"Flying Horses by Miriam E. Waters"

by Miriam E. Waters

“Riddle me this,” the master of ceremonies shouted to those gathered in front of the carousel.  “What runs on the wind, but offers no echo … has no wings, but flies round the round?”

“Flying horses,” the crowd responded with a rousing cheer and laughter.

Click HERE for Wikipedia's "Carousel" Entry

“’Tis true, ‘tis true!” he agreed.  “Now it’s time for the riders to mount their steeds and hope upon hope to finish the deed.  The first to snare the burning ring shall earn his chance of love to sing.”

“Huzzah!” the crowd roared in approval.

Liam, and each of the other single men that milled about, hoped to be lucky.  They needed to capture the iron ring suspended on an arm of the carousel as they sped past it on their wooden mount.  The ring, blazing hot, would brand the hand that grasped it with the image of a cavorting horse.  The branding would mark the man as eligible to marry. 

“Mount up, mount up!  The race is on!” cried the barker.

The men moved quickly to claim one of the intricately carved horses.  Suspended on chains, the horses appeared to dance on the fringe of the carousel.  Gilded and gaily painted, each horse was a work of beauty.  Liam had garnered the striking black stallion, the crowd’s favorite, as his own.

A team of horses was tethered to arms radiating from the carousel.  They provided the power that allowed the riders to soar.  The handlers of these horses urged their charges first to a walk, then to a canter.  The carousel began to rotate. 

The carved horses and riders swayed in the wind.  As the handlers coaxed their charges into a full gallop, the speed of the carousel increased.  The riders lifted higher and shifted outward toward the crowd, pulled by centrifugal force.  Flying horses, indeed.

“Round and round they go, who claims the ring, nobody knows!” intoned the emcee.

The carousel turned faster and faster.  The crowd was delighted. Eager hands reached for the burning iron ring.  Liam leaned out from his precarious perch on his stallion and found purchase on the ring.  A delicious, searing pain engulfed his hand.  The ring and brand were his!  “Huzzah!  Huzzah!” the crowd cheered with approval.

"Round and round the young men went with the black stllion heaven bent.  Huzzah, youn Liam, may your future be bright and filled to overflowing with love's glorious ligt!" the master of ceremonies joyfully concluded.