Black Beauty works hard for his owners, who are sometimes cruel, sometimes kind, sometimes rich, sometimes poor. Will he ever find true happiness?

Product Description: Every child loves a story about a horse, and Black Beauty remains one of the finest, most touching ever written. Set in Victorian London, the novel follows the shifting fortunes of a horse as he moves from owner to owner. Narrated by the noble Black Beauty himself, the tale offers an animal's perspective of the world and highlights the thoughtless, even cruel treatment animals endured during that period...read more

This beautifully packaged set includes five classic masterpieces. Each exquisitely bound volume features charming four-color illustrations, a ribbon marker, and gorgeous design elements throughout. Housed in a keepsake slipcase with a magnetic closure, it’s a collection meant to be cherished for a lifetime. Readers set out with timid Mole as he explores the world, learning about courage and friendship through a series of misadventures with Rat, Toad, and Badger in The Wind in the Willows. From the River Bank, tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice to a madcap world where nonsense rules in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. From Victorian England, it’s on to a small New England town in Little Women, where Jo March and her three sisters struggle to achieve their dreams amid the shifting roles of women in the Civil War era. Sent to live with her uncle, orphan Mary Lennox uncovers the mysteries of Misselthwaite Manor in The Secret Garden. Readers then journey through the English countryside and London with a gentle, hardworking horse who experiences kindness and cruelty at the hands of different masters in Black Beauty. Whether encountering these cherished tales for the first or the fiftieth time, readers will find enchantment in this collection.

The first place that I can well remember was a pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it. Over the hedge on one side we looked into a plowed field, and on the other we looked over a gate at our master's house, which stood by the roadside. While I was young I lived upon my mother's milk, as I could not eat grass. In the daytime I ran by her side, and at night I lay down close by her. When it was hot we used to stand by the pond in the shade of the trees, and when it was cold we had a warm shed near the grove. There were six young colts in the meadow beside me; they were older than I was. I used to run with them, and had great fun; we used to gallop all together round the field, as hard as we could go. Sometimes we had rather rough play, for they would bite and kick, as well as gallop.