arthquake

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

Everything was going very well as usual in Lilliland. The Baron got up early most mornings and took his horse Ridgeway for a ride along the bridal path next to beautiful Castle Lake. Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, his fiancée, and her horse Daisy would ride along with them. The magnificent swans on the lake rounded out the idyllic picture of tranquility.

The peace that was usually found in Lilliland would soon be shattered by the powers of Mother Nature in all her fury. The following morning as the usual busload of happy tourists was arriving at the Grand Lilliland Hotel something was unusual. First, the bus that was usually on time arrived late, and from just outside of town there came a very loud, thunderous sound, as though the earth had split open.

The source of the noise was soon located. An earthquake had occurred that seemed to swallow up the bus full of tourists. The emergency crew and the ski patrol were immediately sent to the scene to rescue the passengers on the bus. By good fortune everyone was safely removed from the bus. Some were taken to Lilliland Hospital, but were soon released. There were no serious wounds or broken bones. All the passengers had been frightened for their lives. The bus had to be carefully removed from the split in the earth by means of a large crane. The bus was so twisted it was beyond repair.

The question that the Baron faced now was what to do about the large hole in the earth in the middle of the main highway into town. He asked Professor Hamblin, his chief advisor, to personally investigate the situation. In the historical records of Lilliland there was mention of another earthquake back in 1820. The Professor thought that the earth was stable since it had been 100 years since that last earthquake.

The best thing to do was to fill the hole with large rocks and then gravel until the road could be repaved to its normal condition. The Professor suggested one more thing and that was to place a plaque along side the road marking the spot and describing in some detail the event that had just happened. In the future people would be having information at hand in case this event happened again.

The Baron agreed with the idea of the plaque and reminded everyone that the safety of the people of Lilliland was his main concern. “Safety first,” he would say as his father had said many times so long ago.