The three donkeys are pulled away braying and fighting the uniformed men. Sam and Jake start to scratch at their ears and feel like something isn’t quite right. Then, the Uniformed Man brings them each a cup of beer, but Sam and Jake just stare at it. “Well…” the Uniformed Man starts, “are you gonna drink, or do you need to toast something first?”
Sam can feel the thirst and longing for the beer, but he knows something is wrong. He looks over at Jake and sees that he feels it too. “Um, not right now,” Sam says. “Yeah, I’m not too thirsty, right now,” Jake follows. The Uniformed Man starts to look upset, he takes a step toward the boys, but then gets a call on his radio.
The message is very garbled and the Uniformed Man asks them to repeat it. “We have two more down by the Ferris wheel, and another by the house of mirrors,” the voice says. “Roger,” the Uniformed Man replies and puts his radio back on his belt. “I’ll see you boys later,” he says with a smile, and walks away.
“I don’t feel very good,” Jake says feeling his changed face. “Me too, this place is doing something to us. I don’t remember feeling or looking like this,” Sam gestures to his ears and tail. They both look at the beer and pour it on the ground.
The boys make their way to the boardwalk and are astonished by what they see. The boys have totally trashed a lot of the park. Garbage and discarded beer cups are everywhere as well as tattered clothes and pieces of shoes. The patrons of the park were once young boys, but now are nearly all donkey. Most can barely stand upright, their bodies covered in fur and their laughter mixed with hoarse brays.
With every sip of their beers, the boys change a little bit more. “Oh God Jake,” Sam starts, “we were boys, normal boys, and now they’re turning us into donkeys.” Jake watches as a boys falls to his hooved hands and completely vanishes into the form of a donkey. “What are we gonna do?” Jake panics.
Sam looks down the boardwalk and sees some of the Uniformed Men leading donkeys down toward the ferry. “Let’s follow them and see where they’re taking the changed boys, maybe they have a way we can sneak off the island,” Sam points.