Hamazasb and the missing shoe

Ages ago, inspired by some beautiful carousel horses I saw, I began a story about one called Hamazasb and his friends. At night they leave the carousel and fly, but once a nail fell from Hamazasb’s shoe, and he lost his shoe and he too fell to earth. It was a whimsical story, I don’t quite know where it came from or where it was going, and it was quite unlike anything I normally write. I hadn’t written very much, Hamazasb had ended up on a carnival float, and his friends, the other carousel horses spent each night searching for him. I expect I will return to it and finish it one day.

I love carousel horses, I always have done from being a child when the fair came to town, it was always my favourite ride. I did learn to ride real horses, not very well, and somehow a real horse wasn’t as exciting or as magical as a carousel one,, gloriously painted and covered in little mirrors. The horse ride was always called Jollity Farm for some reason although the hoses and other splendid creatures weren’t much like farm animals! I am sure there are specific traditions attached to the decoration of these horses and other beasts, I guess the different patterns and designs have meaning – sometimes they seem like astrological signs or symbols, sometimes other and quite bizarre things… I must investigate… and I must also think again about Hamazasb and his missing shoe!