1 D’Artagnan The young man sat tall and proud on his yellow horse as he entered the town of Meung France His hand rested on the hilt of his sword and he kept a sharp eye out for anyone who might mock him or his horse The horse was a gift from his aging father It was old and skinny and very yellow with a bald tail The horse hung its head below its knees as it walked as if constantly ready to stop and graze The sight of the stiff young man and the tattered horse brought a few smiles but no one dared offend the fierce young man The young man was headed from the Southern town of Gascony to Paris with hopes of joining the King’s Musketeers He carried a 4
letter from his father who had known the captain of the Musketeers when they were both young men The letter urged Monsieur de Treville to help his son however he could As d’Artagnan climbed down from his skinny horse he heard the clear sound of laughter He looked around sharply and caught sight of three men A tall dark-haired nobleman looked directly at d’Artagnan’s horse and said something to his friends The man laughed rudely D’Artagnan stormed over to them Do you laugh at my horse he demanded The nobleman looked down his long nose at d’Artagnan examining him from boots to beret Finally he said I laugh little enough but I will laugh when it suits me D’Artagnan drew his sword and shouted But it doesn’t suit me The nobleman merely turned inn D’Artagnan dashed after him but was stopped when the nobleman’s friends attacked him to walk back toward the 5
They walloped him with a shovel and a stick until they had knocked him unconscious The innkeeper sent servants out to carry the young man inside They placed d’Artagnan on a bed and wrapped a ragged bandage around his head Then the innkeeper hurried to the nobleman’s side Are you safe and sound Excellency he asked Perfectly the man said Seeing a hothead bashed about does me little harm Will he recover He will the innkeeper said He even rallied enough to call out challenges to you We went through his things He has enough money to stay in our care for a bit and he carries a letter for Monsieur de Treville The nobleman looked at the innkeeper sharply Are you sure Oh yes the man said The letter is tucked in his cloak in the pile of his things in the kitchen 6
