“Now look，” it said， “we mustn’t waste time on idle questions. You want to know about my master the Tarkaan Anradin. Well， he‘s bad. Not too bad to me， for a war.horse costs too much to be treated very badly. But you’d better be lying dead tonight than go to be a human slave in his house tomorrow.”
“Then I‘d better run away，” said Shasta， turning very pale. “Yes， you had，” said the Horse. “But why not run awaywith me？”
“Are you going to run away too？” said Shasta.
“Yes， if you’ll come with me，” answered the Horse. “This is the chance for both of us. You see， if I run away without a rider， everyone who sees me will say ‘Stray horse’ and be after me as quick as he can. With a rider I‘ve a chance to get through. That’s where you can help me. On the other hand， you can‘t get very far on those two silly legs of yours （what absurd legs humans have！） without being overtaken. But on me you can outdistance any other horse in this country. That’s where I can help you. By the way， I suppose you know how to ride？”
“Oh yes， of course，” said Shasta. “At least， I‘ve ridden thedonkey.”