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1. Have you read any stories by Michael Morpurgo? Talk about them. 2. Think about the title of the book. What clue does it give you about the story? 3. Examine the artwork. Make a prediction as to what might happen in this chapter.


War Horse MichaelMorpurgo


Joey is a young half-thoroughbred colt who has just been sold at auction. His new owner is a hard, bitter man who treats him roughly but his son Albert forms a strong bond with the horse.


Chapter two


Through the long hard winters and hazy summers that followed, Albert and I grew up together. A yearling colt and a young lad have more in common than awkward gawkishness. Whenever he was not at school in the village, or out at work with his father on the farm, he would lead me out over the fields and down to the flat, thistly marsh by the Torridge river. Here on the only level ground on the farm he began my training, just walking and trotting me up and down, and later on lunging me first one way and then the other. On the way back to the farm he would allow me to follow on at my own speed, and I learnt to come at his whistle, not out of obedience but because I always wanted to be with him. His whistle imitated the stuttering call of an owl – it was a call I never refused and I would never forget. Old Zoey, my only other companion, was often away all day ploughing and harrowing, cutting and turning out on the farm and so I was left on my own much of the time. Out in the fields in the summer time this was bearable because I could always hear her working and call out to her from time to time, but shut in the loneliness of the stable in the winter, all day could pass without seeing or hearing a soul, unless Albert came for me. As Albert had promised, it was he who cared for me, and protected me all he could from his father; and his father did not turn out to be the monster I had expected. Most of the time he ignored me and if he did look me over, it was always from a distance. From time to time, he could even be quite friendly, but I was never quite able to trust him, not after our first encounter.


What might have happened in the first encounter? Who is telling this story?


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