Like many of O'Brien's stories, this one is not really about what it seems to be about. This is not a story about Mary Anne and her transformation — it is a story about storytelling and the loss of innocence. The meta-textual discussion is about storytelling, the dynamic of truth and belief between Rat Kiley and Mitchell Sanders. The vignette begins with O'Brien talking about truth. Rat, the company believed, told a certain amount of truth in each of his stories, but always exaggerated them as well. They never disbelieved him, but never fully trusted his "facts." So it was with this story, which Sanders insists just does not "ring true."
Kiley, however, insists that he is a witness to most of the actual events. Slowly, as the story of Mary Anne's transformation progresses, Sanders focuses his objections less on the truth of Kiley's story and more on the telling itself. He and the other members of the troop pick out particular words like "dumb" and challenge Kiley on his exact characterization of Mary Anne. O'Brien comments on people's expectations about stories and their purpose in telling them. In the chapter, Kiley stops and asks Sanders what he thinks happened next in the story, challenging Sanders to share his expectations of stories. This action raises issues about the veracity of the story that Rat tells.
