File:Tales to Astonish Vol 1 13 015.jpg

Description
Napoleon orders a wood carver to create a wooden woman as a figurehead for his vessel but he does not want to do it, for he hates women as they scorn his ugliness. Napoleon threatens to kill him if he does not comply and so he does, surprising himself at the beauty of his creation. All these years of loneliness have made him bitter, but he has realized that he does desire the love of a woman. He is surprised when she speaks to him and professes her love, but tells him she can only do so once a week at the stroke of midnight. He stalls Napoleon to have more time with her and visits a gypsy with the notion of turning himself into wood so the two figureheads can grace Napoleon's ship together forever. He cheats the gypsy out of her payment, and when the potion works and transforms him into wood, the wooden woman transforms into human. She tearfully informs him that the gypsy was there earlier in order to pay him back for cheating her. She leaves, but hopes the gypsy will someday reverse the spell upon him.