diff --git a/tiktoken/load.py b/tiktoken/load.py
index 295deb9f..bd5ad4a5 100644
--- a/tiktoken/load.py
+++ b/tiktoken/load.py
@@ -3,10 +3,24 @@
 import base64
 import hashlib
 import os
+import io
+import urllib.parse
 
 
 def read_file(blobpath: str) -> bytes:
-    if not blobpath.startswith("http://") and not blobpath.startswith("https://"):
+    url = urllib.parse.urlparse(blobpath)
+    if url.scheme is None or url.scheme == "":
+        with open(blobpath, "rb") as f:
+            with io.BufferedReader(f) as br:
+                return br.read()
+    elif url.scheme in ["http", "https"]:
+        # avoiding blobfile for public files helps avoid auth issues, like MFA prompts
+        import requests
+
+        resp = requests.get(blobpath)
+        resp.raise_for_status()
+        return resp.content
+    else:
         try:
             import blobfile
         except ImportError as e:
@@ -16,13 +30,6 @@ def read_file(blobpath: str) -> bytes:
         with blobfile.BlobFile(blobpath, "rb") as f:
             return f.read()
 
-    # avoiding blobfile for public files helps avoid auth issues, like MFA prompts
-    import requests
-
-    resp = requests.get(blobpath)
-    resp.raise_for_status()
-    return resp.content
-
 
 def check_hash(data: bytes, expected_hash: str) -> bool:
     actual_hash = hashlib.sha256(data).hexdigest()