The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy Summary | Plot Summary

The Horse and His Boy is one of seven novels within the Chronicles of Narnia series C.S. Lewis published in the 1950s. This beautifully written novel follows the adventures of a young boy and his talking horse, as they travel from the desert lands of Calormen to the beauty and magic of Narnia. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia have been highly praised in the fifty years since their inception, and any reader of The Horse and His Boy can understand why.

After overhearing the man he calls father agree to sell him to a stranger, the young boy, Shasta, goes into the barn to find comfort among the animals. The stranger's horse is a fine war horse that Shasta greatly admires. Shasta rubs the horse's nose and whispers to him that he wished he could talk. The horse surprises the boy by admitting that he can speak. The horse goes on to tell Shasta how he came from the country of Narnia in the north, and how he would like to go back there. Shasta asks why he does not, and the horse explains that if he left alone, he would only be caught and sent back as a runaway horse. With a rider, however, things would be different.

Shasta hesitates, until the horse tells him how bad things would be with the stranger if Shasta allowed himself to be sold to him. Shasta agrees and, when the two men are asleep, Shasta saddles the horse, and they ride off toward Tashbaan, a large city in the north of Calormen. Along the way, Shasta learns the horse's name is Bree. Shasta also learns that riding a horse is not as easy as riding a mule.

Several nights into their journey, Bree and Shasta come across another rider on the road. Convinced it is a Tarkaan who can have Shasta arrested for stealing Bree, they attempt to outride the other horse and rider. However as they approach a beach nearby, they hear a lion roar. Bree begins to run as fast as he can away from the lion. The other rider does the same. Before they know what has happened, the two riders end up escaping the lion together. It turns out that the other rider is not a Tarkaan, but a young Tarkheena who has run away from home. Her horse, too, it seems is another Talking Horse from Narnia. Bree suggests that they all travel together, and the girl agrees even though Shasta is reluctant.

When the foursome reaches the gates of the city, Tashbaan, they formulate a plan with which to move through the city without attracting too much attention. The children will walk the horses and dress them up to make them appear like pack horses. This is very difficult for the Tarkheena, Aravis, because she belongs to a royal household and should be carried into the city on a litter. However, Aravis agrees to the plan. Once inside the city, the children travel halfway through without a single problem. However, while moved to the side of the street to allow a royal entourage to pass, Shasta is pulled from the crowd by King Edmund of Narnia. The King has mistaken Shasta for Prince Corin of Archenland.

While in the home of the Narnia royals, not only does Shasta get a fine meal, but he learns that the Prince of Calormen is in love with Queen Susan. However, Queen Susan does not want to marry him and plans to escape on her boat that evening. Shasta also learns of a way through the desert oasis between Calormen and Archenland that will make the trip much more pleasant. Later, while Shasta is alone, the true Prince Corin returns from his adventures on the streets of Tashbaan. Shasta escapes the city and goes to the Tombs of the Ancient Kings where he previously agreed to meet his companions should they be separated.

Shasta is forced to spend a long night alone at the Tombs while his friends are detained in the city. Aravis runs into a friend from her past and learns that her father is in town looking for her. However, her friend comes up with a plan to help her escape through the Tisroc's garden. However, while they are attempting their escape, Aravis and her friend are forced to hide in a small room where the Tisroc and his son are planning a sneak attack on Archenland and Narnia. The Prince wants to retrieve Queen Susan from Narnia, so he decides the best was is to conquer Anvard in Archenland and use it as a jumping point to attack Cair Paravel. The Tisroc agrees and lets his son take two hundred horses. However, the Tisroc warns him if he fails he will claim to have had no knowledge of the planned attack.

When Aravis finally joins her friends, they rush through the oasis so that they can warn King Lune about the impending attack. When they are close to Archenland, Shasta and his companions can see the Prince and his men coming close behind them. They begin to run, hoping to reach Archenland first. Just as they begin to tire, they hear a lion come up behind them. The lion catches up to Hwin and begins to attack Aravis. Shasta jumps off of Bree and goes to Aravis's rescue. Finally they are in a small garden where a Hermit offers them refuge. However, Shasta must leave again to go warn King Lune.

Shasta finds King Lune in time to warn him. However, on the trip to the castle, Shasta is lost. Shasta continues alone and becomes lost in a fog. While he walks, Shasta can feel someone breathing beside him. Finally Shasta asks who is there and Aslan answers him. Aslan tells him that he has been protecting him the entire journey, first pretending to be a fierce lion on the beach to force Shasta and Aravis together, then again at the tombs when a cat slept beside Shasta, and at the gates of the Hermit's home earlier that day. The next day, Shasta also learns that Aslan protected him that night from a sheer drop on the side of the road he followed.

Shasta finds himself in Narnia the next morning. Here he meets up with King Edmund and Queen Lucy as they travel to Archenland in order to aid King Lune. Shasta joins the group with Prince Corin who is anxious to be in the battle. Shasta does not fight well in the battle, though he survives to find that Archenland has won. Shasta also learns in the aftermath of the battle that he is the long lost son of King Lune, a twin to Prince Corin who was stolen as an infant. Shasta is destined to become King. King Lune invites Aravis to live with them at the castle, and she later becomes Shasta's Queen. Bree and Hwin return home to Narnia and live out the rest of their lives with their own long lost families.