Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a mason named Max. Max was known for his incredible skill in building beautiful stone structures using mortar and marble. But Max was not only a skilled mason, he also had a great sense of humor.

One day, a wealthy man approached Max and asked him to build him a fireplace for his grand mansion. Max agreed, and soon he set to work on the project. He used mastic to carefully lay the marble pieces, molding them into the perfect shape.

As Max was working on the fireplace, he noticed that the lumen, or brightness, in the room was not quite right. He thought to himself, "I know! I'll add some mullions to the fireplace!" So Max went to work, carefully cutting miter joints to create the perfect mullions for the fireplace.

But just as he was about to add the final touches, Max noticed that the mantel of the fireplace was a bit plain. So, he decided to add some muntins, or small wooden bars, to the mantel.

Finally, the fireplace was complete and Max proudly showed it to the wealthy man. The man was amazed by the beauty of the fireplace and asked Max how he had come up with such a creative design. Max simply replied, "I just followed my masonry instincts!"

From that day on, Max's fireplace became the talk of the town. Children would gather around it, marveling at the brilliant mullions and muntins. And Max was always there, with a twinkle in his eye, ready to tell the story of how he built the most amazing fireplace in all the land.

The end.

Reflections

1. Who is Max the Mason in the story?
2. What did the wealthy man ask Max to build for him?
3. What is a mullion and what does Max use it for in the story?
4. How does Max make the mantel of the fireplace more interesting?
5. What makes Max's fireplace so special and famous in the village?
6. What is the moral of the story?
7. Can you think of any other creative ideas Max could have used in his fireplace design?
8. If you were Max, how would you have approached building the fireplace differently?
9. Do you think you could build something as amazing as Max's fireplace? Why or why not?