"My dear boy," answered the Dormouse to cheer him up a bit, "why worry
now? What is done cannot be undone, you know. Fate has decreed that all
lazy boys who come to hate books and schools and teachers and spend all
their days with toys and games must sooner or later turn into donkeys."
"But is it really so?" asked the Marionette, sobbing bitterly.
"I am sorry to say it is. And tears now are useless. You should have
thought of all this before."
"But the fault is not mine. Believe me, little Dormouse, the fault is
all Lamp-Wick's."
"And who is this Lamp-Wick?"
"A classmate of mine. I wanted to return home. I wanted to be obedient.
I wanted to study and to succeed in school, but Lamp-Wick said to me,
'Why do you want to waste your time studying? Why do you want to go to
school? Come with me to the Land of Toys. There we'll never study again.
There we can enjoy ourselves and be happy from morn till night.'"
"And why did you follow the advice of that false friend?"
"Why? Because, my dear little Dormouse, I am a heedless
Marionette--heedless and heartless.
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