The Beautiful White Horse

.:: The Beautiful White Horse ::.






William Saroyan is an extremely prolific American writer . He produced works that combined optimism, sentimentality, and live of the country. He is famous for his short stories. "The Beautiful White Horse" is from his best known short story collection " My name is Aram ".

This is a story of fun and adventure of two young cousins, Aram and Mourad. It also deals with their love and concern towards animals.

One morning Mourad woke up Aram and asked him to accompany him on a ride. Aram could not believe his eyes when he saw a beautiful horse. The horse did not belong their family because they were poor. The family was known for its pride and honesty. They were God - fearing , and believed in being just and fair. They never exploited at yone, so Aram could not understand from where the horse had come.

Suddenly Aram realized that Mourad had been taking early rides for quite some time. He asked him whether he had stolen it. Mourad replied that he did not steal it, but only borrowed it for a ride. He said that it would be stealing if they sold it.

The horse actually belonged to Mr. John Byro. Mourad had taken it from his stable without informing him.

In their family, Mourad and Uncle Khosrove were considered to have a 'crazy streak'. Khosrove was a furious and impatient man. He stopped anyone from talking by using a cliché "pay no attention to it", no matter what the speaker wanted to say.

Mourad and Aram rode the horse together. Then Mourad rode it alone. Mourad loved animals and had a way with the horse. He could handle him very well. When Aram tried to ride it, he fell down. Later they hid the horse in a deserted vineyard. They also found some oats and gram for the horse.

One day Aram's mother had two visitors. One was John Byro, and the other was Khosrove. John Byro complained to Khosrove that someone had stolen his beautiful horse. He was getting into debts, as he could not use his horse drawn carriage.

Khosrove thought it was a trivial problem , and responded in his usual manner. "Bay no attention to it". Mr. Byro felt very bad. Aram's mother explained to Mr. Byro that khosrove was crazy, and did not know what he was saying.

Though they were aware of Byro's misery , Aram and Mourad decided to keep the horse for another six months. They continued to ride it everyday. One morning they ran into John Byro. He immediately identified his horse. Since he was aware of the good family background, and Khosrove's temper, he could not accuse the boys of stealing. He said that the horse looked like the twin of his lost horse.

The very next day, the cousins decided to return the horse to Byro's stable . Before they left it there, Mourad put his arms round the horse's neck and patted it. He had a deep attachment and love for the horse, and found it hard to part with him. Mourad was sensitive and understood the language of all animals. Even the dogs did not bark when Mourad went into John Byro's vineyard . He had a way with the animals.

John Byro was pleased to find his horse. He went to Aram's horse and informed them that he had found the found the horse. He felt happy because the horse was now much stronger, well behaved, and better tempered. The story tells us of innocence, and youthful adventure. The author sanctions the action of stealing the horse. But for them it is a simple act of fun. They did not think of it as an objects to sell . They wanted to have the thrill of a ride. Having enjoyed the trip they ate tempted to keep the horse longer than they wanted to.

Mr. Byro also shoes his understanding of the innocence of the boys . He is satisfied when the horse is returned.

Questions & Answers
1. What was Arm's family famous for? What were the three qualities of the family that were mentioned?
Arm's family was famous for honesty. The members of that family were proud first, honest next and after that they believed in right and wrong.

2. Aram could do three things about the horse. What were they? The words even though are repeated several times. What is the effect of this repetition?
Aram could see the horse smell it and hear it breathing. He repeated the phrase "eventhough" several times to emphasize the point that he could not believe his cousin. Mourad buying the horse.

3. How did Aram justify his cousin's way of getting hold of a horse? Why did he think it wasn't stealing at all?
Both Aram and Mowad were crazy of a horse-side. Aram knew that his cousin had stolen the horse. But he justified it saying that it wouldn't be stealing at all as they were crazy about horses. He also asserted that stealing a horse for a ride was not the same as stealing something else, such as money. According to him, it wouldn't become stealing until they offered to sell the horse. Thus Aram justified his cousin's action.

4. How did Aram justify the stealing of the horse?
It seemed to Aram that stealing a horse for a ride was not the same as stealing something else, such as money. Further, it wouldn't become stealing since they hadn't offered to sell the horse. Moreover, it wasn't stealing at all when one was crazy about horses as he and his cousin had been.
Aram, thus justified his cousin's way of getting hold of a horse.

5. "How long ago did you steal this horse?" How did. Aram realise that Mourad had stolen the horse some time ago?
Aram asked his cousin where he would hide the horse. The latter said that he knew a place. Suddenly Aram realised that Mourad had stolen the horse sometime ago and rode it since them.

6. Where did Mourad hide the horse? What did Aram find there? What does it show?
Mourad hid the horse quietly in an empty vineyard. Aram saw some oats and dry grass there. It was foder for the horse. It proved that the horse was stolen quite sometime ago.

7. How did uncle khosreve react to the news that John Byro's horse had been stolen?
John Byro told Khosrove that his horse had been stolen a month before. Then Khosrove reacted angrily. He became very irritated. He roared that losing a horse was immaterial. He shouted that one should not cry over a horse. Thus Khosrove showed no sympathy towards Byro's loss.

8. What did Aram want Mourad to do after he knew that the horse belonged to John Byro? How did Mourad react to his suggestion?
Aram wanted a promise from Mourad that the latter would not return the horse untill he learnt riding. Mourad reacted sharply saying that it would amount to inviting a member of their family stealing. He also said that the horse must go back to its true owner.

9. How did John Byro, the owner of the horse, react when he saw mourad and Aram with the horse?
John Byro saw Mourad and Aram with the horse. He also looked at the horse and made same it was his own. But he did not accuse the boys of stealing because he knew well how honest their parents were. Therefore he simply said that a suspicious man would believe his eyes instead of his heart. He also said he would swear the horse was his if he did not know the fame of their family for honesty. He added it could be the twin of his horse.

10. Why do you think the cousins returned the horse to the famer? Do you think they were ashamed of what they had done? Why do you think so?
The cousins returned the horse to the farmer as the horse was recognized by him. They were ashamed of what they had done. So they returned the horse the very next morning.

11. What picture of uncle Khosrove do you get from the story?
Uncle Khosrove was an enormous man with a powerful head of black hair and a large moustache. He was a furious and impatient man. He never cared for losses. He would tell people with force not to pay attention to any kind of loss. He often repeated the statement in a roaring voice. It is no harm: pay no attention to it.

12. Who was John Byro? What had happened to his horse?
John Byro was a pious farmer. He had a surrey with a white horse with which he eked his plain living. His horse was stolen by Mourad a month ago. He was crazy about horse riding. Moreover he belonged to a tribe famous for their honesty. So Byro dared not accure the boy of stealing even though he had seen his own horse with him. Thus Byro was quite simple with enormous patience and forbearance.