Oz 22: The Giant Horse of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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on_the sapphire rocks . surely it_was sad to live on_the loveliest islands in Oz and never to_be safe or happy .

" if I_could just find a way to cross the lake," muttered Philador, feeling in_his pockets for some crumbs to throw the gulls, " then I_could find the good witch of_the north ." the gulls were his constant and never failing friends and, as one and then another settled down on_the rocks beside him, he_told them of Quiberon's demand for a mortal maiden and_his threat to destroy the kingdom . in Oz, as_you all know, the birds and beasts can speak and_the blue gulls not_only listened sympathetically to_the little prince but talked among themselves of Quiberon's cruelty .

" come back, princeling, when_the moon is high," whispered a little blue lady gull, when_the others had flown away ." come back when_the moon is high . I_have thought of a way to help_you ! " comforted in_spite of himself, but resolved to_say nothing at all to_the king, Philador crept quietly back to_the castle .

chapter 2

the golden pear

the great silver bells in_the sapphire tower had tolled ten . it_was night time, and still Cheeriobed and_his councillors had thought of no plan to appease Quiberon . in gloomy knots the Ozure Islanders gathered to discuss the almost certain destruction that threatened their kingdom . in_the castle Toddledy and_the king pored over ancient books and maps trying to devise some way out of_their difficulties, but as Quiberon would allow no one to leave the islands how were they to search for a mortal maiden ?

" and even if we_did find one," sighed Cheeriobed wearily, " i_would never turn her over to a monster like that . we who_are magically constructed can_be destroyed without pain, but a mortal can_be hurt and no one shall ever suffer to save me or my kingdom ."

" then we_must perish, I suppose ." Pushing his specs high up on_his forehead, Toddledy looked resignedly at_the king ." it might_be quite restful to_be destroyed," observed the poor prime Moneyster, trying to look on_the cheerful side of things . but Umtillio rose with aprotesting screech and striking both fiddles at once sobbed dolefully .

"Oh no, no, no ! let_us go, go, go, far away ! Cheerio Oh, Oh ! you don't know, know, know, what you say ! to_be de- destroyed with life half enjoyed is too bad, can't you_see, see, see, it would_be, be, be, much too sad ? "

" well, we still have two days," mumbled the king unhappily ." maybe something will turn up .

" nothing will ever turn up here but your majesty's nose," sniffed Akbad, who had_been listening to_the conversation with growing impatience ." you_may stay here and be destroyed if_you like, but I, I, Akbad, the soothsayer, shall think of something better ! "

Folding his robes haughtily about him, Akbad swept from_the throne room . in_his own high tower he flung the sapphire casements wide and leaning both elbows on_the sill, stared moodily out into_the night .

" surely it_is better for_one mortal to_be destroyed than a whole kingdom," reflected Akbad ." the king's a soft hearted old Joffywax . the way to solve a problem is to_begin at_the beginning and go on to_the conclusion .Quiberon desires a mortal maiden and a mortal maiden he shall_have . now where am I to_find a mortal maiden ? " Striding to_the bookcase he pulled out a history of Oz which opened almost instantly to_the picture of three little girls sitting in a hammock .

" Dorothy, Betsy and trot," muttered the soothsayer reading the names under the picture ." these little girls, though native Americans, now live in_the emerald city of Oz and_are loved and honored by_the entire populace ." Akbad paused thoughtfully after reading this sentence, then tearing out the page stuffed the picture into his sleeve ." one will_be quite enough," he remarked, with a little shrug of_his shoulders, " and all that I_have to_do now is to reach the emerald city ." Standing before a huge map of Oz that covered one side of_the wall, Akbad traced with_his finger a line between sapphire city and_the capital . not a great distance, to_be_sure, but to_the old soothsayer who had never been away from_the Ozure Isles in_his entire life, it seemed a long and perilous journey .Sinking into an easy chair he began tugging at his whiskers and pulling his long nose and soon a perfectly splendid plan popped into his turbaned head .

