gly Rock

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

The Baron always takes great care that Lilliland Castle looks presentable for guests, tourists and the people of Lilliland. Large Castle Lake always looks magnificent with the clear, glistening water, colorful sailboats, and beautiful swans. When visitors speak of their visit they always mention the swans of Castle Lake.

One day the Baron called a meeting of the grounds keepers and wanted the area where the walking and riding paths meet the lake to be more attractive. There was an ugly large rock that blocked the path as it wound toward the lake. The view of Castle Lake would be far more attractive if that large ugly rock was removed and replaced with an attractive flower garden. The Baron discussed the plans with Lady Angela of Alpine Castle who was in complete agreement about having more flower gardens on the castle grounds. Lady Angela mentioned that she heard a story about the ugly rock next to the lake when she was a child. She did not remember the story very clearly, just the fact that the rock had some meaning to the Von Lodge family.

Since the Baron was very careful not to touch anything that had an historical significance, he decided to check to find out whether the ugly rock had any significance in family matters.

The Baron called in his chief advisor, Professor Hamblin, to discuss the matter. The Professor, like Lady Angela, heard of a situation that the ugly rock had some historical meaning involving the Baron's father. The Professor would have to look at some of the old diaries in the castle library to see if the ugly rock is mentioned. The Professor asked for a two-week delay in any renovations so that he could research any history that might exist about the rock. After one week, the Professor found nothing. Then the Professor consulted a retired nanny of the Baron's who was still in Lilliland. She said the rock was very important in the life of Lilliland. The rock actually saved the Baron's life when he was a baby. The Baron's baby carriage was resting on the path when the supervising nanny was distracted. The locks on the Baron's carriage where not set properly and the baby carriage, with the Baron inside, began to move down the path toward the lake. The only thing between the carriage and the lake was the ugly rock. The rock stopped the carriage from rolling any farther and saved the Baron's young life.

The Baron learned of the story of the ugly rock and announced that it would never be moved from that spot. Everyone looked at the ugly rock with admiration and it was proclaimed a national Lilliland treasure.