Oz 22: The Giant Horse of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
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only ordinary folk, crumpled like a match under his great weight .a tramp who had_been asleep on_the other end, wakened by_the terrible tumble, took one glance at_the stone man, then rolled into a clump of shrubbery where he lay trembling so violently leaves fell in showers to_the walk . by_the_time the public benefactor had struggled to_his feet a great crowd had gathered . at a safe distance they peered at him, waving their arms, shaking their heads and looking so frightened the public benefactor began to_feel frightened himself .

Turning his back upon them, he walked out_of_the park and straight into_the middle of a busy crossing . here he stopped to gaze at awinking electric sign when a dreadful thump almost knocked the umbrella from_his hand, and a series of shouts almost raised the hat from_his head .a motor truck going at a fast clip had run right into him ! but instead of upsetting the stone man, the truck splintered to bits and lay scattered about_the street like a broken toy ! surely a pleasant change from breaking up poor pedestrians . but the truck driver did_not seem to_think so .Separating himself from_the wreckage, he advanced threateningly upon_the public benefactor . but one good look at_that calm stone figure seemed to_be enough .a mounted policeman leaning down seized the high hatted gentleman by_the arm, then feeling the hard stone beneath his fingers he reined back his horse and blew a shrill blast on_his whistle .

in less_than a minute the street was aseething mass of men, women, little girls and boys, all striving for a glimpse of_the man who had stopped a truck . next someone turned in a fire alarm and_the fire engines came clanging on_the scene . the firemen not knowing what else to_do turned their hose full upon_the offending statue .

alarmed and disgusted, and protecting himself as_well as he_could with_the old lady's umbrella, the public benefactor decided to return to_his pedestal . but in_the excitement he_took a wrong turning . then he began to run and_the crowd to run after him- faster and faster and faster . his stone feet, thudding upon_the asphalt, shook the houses on both sides and, dodging as best he_could the sticks, stones and other missiles of_his pursuers, the poor bewildered statue ran on . being very large and perfectly tireless, he soon out-distanced them and, looking over his shoulder to_make sure, failed to notice the steep embankment ahead, till it_was too late . the workmen themselves had_not intended to blow such a terrific hole in_the earth; a thin crust of earth at_the bottom hid the yawning cavity from view . but the stone man, tumbling head over heels down the steep sides, crashed through_this crust as_if it had_been paper and plunged into a damp darkness .

" what now ? " groaned the statue dismally, clutching his umbrella ."'Am I a bird ? why, oh why did I ever leave my pedestal ? " but wishing made no difference at all and down he dropped to_the very bottom of nowhere . then all at once he crashed through a crust of blue sky out into_the blazing sunlight and thumped down in_the middle of a broad green field . luckily he landed upon his feet, but so hard and so heavily that he went down to_his knees in soft earth . for a few_moments he stood perfectly still . then, closing his umbrella, he pulled one leg and then the other out_of_the mud and took a few steps to shake the stuff from_his stone shins .

" it_was night and now it_is day . i_was there and now I_am here . what next ? " he muttered uneasily . the country into which he had fallen so suddenly seemed safe enough . green fields, dotted with feathery trees, stretched to_the right and left . but after_the dusty Boston park it seemed large and lonely . as he gazed about uncertainly, he noticed a blue figure, walking briskly along a yellow highway that ran through_the center of_the fields . he had never in_his whole carved career seen a fellow like this and as_the figure drew nearer he grasped his umbrella firmly and made ready to fight or run .

it_was aScarecrow, a live, jolly, sure enough straw stuffed Scarecrow . as he_came opposite he_took off his hat .

" good after- night," said the Scarecrow politely . the public benefactor made an unsuccessful effort to remove his own hat, but he had jammed it down too hard .

"I suppose you mean good morning," he remarked stiffly, returning the Scarecrow's bow .