" the pear ! " puffed Akbad delightedly ." i_will pick the golden pear and save myself and_the entire kingdom ." Jerking out his magic descriptionary, a booklet all soothsayers carry in their pockets, Akbad turned to_the proper page though he_knew almost by heart what it would say of_the golden pear ." in_the gardens of_the king grows an emerald tree, bearing always one golden fruit . this fruit shall be plucked by_the prince of_the realm in times of extreme danger or peril . it_will immediately transport him wheresoever he desires to_go .

" if_it transports a prince it_will surely carry a soothsayer," decided Akbad ." if_the king is too stupid to bid Philador to pick the pear I myself shall pluck it from_the bough and save the people from destruction ."

the king, as it happened, was at_that very moment thinking of_the golden fruit ." if nothing turns up tomorrow," yawned his majesty, blowing out the tall candle beside his bed, " I_shall command Philador to pick the magic pear . I_have lived a long_time and do_not mind being destroyed, but he_is too young to suffer destruction ." comforted by_the thought that_the little prince, at_least, would escape so hard a fate, Cheeriobed sank down among his silk cushions and was soon fast asleep . his slumbers would_not_have_been so calm nor his dreams so untroubled had he seen the two figures that presently stepped out of_his castle . one passed from_the eastern gateway into_the gardens, the other from_the western doorway and, after looking all around to_see that he_was not observed, hastened down to_the beach .

in_the moonlight the radiant capital of Cheeriobed floated like a city of dreams in a silver mist . looking over his shoulder at its sparkling turrets and spires, Philador wondered if he_should ever have the courage to leave so lovely a spot . then catching a glimpse of_the horrid head of Quiberon, rising suddenly above the waters of Orizon, the little prince shuddered and gathering his cloak about him hurried down to_the rocks . he wondered if_the blue gull had kept her promise and looked anxiously up and down the deserted strand . there_was no one in sight and dejectedly he_was about to return to_the castle when a low whistle from a nearby cave came floating up_to him .

Running down and into_the cave, Philador stopped short in perfect astonishment . crouched upon_the rocks and regarding him with bright interested eyes was a giant blue gull twice as large as Philador himself . on its head, the feathers grew into acirclet that rested like a crown upon its brow .

" you wish to leave the Ozure isle ? " asked the gull quietly ." climb upon my back, then; you_have_been kind and gentle to my subjects, therefore I the grand Mogull, king of all the land and sea birds, will carry you wheresoever you wish to_go .

for a moment Philador was too startled to move . then as a deep roar from_the throat of Quiberon came reverberating through_the grotto, he sprang upon_the gull's back and clasping his arms around its neck whispered hoarsely, " carry me to_the good witch of_the north ! "

with scarcely a flutter, the great gull rose, mounting higher and higher, till the Ozure Isles were no more than sparkling dots on_the waters of_the lake .Akbad, standing under the magic tree in_the king's garden, saw a great shadow cross the moon .Brushing his hand uneasily across his eyes he looked again, but this_time the shadow had gone .Concluding that_it had_been but a dark cloud, the soothsayer drew a deep breath and, leaning forward, broke the golden pear from_the sacred bough . now Akbad hardly knew what to expect, but the thing that did happen exceeded his wildest imaginings . the pear in_his hands grew larger and larger, bursting finally with_such a golden splutter and glare he_was almost blinded .Stars ! it_was a pair of wings !

thoroughly frightened, the soothsayer fell back against the tree, putting up both hands to beat off the whirling pinions . but it_was no use . the great wings swooped down upon him and next moment had fastened themselves to_his shoulders . his heart, as_they lifted him into_the air, dropped so suddenly into his boots both boots fell off . motionless and helpless and just above the emerald tree he hung suspended, trembling so violently his turban came unwound and fluttered like a banner in_the evening breeze . for about as long as you_could count ten Akbad dangled limply between_the golden wings . then recovering a little of_his courage he moistened his lips and muttered weakly .

