The War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

1. The voice was harsh and thick with my drink, and it belonged quite
evidently to my owner. I shall not call him my master, for only one
man was ever my master. My owner has a rope in his hand and was
clambering into the pen followed by three or four of his red-faced
friends.
2. I was grabbed roughly by the mane and tail and felt a rope tighten
around my neck before I was thrown to the ground and held there
with a man sitting it seemed on every part of me. I struggled until I
was weak. I felt the halter slip over my head and tighten around my
neck and face. ‘So, you’re quite a fighter, are you?’ said my owner,
tightening the rope and smiling through gritted teeth.
3. By the time we reached the farm lane and rumbled over the bridge
into the stable yard that was to become my home, I was soaked with
exhaustion and the halter had rubbed my face raw.
4. I was left there with no water and no food while he stumbled oJ
across the cobbles and up into the farmhouse beyond. There was the
sound of slamming doors and raised voices before I heard footsteps
running back across the yard and excited voices coming closers. Two
heads appeared at my door. One was that of a young boy who looked
at me for a long time, considering me carefully before his face broke
into a beaming smile. ‘Mother,’ he said deliberately. ‘That will be a
wonderful and brave horse. Look how he holds his head. He’s red
almost, red bay you’d call him, wouldn’t you? And that cross down
his nose is perfect. Have you ever seen a horse with a white cross like
that? Have you seen such a thing? I shall ride this horse when he’s
ready. I shall ride him everywhere and there won’t be a horse to touch
him, not in the whole parish, not in the whole county.’
5. ‘You’re barely past thirteen, Albert,’ said his mother from the next
stable. ‘He’s too young and you’re too young, and anyway father says
you’re not to touch him, so don’t come crying to me if he catches you
in there.’
 Comprehension questions:
1. What is the title of the novel?
2. Who is the author of the novel?
3. What animal is the novel about?
4. How old is the boy that the horsed is refering to?
5. Describe the owners voice?
6. Who’s perspective is the story being told?
7. What does the word ‘stumbled’ mean?
8. Mention tow oysical things from paragraph two that tells us that the horse was
not in good shape.
9. According to paragraph three, describe what the horse looks like.
10. Discuss the difference between these two phrases both about smiling:
“…and smiling through grited teeth.’
“…his face broke into a beaming smile.”

Summary question:

Albert was about the same height as me and talked so gently as he approached that I was immediately
calmed and not a little intrigued, and so stood where I was against the wall. I jumped at first when he
touched me but could see at once that he meant me no harm. He smoothed my back first and then my neck,
talking all the while about what a fine time we would have together, how I would grow up to be the
smartest horse in the whole wide world, and how we would go out hunting together. After a bit he began
to rub me gently with his coat. He rubbed me until I was dry and then dabbed salted water onto my face
where the skin had been rubbed raw. He brought in some sweet hay and a bucket of cool, deep water. I do
not believe he stopped talking all the time. As he turned to go out of the stable I called out to him to thank
him and he seemed to understand for he smiled broadly and stroked my nose. ‘We’ll get along, you and I,’
he said kindly. ‘I shall call you Joey, only because it rhymes with Zoey, and then maybe, yes maybe because
it suits you. I’ll be out again in the morning – and don’t worry, I’ll look after you.

Language structures:
Synonyms:
Two different words that have the same meaning.
Example:

Fast Hasty Quick

Adverbs:
A word that describes a verb and usually ends in -ly.
Example: happily, loudly, wildly, slowly, cautiously.
Reflexive and possessive pronouns:
Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that ends in -self.
Example: himself, herself, myself, yourself, oneself.
Possessive pronouns are pronouns that shows that something belongs to
someone.
Example: mine, yours, hers, its, ours, theirs, my.

Alliteration:
A series of words after each other beginning with the same sound.
Example: Bleeding, bruised and terrified beyond belief.

Personification:
An object that is given a human characteristic.
Example: The thunder shouted. Rifle-fire spat into the night.

Degrees of comparison:
Example: good, better, best. Slow, slower, slowest. Beautiful, more beautiful, most
beautiful.

Metaphor:
Comparing one thing to another without using the words “like” or “as”.

Homophone:
Words that sound the same but have a different spelling and meaning.

Example:

Sea See
Knight Night
Eye I