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 nature demanded he never be outspoken. Therefore, his employer never knew the butler hadn’t slept for several days. On any day the butler might make a mistake.

One day, the superintendent said, “This particular party is important. People from the ministry are coming. Everything must be perfect.”

The butler began preparing at once. First he went to the attic to get more chairs and tables. But on his descent, he realized he needed to make the food. A gourmet dinner was necessary 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.”