he Baron's Kitty in the Hat

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

One of the countries next to Lilliland, but not Switzerland, was claiming sovereignty over a part of the land of Lilliland. This dispute had always been a problem for Baron Von Lodge. The citizens of Lilliland became very unhappy and asked the Baron to settle this disagreement once and for all.

In order to have a break from the diplomatic pressure of ruling Lilliland, the Baron would usually go horseback riding with Lady Angela of Alpine Castle. But today she was busy so the Baron just sat at his desk wondering how to solve the problem of the land dispute. Angel, the little cat that Lady Angela gave the Baron, was playing with some string on the top of the desk.

Angel kept to himself because he was very small and shy. In fact, if Angel was nearby at the time, he liked to hide in the Baron's hat whenever he took it off. The cat could often be found asleep in one of the Baron's hats in his dressing room.

Word reached the Baron that all sides in the Lilliland boundary dispute needed to meet immediately. The Baron dressed in his diplomatic attire and headed for the meeting with his attaché case in one hand and his hat and gloves in the other hand.

Everyone at the conference looked very stern and serious. It was a tense moment. This land problem had gone on long enough and this had to be the final meeting on the matter. When the Baron stood up to address the conference a hush fell over the diplomats in the room. Then someone let out a small snicker, then, another snicker, until everyone in the room started to laugh out loud. All of the dignitaries were nearly rolling on the floor in wild laughter. The Baron looked down at his hat and saw what everyone was laughing at. The cat, Angel, had fallen asleep in his hat and had just woken up. It was the cutest and funniest sight any one in the room had ever seen.

When everyone stopped laughing, it was mutually decided that Lilliland must be a very nice place to have as a neighbor, and the land dispute was settled forever. Lilliland would remain as it always had been in size and location. This made everyone very happy in Lilliland.