he Famous Lodge Diamond

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

Lilliland was well known for many things, especially the large, very valuable Lodge Diamond. Over the years the Lodge Diamond had become the symbol of everlasting happiness of the citizens of Lilliland. Many times during the history of Lilliland the famous diamond was put up for collateral on a large loan from a Swiss bank. Any time the diamond was used for a loan, it had to be appraised as to whether it was actually worth more than the amount of the loan.

When Baron Von Lodge was young and had just become the head of Lilliland, he received many gifts from leaders around the world. One of these gifts was a beautiful, hand-carved desk that he like so much that he decided to use it as his official desk in his castle office. He was never quite sure who gave him the desk, but when that person or country became known, he would personally thank them for the desk.

Tragedy struck one day when the Lodge Diamond was going to be used to secure a large loan for the Lilliland Hospital. The diamond appraiser said that the diamond the Baron gave him was not the true Lodge Diamond, but a clever fake. The real diamond had been switched and a fake put in its place. It was a very clever fake, since only a true diamond expert could tell the difference. For many years the mystery of the missing lodge Diamond was not solved.

One day while the Baron was sitting at his desk, he re-read the note that came with the desk that said that every five years the wood carvings on the desk would have to be hand polished by the carver himself. Since the five years were up, the Baron thought that he should contact the carver for the polishing.

The Baron's pet cat Angel often climbed around the top of the desk to amuse the Baron. He would smile at the cat's antics even though he was very sad about the missing Lodge Diamond. One afternoon the cat accidentally hit the corner of one of the carvings on the desk and a secret drawer opened. There was the missing Lodge Diamond. The Baron thought that whoever gave him the desk had made arrangements for the fake diamond to be in the drawer. Someone inside the castle had then switched the diamonds when no one was looking. The thief must somehow be waiting for the desk to be sent to the carver to be polished.

The Baron knew he could not trust anyone, so he placed the fake diamond in the desk and called the carver to pick up the desk for polishing. When two rather unsavory looking characters arrived, the Baron challenged them at sword-point to confess. They did and the Baron found out one of his horse trainers was also involved.

The Lodge Diamond was returned to the Lodge Royal Family and placed once again in the castle vault. Everyone in Lilliland was happy again.