_Illustrated by Joan Raysor_
David knew that one should be prepared for anything when one climbs a
mountain, but he never dreamed what he would find that June morning on
the mountain ledge.
There stood an enormous bird, with a head like an eagle, a neck like a
swan, and a scarlet crest. The most astonishing thing was that the
bird had an open book on the ground and was reading from it!
This was David's first sight of the fabulous Phoenix and the beginning
of a pleasant and profitable partnership. The Phoenix found a great
deal lacking in David's education--he flunked questions like "How do
you tell a true from a false Unicorn?"--and undertook to supplement it
with a practical education, an education that would be a preparation
for Life. The education had to be combined with offensive and
defensive measures against a Scientist who was bent on capturing the
Phoenix, but the two projects together involved exciting and hilarious
adventures for boy and bird.
A wonderful read-aloud book, adventurous and very funny, with much of
the magic as well as the humor of the fantastic.
_Follett Publishing Company_
_New York_ CHICAGO _Toronto_
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