laussen's Pretzel Day

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

It seemed that nearly everyone in Lilliland liked the pretzels that were made by Mark Claussen in his shop in the center of Lilliland.

Mr. Claussen had a pet cat that sat in the front window of the shop. The customers called the cat “Claussen” because he looked like a real member of the Claussen family.

The cat just sat very still and watched the people coming and going. But, the cat sat so still, in the exact same place, that some people asked Mr. Claussen if it was a stuffed toy cat. But, then Claussen the cat, would move a little, or scratch herself, so that answered the question.

One day, Claussen the cat, began to look extra large and a vet said, after an examination, that the cat was expecting kittens.

Mr. Claussen wondered when did the cat ever have time to go out and find a mate?

It was announced to the customers, who inquired, that Claussen would be a mother again.

On the day of the blessed event, Mr. Claussen celebrated the day by giving everyone who stopped by the pretzel shop a free pretzel.

Mr. Claussen hoped that he could then find customers that would like to have a kitten after the proper weaning was over.

The special day came and Claussen had four lovely kittens. The sign went up that there were four kittens up for adoption in a number of weeks. Any customer who wanted to adopt a kitten should put his order in early.

It seemed that the first four customers who saw the adoption sign in the window wanted to have one of the kittens. Since all of the kittens were spoken for, the sign had to be taken down. One customer said that she wanted one, but was too late, so she asked to be put on a waiting list in case someone changed his mind.

Mr. Claussen was very happy because he personally knew all of the future parents of the kittens and knew that they would be going to very good, caring homes.

In the meantime, the line for the free pretzels offered by Mr. Claussen stretched out into the street and down the block.

One of the people in the line was none other than Professor Hamblin, who was a big fan of the Claussen pretzels.