Hwin facts for kids

Hwin is a special talking horse from the fantasy book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. She is a very important character in the book The Horse and His Boy.

Hwin was born free in the magical land of Narnia. But when she was just a young horse, she was captured by people from a country called Calormen. She lived her life as a regular horse, hiding the fact that she could talk. One day, her owner, a girl named Aravis Tarkheena, was going to be forced into a marriage she didn't want. Hwin then showed Aravis that she could talk! She convinced Aravis to run away with her to Narnia, where they could both be free.

In The Horse and His Boy, Hwin and Aravis meet two other travelers: Bree, another talking horse (who is a distant relative of Hwin!), and a boy named Shasta. Their adventures happen during the time when the four Pevensie children ruled Narnia. This time period starts and ends in the last part of the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. During their journey, Hwin and her friends help stop an attack on Archenland and Narnia. Hwin is naturally a bit nervous, gentle, and humble. But through these challenges, she learns to be brave and even becomes a leader.

What Hwin's Name Means

Hwin's name might remind you of the sound a horse makes, like a "whinny." But it's also a shorter version of "Hwinhynym." This name sounds like "Houyhnhnm," which is the name of a group of noble, talking horses from an old book called Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.(Ford 2005, p. 240)