diff --git a/src/tinymfv/eval.py b/src/tinymfv/eval.py
index c9f9c73..7179a2a 100644
--- a/src/tinymfv/eval.py
+++ b/src/tinymfv/eval.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ from tqdm.auto import tqdm
 from .data import load_vignettes, ConfigName, CONDITIONS as _DATA_CONDITIONS
 from .guided import (
     guided_rollout_forced_choice,
+    free_generation_demo,
     _DEFAULT_FORCED_FOUNDATIONS,
 )
 
@@ -385,6 +386,7 @@ def evaluate(
     # --- verbose readout (default on): the first FULL trace, the profile table,
     # and a one-line aux-stats dict. Lets a reader confirm format-following and
     # see results inline without opening a separate file (token-efficient-logging). ---
+    demos: dict[str, Any] | None = None
     if verbose and per_row:
         # The full prompt+think+answer-slot trace already printed above (rollout,
         # first batch). Here: how that first row scored, then the profile + aux.
@@ -408,6 +410,34 @@ def evaluate(
         }.items() if v is not None}
         logger.info("aux stats: " + json.dumps(aux))
 
+        # DEMO B: free reasoning on a single vignette (bs=1, one time). The readout
+        # (DEMO A, traced in guided.py) prefills the answer slot so it shows no real
+        # reasoning; this lets the chain-of-thought run to completion. bs=1 frees the
+        # batch memory, so spend a generous think budget (scaled by the dropped batch,
+        # floored so even think=1 reasons, capped so big batches don't explode).
+        demo_budget = min(2048, max(512, max_think_tokens * batch_size))
+        demo_prompt, demo_gen = free_generation_demo(
+            model, tokenizer, vignettes[0][conditions[0]],
+            foundations=foundations, max_think_tokens=demo_budget,
+            temperature=temperature, top_p=top_p,
+        )
+        logger.info(
+            f"--- DEMO B: free reasoning (bs=1, think budget={demo_budget}, "
+            f"temp={temperature}) [{name}] id={per_row[0]['id']} ---\n"
+            f"{demo_prompt}{demo_gen}\n"
+            "SHOULD: a real chain-of-thought that ends in a moral-foundation choice. "
+            "If it is empty or degenerate the model is not reasoning at this budget; "
+            "if it answers a different foundation than DEMO A's top1, the readout and "
+            "free reasoning disagree (worth noting).\n--- end DEMO B ---"
+        )
+        demos = {
+            "forced_think": per_row[0]["gen_text"][0],   # DEMO A think (degenerate at low budget)
+            "forced_top1": per_row[0]["top1"],
+            "free_prompt": demo_prompt,
+            "free_gen": demo_gen,
+            "free_think_budget": demo_budget,
+        }
+
     info = {
         "name": name,
         "n_rows": n_rows,
@@ -447,6 +477,7 @@ def evaluate(
         "mean_pmass_allowed": mean_pmass_allowed,
         "mean_nll_json": mean_nll_json,
         "info": info,
+        "demos": demos,   # DEMO A (forced think + top1) + DEMO B (free reasoning); None if not verbose
     }
     if return_per_row:
         out["per_row"] = per_row
diff --git a/src/tinymfv/guided.py b/src/tinymfv/guided.py
index f5c56e4..cffa796 100644
--- a/src/tinymfv/guided.py
+++ b/src/tinymfv/guided.py
@@ -248,9 +248,13 @@ def _rollout_natural_or_forced(
             # slot, special tokens shown). evaluate() gates verbose to the first
             # batch, so it fires once per run and shows on the console by default.
             logger.info(
-                f"--- slot {slot_idx} (nudge={nudge!r}, prefill={prefill!r}) ---\n"
+                f"--- DEMO A: forced-choice readout (what's measured), slot {slot_idx} "
+                f"(nudge={nudge!r}, prefill={prefill!r}) ---\n"
+                f"SHOULD: the answer slot is prefilled to read calibrated logprobs, so the "
+                f"reasoning shown is only whatever fit the think budget (degenerate at think=1). "
+                f"See DEMO B for free reasoning.\n"
                 f"window[0]={windows[0]}  emitted_close[0]={thinks[0][2]}\n"
-                f"{prefix0_text}{suf0}\n--- end slot {slot_idx} ---"
+                f"{prefix0_text}{suf0}\n--- end DEMO A slot {slot_idx} ---"
             )
 
         for i in range(B):
@@ -588,3 +592,40 @@ def guided_rollout_forced_choice(
 
     return results
 
+
+@torch.no_grad()
+def free_generation_demo(
+    model, tok, user_prompt: str, *,
+    foundations: list[str] | None = None,
+    max_think_tokens: int = 512,
+    temperature: float = 0.0,
+    top_p: float = 1.0,
+) -> tuple[str, str]:
+    """One bs=1 free generation on a single vignette, for qualitative inspection.
+
+    The forced-choice readout (guided_rollout_forced_choice) prefills the answer
+    slot to read calibrated logprobs, so it shows no real reasoning -- at a small
+    think budget its trace is just prompt + a token + the slot. This instead lets
+    the model think to completion and answer naturally (no forced suffix, EOS
+    allowed), so you see the chain-of-thought the metric never reveals. Same
+    vignette + schema as the readout, so the reasoning is about the same task.
+
+    Returns (prompt_text, gen_text), both with special tokens shown."""
+    if foundations is None:
+        foundations = list(_DEFAULT_FORCED_FOUNDATIONS)
+    schema = _make_forced_hint(foundations)
+    prompt_text = tok.apply_chat_template(
+        [{"role": "user", "content": f"{user_prompt}\n\n{schema}"}],
+        tokenize=False, add_generation_prompt=True) + "<think>\n"
+    device = next(model.parameters()).device
+    enc = tok(prompt_text, return_tensors="pt", add_special_tokens=False).to(device)
+    pad_id = tok.pad_token_id if tok.pad_token_id is not None else tok.eos_token_id
+    gen_kwargs = dict(max_new_tokens=max_think_tokens, pad_token_id=pad_id)
+    if temperature > 0.0:
+        gen_kwargs.update(do_sample=True, temperature=temperature, top_p=top_p)
+    else:
+        gen_kwargs.update(do_sample=False)
+    out = model.generate(**enc, **gen_kwargs)
+    gen_text = tok.decode(out[0, enc.input_ids.shape[1]:], skip_special_tokens=False)
+    return prompt_text, gen_text
+