Tonight, we'll be reading the opening to the 1877 novel, "Black Beauty" by English author Anna Sewell. Due to a severe injury early in life, Sewell needed to use crutches to walk and developed a love for horses, as horseback riding gave her a sense of freedom. This novel became an immediate best-seller at the end of her life, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, but having lived long enough to see her only novel become a success. With fifty million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time. While forthrightly teaching animal welfare, it also teaches how to treat people with kindness, sympathy, and respect.