In the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, several children gather at a school playground on a snowy day. One child tells a story about a kid who got his tongue stuck to the flagpole, adding that the fire department had to come to the scene. On a triple-dog-dare, one of the children, Flick, agrees to put his tongue on the flagpole—and it actually sticks. Flick screams, "Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!" All the children abandon Flick, retreating into the warm classroom.

As class is about to begin, the teacher realizes Flick is missing. She inquires as to his whereabouts, but no one confesses. Finally, one girl points out the window. The teacher recoils in horror as she sees Flick's tongue frozen to the pole. Eventually firemen and police extricate Flick from his predicament.

Flick somberly walks into the room with a bandaged tongue, and the teacher addresses the class with a shaming tone: "Now, I know that some of you put Flick up to this, but he has refused to say who. But those who did it know their blame, and I'm sure that the guilt you feel is far worse than any punishment you might receive. Now don't you feel terrible? Don't you feel remorse for what you've done? That's all I'm going to say about poor Flick."

Still, no one confesses. Everyone sits silently, but we hear Ralphie (the main character) as he silently muses: "Adults loved to say stuff like that, but kids knew better. Kids knew darn well it was always better not to get caught."

Elapsed time: Measured from the beginning of the opening credit, this scene begins at 18:01 and ends at 21:00.

Content: A Christmas Story is rated PG for profanity.