Black Beauty

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.