Not many months later men came to repair
the damage. In the process of reconstruction, however, the stones
that were once part of the bridge were used to rebuild the wall
and the stones that were once part of the wall were used to rebuild
the bridge.
"Now I'll show you what a wall should really be like," said the new
wall. "It shouldn't be cold and rejecting to everybody." And so at
first, the new wall let many people climb up over it.
"And I'll show you what a bridge should do," said the new bridge.
"It shouldn't let just anybody across." And so at first, the new
bridge provided a difficult passage, causing many travelers to trip
on the surface and a few even to fall over the edge.
But as spring and summer, harvest and winter came and went again and
again, the rocks on the new wall grew more and more slippery and the
little projections gradually broke away, so that climbing over or
even getting a foothold became very difficult. And in the same
passage of time, the rough spots on the new bridge wore down and the
crevices filled up, so that passage across became much easier.
"You see," said the new bridge to the new wall, "you've learned
something about being a wall."
"Well," the new wall replied, "I've known all along that I must
guard the pass and fortify the defenses of the country.
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