In the novel Black Beauty, the horse has many masters, good and bad. In Chapter 12, Black Beauty's master and his friend John had to travel on business and used Black Beauty as their carthorse. It was storming very heavily, which made the journey difficult for all of them. Still, the horse did not complain too much and kept on going, to the master's delight. As they traveled down the road, a gigantic oak tree whose roots had become ripped up from the ground fell down in front of them. Black Beauty was spooked, but kept on the trail, trembling a little with shock.

Because the tree had fallen, they were forced to take another road that was more dangerous and led them over a large river. At this point, Black Beauty refuses to cross the bridge, and the master nudges him on, though he knows that crossing would be extremely dangerous and might end in tragedy. Nothing appears to be wrong with the bridge, however, so he nudges the horse on and gives him a little whip.

Still, Black Beauty will not cross the bridge. This turns out to be good judgment on the horse's part, because the bridge ends up collapsing. The master notes that God gave man reason but gave animals insight. He praises Black Beauty for using his insight to save his life and marvels at how man and beast compliment one another.