King of the Wind
King of the Wind is a novel by Marguerite Henry that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1949.[1] It was made into a film of the same name in 1990.[2]
Plot
As the fast of Ramadan is ending in Morocco, Agba, a mute slave boy, tends to his favorite Arabian mare, who gives birth that night. The colt has a white spot on his hind heel, considered the emblem of swiftness and good luck, but it also has a wheat ear on his chest, symbolizing bad luck. The mare dies within a few days, but Sham matures into a promising racehorse. Later, the Sultan summons six horseboys to his palace, including Agba, and charges them to accompany six horses to France. The horses are to be given as gifts to the French King Louis XV. The horseboy is to remain with that horse until the horse's death, then return to Morocco.
When the racehorses arrive in France, they are frowned and laughed upon by the French, who believe that they are not 'lusty' enough to be racehorses. Sham becomes a kitchen horse, but he is so disobedient that the cook sells him to a carter. Agba becomes a servant to Sham's new owner and meets Grimalkin the cat along the way.
Sham is bought by a Quaker man and taken to England. When Sham refuses to let the Quaker's nephew ride him, his owner sells him to an inn. Agba is jailed when he is caught sneaking into the inn to see Sham, but the Quaker's housekeeper bails him out, and both Sham and Agba are released into the service of the Earl of Godolphin.
The Earl treats Sham as a workhorse, albeit kindly. A mare Lady Roxana, meant to be a mate for the horse Hobgoblin, arrives. Sham successfully fights Hobgoblin for her. She enjoys Sham's company, but the Earl is embarrassed by the incident. He orders Sham, Agba, and Grimalkin to live in Wicken Fen, and they depart.
Two years later, the Earl's Chief Groom comes to see Agba and reveals that Lady Roxana gave birth to Sham's son Lath, who was left untrained. One day, Lath jumped a fence and outran some of the colts that the Earl was training. The trio return to Godolphin, and Sham is named the Godolphin Arabian. After the Earl reveals that he is near bankruptcy, they race Sham's sons at Newmarket. The sons win the races and the Queen's purse, thus repairing the Earl's fortunes and establishing Sham as one of the founding stallions of English track racing.
References
External links
- Review in The New York Times.
Awards | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by The Twenty-One Balloons | Newbery Medal recipient 1949 | Succeeded by The Door in the Wall |
- v
- t
- e
- The Story of Mankind (1922)
- The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1923)
- The Dark Frigate (1924)
- Tales from Silver Lands (1925)
- Shen of the Sea (1926)
- Smoky the Cowhorse (1927)
- Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon (1928)
- The Trumpeter of Krakow (1929)
- Hitty, Her First Hundred Years (1930)
- The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1931)
- Waterless Mountain (1932)
- Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (1933)
- Invincible Louisa (1934)
- Dobry (1935)
- Caddie Woodlawn (1936)
- Roller Skates (1937)
- The White Stag (1938)
- Thimble Summer (1939)
- Daniel Boone (1940)
- Call It Courage (1941)
- The Matchlock Gun (1942)
- Adam of the Road (1943)
- Johnny Tremain (1944)
- Rabbit Hill (1945)
- Strawberry Girl (1946)
- Miss Hickory (1947)
- The Twenty-One Balloons (1948)
- King of the Wind (1949)
- The Door in the Wall (1950)
- Amos Fortune, Free Man (1951)
- Ginger Pye (1952)
- Secret of the Andes (1953)
- ...And Now Miguel (1954)
- The Wheel on the School (1955)
- Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (1956)
- Miracles on Maple Hill (1957)
- Rifles for Watie (1958)
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1959)
- Onion John (1960)
- Island of the Blue Dolphins (1961)
- The Bronze Bow (1962)
- A Wrinkle in Time (1963)
- It's Like This, Cat (1964)
- Shadow of a Bull (1965)
- I, Juan de Pareja (1966)
- Up a Road Slowly (1967)
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1968)
- The High King (1969)
- Sounder (1970)
- Summer of the Swans (1971)
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1972)
- Julie of the Wolves (1973)
- The Slave Dancer (1974)
- M. C. Higgins, the Great (1975)
- The Grey King (1976)
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1977)
- Bridge to Terabithia (1978)
- The Westing Game (1979)
- A Gathering of Days (1980)
- Jacob Have I Loved (1981)
- A Visit to William Blake's Inn (1982)
- Dicey's Song (1983)
- Dear Mr. Henshaw (1984)
- The Hero and the Crown (1985)
- Sarah, Plain and Tall (1986)
- The Whipping Boy (1987)
- Lincoln (1988)
- Joyful Noise (1989)
- Number the Stars (1990)
- Maniac Magee (1991)
- Shiloh (1992)
- Missing May (1993)
- The Giver (1994)
- Walk Two Moons (1995)
- The Midwife's Apprentice (1996)
- The View from Saturday (1997)
- Out of the Dust (1998)
- Holes (1999)
- Bud, Not Buddy (2000)
- A Year Down Yonder (2001)
- A Single Shard (2002)
- Crispin (2003)
- The Tale of Despereaux (2004)
- Kira-Kira (2005)
- Criss Cross (2006)
- The Higher Power of Lucky (2007)
- Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! (2008)
- The Graveyard Book (2009)
- When You Reach Me (2010)
- Moon Over Manifest (2011)
- Dead End in Norvelt (2012)
- The One and Only Ivan (2013)
- Flora & Ulysses (2014)
- The Crossover (2015)
- Last Stop on Market Street (2016)
- The Girl Who Drank the Moon (2017)
- Hello, Universe (2018)
- Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2019)
- New Kid (2020)
- When You Trap a Tiger (2021)
- The Last Cuentista (2022)
- Freewater (2023)
- The Eyes and the Impossible (2024)