. . .

The soldiers surround the little wooden boy as he walks the bridge.

A captain holds a pike under the little wooden boy’s chin.

“You’re a little tin soldier,” the captain judges.

“I’m wood,” says the wooden boy. “And worse, it’s catching! Run away or you’ll be just like me!”

The soldiers run, but they don’t run fast enough. Several of them turn to wood. This discommodes the wooden boy, who had believed that he was bluffing. He is solemn and thoughtful as he travels on.

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