"The Rocking-Horse Winner" introduces us to Hester, a woman who dreams of living a luxurious lifestyle she cannot afford. She lives in a modest house with her husband and her three children, two girls and a boy. Although she and her husband never mention their financial woes, the children sense that their house and everything inside of it whisper about the need for more money. Kind of creepy, huh? Hester attempts to make money at various jobs, but she isn't very successful at any of them.
One day Hester's son Paul asks her what makes some people lucky. She tells him that people with luck are the ones who make lots of money; Paul's father is unlucky because no matter how hard he tries, he can't make enough money. This makes Paul determined to prove that he is lucky to his mother.
Paul discovers that when he rides his rocking horse long enough, he is somehow able to "know" what the winning racehorse will be. Using this knowledge, he asks Bassett, the family gardener, to help him place bets and hold onto his winnings. Eventually, Uncle Oscar discovers Paul's gambling scheme and joins in as a partner too. Paul arranges to have a lawyer send his mother five thousand pounds with the money he's won, which she promptly spends on all kinds of luxuries.
Meanwhile, unaware of her son's gambling habit, Hester grows concerned about Paul's health. She plans to send Paul to the seaside to recover, but Paul convinces her to let him stay until after the Derby Stakes race. One evening while out at a party, Hester is overcome with anxiety over Paul. When she returns home, she discovers that he is still riding his rocking horse. Paul collapses with a brain fever, but not before he utters the name of the Derby Stakes winner. Now that's what we call a dramatic finish.
With this information, Uncle Oscar and Bassett go ahead and place their bets and make off with a hefty winning when the Derby Stakes winner is announced. On hearing this news, Paul dies later that night.
Characters
Paul: A young boy who notices that his mother doesn’t love him and his sisters, even though she “adores” them. When he receives a rocking horse for Christmas, he rides it often and comes to find that he can predict what horse is going to win the next big horse race.
Hester: Paul's mother. She becomes “dissatisfied with her marriage” when she finds that her husband is not lucky and doesn't make enough money.
Bassett: The family gardener and friend. Is the one who gets Paul into horse racing, and later becomes “betting partners”.
Oscar Creswell: Paul's uncle and his mother's brother. Provided the money that Paul used to make his first win at the horse race. Signed the lawyer papers in order for Paul's mother to receive “one thousand pounds at a time, on the mother's birthday, for the next five years”. Oscar becomes partners with Paul and Bassett.
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