Imagine, if you will, a small American town at the turn of the 20th century. It’s a frontier town, dusty and quaint, where life is tough but manageable. The townsfolk, hardy and simple, cherish God, country, hard work, and warm beer (refrigeration wasn't widespread yet).
The monotony of daily life was shattered when the Clock Man rolled into town. He was a tall, thin figure with a mustache and top hat, captivating everyone with his extraordinary, dazzling performances. Within days, the entire population gathered in the town square, thirsting for the entertainment he provided.
The Clock Man's shows featured incredible clockwork machines with intricate gears and springs. These devices crawled, climbed, and even flew with delicate paper wings, almost appearing alive. The townspeople were enchanted, calling him a genius, even greater than the famed Menlo Park inventor.
After a week of mesmerizing shows, the Clock Man introduced something more profound than mere entertainment. He unveiled a massive, complex machine, shining with brass and boasting a dozen legs, capable of performing the work of a hundred farmhands. Demonstrating its power, the machine quickly planted and plowed the fields, astounding the onlookers.
The Clock Man offered this miraculous device in exchange for their gratitude and perhaps something more. However, the townsfolk, proud of their hard work, politely declined. They valued their labor and saw it as a cornerstone of their beliefs in God and country. While they appreciated the Clock Man's shows, they preferred to earn their leisure through their own efforts.
Feeling insulted, the Clock Man snapped his fingers, causing all his inventions, including the massive machine, to collapse into lifeless heaps of metal. With a dramatic flap of his cape, he vanished in a cloud of steam, never to be seen again—or so it seemed.
That night, the Clock Man returned under the cover of darkness, slipping from house to house. In the starlit night, his gears and springs glinted ominously as he silently transformed the townsfolk. They became victims of his wrath for their perceived ingratitude, destined to toil for a thousand years.
When he finally left, the Clock Man took with him a fleet of newly created clockwork angels, the transformed townsfolk, now bound to serve him indefinitely.
You might think this is a grim tale, and you'd be right. It seems to suggest that classic American values are flawed, but the townsfolk did nothing wrong. They were innocent victims of a mysterious, malevolent force. The real lesson lies elsewhere.
These unfortunate townsfolk are still out there, trapped in a nightmare as clockwork angels. However, there is a way to help them. According to the strange rules of evil mechanical engineering, each time a child genuinely embraces hard work, ten years are deducted from the townsfolk's imprisonment. Conversely, shirking responsibilities adds time to their sentence.
So, encourage your children to embrace their homework and chores. Their efforts could significantly reduce the suffering of those poor souls, still bound by the Clock Man's sinister magic.