Unfortunate Frustrations

In a small village below the Rivendale Dam a little cottage sat beside the gentle river. Mr. Smollett and his wife, both prominent citizens of the area, lived there. It was cozy looking house and had a well kept garden fenced in by a whitewashed picket fence.
Mr. Smollett did not take kindly even on the best of days to being interrupted in the middle of a meal, and this morning was no exception. He had just began to really enjoy the sumptuous breakfast his wife had cooked him when a staccato of raps on the back door startled him and a large dollop of coffee spilled out onto his coat. Now here was something to be annoyed about!
There was a little girl at the door carrying an urgent message for Mr. Smollett, who was on the mayor's committee, to be present as soon as possible at an inspection meeting at the dam upriver. This news sent Mr. Smollett into a flurry of activity. He ran to and fro getting himself ready, shouting all the while at his wife to fetch a clean coat. By the time he had got to the front door to leave he was in the worst of bad tempers. And finding a stray dog who had sheltered for the night on his door step, vented his anger in a vicious kick before hurtling a up the road in his green B.M.W.
The poor dog was hurt at this violent treatment. But he was used to it well enough and knew how to act in such situations and so without hesitation fled by the shortest route possible.
At this moment the little girl who had brought the message to Mr. Smollett was opening the gate on her lingering way home. But upon seeing a big, black dog running towards her at a frightening pace she let out a terrified scream and ran. Out the gate she fled, followed by the stray dog and the gate was left swinging behind them.
This garden gate had been kept closed for a reason, for in the field next door happened to live a small, curious goat. This goat was counted by Mrs. Smollett as her greatest enemy. Many were the battles fought against that small innocent looking creature who persisted in believing that Mrs. Smollett's cabbages were grown for his especial benefit. This morning the cabbages were looking perfectly scrumptious, especially when the garden gate was swinging in the most inviting way!
Mrs. Smollett was going out about now for a meeting of he RSPCA of which she was a prominent member. As she came out the door she was met with the most unpleasant sight of that exasperating goat right in the middle of her cabbage patch making the most of a short time.
Twenty whole minutes Mrs. Smollett spent in unwanted exercise that morning. Around the cabbage patch, over the rosebushes, through the garage, and around the house numerous times until finally Mr. Goat got tired of the game and went home. A further ten minuted was lost in changing her stained dress and by the time she got into her car she was decidedly late.
She attempted to resolve this by driving as fast as possible. Down the lane squealing around a bend--she must not be late for at today's meeting the RSPCA were electing a new president. She did not even slow down when she came into the village; she did not see the car pulling our of a side street until too late. Swerving to avoid a collision she scraped the side of a shiny red car parked on the roadside. Then, not stopping, Mrs. Smollett sped on to her meeting.
The red car which Mrs. Smollett had scarped belonged to the Mayor of the county. And he was now thrown into a passion. He ranted and roared at the "confounded driver" threatening to sue. He was on his way to the monthly inspection meeting of the dam which had been urgently called earlier than the usual date. By the time the Mayor got to the dam he was still fuming about the cost of a new paint job. He was the first to arrive, and was still in a mood. He checked the big concrete dam which seamed as sturdy as ever, and left leaving a note for the inspector informing him he was not needed any more as the dam was perfectly stable and that they would carry out the inspection on the usual date.
The inspector of dams never did turn up. Along the river road there had been a severe accident which he had been involved in. A green BMW had pulled out in front of his van and he had gone straight into the back of it. No one was killed but the driver of the green car had been taken off to hospital in a much frustrated state.
The next day the citizens of Rivendale were evacuated from their houses up onto higher ground. A break in the dam was imminent. A man who lived up near the dam had seen the cracks forming and raised the alarm. It was almost too late, one hour after the discovery, the dam burst flooding the valley and completely submerging the village. Most of the people had been saved. But if only Mr. Smollett had not got so flustered over an interruption, and if only he had not kicked the stray dog, just maybe then the town would have been saved.