diosyncrasies of Two Cousins

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

Relatives of the Baron frequently visited Lilliland and stayed in the guest quarters of Lilliland Castle. There was usually a minimum of preparation for the most welcome relatives. That is, except Cousin Siegfred and Cousin Charles. These two bachelors liked to visit at the same time and socialized with the other royal family members who lived in the area.

They both had an addiction, but it was not to drinking. Drinking in the castle was kept to a bare minimum, as the Baron did not think highly of intoxication. A glass of light wine now and then with dinner was fine but that was the limit of any drinking.

The addiction that Siegfred had was to peanuts and peanut butter. Siegfred wanted to have peanuts and peanut butter served at all meals and on snack trays in between. Nobody loved peanut butter on crackers except Cousin Siegfred.

Cousin Charles was not addicted to peanut butter, but to chocolate. From chocolate milk and hot cocoa in the morning to a large chocolate cake in the evening after every dinner. He ordered chocolate brownies for snacks between meals. The castle supply officer had to order an extra supply of peanut butter and chocolate before every visit when the two cousins were expected.

Amused by this situation with the peanut butter and chocolate, the Baron consulted his chief advisor, Professor Hamblin, to see if the amount of peanut butter served to Cousin Siegfred and the amount of chocolate served to Cousin Charles was not going to give them serious digestion problems or be harmful to their health. The Professor said that moderation was the key to keep in mind. Any food taken to the extreme could become a potential problem.

The Baron ordered the kitchen to give the cousins anything they wanted but to keep the portions moderate.

The Baron thought that he had a potential problem well in hand until it was pointed out that Cousin Siegfred brought with him extra bags of peanuts and his own grinder for making peanut butter, and Cousin Charles had a large supply of chocolate candy in his luggage too.

Keeping this in mind, the Baron ordered the kitchen to make the serving of peanut butter and chocolate in smaller portions. The key now is not to deprive the items, only to limit the portions available. They all enjoyed the visit and no one became ill.