olar Bear Contest

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

In the winter skiing in the Lilliland mountains, in the summer, sailing on Castle Lake, and in the spring and fall hiking on the trails, and horseback riding were all very popular sports.

But there was one contest that the royal family did not care for at all. It was the polar bear contest in the winter at Castle Lake. The ice and cold spring water made the lake very cold. But six hearty souls in the middle of winter, when ice had formed on the lake, would jump in wearing only bathing suits. They are divided into two teams, the gray bears and the brown bears. The winners had bragging rights for the entire year and although it wasn’t legal, there was some under-the-table betting going on.

The royal family did not play any part in this contest in any way.

On the day of the contest, it was exceptionally cold, too cold for much of a crowd to stand on the dock and cheer their side on to victory. The two teams jumped into the lake and shouted back and forth at each other as if they were very angry at each other and called the other team sissies.

Finally, after a few minutes, the judges called it a draw and asked everyone to get out of the icy water. All six men were gray and blue and not moving about very much.

The six contestants were quickly wrapped in warm blankets and as they did not improve, they were rushed to the hospital. Lilliland Hospital did everything they could to revive the six contestants but they all died.

The news spread very quickly throughout Lilliland and everyone was very sad. The men were all buried a few days later.

The Baron sent his personal condolences to the surviving families of the six contestants.

Weeks later, the community leaders of the Polar Bear Contest met to discuss the future of the event. The Baron suggested that instead of jumping into the frigid water, they hold an iceboat regatta instead.

The following winter the iceboat regatta was held and the Baron and Lady Angela attended and gave the prize to the winner.

The Polar Bear Contest was a very sad page in the history of Lilliland.