“PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT” Part 1 – Chapter 15
The descriptions of the horses are very precise, accurate and detailed, so as a good cartoonist could easily make a sketch:
‘In the stall next to mine stood a little fat gray pony, with a thick mane and tail, a very pretty head, and a pert little nose.’
‘(…) the ears were laid back, and the eye looked rather ill-tempered. This was a tall chestnut mare, with a long handsome neck.’
Even personality adjectives can be attached to the horses based on their descriptions:
Marrylegs: ‘I am very handsome. (…) They think a great deal of me’ = vain
Ginger: ‘(…) has a bad habit of biting and snapping’= moody
If we were to play a little bit with these descriptions, a diamond shape poem will do it:Marrylegs
handsome, little
cheat-chatting, easy-going, good-looking
cheerful, plucky, self-confident, cheeky
snapping, biting, jumping
ill-tempered, not friendly
Ginger
Diamond shape poem
Subject
2 adjectives describing the subject
3 words ending in ‘ing’ telling about the subject
4 words (1st two describe the subjectm the last 2 its opposite)
3 words ending in ‘ing’ telling about the opposite
2 adjectives describing the opposite
Opposite
Chapter 15 (Part 1) deals with a chain of events that can start from a thoughtless action and can end in tragedy. At the end of the chapter there is a nice conclusion to all these that is well illustrated in a nursey rhyme, too.
“A man’s life and a horse’s life are worth more than a fox’s tail; at least, I should say they ought to be” = For Want of a Nail (nursery rhyme)
For want of a nail the shoe was lost
For want of a shoe the horse was lost
For want of a horse the rider was lost
For want of the rider the battle was lost
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail