The Giant Horse of Oz
Encyclopedia
The Giant Horse of Oz is the twenty-second in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum
and his successors, and the eighth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson
. It was Illustrated by John R. Neill
.
turned her malice in the Ozure direction. After kidnapping Queen Orin, Mombi left a fire-breathing lake monster named Quiberon in Lake Orizon to keep the natives prisoner. Even after Mombi is vanquished, the isolated Ozurites remain oppressed.
Conditions grow worse when the quixotic Quiberon demands a mortal maiden. Since Oz is a fairyland, the only mortal maidens are three American girls living in the Emerald City: Dorothy Gale
, Betsy Bobbin, and Tiny Trot
. Two Ozurites respond to the crisis in two separate ways. The heroic Prince Philador escapes from the islands to seek the aid of Tattypoo, the Good Witch of the North
. The unheroic Akbad, the Ozure Isles soothsayer, pursues an appeasement policy in a novel way: with a pair of magic wings he flies to the Emerald City and kidnaps Trot. (She, the heroine of L. Frank Baum
's Sky Island
and The Sea Fairies
, reached Oz in Baum's The Scarecrow of Oz
.) Being a neophyte kidnapper, Akbad overdoes it, and accidentally kidnaps the Scarecrow and an animated statue called Benny (short for "public benefactor") along with his primary target.
In his search for Tattypoo, Prince Philador teams up with High Boy, a giant horse with telescoping legs, and Herby the Medicine Man
, an eighteenth-century doctor
with a medicine chest in his own chest due to an incomplete disenchantment. Various adventures ensue, in strange locations like Cave City, and with even stranger beings like the Roundabouties and Shutterfaces. Eventually, matters are sorted out satisfactorily: the Wizard
turns Quiberon into a great bronze and silver statue, and the good Witch Tattypoo is revealed to be the missing and amnesiac Queen Orin. She is restored to her family and kingdom. Trot becomes a princess of the Ozure Isles, welcome in their Sapphire City whenever she chooses to visit.
Trot, the Scarecrow
, and Benny suffer through their encounters with the shadow people of Cave City, who try to turn them into shadows, and the Roundabouties, who try to turn them into Roundabouties. Afterward, Benny ruefully observes, "Everyone wishes to make us into a being like himself." To which the Scarecrow replies, "A fault you will find with people everywhere, even in your own world.... Everybody thinks his way is the right way." (Chapter 13)
Yet the regime of Princess Ozma
in the Emerald City
is the antidote to that coercive impulse. Consider the fate of Benny, the animated statue. When he comes alive in Boston, he is chased through the streets by a mob and pelted with sticks, stones, and bricks. However, when he reaches Oz and falls in with people from the Emerald City, he is welcomed and accepted for what he is. His admirable character and good actions win him approval and friendship at the highest levels of society.
Like other writers of previous generations, Thompson and Baum are now sometimes criticized for failing to meet contemporary standards of political correctness
. The Oz literature they created, however, is fundamentally a literature of individuality, diversity, tolerance, and inclusivity.
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
and his successors, and the eighth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson was an American writer of children's stories.-Life and work:An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote...
. It was Illustrated by John R. Neill
John R. Neill
John Rea Neill was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series...
.
The plot
The tiny kingdom of the Ozure Isles is the Kashmir or Shangri-La of Oz; perched on five islands in Lake Orizon, surrounded by high mountains in a remote region of Munchkin Land, it has little contact with the outside world—of Oz, that is. The beaches are not sand but gemstones; the people travel between their islands not by boat, but by seahorse. Or they used to, before the evil witch MombiMombi
Mombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...
turned her malice in the Ozure direction. After kidnapping Queen Orin, Mombi left a fire-breathing lake monster named Quiberon in Lake Orizon to keep the natives prisoner. Even after Mombi is vanquished, the isolated Ozurites remain oppressed.
