A Horse's Tale [Hardcover]

Mark Twain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

I am Buffalo Bill's horse. I have spent my life under his saddle -- with him in it, too, and he is good for two hundred pounds, without his clothes; and there is no telling how much he does weigh when he is out on the war-path and has his batteries belted on. He is over six feet, is young, hasn't an ounce of waste flesh, is straight, graceful, springy in his motions, quick as a cat, and has a handsome face, and black hair dangling down on his shoulders, and is beautiful to look at; and nobody is braver than he is, and nobody is stronger, except myself. Yes, a person that doubts that he is fine to see should see him in his beaded buck-skins, on my back and his rifle peeping above his shoulder, chasing a hostile trail, with me going like the wind and his hair streaming out behind from the shelter of his broad slouch. Yes, he is a sight to look at then -- and I'm part of it myself. I am his favorite horse, out of dozens. Big as he is, I have carried him eighty-one miles between nightfall and sunrise on the scout; and I am good for fifty, day in and day out, and all the time. I am not large, but I am built on a business basis. I have carried him thousands and thousands of miles on scout duty for the army, and there's not a gorge, nor a pass, nor a valley, nor a fort, nor a trading post, nor a buffalo-range in the whole sweep of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains that we don't know as well as we know the bugle-calls.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, pseudonym Mark Twain was an American novelist, humorist and lecturer. He is known for his pragmatism of place and language and unforgettable characters. His famous works are “A Horse’s Tale”, “Life on Mississippi” and “War Prayer”. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809533499
• ISBN-13: 978-0809533497
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,095,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT for children or animal lovers! SPOILER ALERT!, January 17, 2011

By 

ChadBJX - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Horse's Tale (Kindle Edition)

Having read a few of Twain's books before I decided to pick this one up during a bout of insomnia. 99% of the book is sort of interesting, tells a story in a round about way and makes you care for the young girl and the horse she falls in love with. I'm not sure what Twain's purpose was here, a shock piece, maybe, on the brutality of old style bull fighting where a blindfolded horse was used virtually as a target in a bloodsport. But it was very cruel of the author to make us care about these two only to kill them off savagely in a bullring with the child cradling the head of her dying horse in her arms as the enraged bull charges.
Do NOT read this book to a child, do NOT give this book to a child. In my opinion it should have a warning label! That being said, understand that I'm a 56 year old man and this story haunted me for days.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horror story for horse lovers, January 15, 2011

By 

Kim LaSavio - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Horse's Tale (Kindle Edition)

As a Mark Twain and horse lover, I was naturally intrigued by the title of this short story and greatly enjoyed the story until the last several chapters. The gut and heart wrenching ending for anyone who loves children and/or animals is disturbing to say the least, and I don't mind tragedy with a purpose. This was so bad as to keep me awake for several nights after finishing. DO NOT read this to children!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars should have read the reviews first, February 20, 2011

By 

sharico66 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Horse's Tale (Kindle Edition)

This book certainly taught me that you should always read the reviews before downloading a book. I did enjoy some of the book. I actually laughed outloud a few times. I pictured a young Shirley Temple as Lieutenant-General Alison. It was somewhat difficult to follow all of the characters as both humans and animals talked. I do agree with the other reviewers that there wasn't much story about a horse and it was a disturbing story. I'm not a member of any animal rights group but I am a horse lover and a former owner. Twain certainly did not hold back and spare any horribly cruel details. My advice is if you read this book just stop at chapter 10, the story takes a major nose dive at that point. NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK, I was always under the impression that Twain was a G or PG writer.