Down the Wooden Trough

I dragged a grooved wooden sorting trough across the low staging bench, propping the high end against a stack of pine crates to make a steep ramp. From a rejected batch bin, I retrieved three heavy, solid jawbreakers speckled with blue mint flecks. I placed the first sphere at the peak and released it. It rattled down the lacquered wood, gathering speed until it launched off the lower lip with a sharp clatter straight into an empty tin mold on the floor. The hollow clang echoed cleanly under the rafters. I lined up the remaining two side by side to see which rolled faster.