THE HUNT

 

The Hunt

Before I was two years old a circumstance happened which I have never forgotten. It was early in the spring; there had been a little frost in the night, and a light mist still hung over the woods and meadows¹. I and the other colts were feeding at the lower part of the field when we heard, quite in the distance, what sounded like the cry of dogs.

The oldest of the colts raised his head, pricked his ears², and said, 'There are the hounds!" and immediately cantered off, followed by the rest of us to the upper part of the field, where we could look over the hedge and see several fields beyond. My mother and an old riding horse of our master's were also standing near, and seemed to know all about it.

'They have found a hare, said my mother, 'and if they come this way we shall see the hunt.'

And soon the dogs were all tearing down the field of young wheat next to ours. I never heard such a noise as they made. They did not bark, nor howl, nor whine', but kept on a 'yo! yo, o, o! yo! yo, o, o!' at the top of their voices. After them came a number of men on horseback, some of them in green coats, all galloping as fast as they could.

The old horse snorted" and looked eagerly after them, and we young colts wanted to be galloping with them, but they were soon away into the fields lower down. Here it seemed as if they had come to a standstill. The dogs left off barking, and ran about every way with their noses to the ground.

"They have lost the scent,' said the old horse. 'Perhaps the hare will get off'

'What hare?' I said.

'Oh! I don't know what hare; likely enough it may be one of our own hares out of the woods; any hare they can find will do for the dogs and men to run after. Before long the dogs began their 'yo! yo, o, o!' again, and back they came at full speed, making straight for our meadow at the part where the high bank and hedge overhang" the brook.

'Now we shall see the hare,' said my mother; and just then a hare wild with fright rushed by and made for the woods. On came the dogs; they burst over the bank, leaped the stream, and came dashing across the field followed by the huntsmen. Six or eight men leaped their horses clean over, close upon the dogs. The hare tried to get through the fence; it was too thick. It turned sharp round to make for the road, but it was too late. The dogs were upon it with their wild cries. One of the huntsmen rode up and whipped off the dogs. He held the hare up by its leg, and all the gentlemen seemed well-pleased.

As for me, I was so astonished that I did not at first see what was going on by the brook; but when I did look there was a sad sight. Two fine horses were down, one was struggling in the stream, and the other was groaning on the grass. One of the riders was getting out of the water covered with mud, the other lay quite still.

'His neck is broken,' said my mother.

'And serves him right, too,' said one of the colts.

I thought the same, but my mother did not join with us.

'Well, no,' she said, 'you must not say that; but though I am an old horse, and have seen and heard a great deal, I never yet could make out why men are so fond of this sport. They often hurt themselves, often spoil good horses, and tear up the fields, and all for a hare or a fox or a stag, that they could get more easily some other way. But we are only horses, and don't know.'

While my mother was saying this we stood and looked on. Many of the riders had gone to the young man; but my master, who had been watching what was going on, was the first to raise him. His head fell back and his arms hung down, and everyone looked very serious. There was no noise now; even the dogs were quiet, and seemed to know that something was wrong. They carried him to our master's house. I heard afterward that it was young George Gordon, the only son of the squire¹¹. A fine, tall young man, he was the pride of his family.

There was now riding off in all directions to the doctor's, to the farrier's¹³, and no doubt to Squire Gordon's, to let him know about his son. When Mr Bond, the farrier, came to look at the black horse that lay groaning on the grass, he felt him all over, and shook his head; one of his legs was broken. Then someone ran to our master's house and came back with a gun. Presently there was a loud bang and then all was still. The black horse moved no more.

My mother seemed much troubled; she said she had known that horse for years, and that his name was 'Rob Roy'. He was a good horse, and there was no vice in him. She never would go to that part of the field afterward.

Not many days after, we heard the church- bell tolling¹¹ for a long time. Looking over the gate, we saw a long, strange black coach that was covered with black cloth and was drawn by black horses. After that came another and another and another, and all were black, while the bell kept tolling, tolling. They were carrying young Gordon to the churchyard to bury him. He would never ride again. What they did with Rob Roy I never knew; but 'twas's all for one little hare.

