"But just one round, to start with! Barbarossa shifted his massive body forward a bit further and grabbed a pole with his ringed fingers. "Who knows, if the stories are true...I mean, I wouldn't like to turn into a little midget like that one there," he said pointing down at Renzo, "but a few years..." stroking his bald head and laughing.."who wouldn't want to shed a few years, eh, Dottore?"
I loved this passage in the Thief Lord. I found it very interesting that Barbarossa was as eager as he was to jump onto the carousel and ride it to begin with, and then that he said he wanted to "shed a few years." Barbarossa was such a child at heart he was literally a child trapped in an adult's body. I was not surprised when Barbarossa turned into a child the size of Bo, for this is truly his real state. Even though Barbarossa wanted to become a child again I thought it was quite funny that he turned into such a small child with such immense limitations. Sometimes I think that being a child would be nice again; a carefree, a stress free, responsibility free life would be good at on certain ocassions, but you still lack the total control of your life. Barbarossa was basically a lazy adult who wanted the perks of adulthood but the responsibility level of a child. I feel Barbarossa got what he deserved, and I also feel that he will be a horrible "Thief Lord."