Blackie and the Milkman’s Horse

4.5

Once upon a time there was a horse whose name was Reginald.

Every morning when he was delivering the milk, he usually met his friend Blackie, who was a little black dog.

Reginald didn’t want to be a milkman’s horse. He wanted to be a racehorse and win the Derby. And Blackie, who had rather short legs, wanted to be able to run very fast, like a hound.

One afternoon they were sitting in Reginald’s stable. Suddenly Blackie said that he had an idea.

“Why do we not eat coal?” he said. “Trains eat coal and they run fast.”

They thought about this for a long time, and at last Reginald said: “Let’s try it.”

So they went down to the coal cellar. They were going to take some coal, when Mrs. Marry, the landlady, came in.

“What! You are stealing my coal!” she began to cry, and she picked up a piece of coal and threw it at them. They ran away. They had never run so fast in their lives before.

Just then the Mayor was looking out of the window.

“Oh, that horse can run fast. I’m sure it can win the Derby. And look at the dog; it’s a real hound. I’ll give them each a medal.”

And he did.