You take a deep breath

and tell Bryan, "They ran their sharp claws around the outside edges of my feet for what felt like hours!" Bryan just nods and says something that sounds like, "Mmmhmm." So you give him more details about how the birds tortured your ticklish tootsies.

Bryan keeps saying, "Mmmhmm," only soon seems to be humming it. Before you can tell how the birds used their tail feathers on your heels, Bryan is sounding more like a musical instrument than a person. You blink and find that your best friend has turned into a huge violin!

Somehow you're also free, so you promise Bryan you'll find someone who knows how he can become human again. You begin walking, and Bryan floats in the air beside you. Soon he begins to play a song. It's very good. You enjoy it a lot. It makes you happy, really happy; in fact it makes you want to laugh. And you do laugh, so hard you sink to the ground. When you get up, Bryan starts playing again. This time, you can feel his song actually tickling your ribs, and before you know it you're on the ground again giggling helplessly.

Bryan then tells you, "I think I've become a magic violin. We have to find two dozen people who will be overcome by an irresistible urge to follow us for two miles when they hear my song. When we've led them two miles, they'll all start tickling each other, and when they're all laughing, the curse will be lifted from us."

This plan makes perfect sense to you. "But," Bryan adds, "if we don't find people soon, I'll keep playing more and more and my song will tickle you forever. I can't stop myself."

You know this is true as you feel your armpits being tickled mercilessly and you're once more overcome. The two of you make slow progress, as Bryan can't go five minutes without playing, and you can't last two minutes once his magical song begins to tickle you. But eventually you two reach the crossing point of two paths. Each path appears to lead to a populated village. To your left the houses all appear to be blue; to your right, all brown. Which way do you go?

Written by stephan

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