lease, No Moose Head

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

The Baron and his fiancée, Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, often vacationed abroad in America, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and other areas. One time, while visiting abroad, they complimented a hotel owner about the fine fireplace that he had. There was a real moose head above the mantle, but since the Baron does not approve of hunting and killing of game that roam free in the mountains of Lilliland, his views of the moose head were kept to himself.

Upon the Baron’s return to Lilliland, he learned that, in an attempt to create warm and friendly relations with the country that he had just visited, the hotel owner was sending a moose head to the Baron’s castle. Since the Baron converted the castle to more of a manor house, the hotel owner thought that the gift would be well received.

Professor Hamblin heard of the moose head before the Baron and knew that the Baron could not appreciate the head of a dead animal above his mantle.

However, diplomacy very was important to the Baron when he traveled, and he was now faced with the problem of what to do with the moose when it arrived. Should he bury it or wrap it up and hide it in some storage room, or just what?

Professor Hamblin came up with an interesting idea. The Baron would contact the hotel owner and say that he was looking forward to his fond remembrance of the trip.

However, since he greatly admired the woodcarvings that the local craftsmen produced, could he please have a carving of the moose head in wood? The real moose head would be replaced at the last minute by a carved wooden one.

Everyone was happy. The Baron could display the carved moose head in a room in the Lilliland manor house for all to see as a piece of art work and the gift giver would be appreciated for his thoughtfulness.

The Baron deeply felt that hunting was not really a sport and animals should be left free to roam the mountains and forests at will. A moose in the wild should be shot only with a camera and not with a gun.

Let the future species survive for our children and their children to see and appreciate.