If there are fewer than 4 characters in the answer, then it will only show the first character for all 3 hints
I *did* say it would do that. If you want it to *not* give the first 3 characters on a 4 letter word, change the "< 4" part of the script to something larger and then it will only show the first character for words smaller than whatever number you entered.
As far as numbers, I still don't know what you want it to do. If you want numbers treated differently, then please give an example (or multiple examples) for how you want them to be displayed.