MINI CLASSICHORSE STORIES - A HORSE’S TALE - an excerpt from a short story - read

Sep 28, 2026

An illustrated juvenile literature collection featuring classic short stories, led by Mark Twain’s “A Horse’s Tale” excerpt. The text provides a biographical introduction to Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain), summarizing his early life, rise as a writer, travels, lectures, financial ups and downs, and personal tragedies. It then presents the story narration from the horse’s perspective, depicting Soldier Boy and his role under Buffalo Bill through vivid, everyday language.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

CONTENTS

A HORSE’S TALE (an excerpt from a short story)

Soldier Boy—Privately to Himself

1 MINI CLASSICHORSE STORIES LOWE LL H OU SE IUVENILE LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORA RY BOOK S CHI C A GO Copyright ◎1995 RGA Publishing Group,Inc.Ilustrations copyright ◎1995 Michele Maltseff All rights reserved.No part of thiswork may be reproduced or trans-mitted in any form or by any meanselectronic or mechanical,includingphotocopying and recording,or byany information storage or retrievalsystem,except as may be expresslypermitted by the 1976 CopyrightAct or in writing by the publisher. ■ [ISBN:1-56565-827-2] Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 CONTENTS A HORSE’S TALEby Mark Twain DANNY AND BRONCOby Richard Ball 5 I4 # A HoRSE's TALE(an excerpt from a short story)by Mark Twain Born in Missouri,Samuel Langborne Clemens,betterknown as MARK TWAIN(1835-1910),is mostremembered for bis stories about life on the MississippiRiver described in The Adventures of HuckleberryFinn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.When bisfatber died in 1847,Twain,tben eleven,supported bisfamily by taking on odd jobs ranging from tbat of agrocery clerk to a blacksmith's assistant.It was in tbeseearly years,bowever,tbat the renowned autbor first beganto write and display bis wit and bumor.Tben,at the 5 early age of seventeen,bis bard work paid off with bisfirst publication,“Tbe Dandy Frigbtening tbe Squatter,”wbich appeared in a Boston newspaper. Set on adventure,the young Twain later traveledwest to Nevada and California.It was tbere,afier bearing a strange story about a jumping frog,that thesoon-to-be-famous Missourian wrote the sbort story thatlauncbed bis writing career,"The Celebrated JumpingFrog of Calaveras County."From that moment on,thepopular writer was nicknamed tbe "Wasboe Giant"andtbe “Wild Humorist of tbe Sage Brush Hills.” Finally successful,Twain married Olivia Langdon,and tbe couple later bad tbree daugbters.But because ofbis reckless economic ventures,Twain and bis family soonbecame financially ruined.Calling on tbe enterprisingnature of bis youtb,Twain began to lecture worldwide,especially in England,and finally,with this moneycoming in and with the belp of bis friend Henry Hulleston,wbo led bim toward some sound stockinvestments,Twain was once again financially stable. But as much as popularity pursued Twain,so didtragedy.His daugbter Susy died in I895 at the tenderage of seven,and bis wife,wbo berself was in poor bealtband trying to recover in Italy,died eight years later,inI903.The grief-stricken Twain,wbo bad been at berbedside,returned to the United States,bougbt a bome inConnecticut,and set to work on bis autobiograpby. Not known for writing about borses,but using themoften in bis work,Twain incorporated one of bis bestwriting tecbniques—using everyday language that nearlyall readers could relate to—wben be wrote “Tbe Horse'sTale.”Told from tbe borse's point of view,this excerpttells the tale of Bufalo Bill's borse,Soldier Boy,"born ofKentucky blood and bronco spirit,"wbo listened to thegossip of tbe bumans and animals at Fort Paxton andtben delightfully retold it in this cbarming narrative. Soldier Boy—Privately to Himself Tam Buffalo Bill's horse.I have spent my life under hisLsaddle—with him in it,too,and he is good for twohundred pounds.He is over six feet,is young,hasn't anounce of waste flesh,is straight,graceful,springy in hismotions,quick as a cat,and has a handsome face,andblack hair dangling down on his shoulders.Nobody isbraver than he is,and nobody is stronger,except myself.Yes,aperson that doubtsthat he is fine to see should seehim in his beaded buckskins,on my back and his riflepeeping above his shoulder,chasing a hostile tral,withme going like the wind and his hair streaming out.Yes,he is a sight to look at then—and I'm part of it myself. I am his favorite horse,out of dozens.I have car-ried him eighty-one miles between nightfall andsunrise;and Iam good for fifty,day in and day out,andall the time.I am not large,but Iam built on a business

FAQs

What story is included first in the table of contents?

The first listed story is “A HORSE’S TALE” by Mark Twain, identified as an excerpt from a short story.

What perspective does “A Horse’s Tale” use?

The excerpt is told from the horse’s point of view.

Who is Soldier Boy in the excerpt?

Soldier Boy is Buffalo Bill’s horse, described as brave, strong, and capable in motion and endurance.

Sep 28, 2026

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