heep Bells

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

As one drove through the Alpine Mountain roads toward Lilliland, the thick morning mountain fog made the driver use great caution. The bells of the mountain sheep helped to locate the presence of any sheep wandering on the roadway.

Everyone driving on foggy days listened for those sheep bells in front of their cars on the mountain roads. If a sheep was accidentally hit, terrible things happened to the driver. He had to pay for all damages, pay a fine and, according to folklore, was cursed with seven years of bad luck. So everyone was very careful while driving the foggy Alpine Mountain roads.

The sheepherders were concerned as to who owned which sheep when herds crossed paths. They tried to maintain an accurate count but in the fog, both the sheep and the sheepherders became confused.

One sheepherder made one recommendation that the sheep bells be painted different colors. Each herd would have its own colored bells that no other herd would have. That was one fine working idea.

When the Baron heard about the idea of the sheep bell registry and the bell color registry, he liked the idea and happily agreed with it.

Now sometimes in the Alpine Mountains, on a foggy day, when one herd is passing another herd, the two bell tones sound like a lovely unique music.