Horse-Back by Sarah Noble Ives
Three children, the narrator, Jimmy, and Alice, grow proud of walking and decide riding will be more pleasant than travelling the Shining Way on foot. Billy, an old white horse gentle enough to carry all three, is available, and they picture riding him gaily all the way to the shores of the Sunset Sea. They go to the orchard fence, where Billy stands looking kind and mild, seeming almost to smile as they climb softly onto his back. The narrator sits in the middle clinging to Jim, while Alice rides out by the tail. They urge Billy to get up, and he sets off at a gallop. They never reach the Sunset Sea with its glowing waves, because they had not reckoned on the old plum-tree the way Billy had. Beneath his mild appearance Billy conceals a hidden plot: he knows the plum-tree's bark is rough and its branches hang low and wide, and he steers straight for it. The children shout "Whoa!" in vain, but Billy's mind is fixed and he does not veer from his chosen path. He walks firmly under the tree, which is just high enough to catch its riders, and all three go tumbling onto the sod, scraped off by a scraggly limb. Their ride on the Shining Way ends there; bruised and downcast, they are left with sad thoughts, while Billy looks back at them with a wink that is knowing and bad.
By Sarah Noble Ives · Genre: Children's Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Humorous Literature · 393 words
First lines
Jimmy and Alice and I one day, / Were filled with a sudden pride; / No more would we walk on the Shining Way, / 'Twas pleasanter, far, to ride.
For Billy, the old white horse, was there, / He could easily carry three, / And on his back we would gaily fare / To the shores of the Sunset Sea.
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Genres
- Children's Poetry — Features child protagonists and accessible rhyming verse designed for young readers, with simple language and imaginative scenarios typical of children's literature.
- Narrative Poetry — Presents a complete plot with exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution told entirely in verse form with consistent rhyme scheme and meter.
- Humorous Literature — Employs comedic timing and absurdist humor throughout, particularly in Billy's deliberate sabotage and the ironic ending where the horse winks knowingly at the children after causing their mishap.
- Whimsical Fiction — Features an anthropomorphized horse with apparent consciousness, intentions, and agency, creating a fantastical tone while maintaining realistic physical consequences.
Tags
children's literature · narrative verse · humorous · horse · animal trickery · hubris · rural setting · adventure · whimsical · cautionary tale · rhyming verse · deception
What this Textopian page supports
Horse-Back is listed on Textopian as a poem by Sarah Noble Ives, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Sarah Noble Ives
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Children's Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Humorous Literature, Whimsical Fiction, Light Verse
- Length: 393 words
- Structure: 1 section, 9 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Horse-Back by Sarah Noble Ives
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