Conditions grow worse when the quixotic Quiberon demands a mortal maiden. Since Oz is a fairyland, the only mortal maidens are three American girls living in the Emerald City: Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
, Betsy Bobbin, and Tiny Trot
Trot (Oz)
Trot is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz.Trot is introduced in the novel, The Sea Fairies and first appears in an Oz book in The Scarecrow of Oz . Trot is a little girl with big solemn eyes and an earnest, simple manner. Her real name is Mayre Griffiths...
. Two Ozurites respond to the crisis in two separate ways. The heroic Prince Philador escapes from the islands to seek the aid of Tattypoo, the Good Witch of the North
Good Witch of the North
The Good Witch of the North is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the elderly and mild-mannered Ruler of the Gillikin Country...
. The unheroic Akbad, the Ozure Isles soothsayer, pursues an appeasement policy in a novel way: with a pair of magic wings he flies to the Emerald City and kidnaps Trot. (She, the heroine of L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's Sky Island
Sky Island (novel)
Sky Island: Being the Further Adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill after Their Visit to the Sea Fairies is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by John R...
and The Sea Fairies
The Sea Fairies
The Sea Fairies is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by John R. Neill, and published in 1911 by the Reilly & Britton Company, the publisher of Baum's series of Oz books...
, reached Oz in Baum's The Scarecrow of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum. Published on July 16, 1915, it was Baum's personal favorite of the Oz books and tells of Cap'n Bill and Trot journeying to Oz and, with the help of the Scarecrow, overthrowing the cruel King Krewl of Jinxland...
.) Being a neophyte kidnapper, Akbad overdoes it, and accidentally kidnaps the Scarecrow and an animated statue called Benny (short for "public benefactor") along with his primary target.
In his search for Tattypoo, Prince Philador teams up with High Boy, a giant horse with telescoping legs, and Herby the Medicine Man
Herby (Oz)
Herby is a character featured in the Oz books of Ruth Plumly Thompson. He was introduced in her 1928 novel, The Giant Horse of Oz, as a medical doctor who had been transformed into a bottle of cough syrup by Mombi...
, an eighteenth-century doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
with a medicine chest in his own chest due to an incomplete disenchantment. Various adventures ensue, in strange locations like Cave City, and with even stranger beings like the Roundabouties and Shutterfaces. Eventually, matters are sorted out satisfactorily: the Wizard
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
turns Quiberon into a great bronze and silver statue, and the good Witch Tattypoo is revealed to be the missing and amnesiac Queen Orin. She is restored to her family and kingdom. Trot becomes a princess of the Ozure Isles, welcome in their Sapphire City whenever she chooses to visit.
The message
Thompson wrote primarily to entertain her young readers, with no overt message, moral, homily, or didactic purpose. Yet the Oz literature does have its own underlying message, which is expressed more plainly in The Giant Horse of Oz than in other Oz books.Trot, the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
, and Benny suffer through their encounters with the shadow people of Cave City, who try to turn them into shadows, and the Roundabouties, who try to turn them into Roundabouties. Afterward, Benny ruefully observes, "Everyone wishes to make us into a being like himself." To which the Scarecrow replies, "A fault you will find with people everywhere, even in your own world.... Everybody thinks his way is the right way." (Chapter 13)
Yet the regime of Princess Ozma
Ozma
Ozma may refer to:* Ozma of Oz, a 1907 and third book in the Oz series* Ozma , a 1989 album by the Melvins* Ozma , a rock band from Pasadena, California* Ozma Wars, a 1979 arcade game...
in the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
is the antidote to that coercive impulse. Consider the fate of Benny, the animated statue. When he comes alive in Boston, he is chased through the streets by a mob and pelted with sticks, stones, and bricks. However, when he reaches Oz and falls in with people from the Emerald City, he is welcomed and accepted for what he is. His admirable character and good actions win him approval and friendship at the highest levels of society.
Like other writers of previous generations, Thompson and Baum are now sometimes criticized for failing to meet contemporary standards of political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
. The Oz literature they created, however, is fundamentally a literature of individuality, diversity, tolerance, and inclusivity.