The Black Horse

There once was a big, black horse.
He plowed the fields.
He gave rides to children.
He pulled a wagon.
He nibbled on apples.
He looked up at the big blue sky.
"I wonder how the world
looks from way up high,"
he asked any one who would listen.

The small brown horse shook his head and neighed.
The little pig shook her head and oinked.
The spotted dog wrinkled his nose and barked.
The grey elephant shook her head and waved her long nose.
The white lamb shook her head and said baa-baa.
The kitty said meow and looked at the cow.
The cow chewed her cud and said moo.
The wolf howled.
The tiger snarled,
The snake hissed,
The lion roared
and the owl hooted, "how silly you are."

The black horse said, "Well, maybe I am silly, but
I would like to know what it would be like, way
up high in the sky."

The fairy godmother of all horses heard the black horse's wish.
What did you say?
You want to fly high?
Way up in the sky?
The black horse nodded.
The fairy godmother tapped her hoof,
whispered some magical words
that sounded like roo-roo doopy poof.
and suddenly
the black horse was floating up to the sky.
Slowly he flew, up, up so high
because he was now a hot-air balloon.

He was so high
he could see his friends.
They were itsy-bitsy spots
way down on the ground.
The black horse was happy
for now he could fly with
other balloons
way up high in the sky.
His wish had come true
as he traveled where the wind blew.

This story written for 
my grandson on October, 1998.
He attended his first balloon
fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico
on October 4, 1998.