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Carl Sandburg was a Swedish-American poet, biographer, and editor who won three Pulitzer Prizes—two for his poetry collections, Cornhuskers and Complete Poems, and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. This story is taken from Sandburg’s collection Rootabaga Stories. In this tale, a boy named Gimme the Ax decides to go to the post office and the surrounding areas to learn about some accidents. He sets off wearing a necktie scarf made from a poppy. His first encounter is with the Potato Face Blind Man, to whom he asks the reason behind the zigzag railroad tracks. What story will the Potato Face Blind Man tell? What could be the reason for the zigzag railroad tracks? Read this folklore to discover the truth hidden behind the zigzag railroad tracks.
