Black Beauty _{An Autobiography of a Horse}

The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water
in it. Some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end. Over the
hedge on one side we looked into a plowed field, and on the other we looked over a gate at our
master's house, which stood by the roadside; at the top of the meadow was a grove of fir trees,
and at the bottom a running brook overhung by a steep bank.
While I was young I lived upon my mother's milk, as I could not eat grass. In the daytime I ran
by her side, and at night I lay down close by her. When it was hot we used to stand by the pond in
the shade of the trees, and when it was cold we had a nice warm shed near the grove.