.
[04:34.73]My scarred knees put them off trying me at first.
[04:39.79]Will begged them to change their mind, and finally they did.
[04:50.89]The groom was called to take me to a stable, but he was disappointed with me too.
[04:59.54]Old crony is an excellent horse, Will told everyone.
[05:04.81]I promise you that you'll love him.
[05:11.79]The next day the groom was brushing my face, when he stopped and said thoughtfully,
[05:18.58]How strange.
[05:22.28]You've got a star just like the one on another horse I knew.
[05:28.44]His name was Black Beauty.
[05:32.61]He was a great animal.
[05:38.25]I wonder what happened to him.
[05:42.01]The groom sighed and continued brushing me until he reached my foot.
[05:48.69]Black Beauty had a white foot, and so have you, cried the groom.
[05:57.54]And suddenly he was examining me all over.
[06:01.87]Black Beauty had a small scar on his neck right here, just like this scar.
[06:10.21]The groom's voice rose with excitement.
[06:13.64]It's you, it's Black Beauty.
[06:19.57]Do you remember me?
[06:22.85]Little Joe Green, who nearly killed you the night you went for the doctor?
[06:30.84]Joyfully, Joe threw his arms around my neck and hugged me.
[06:38.19]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.
[06:51.02]My poor Black Beauty, you must have been so badly treated, but now you're home.
[07:00.84]Be good when Ellen and Lavinia try you out.
[07:05.38]They'll make excellent owners.
[07:12.37]That afternoon, Ellen and Lavinia took me out with their carriage.
[07:18.61]I did my best, and they were very pleased with me.
[07:23.53]Joe told them how once I'd belonged to Squire Gordon, and they were amazed because they knew him too.
[07:36.09]We must write and tell the Squire and Mrs. Gordon that we have bought their favorite horse, cried Ellen excitedly.
[07:49.68]So I stayed with Joe, working for Ellen and Lavinia, and everyone called me by my old name, Black Beauty.
[08:02.08]I've been here a whole year now, and I'm very happy.
[08:07.83]Joe is the kindest groom ever, and my work is easy and fun.
[08:15.76]Will comes to visit me, and we are special friends.
[08:22.39]But best of all, Ellen and Lavinia have agreed that I will never be sold again.
[08:32.12]At last my troubles are over.
[08:37.49]I feel I have come home.
[08:43.53]Sometimes, before I am properly awake, I like to imagine that I am still in the orchard at Bertwick Park.
[08:54.69]It is peaceful there, standing with my old friends under the apple tree.