Family tragedy

With heavy heart I report that I have become head of House Heidrun, through the death of all senior members in a terrible molasses flood. This brings to me responsibility for the ancestral property in Caledon Highlands, and I know not what else. My cousin Mr Paderborn and I are the only known surviving members of the clan, although I shall ever be on the lookout for other distant relatives and retainers.

I have never concerned myself with the family business of mead-making, and of course now all of our facilities have been destroyed. Oh, that Great-Uncle Oskrr had not hazarded the experiment of substituting molasses for honey! The only thing recovered from the accident was a single beehive. There is still a terrible mess of congealing molasses at the plant; who knows what yet may be salvaged, or indeed, if House Heidrun should ever again produce the healthful and invigorating draughts for which it has ever been known!