ncert books class 11 english snapshots chapter 1 · Section 5

The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse thing I had ever seen. My cousin Mourad raced the horse across a field of dry grass to an irrigation ditch, crossed the ditch on the horse, and five minutes later returned, dripping wet. The sun was coming up. Now it’s my turn to ride, I said. My cousin Mourad got off the horse. Ride, he said. I leaped to the back of the horse and for a moment knew the most awful fear imaginable. The horse did not move. Kick into his muscles, my cousin Mourad said. What are you waiting for? We’ve got to take him back before everybody in the world is up and about. I kicked into the muscles of the horse. Once again it reared and snorted. Then it began to run. I didn’t know what to do. Instead of running across the field to the irrigation ditch the horse ran down the road to the vineyard of Dikran Halabian where it began to leap over vines. The horse leaped over seven vines before I fell. Then it continued running. My cousin Mourad came running down the road. I’m not worried about you, he shouted. We’ve got to get that horse. You go this way and I’ll go this way. If you come upon him, be kindly. I’ll be near. I continued down the road and my cousin, Mourad went across the field toward the irrigation ditch. It took him half an hour to find the horse and bring him back. All right, he said, jump on. The whole world is awake now. What will we do? I said. Well, he said, we’ll either take him back or hide him until tomorrow morning. He didn’t sound worried and I knew he’d hide him and not take him back. Not for a while, at any rate. Where will we hide him? I said. I know a place, he said. How long ago did you steal this horse? I said. It suddenly dawned on me that he had been taking these early morning rides for some time and had come for me this morning only because he knew how much I longed to ride. Who said anything about stealing a horse? he said. Anyhow, I said, how long ago did you begin riding every morning? -