There was a shape in the sky. It grew bigger, then resolved itself into three shapes. As they neared, Pettic wondered what they were. At first he thought perhaps the pegasus mare was returning, but it soon became obvious that these things were not pegasi.
As they approached, the smith who was standing next to Pettic on lookout, exclaimed, "That one in the front is a sphinx and the other two are griffins. What are they doing here?"
The creatures circled the town and landed in the square. People ran to see what was going on, including Pettic.
The sphinx folded her wings and settled down in the middle of the square.
"Where is the young man who helped the pegasus?" she demanded in a booming voice.
"I"m here," said Pettic, panting as he ran into the square.
The sphinx looked at him. "Hmm,