" have it your own way," smiled the Scarecrow, with a carefree wave, " and speaking of ways, where are_you going ? "

"I'm not going, I'm coming," announced the public benefactor sulkily . the experiences of_the past few hours had made him suspicious of every place and everybody . the Scarecrow considered his answer for a few seconds in silence, then stepping closer inquired earnestly, " tell me, are_you a person ? "

" are_you ? " at_this quick and unexpected turning of_his question, the Scarecrow threw back his head and laughed heartily .

"I don't know," he admitted merrily, " whether I'm a person or not, but I_do know that I'm alive and it's great fun to_be alive ! "

" is_it ? " the public benefactor looked dubiously into_the Scarecrow's cheerful cotton countenance ."I'm not sure I like it," he sighed, shaking his head ponderously .

"Oh, you'll get used to_it ." Clapping on_his hat, the straw man regarded his companion attentively ." you're the only live statue I've ever seen," he observed at last ." how do_you happen to_be alive ? " there_was something so jolly about_this queer fellow, the poor statue began to_feel a little happier .

" first," he began slowly, " i_was quarried, then i_was hacked and hewn into my present shape . for many years I stood on a pedestal in a little park in_the city of Boston . while I_could neither move nor talk I could_see and hear all that went on about me . and what I_saw and heard was interesting enough .I watched the children sail their boats in_the small pond, listened to_the band on warm summer evenings and observed the strange habits of_the men_and_women who walked about under the trees . if I had just had a hat or umbrella to protect me from_the rain and snow, I could_have_been perfectly happy ."

" you_must_be perfectly happy now," put in_the Scarecrow slyly, " for I_see you_have both ." the public benefactor shook his head impatiently at_the interruption .

" once a year, he continued pompously, "a crowd of citizens came and hung wreaths around my neck, and in long tedious speeches which I_could_not understand referred to_me as a great public benefactor . do_you_know what a public benefactor is ? " he inquired curiously .

" well," answered the Scarecrow cautiously, you probably founded a school or a library or gave large sums of money to_the poor . what_was your_name anyway ? "

"I never knew," replied the gray stone gentleman sadly ." it_was carved on_the base of_my pedestal and as i_was unable to bend over I_could never discover this interesting information ."

" then I_shall call you Benny," decided the Scarecrow cheerfully, " short for pulic benefactor, you_know . do_you look like the person you're supposed to_be ? "

the statue shook his head ."I don't know that either," he admitted gloomily .

"Oh, never mind that," said the Scarecrow, sitting down on a nearby tree stump ." you_are aspeaking likeness of somebody, but how did you come to life ? "

" i_was coming to_that," exclaimed Benny quickly, and in short excited sentences he_told how an old Irishman in evening clothes had stopped under the park lamp and read some strange words from a little black book and how he immediately felt a desire to step down from_his pedestal ." so I_did," he went on mournfully, and proceeded to relate his terrifying experiences and_his final fall into_this strange land ." it_is very queer," he finished in a depressed voice ." when i_was uninteresting and unalive, people treated me with respect and hung wreaths around my neck, yet when I_came to life they turned a hose on me and even hit me with bricks ."

the Scarecrow shook his head ." there's no accounting for mortals," he explained solemnly, " but now that you_are in_the fairy kingdom of Oz, things will_be different .Anyody can_be alive here, and no questions asked . they even let me live ! " he concluded gaily .

" is_it a republic ? " asked Benny, eyeing the Scarecrow with new interest .

" indeed not ! " exclaimed the straw man loftily ." we_are a magic monarchy under the beneficent rule of a little fairy and there" he waved proudly to_the left, "lies the capital . if_you_wish, i_will take you to_the emerald city at once and present you to_the queen . what would you like to_be now that you_are alive ? " he asked curiously .

" well," said Benny after a moment's thought, " i_should like to_be a real person . do_you_think I_could ever be a real person, Scarecrow ? " the Scarecrow took off his hat and pulled several wisps of straw from_his head .

