Out On A Limb (New Version)

In the middle of the forest, Dempsey the woodsman has finished chopping the base of a very large tree. With only a thin line of wood supporting the entire weight and balance of the tree, the tree begins to topple over. Unfortunately, it falls towards Dempsey and he trips while running away. He turns onto his back and as the shadow of the tree draws closer, he closes his eyes in anticipation of death. Nothing happens, however, and Dempsey slowly opens his eyes.

We see that the only thing keeping the tree from crushing Dempsey is a branch that props the tree up at an angle. Sadly, the branch has landed squarely on one of Dempsey's legs, trapping him. Dempsey tries pulling his leg out from beneath the tree and pushing the tree off of him, but his efforts are fruitless. Dempsey picks up his axe and attempts to cut the branch, but the head of the axe flies off when Dempsey swings the axe outward. Dempsey stares at the handle of the axe and then curses to himself as he checks the contents of his pockets.

He finds a button, a spoon, and a paperclip. Realizing what he must do to survive, Dempsey bites down on the handle of his axe, and starts stabbing his leg with the spoon. This causes a cut to form on his leg, and Dempsey cries out in pain. Nevertheless, he continues his efforts long into the night, the spoon getting more and more bloody as time goes on. With tears running down his cheeks and the axe handle between his teeth bitten in half, Dempsey has to break the bone of his leg. When the spoon doesn't work, Dempsey picks up a rock and hammers the spoon, lodging it into his leg bone. He twists the spoon and the bone finally breaks.

Though in tremendous pain, Dempsey falls back and laughs as his ordeal is over. The spoon is now bent and useless, but Dempsey doesn't care. He sits up and looks at his leg when suddenly he looks dumbstruck. It turns out he hacked off the wrong leg and he's still trapped under the tree. Dempsey screams and sighs before unbending the paper clip. Biting down on his severed leg, Dempsey begins all over again, screaming through clenched teeth.