A horse at dawn

In William Saroyan's story 'The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse', the narrator, Aram, looks back on the time when he was nine. In those days, he says, the world was full of every imaginable kind of magnificence, and life was still a 'delightful and mysterious dream'.

One summer morning at about four o'clock, his cousin Mourad taps on his window. Everyone thinks Mourad is crazy, except Aram. And there he is, sitting on a beautiful white horse.

Aram has longed to ride a horse for as long as he can remember. But his family is very poor: so poor that Mourad could not possibly have bought the horse.

The Garoghlanian family, to which both boys belong, is famous for its honesty. For over eleven centuries, nobody in the family has ever stolen anything. So Mourad cannot have stolen the horse either... or can he?

Aram's longing wins the argument with his conscience. He tells himself that taking a horse for a ride is not really stealing, as long as you do not sell it. He jumps out of the window and rides off behind Mourad into the country.