Little Britches: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

While helping his mother plant vegetables, Ralph waves to a group of passing cowboys. One rides over, and Ralph recognizes him as the cowboy who gave him a ride earlier. The cowboy talks to Ralph’s mother while Ralph admires the cowboy’s blue roan. The cowboy offers to let Ralph ride, and Ralph’s mother agrees. However, the cowboy gets the horse going too fast, and Ralph’s mother is furious. The cowboy is unphased, however, arguing that the horse would not let any harm come to Ralph. To prove his point, he performs several impressive tricks with the horse, showing how the horse would not hurt its rider. Before leaving, the cowboy calls Ralph “Little Britches” and introduces himself as Hiram Beckman, or Hi.

Ralph tries to tell his father about the cowboy, but his father reveals he saw already what happened. He calls Ralph a “chip off the old chopping block,” saying he could see that Ralph was not afraid. He tells Ralph he is proud of him for the first time, and Ralph gets a lump in his throat. Ralph’s father explains that, though Hi is a showoff, he is a “good horseman.” Hi clearly trained his horse well, as it shows complete trust in him. Ralph’s father explains that to be a good horseman like Hi, you must learn how to think like a horse.

On Sunday, Ralph’s father proposes they go for a picnic. At 10:00 they head over to Bear Creek, where they skip stones, swim, and fish. Grace claims to find gold, but her father recognizes it as fool’s gold. After their picnic, Ralph’s mother reads the book John Halifax, Gentleman and Ralph reflects what a good storyteller she is. Ralph grows bored, however, and begins to think of Hi and his blue roan. With a plan in mind, he asks if he can leave early to pick up milk before it’s too late. Ralph’s father says yes, and Ralph runs home.

Ralph grabs the milk pail and tries to get the bit into Fanny’s mouth. This proves difficult, however, and Ralph worries that his family will return and catch him. Finally, he succeeds and rides toward the Aultlands’ house. Though he tries to hide Fanny, the Aultlands are not fooled, so Ralph lies and claims his parents gave him permission to take Fanny. On his way back, he spills the milk and accidentally falls into a pile of manure. His family finds him there, and his mother demands Ralph’s father spank Ralph until he turns “black in the face.” Ralph’s father spanks him, but in a way that sounds painful but does not actually hurt. Ralph howls to “make up the difference.”