The Butler’s Bad Day
The Superintendent of Civic Projects was a busy man. He worked
every day of the week and had fancy parties at his house every night.
However, if there was someone busier than him, it was his butler. He
worked all day organizing the superintendent’s parties and then
cleaned up after them late at night. Hence, while the superintendent
slept soundly, snoring loudly in his bed, the butler was still awake.
Sadly, though the butler was always overworked, his profession’s
intrinsic naturedemanded he never be outspoken. Therefore, his
employer never knew the butler hadn’tslept for several days. On any
day the butler might make a mistake.
One day, the superintendent said, “ This particular party is important.
People from theministry are coming. Everything must be perfect.”
The butler began preparing at once. First he went to the attic to get
more chairs andtables. But on his descent, he realized he needed to
make the food. A gourmet dinner wasnecessary for such a party. He
boiled water in a kettle for soup and chopped some beef into chunks.
Just as he was starting the soup, he remembered that he had to
sweep the veranda. As he was sweeping the veranda, he realized that
he had to clean the sauna.
By this time, the first guests had arrived. The veranda was still dirty.
There were not enough chairs for the guests to sit on, and the soup
tasted too pungent. Some guests were dissatisfied. They started to
make a fuss, and the party was filled with a din of complaints.
The superintendent’s party was a disaster. He wondered why his
butler had made so many mistakes. At last, the butler admitted to
being exhausted. His boss felt pity for the butler. He had no idea the
butler was so tired. He said, “You should have told me earlier, then we
could have avoided this whole ordeal.”