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Children's Stories
by Margo Fallis
Rocking Horses Can’t Fly


Laura’s room was filled with toys. She had dozens of dolls, dressed in costumes from far away lands. She had pink parasols, purple parasols and pale blue parasols. Over in the corner stood a dollhouse. In it were five little people, carved from the finest woods, painted and decorated with faces and tiny clothes. The furniture in the dollhouse was exquisite. Tiny beds, chairs, couches and tables decorated each room. Laura spent hours in her room, using her imagination to take her to exotic places, like Tahiti, Japan and Bali.

Her favorite toy though, above all the others, was her rocking horse. It was Victorian style, with a fluffy white mane on its head and down its neck. It was carved from maple and polished to look dark and mysterious. Laura called him Liam. She’d sit on Liam’s back and rock back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes she’d brush his mane, other times she’d play with his fine rope tail. It was soft and fluffy and tickled her legs when she brushed by it.

One night Laura’s mum came into her room. "It’s time to go to bed now," she said.

Laura didn’t want to go to bed. She wanted to play with her dollhouse a little longer. "Mum, can’t I stay up for fifteen more minutes? I just want to let my dolls finish their supper," she said.

"Oh," her mum smiled, "and what are they having for supper tonight?"

Laura thought for a moment and then answered, "Beef Wellington, brussel sprouts, boiled potatoes, bread with butter and jam, and chocolate éclairs for sweets."

"That sounds delicious. All right, Laura, but go to bed as soon as they are finished eating," her mum said. She gave her daughter a hug and a goodnight kiss. "Don’t stay up long," she said as she shut the door behind her.

Laura finished playing with her dollhouse and changed into her nightgown. It was made of soft flannel. She put her slippers on, washed her face, brushed her teeth and headed for her bed. She walked past Liam. "Should I have one more ride, Liam?" she asked, stroking the rocking horse’s neck. She climbed onto his back and started rocking back and forth. "Just for a few minutes," she whispered in his ear.

Suddenly Liam whinnied. He began to move quickly and soon Laura found herself flying around her bedroom. "Liam, what are you doing?" she called out. She was afraid at first, but then realized how much fun she was having. "Wheeee!" she called. She petted Liam’s mane. He wasn’t made of wood and rope any more. He was a real horse. She looked down at his feet. They were still attached to the wooden rocking parts. The bedroom window flew open and Liam, with Laura still on his back, flew out of the window. "This is fun, Liam, but I hope Mum doesn’t see us," she giggled.

Liam flew above the treetops, weaving in and out of the clouds. He flew around the church steeples and above the stream. Laura felt like she could touch the leaves on the trees. As he swooped past a giant oak, one of Laura’s slippers came off and fell to the ground. "I’ve lost my slipper," Laura shouted, but Liam kept on flying. After a while he landed in a field. There was a barn not far away. Laura could see a light on inside. Liam whinnied. "Do you want me to go to the barn and get you some food?" she asked. Liam nodded his head up and down. "I’ll be right back," she answered. She put her other slipper on Liam’s back and ran to the barn. "Oh look, here are some apples and some sugar cubes." She carried them back to where Liam stood. "Here you go," she said and put an apple to his mouth. He chewed it. Soon Laura’s hands were dripping with sticky apple juice, but she let him finish. "You’ve eaten the whole thing," she laughed, "even the core." She put the sugar cubes in her hand and let him lick them. His tongue and lips felt ticklish on her hands as he nibbled on them.

Liam began to whinny again. Laura climbed on his back. He flew back towards their house, in through the window and landed on her carpet. As soon as he did, he turned back to wood again. Laura climbed off and got into bed. When she woke up she ran downstairs to get her mum. "Mum, come and see. Liam came to life last night and took me for a ride. I flew over the tree tops and fed him apples and sugar cubes," she said.

Her mum looked over at her and said, "Laura, it was just a dream. Rocking horses can’t fly."

"It was? I didn’t really go for a ride on Liam’s back?" she quizzed.

"Of course not, Laura. Why don’t you go upstairs and get dressed and then we’ll have breakfast," her mum suggested.

Laura ran upstairs. She stood next to Liam. "I just dreamed that you took me for a ride," she smiled. "Silly me. Rocking Horses can’t fly." Just then she saw her slipper. It sat on the floor next to Liam, but there was only one. Her eyes turned sparkly and a big smile came upon her face. "It is true, Liam, isn’t it? I did go for a ride. The slipper fell off my foot. It did happen. Rocking horses can fly." She sat down and hugged Liam. "I won’t tell Mum though. We’ll have it be our secret. Can we go out another night?" she whispered in his ear. She heard a small whinny.

"Laura, your breakfast is ready," she heard her mum call.

She quickly got dressed and ran downstairs for breakfast. Liam opened his eyes and blinked. WHINNY! WHINNY! WHINNY!


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