Danny's Bridge

They say Milton was a very talented builder of bridges, especially for a young boy. People usually think building bridges is a task best suited for a team of engineers or something, but Milton could do it all by himself. He could usually be seen by the banks of some river, planning or gathering building materials.

Danny was Milton's companion. While Danny knew nothing of actually building bridges, he was known far and wide as a master bridge builder. If fact, communities would pool their money to pay Danny a handsome price for his bridge building services. After all, they were the most sturdy bridges in the land, and could be built quickly. Most people had never heard of Milton or his bridge building skills. Most certainly didn't know that Milton built Danny's bridges. They only knew that Danny was the one to consult if a bridge needed to be built.

Here was the procedure: A representative from a community would consult Danny. Danny would be paid a very large sum of money as an advance. Then, Milton would build the bridge. After the bridge had been built, Danny would stand by the bridge and collect a toll for several months from everyone who crossed. As Danny collected the toll, Milton would be working at the next project site, preparing to build the next bridge.

Milton was always very friendly and cheerful as he worked. Most of the time no one bothered him. He did not expect payment for building bridges. He had learned to catch and eat fish from the rivers. All he really cared to do was build and catch fish, and he lived a content life. When he had finished a project, he would come to Danny to know where the next bridge needed to be built.

Danny was a nice man, and of temperate character. No one knew what he did with all his money. He wore modest clothing and lived in small, temporary apartments. He ate the most simple foods and had only a few close friends.

One day, Danny rode into town on horseback to join Milton and to collect his advance. As was customary, the mayor, in this case, Mayor Tom, invited Danny to dinner to negotiate. This was something Danny had done hundreds of times. The conversation was usually very short, and would consist of the mayor offering one-half gold brick for the advance, and the other half upon completion. But, this time was different. The conversation went like this:

Mayor Tom: "I will pay you one gold piece for the entire bridge."

Danny: "I'm afraid the bridge will cost you one gold brick."

Mayor Tom: "I know that Milton works for free. He collects his building materials from the land. You have no expenses!"

Danny: "If you will not pay one gold brick, I will send Milton to Millville downstream. Mayor George has already agreed to pay us a full brick."

Mayor Tom: "Yes, but George and I, and the mayors of all the other towns along this river had a meeting last week. We agreed that a tax must be levied on all bridge construction. The people in our villages think your price is too high. The tax will be 90%. We can pay you now if like."

Danny: "Well, I guess I have no choice. I guess we have a deal."

Mayor Tom: "You do have a choice. You can tell Milton not to build the bridge, and then you will make nothing."

Danny: "No, it's alright. I'll let Milton finish the bridge and take the single gold piece."

The next day, Danny walked to see his friend, Diane. Diane was friendly lady who lived in a very large house. She cared for ten young orphans. She welcomed Danny inside:

Diane: "Danny, thank God you're here. We had almost run out of food."

Danny: "I'm afraid I only have one gold piece for you today. The Mayors have all introduced a tax."

Diane: "Well, that will feed us for a week. Thank you."

Danny: "Your welcome, but I'm afraid that is all the money I will get for the whole bridge. You will need to ask the mayor for food. I cannot help you any longer."

Diane: "I understand. I will write him a letter."

Diane proceeded to explain how the tax had affected the town. At first, the tax only applied to stores and shops. For example, Billy the barrel maker was taxed 50% for each barrel he sold. Some people thought he could spare that much, but he couldn't. He had to raise the price of each barrel 25% and dismiss one of his four employees, Jim. He had no choice. Because of this, Jim could not afford to feed his children, and him and his wife needed to abandon them for many days at a time. They would forage for food in the wilderness. And, one time, they never came back. Diane cared for their three young children, and the children of others who have suffered the same fate. This tragedy had been occurring in all towns all up and down the river.

Danny left Diane's house and walked down to see Milton, who was busy building the bridge.

Danny: "Milton, is there any way you could catch extra fish for me while you're working on the bridge?"

Milton: "It will take longer to build the bridge if I need to spend extra time catching fish."

Danny: "That's alright. It's just very important that you catch extra fish. The mayor won't even notice that the bridge will take longer to build. I will need you to start catching the fish next week."

Milton: "Very well. I will catch 10 fish a day for you. Will that be enough?"

Danny: "Yes, that will be plenty."

This arrangement worked well. Even though Danny did not acquire enough gold to help Diane care for the children for a long time, Milton's fish kept them fed.

This went on for several weeks. Danny knew that Diane's orphans would starve if Milton left town, so construction slowed to a crawl. Milton spent most of his time catching fish. Before long, Mayor Tom demanded that Danny meet him for dinner. This time, it was a new Mayor's mansion that had just been built. There were statues and pillars and chandeliers. It was a very impressive house. Danny sat down to dinner.

Mayor Tom: "I see that the bridge is taking longer than expected."

Danny: "Yes, we have run into some obstacles."

Mayor Tom: "I have noticed that Milton is spending much of his time fishing."

Danny: "Well, yes, he likes to eat fish."

Mayor Tom: "I have seen him catch far more fish than he can eat. What does he do with the extra fish?"

Danny was afraid. He didn't want to tell Mayor Tom that he was giving away the fish. After all, many people would want to take Milton's free fish. He knew some of the others wouldn't use the fish to feed orphans or even eat themselves, but to sell. No, he definitely could not admit to giving away fish for free.

Danny: "What Milton and I do with the fish caught from the river is our business."

Mayor Tom: "Well, Milton is building the bridge for our town, and, the people of this town demand a bridge. They want the bridge soon, and they didn't hire Milton to catch fish. So, you see, it is my business. You have forced my hand. I must also tax all earnings from your fish at the same 90% rate."

Danny: "Very well, you will receive 90% of the earnings from the fish."

Mayor Tom: "Thank you, and finish my bridge."

Danny told Milton the news. He explained that Mayor Tom thought they were selling the fish, and decided to tax at the 90% rate. This meant Milton would need to catch an extra 9 fish every day and sell them at the market rate in order to both pay the tax and feed the orphans.

Milton spent his evenings catching the extra fish. He also worked hard to complete the bridge. Although, Danny knew that the orphans would have no food once the bridge was complete. So, he had a meeting with Milton.

Danny: "Milton, I need to tell you something."

Milton: "Yes, Danny."

Danny: "I use all the money from your work to help children who would go hungry otherwise. I give it to Diane at the orphanage."

Milton: "I know that, silly. Why do you think I work for free?"

Danny: "Oh, I guess I should have known you had figured it out."

Milton: "That's why I build strong bridges. That's why built them so quickly. Do you really think I could be so blind?"

Danny: "And that is why you have taken an extra long time with this one?"

Milton: "Yes, that's right. I know that if we leave town, those kids will go hungry."

Danny: "What do you think we should do?"

Milton: "Just keep doing what you are doing. I'll take care of it."

Two weeks later, work was finally complete, and Mayor Tom arrived for the ribbon cutting. There was a large celebration with fireworks.

In an 'unfortunate accident,' one of Mayor Tom's explosives struck the bridge and set it on fire.

Danny was handed another gold piece the next day, and Milton's work resumed.