"I don't see why_not," he decided brightly ." the way to_be a real person is to act like a real person . just begin acting like a real person, Benny, my boy, and first thing you_know you'll be one ! "

" is_that what you_did ? " Benny looked doubtfully at_this strange citizen of Oz . the Scarecrow nodded modestly and, taking the stone man's elbow, started down the yellow brick highway ." look alive now," he chuckled merrily, " for you_are to meet a queen ."

" it's hard for a stone man to look alive but I'll do_the best I_can," sighed the public benefactor in a resigned voice ." how do_you happen to_be alive yourself ? " he inquired heavily .

" that ! " said the Scarecrow airily, " that_is a long story, you_see-

" I_see a great ugly bird," interrupted the public benefactor, waving his umbrella wildly ." let's run; I never did like birds . they perch on my head ."

" pray do_not concern yourself," begged his companion earnestly, " and try to act like a real person, can't you ? " Withdrawing his arm from Benny's the Scarecrow took off his hat and blinked upward .

" well," queried Benny nervously, " what would a real person do now ? "

" he_would run," choked the Scarecrow in a hoarse whisper ." run, you son of a boulder, run ! "

chapter 4

Finding a mortal maiden

so_well did Benny carry out the Scarecrow's instruction, the flimsy straw man was jerked from_the ground and fairly flew through_the air at_the stone man's side . and so intent were they both upon their running, they never saw the little girl in_the pink dress until they had bumped right into her . now to_be run into is upsetting under any circumstances, but to_be run into by a live statue is_the most upsetting thing yet . trot, for it_was trot, not_only was upset but rolled over and over and bumped her head on an emerald milestone at_the side of_the road .

" stop ! "' cried the Scarecrow, recognizing her at once, " now see what you've done ! "

" but the bird ! " quavered Benny coming to a reluctant halt and glancing fearfully over his shoulder .

with an impatient exclamation the Scarecrow dropped his hand and hurried over to trot ." fancy, running into you like this," he puffed ruefully .

" fancy it ! " gasped trot rubbing her head with one hand and her knee with_the other, "I don't fancy it at all . why don't you look where you're going ! " she frowned crossly at_the Scarecrow and then catching a glimpse of Benny jumped to her feet in real alarm ." who's he ? " she asked in a frightened whisper .

" just now he's a public benefactor, but he's trying to_be a real person," explained the Scarecrow hastily ."Benny, old fellow, this_is trot, a little girl from California who was shipwrecked and came to_the land of Oz . she lives in_the royal palace with Ozma .Benny comes from America too," he added proudly .

" but the bird ! " panted Benny, nodding absently to trot .

" you_see my dear, we were escaping from ahorriblus bird when we ran across you, apologized the Scarecrow with an anxious glance upward .

"I don't see any bird ." still rubbing her knee, trot looked up too and after they had all gazed intently at_the sky for several minutes they had to admit that trot was right . there_was not even a speck in_the bright blue expanse overhead .

" but there_was a bird, a most fearful, queerful bird," the Scarecrow assured her positively . trot gave a little sniff and while she did_not exactly say so, both Benny and_the Scarecrow felt that she did_not believe there had_been any bird at all .

" i_was coming to_see you, continued the Scarecrow in a slightly embarrassed voice ." how fortunate that we met this_way, now we_can all go to_the emerald city together ." trot, looking down at her skinned knee and feeling the lump on her forehead, could_not help thinking it had_not_been so fortunate for her, but being a really sweet- tempered little girl she said nothing further and walked along quietly between_these two singular looking gentlemen . the Scarecrow she had known for years, but she kept stealing inquisitive glances at his solemn stone companion .Seeing her evident interest, the straw man told her all about Benny's strange coming to life and_his fall into Oz .

" do_you_think I_can ever be a real person ? " asked Benny wistfully as_the Scarecrow finished his story ." now, as you_see, I_am a hard person of stone . but i_wish to_be

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