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streets are crowded. I admit they do
sometimes come too close to be pleasant, but we don't run away; we
are used to it, and understand it, and if we never had blinkers put
on we should never want them; we should see what was there, and
know what was what, and be much less frightened than by only seeing
bits of things that we can't understand. Of course there may be
some nervous horses who have been hurt or frightened when they were
young, who may be the better for them; but as I never was nervous,
I can't judge."
    "I consider," said Sir Oliver, "that blinkers are dangerous
things in the night; we horses can see much better in the dark than
men can, and many an accident would never have happened if horses
might have had the full use of their eyes. Some years ago, I
remember, there was a hearse with two horses returning one dark
night, and just by Farmer Sparrow's house, where the pond is close
to the road, the wheels went too near the edge, and the hearse was
overturned into the water; both the horses were drowned, and the
driver hardly escaped. Of course after this accident a stout white
rail was put up that might be easily seen, but if those horses had
not been partly blinded, they would of themselves have kept further
from the edge, and no accident would have happened. When our
master's carriage was overturned, before you came here, it was said
that if the lamp on the left side had not gone out, John would have
seen the great hole that the road-makers had left; and so he might,
but if old Colin had not had blinkers on he would have seen it,
lamp or no lamp, for he was far too knowing an old horse to run
into danger. As it was, he was very much hurt, the carriage was
broken, and how John escaped nobody knew."
    "I should say," said Ginger, curling her nostril, "that these
men, who are so wise, had better give orders that in the future all
foals should be born with their eyes set just in the middle of
their foreheads, instead of on the side; they always think they can
improve upon nature and mend what God has made."
    Things were getting rather sore again, when Merrylegs held up
his knowing little face and said, "I'll tell you a secret: I
believe John does not approve of blinkers; I heard him talking with
master about it one day. The master said that 'if horses had been
used to them, it might be dangerous in some cases to leave them
off'; and John said he thought it would be a good thing if all
colts were broken in without blinkers, as was the case in some
foreign countries. So let us cheer up, and have a run to the other
end of the orchard; I believe the wind has blown down some apples,
and we might just as well eat them as the slugs."
    Merrylegs could not be resisted, so we broke off our long
conversation, and got up our spirits by munching some very sweet
apples which lay scattered on the grass.

Chapter 11 Plain Speaking
    The longer I lived at Birtwick the more proud and happy I felt
at having such a place. Our master and mistress were respected and
beloved by all who knew them; they were good and kind to everybody
and everything; not only men and women, but horses and donkeys,
dogs and cats, cattle and birds; there was no oppressed or ill-used
creature that had not a friend in them, and their servants took the
same tone. If any of the village children were known to treat any
creature cruelly they soon heard about it from the Hall.
    The squire and Farmer Grey had worked together, as they said,
for more than twenty years to get check-reins on the cart-horses
done away with, and in our parts you seldom saw them; and
sometimes, if mistress met a heavily laden horse with his head
strained up she would stop the carriage and get out, and reason
with the driver in her sweet serious voice, and try to show him how
foolish and cruel it was.
    I don't think any man could withstand our mistress. I wish all
ladies were like her. Our master, too, used to come down very heavy
sometimes. I remember he was riding me toward home one morning