Shokaku is a crane of some kind.' 'For lifting things?' Will asked. 'For flying. A large bird type of crane,' she corrected him. 'In fact, as near I can Work it out, Shokaku means “a flying crane". 'Seems like a logical thing for a crane to do,' Halt mused. 'I suppose you wouldn't expect it to mean “a hiking crane" or “a waddling crane".'

Halt shook his head. Frankly, he'd seen sacks of potatoes that could sit a horse better than Erak

You can always win points. Winning people’s respect is a lot more important.

Sometimes," Halt continued, "we tend to expect a little too much of Ranger horses. After all, they are only human.

If they invent a four legged chicken," Will said, "Horace will think he's gone to Heaven.

I'll build mine tomorrow," Horace said through a mouthful of food. "This is excellent, Will! When I have grandchildren, I'll name them all after you!

Now," said Halt, "all I have to do is work out a way of beating these horse-riding devils." Erak grinned at him. "That should be child's play," he said. "The hard part will be convincing Ragnak about it.