i now had a unceasing desire to own , not any real life-sized horse , but the animated , miniature horse ; i coveted that sweet petite animal , and waves of ardent pleasure overtook me just to think of owning such a treasure ; if only some mysterious magician poured these miniature horses out of a gorgeous green bottle ; if only a genie would only conjure his from a brass lamp ; if only he were tied up at a pint-sized hitching post behind some dusty boxes on a shelf at toy mart ; as i finished stooping under a branch to gather another dried orange , i popped up inside my secret vantage point , my golden spyglass , again only to discover that someone had changed the channel so that the frame was occupied by other lilliputian characters ; this time it was human members of the worlds parade , counterfeit conquistadors , who served out their ordinary days of drudgery as accountants and dentists .