looking at each other across the partition of their stalls. The light
showed the white mark on Diamond's forehead, but Ruby's eye shone
so bright, that he thought more light came out of it than went in.
This is what he saw.

But what do you think he heard?

He heard the two horses talking to each other--in a strange language,
which yet, somehow or other, he could understand, and turn over in
his mind in English. The first words he heard were from Diamond,
who apparently had been already quarrelling with Ruby.

"Look how fat you are Ruby!" said old Diamond. "You are so plump
and your skin shines so, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"There's no harm in being fat," said Ruby in a deprecating tone.
"No, nor in being sleek. I may as well shine as not."

"No harm?" retorted Diamond. "Is it no harm to go eating up all
poor master's oats, and taking up so much of his time grooming you,
when you only work six hours--no, not six hours a day, and, as I hear,
get along no faster than a big dray-horse with two tons behind him?--
So they tell me."

"Your master's not mine," said Ruby. "I must attend to my own
master's interests, and eat all that is given me, and be sleek
and fat as I can, and go no faster than I need."

"Now really if the rest of the horses weren't all asleep, poor things--
they work till they're tired--I do believe they would get up and kick