Tolstoy's story of life seen through the eyes of Strider, a piebald horse, has been brilliantly and magically adapted to the stage, and it makes Strider seem both equine and thoughtfully human. Despite his maverick coat, Strider is a thoroughbred and a champion. He tells his story to the other horses in the stable; it is one of unexpected triumph and undeserved despair, running much the same as his master's, a dissolute prince. Strider is also an allegory about the indomitability of the pure-in-