The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 34: Alexander and Bucephalus
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 34, Alexander and Bucephalus, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 34, Alexander and Bucephalus, is a story about courage and understanding animals. King Philip of Macedon bought a wild, savage horse named Bucephalus that no man could tame, and ordered him led away. His young son Alexander begged to try, wagering the price of the horse if he failed. Alexander had noticed that the horse was afraid of his own shadow, so he turned Bucephalus toward the sun, spoke gently to him, and leaped onto his back before he could be startled again. He rode the horse until it tired, then returned to his amazed father, who declared that Macedon was too small a kingdom for such a son. Alexander and Bucephalus became devoted companions, and the horse carried him through the conquests that later earned him the name Alexander the Great.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 33, The Ungrateful Guest?Have a look
In the last chapter, The Ungrateful Guest, we learned that a soldier of King Philip of Macedon was shipwrecked near the shore, and a kindly farmer who lived close by took him in and nursed him back to health. Instead of thanking the farmer, the soldier begged the king to give him the man's house and land, and Philip granted it, driving the good farmer out. When the wronged farmer told the king the whole truth, Philip was so angry at such ingratitude that he ordered the words 'the ungrateful guest' burned upon the soldier's forehead, and ever after all men shunned him.
Read the previous lesson: The Ungrateful Guest →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 34, Alexander and Bucephalus?noble, manage, outright, quietedHave a look
- noble: fine and excellent in quality
- manage: to handle or control something with skill
- outright: on the spot, right away
- quieted: made calm and still
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic location connects with Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 34, Alexander and Bucephalus?
- Find Macedon (near modern-day Thessaloniki, Greece): the kingdom ruled by King Philip, Alexander's father
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 34 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Laura Caldwell.
Read by Laura Caldwell for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What do the Teacher’s Notes tell us about Chapter 34 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s 1896 words are read exactly as he wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and literary context.
- About the whole bookFifty Famous Stories Retold gathers real history together with well-loved legends and traditions. These notes tell you, story by story, which is which.
- "more than once did he save his master's life"The old writers record two moments. Wounded at Thebes, Bucephalus refused to stand aside for a replacement mount. Wounded at the Hydaspes, he carried Alexander clear of the enemy line and then died.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 34 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?King Philip, Alexander, Bucephalus, MacedonHave a look
- King Philip: Alexander's father, the king of Macedon.
- Alexander: King Philip's son, later known as Alexander the Great.
- Bucephalus: Alexander's horse.
- Macedon: King Philip's kingdom.
Chapter 34 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s stories mingle real history with beloved legend, and here is what to know about this one.
Is the story of Alexander and Bucephalus true history?
Yes, in its essentials. Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus were both real, and the ancient historian Plutarch records this same taming story from Alexander's boyhood: the horse afraid of its shadow, the wager with his father, and the ride that won Philip's approval. So this chapter rests on real historical record rather than later legend.
Did Bucephalus really save Alexander's life more than once?
The old writers record two specific moments behind this claim. Wounded at the Battle of Thebes, Bucephalus refused to stand aside for a replacement mount so that Alexander could keep fighting from his back. Wounded again at the Battle of the Hydaspes in India, he carried Alexander clear of the enemy line before he died of his wounds.
Did Alexander really become 'the most famous king and warrior that was ever known'?
Alexander the Great went on to conquer an enormous empire stretching from Greece to India, and he remains one of history's most studied military leaders, so Baldwin's claim reflects genuine historical fame rather than exaggeration for its own sake.
Why was Bucephalus afraid of his own shadow?
Horses can be startled by sudden movement in their own field of view, and a large dark shape shifting on the ground beneath a spirited animal is exactly the kind of thing that can set one off. Alexander's insight, turning the horse to face the sun so the shadow fell behind him, is the detail that turns a simple taming story into a lesson about watching closely before acting.