reat Clock of Bern

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

Two or three times a year the Baron and his fiancée Lady Angela of Alpine Castle would visit Switzerland. One of their favorite places was Bern. The town of Bern was as charming a town that you could ever find in Switzerland.

The Great Clock of Bern put on quite a show every hour, on the hour. It seemed that everyone on the Marketgasse Street stopped whatever they were doing to watch the clock toll the hour and see the wooden statues perform intricate moves about the clock as the chimes tolled.

The town of Bern was symbolized by a bear, so everywhere there were pictures of bears.

The Baron and Lady Angela had a very special and personal reason for watching the Great Clock of Bern as it tolled the hour. After one such viewing the Baron gave Lady Angela a big bear hug and asked her for her hand in marriage. Lady Angela hugged the Baron Back and said yes to his proposal.

The Baron and Lady Angela often joked about the fact that in Bern you could give another person a bear hug but in Lilliland, with the swan as their symbol, what did one do? The Baron was not sure how to answer that question. Perhaps a kiss might be appropriate or, since swans are so graceful, perhaps one could dance around in a graceful manner.

When the Baron and Lady Angela returned to Lilliland the word was spread of their engagement and everyone was very happy. Professor Hamblin, the Baron’s chief advisor, reminded them that since they were both from royal families, asking for her hand in marriage was not what royals were supposed to do in the streets of Bern, in front of a chiming clock. The engagement was supposed to be by royal proclamation and through official channels. The Baron said the Professor was correct and that all the announcements were to be made in the formal, official manner. Both the Baron and Lady Angela believed in the proper protocol for doing things but in this case, it seemed more enjoyable to be proposed to in front of the Great Clock of Bern while the chimes tolled for everyone in the town center in Switzerland.