Question

excerpt from black beauty by anna sewell note black beauty, who narrates the text, is a horse who lives with his mother, duchess, in a field owned by a kind master. one day, a plowboy named dick visits the pasture. 1 one day, when there was a good deal of kicking, my mother whinnied to me to come to her, and then she said 2 \i wish you to pay attention to what i am going to say to you. ... i hope you will grow up gentle and good, and never learn bad ways; do your work with a good will, lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick even in play.\ 3 i have never forgotten my mothers advice; i knew she was a wise old horse, and our master thought a great deal of her. her name was duchess, but he often called her pet. 4 our master was a good, kind man. he gave us good food, good lodging, and kind words; he spoke as kindly to us as he did to his little children. we were all fond of him, and my mother loved him very much. when she saw him at the gate she would neigh with joy, and trot up to him. he would pat 5 which theme is developed in the text? a. all living things deserve respect. b. those who mistreat others should be punished. c. always be gentle, even when having fun. d. a positive attitude is important, even when things are hard.

Explanation:

To determine the theme, analyze the text: The mother horse advises Black Beauty to be gentle, even in play (not biting/kicking). Option A focuses on respect for all living things, but the text's advice is about gentleness in actions, especially play. Option B is about punishment for mistreatment, not present. Option D is about positive attitude, irrelevant. Option C matches the mother's advice to be gentle even when having fun (play).

Answer:

C. Always be gentle, even when having fun.