Towering Competition

The Towers were having a competition.

The Leaning Tower was there, tilting slightly. The Tower of Babel was chattering away. The Tower of London was keeping a stiff upper lip as usual. The Three Pagodas and The Two Towers of Bologna were there, and the Qutb Minar, tall and stately.

Lanky and petite, stout and narrow, made of brick or wood or stone or metal, the towers came.

From the world of literature, Rapunze's Tower was there, and the Black Tower and the Dark Tower. From Enid Blyton's tales, the North, South, East and West Towers of Mallory Towers were there. The Towers of Hogwarts School - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Astronomy were there.

Trophies were handed out in various categories, and prize money. There were prizes for what was carved -- symbols, words, pictures on each tower. There were prizes for strength. There were prizes for utility. There were prizes for the cleverest towers and the most creative towers.

The towers that won were happy, the towers that didn't were cowering towers.

Finally, the 'height' category was announced. In a surprising twist, the organizers had decided to give prizes for both - the tallest tower and the shortest. Towers were eager to win in either category, and lined up to be measured. Some towers walked with bent knees, so as not to reveal their real height till it was officially measured.

The results were announced:
"The tallest tower is Burj Khalifa (828 metres) and the shortest is the Bratislava UFO (95 metres)."

There was an outbreak of cheering.

Only the Eiffel Tower was annoyed. It had hoped to win, and wanted to win badly. It looked at the score card, at the cheering crowd and the judges, and made a sulky statement:



I'm going to France, and I will never come back.