Hello there. You're listening to Down to Sleep, my podcast of softly spoken bedtime stories

and audiobooks where I read classic tales to you to help you get the rest that you deserve.

Thank you for joining me. I'm glad that you're here. Tonight, a reading of Black Beauty by Anna

Sewell. Whilst you get comfortable, a quick reminder that my first two official audiobooks are available

in the Down to Sleep shop now. Starting with Pride and Prejudice and the Secret Garden, you can own

my readings forever. If you buy the bundle, you get both the version with and without relaxing

rain sounds, as well as an e-book produced and illustrated by me.

You can find that as well as meditations, roleplay and affirmations at down-to-sleeppodcast.com,

all designed to help you relax, get through the day, and get down to sleep.

If it's your first time here, welcome. If you've been here before,

welcome back. So glad to have you. Let's go ahead and tuck you in. Take a nice, deep breath for me.

And let's get down to sleep. Black Beauty by Anna Sule.

The first place that I can well remember was a large, pleasant meadow, with a pond of clear water in it.

Some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end.

Over the hedge on one side, we looked into a ploughed field, and on the other we looked over

a gate at our master's house, which stood by the roadside.

At the top of the meadow was a grove of fir-trees and at the bottom a running brook overhung by a steep bank

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 nice warm shed near the grove.

As soon as I was old enough to eat grass, my mother used to go out to work in the daytime

and came back in the evening. There were six young colts in the me besides me. They were older than I was.

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