Black Beauty [antikvár]

Introduction 'Always be good, so people will love you. Always work hard and do your best.' These were the words of Black Beauty's mother to her son when he was only a young horse. At that time, they lived with Farmer Grey. But when Black Beauty got older, this was sometimes very difficult for him. Not everybody was as kind as Farmer Grey. Anna Sewell was born in Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England, in 1820. She had an accident when she was about fourteen years old. After this she could not walk without help. Black Beauty was her only book. She wrote it because she loved horses. It hurt her when somebody was unkind to a horse. There were no cars or buses in those days. There were trains between the towns and cities. In town or in the country you walked, or used a horse. The horse carried you, or pulled you in a carriage, cart or bus. It brought milk, bread and other things to your house. There were many thousands of horses at work in Europe, America and other countries. Some worked for good, kind people, but some did not. Often the animals had to pull very heavy things, and they had to work for hours and hours. Anna Sewell knew this, and she wanted to tell other people. So she wrote her book. She was often ill, and in 1871 a doctor told her mother,'Anna has only eighteen months now.' Soon after this, Anna started writing her book. She finished it in 1877 and died in 1878, only a year after Black Beauty went into the bookshops. But many people were kinder to horses after they read Anna's book.