The stable boy
An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.
Edward found the mare stamping beside an overturned bucket. He moved the bucket away, checked the fastening of the stable door and fetched clean water. The animal lowered her head but did not drink. He noticed a stone lodged beneath the edge of one hoof. Calling for the groom, he kept his hand against the mare’s neck until the older man arrived with the necessary tools.
Give two actions Edward takes before he notices the stone.
120 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE English Language 1.3 Content: prose fiction study requirements, covering 1.3.1 Read challenging prose fiction for the unseen 19th-century extract. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.