The Piebald Hippogriff

The Piebald Hippogriff is a fantasy short story written by Karen Anderson and first published in 1962.

This story imagines a literal edge to the world where the sky drops away into endless blue and mythic creatures wheel through the air. In this secluded borderland a young boy named Johnny discovers that the old fence meant to keep people safe cannot contain his curiosity or his hunger for adventure.

Armed with a rope, a small pack and a piece of honeycomb, Johnny climbs past the barrier and descends the sheer cliff to a ledge where hippogriffs drift among floating, grass-covered islands. Watching them at play, he patiently uses the honeycomb to tempt a striking piebald hippogriff closer, relying on quiet courage and gentle persistence instead of force to win the creature’s trust. When he finally slips a rope around its neck and swings onto its back, he is swept into a dizzying struggle to stay mounted and learn how to ride it.

Once the battle of wills is over, the story becomes a soaring travelogue as boy and beast circle waterfalls, graze on drifting islands and rest in the cool spray beneath a tumbling river. Together they explore a sky full of wonders, and Johnny begins to feel that he has found not just a mount but a true companion in a world that suddenly seems much larger and more alive.

As sunset fades and the world below turns into a dark smudge, Johnny stands on a high cloud with his hippogriff and looks up to see the thin crescent of the moon beckoning above. With apple seeds in his pocket and hope in his voice, he decides to ride higher still and “homestead the moon,” turning a child’s secret expedition into a declaration that imagination, bravery and friendship can carry us beyond every visible horizon.

"The edge of the world is fenced off stoutly enough, but the fence isn't made that will stop a boy. Johnny tossed his pack and coil of rope over it and started climbing. The top three strands were barbed wire. He caught his shirt as he went over, and had to stop for a moment to ease himself off. Then he dropped lightly to the grass on the other side."