r. Twig

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

Professor Hamblin, the Baron’s chief advisor, was relating a story to the Baron and his fiancée, Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, about a man named Mr. Twig. That was not his real name but since he lived in a cottage made entirely of twigs, people just referred to him as Mr. Twig. The twig cottage was quite attractive and people liked to take pictures of it.

Everything, but everything, in the cottage was made of twigs, including the furniture and fireplace safety screen.

One night, while Mr. Twig was taking his cat, Miss Twigs, for their evening walk, there was a small fire left burning in the fireplace to keep the cottage warm.

A small spark from the fireplace caught on the fireplace screen and began to burn. The fire became larger and larger until the rug in front of the fireplace caught fire, then the furniture, and finally, the whole house was ablaze.

Everything in the cottage was on fire and the cottage burned completely down to the ground.

Fortunately, Mr. Twig and his cat, Miss Twigs, were away and did not get hurt.

Everyone in the community felt sorry for Mr. Twig and asked him what his intentions were.

But that soon became quite obvious to everyone for on the next day Mr. Twig began rebuilding his cottage. Was it still going to be built with twigs as before, or would he use something else instead? That answer was also quickly apparent when loads of twigs began arriving at the new cottage site.

Mr. Twig said that he would rebuild his cottage with twigs exactly as before except for one change. That change would be a metal fireplace safety screen rather than a screen made of twigs.

The Professor, in telling the story, said that this was an example of the adage, “Safety first in all things.”

Baron Von Lodge and Lady Angela agreed that safety should be a primary consideration in all ventures.