THE SUMMER OF THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE HORSE

1. “It was true, then. He had stolen the horse. There was no question about it. He had come to
invite me to ride or not, as I chose.” How did the narrator convince himself to enjoy a horse
ride with cousin Mourad?
Answer:
It seemed to him that stealing a horse for a ride was not the same thing as stealing
something else, such as money. Since he and Mourad were quite crazy about horses, it
wasn’t stealing. He convinced himself with the thought that it would become stealing only
when they offered to sell it.
2. Give an example to illustrate how uncle Khosrove’s impatience sometimes worked to his
own disadvantage?
Answer:
Once uncle Khosrove was getting his moustache trimmed in a barber’s shop. Suddenly their
house was on fire. His own son Arak ran eight blocks to the barber’s shop to inform him.
Khosrove got impatient and roared at his son. When the barber reminded him that his house
was on fire, Khosrove roared at him and stopped him from talking.
3. The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning
capricious and vagrant.” Elucidate.
Answer:
The Garoghlanian family had a crazy streak. Mourad was considered the natural descendant
of uncle Khosrove as far as the crazy streak was concerned. Mourad’s father, Zorab was
practical and nothing else. But Mourad was his son only in flesh; in spirit, he was similar to
uncle Khosrove.
4. “I have an understanding with a horse.”
“Horses understand me.”
“I have a way with a horse. ”
How do you think, had Mourad developed an understanding with the horse and what was
the result?
Answer:
Mourad had been quite tender and affectionate towards the horse. He would put his arms
around it, press his nose into the horse’s nose and pat it. It was not easy to tame someone
else’s horse and get it to behave nicely. At first, it wanted to run wild. Gradually, Mourad was
able to control the horse and do what he wanted. Even John Byro, the rightful owner,
admitted that the horse had become better-tempered and stronger than ever.
5. “A suspicious man would believe his eyes instead of his heart.” In what context was this
observation made and by whom?
Answer:
This observation was made by farmer John Byro after looking into the mouth of the horse. It
matched his horse tooth for tooth. He would have claimed it as his own horse if he had not
known their parents or the fame of their family for honesty. The resemblance was so striking
that he called it the twin of his horse.
6. What impression do you form of cousin Mourad?
Answer:
Mourad is a young boy of thirteen. He belongs to the Garoghlanian family of
Armenia. Their whole tribe was poverty stricken. In spite of abject poverty, their
family was famous for honesty. Mourad was quite adventurous and had a crazy
streak in him. He enjoyed being alive more than anybody else. Mourad loved horse
riding. He had a way with a horse. He had tamed the horse by his affectionate
behaviour and now the horse was no longer wild.

It obeyed Mourad faithfully. His love for the horse is evident in the last scene.
While parting, he put his arms around the horse, pressed his nose into the horse’s
nose and patted it. He also had a way with dogs. The dogs of John Byro followed
them around without making a sound. He was kind. He treated a young robin which
had hurt its wing. He was worldly-wise and knew how to talk to farmers. Though he
loved horse-riding he was averse of keeping the horse for a long time. He is proud of
his family which is well known for their honesty and trust. In short, he is a lovable
chap.

7. Compare and contrast uncle Khosrove and cousin Mourad.

Answer:
Uncle Khosrove and cousin Mourad have one very important point in common— their
craziness. Mourad was considered the natural descendant of uncle Khosrove in this
respect. The second similarity is their dominating nature. Both use pet words and
phrases and roar aloud to quieten the hearer. While uncle Khosrove says, “It is no
harm; pay no attention to it,” Mourad boasts, “I have a way with
horses/dogs/farmers.”

Khosrove shouts at his son Arak, the barber and farmer John Byro. The
narrator is a patient listener to Mourad’s assertions. The difference lies in their age
groups and physical build up. Uncle Khosrove, a middle aged person is an enormous
man with a powerful head of black hair and very large moustache. Mourad is an
athletic young chap of thirteen. Khosrove is irritable, impatient and furious in temper.
Mourad is reasonable in conversation.

8. Listening to the conscience helps one to do the right. Give your own view in
context to the chapter, “Summer of the Beautiful White Horse’.

Answer:

Listening to the conscience undoubtedly helps one to do the right things, as we have
seen in the chapter. Mourad stole the horse of John Byro just for the sake of riding it,
he believed t that he did not have the intention of keeping it. After many days John
Byro discovers his horse but keeping in view the reputation of the family he agreed
that the horse was not his. It was the twin of his horse. This evokes the conscience
of Mourad and he with his cousin Aram went and kept the horse from where it was
taken. The voice of the conscience never motivates anyone to do wrong, therefore
before doing anything if we listen to our conscience we will never do the wrong.

8. Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience-stricken or
because they were afraid?

Answer:

The most beautiful essence of this story is the fact that the boys were very
innocent and meant no harm to anyone. They were just dreamy and wished to
ride a horse. It pricked their conscience when they saw the clean heart of the
farmer, John Byro, who didn’t suspect them even for once for stealing the horse.
They were not afraid but were guilt-stricken when they met a pure-hearted soul
like John, who couldn’t even think of people of their clan stealing, even after he
said it was confirmed that the horse resembled his, just like twins. The children
might have also been afraid of ruining the prestige and honour of their families