I told him I never bit anything but grass, hay, and corn, and could not
think what pleasure Ginger found it.

"Well, I don't think she does find pleasure," says Merrylegs; "it is
just a bad habit; she says no one was ever kind to her, and why should
she not bite? Of course, it is a very bad habit; but I am sure, if all
she says be true, she must have been very ill-used before she came here.
John does all he can to please her, and James does all he can, and our
master never uses a whip if a horse acts right; so I think she might be
good-tempered here. You see," he said, with a wise look, "I am twelve
years old; I know a great deal, and I can tell you there is not a better
place for a horse all round the country than this. John is the best
groom that ever was; he has been here fourteen years; and you never saw
such a kind boy as James is; so that it is all Ginger's own fault that
she did not stay in that box."




05 A Fair Start


The name of the coachman was John Manly; he had a wife and one little
child, and they lived in the coachman's cottage, very near the stables.

The next morning he took me into the yard and gave me a good grooming,
and just as I was going into my box, with my coat soft and bright, the
squire came in to look at me, and seemed pleased. "John," he said,
"I meant to have tried the new horse this morning, but I have other
business. You may as well take him around after breakfast; go by the