" take me to_the emerald city of Oz ." next instant, another shadow had crossed the moon and Akbad, like some strange ungainly bird, was being borne swiftly and silently towards the south .

chapter 3

the strange public benefactor

I N the dusty shop of Dan, the second- hand man, there_was no sound except the whirr of arickety sewing machine in_the back room .Dan bought old clothes which he mended and pressed and sold again to people who_could_not afford new ones . usually he spent every evening in_his dim little Boston shop, but tonight Dan's niece was to_be married, and_the old clothes man was hurriedly stitching up a rent in a dress suit he had bought that very morning from a dusky gentleman in grant street .lt was worn and shabby, but surveying himself in_the cracked mirror a few_moments later Danny felt he_would look quite as fine as_the groom . well pleased with_his appearance he nodded to_his reflection and taking down a second hand high hat from_his shelf let himself out into_the night .

it_was a warm starry evening in may and, coming to_the end of_the narrow street in_which he lived, Dan struck out across a small park, whistling softly to himself . he_would_have preferred his pipe, but in honor of_the grand occasion had purchased a handful of five cent cigars .Placing one between his teeth, he fumbled in_his pocket for_the box of matches he had surely placed there before starting . his fingers closed instead on a small leather book .

" what's this ? " exclaimed Danny in surprise and, stepping under a park lamp, he began fluttering over the pages . it_was filled with closely written paragraphs in a strangely cramped hand . the words were no words Danny had ever heard or seen . to_prove it he settled his specs more firmly and read a whole paragraph aloud, moistening his lips between_the long hard sentences, and keeping his cigar in place in_his mouth with great difficulty .

" well, did anyone ever hear the like of_that ? " chuckled Danny, winking up at_the statue of a public benefactor who stood facing him in a small plot of grass ." what do_you_think of it yourself, old felly ? "

"I hardly know," murmured the public benefactor, letting the arm which had_been stiffly extended fall heavily at his side ."I hardly know . you_see, I've never thought before, and-"

" merciful mackerel ! " the cigar fell from Danny's lips, the high hat from_his head and hurling the leather book into, a clump of bushes, he turned and fled for_his life, bumping into trees and benches and running in_the opposite direction from_the wedding .. in_fact, I_am not sure he ever did get to_the wedding at all . the public benefactor watched him go with round unwinking eyes, then stepping down from_his pedestal, picked up the high hat, fortunately an extremely large one, and placed it gravely upon his head .

" now for an umbrella," murmured the stone gentleman determinedly ." I_must_have an umbrella . what I've suffered all these years, rain and snow .Ah-hh ." Catching sight of an old lady hurrying down one_of_the cinder paths, he_called loudly ." stop ! stop ! give_me that umbrella ! " for some seconds the old lady who was quite deaf paid no attention, but when, looking over her shoulder, she saw a gray stone gentleman in a frock coat pounding after her, waving both arms, she picked up her skirts, jumped over a little hedge and fell face down among_the pansies . without feeling at all sorry, or stopping to help her to her feet, the public benefactor took the umbrella from her hand .Opening it with a little grunt of satisfaction and holding it over his head as he had seen other people do, he stepped carelessly over the old lady and continued down the cinder path ."I've always wanted to_be like other people," mused the statue, striding along contentedly, " and now, I_am . but I wonder why I never did this before ? "

why indeed ? simply because he had never been alive before . the words in_the little black book must_have held some strange and mysterious force; the owner of Danny's dress suit must_have been a powerful magician to bring this cold statue to life . and as he strode across the little Boston park, with Danny's hat upon his head and_the old lady's umbrella clasped tightly in_his hand, little boys who had come for a quiet game of marbles before bed time, men_and_women on their way home to tea, stared in perfect astonishment and then took to_their heels, screaming hoarsely as_they ran .

"I'm acting just the way they_are acting, and yet they run away," grumbled the public benefactor crossly ." what's the matter with_them anyway ? " he sank down on a park bench to puzzle it all out, but the bench, which had_been built to hold only

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