IT TAKES A VILLAGE

IT TAKES A VILLAGE to raise a child. The child is extremely heavy.

- SARAH HUTTO

She's not large, just dense, like a four-foot-two anvil that likes unicorns. The village must erect a system of pulleys to raise her, and, even then, only inches from the ground. The village raises the child once a year, on the eve of her birthday, and then it puts her down again.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE to qualify for Village Infrastructure Assistance under bylaw 57:2.1.5. A village constitutes a population of at least a hundred and seventy-five living human bodies within a twenty-two-square-mile area in the town of Nuttsall, Mobrasky. Village Infrastructure Assistance includes, but is not limited to, the building of a simple, sturdy footbridge next to the more charming and older footbridge that is falling down; the maintenance of large trees around which wizards' houses are situated; and toadstool restoration, which is very exacting and more costly than most villagers might think.