A. Write whether the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statements.

1. At the time of the incident, Black Beauty was five years old. -FALSE

2. When the colts were grazing one day, they heard the howling of wolves.-FALSE

3. The group of young colts wanted to join the group of huntsmen galloping on horses.-TRUE

4. Rob Roy passed away because he had broken his leg.-FALSE

5. George Gordon got back to his feet after some days.-FALSE

B. The events in the story are given in a jumbled order below. Arrange them in the correct sequence.

1. The colts heard the sound of hounds barking.

2. The dogs sniffed the ground for the hare's scent.

3. Black Beauty and the other colts were grazing in the lower part of the field.

4. Black Beauty saw two horses and their riders down in the brook.

5. One of the huntsmen held up the dead hare.

6. Men on horseback came galloping after the hounds.

7. Black Beauty saw the frightened hare rushing towards the woods.

8. The hare failed to get through the thick fence and turned towards the road.

ANSWER

1.                Black Beauty and the other colts were grazing in the lower part of the field.

2.                The colts heard the sound of hounds barking.

3.                Men on horseback came galloping after the hounds.

4.                The dogs sniffed the ground for the hare's scent.

5.                Black Beauty saw the frightened hare rushing towards the woods.

6.                The hare failed to get through the thick fence and turned towards the road.

7.                Black Beauty saw two horses and their riders down in the brook.

8.                One of the huntsmen held up the dead hare.

C. Answer the questions with reference to the context.

1. 'They have found a hare,'... 'and if they come this way we shall see the hunt.

a. Who is the speaker? Who are 'they'?
The speaker is Black Beauty's mother. "they" refers to the hunting dogs and men on horseback.

b. Who all were standing near the speaker at the time?
At the time, Black Beauty's mother and an old riding horse of their master's were standing nearby.

c. Where did they see the hunt taking place?
They saw the hunt taking place in several fields beyond .

d. Where was the hare from? Why was it suitable for being hunted? Quote from the story.

The hare is likely from the woods nearby. Black Beauty's mother mentions that any hare the dogs can find will do for the hunt, saying, "Oh! I don't know what hare; likely enough it may be one of our own hares out of the woods; any hare they can find will do for the dogs and men to run after." This indicates that the hare could have been from the nearby woods, making it suitable for being hunted by the dogs and men.

2. On came the dogs; they burst over the bank, leaped the stream, and came dashing across the field followed by the huntsmen.

a. Which part of the field did the dogs come from?
The dogs came from the part of the field where the high bank and hedge overhang the brook.

b. How many huntsmen followed the dogs? What did they do?
six or eight huntsmen followed the dogs.
They rode their horses close behind the dogs.

c. How were the dogs able to catch the hare?

The dogs were able to catch the hare by chasing it relentlessly across the field until they caught up with it.

d. How did the onlookers know the hunt had ended?

The onlookers knew the hunt had ended when they saw one of the huntsmen ride up and whip off the dogs from the hare. 

3. 'But we are only horses, and don't know.'

a. What did the horses not know?
The horses did not understand why humans were so fond of hunting.

b. Who was the speaker replying to? What had they said?
The speaker is Black Beauty's mother, responding to the comment made by one of the colts, who expressed disdain for the hunting activity.

c. What was happening while the speaker was saying this?

While Black Beauty's mother was speaking, the hunters were chasing a hare and two horses got hurt in a sad accident.

d. How did the dogs react to what was going on?

d. The dogs were quiet and seemed to know that something was wrong. They stopped barking and remained still, indicating their awareness of the seriousness of the situation.

4. Presently there was a loud bang and then all was still.

a. What was the loud bang?

The loud bang was likely the sound of a gun being fired.

b. Who made the decision which led to the loud bang?

c. What was the result of the loud bang?
The result of the loud bang was that the injured horse no longer moved or suffered.

d. Why was the action with the loud bang necessary? Do you think it was justified? Why/Why not?

The action with the loud bang was likely necessary to end the suffering of the injured horse. Whether it was justified or not depends on one's perspective. Some may argue that euthanizing the horse was the compassionate thing to do to prevent further suffering, while others may question whether it was necessary or if there were alternatives. It's a complex ethical question with different viewpoints.

Vocabulary

A. Find words/phrases from the text that mean the following.

1. racing down something very fast-came dashing across

2. with a lot of interest-eagerly

3. a conditon in which all activity or movement has stopped-all was still

4. probable-likely enough

5. making a deep sound of pain-groaning

6. is (his) deserved punishment-serves him right, too

7. destroy-spoils

8. bad habit-vice