ONCE upon a time, in a town called Democratia, lived a small businessman.

He was honest, interested in his community, and having worked in that community for many years, he was well known.

Now, the Commissars who ran this community wanted to change it. These changes would have had a major effect on the small businessman, affecting his trade, so, together with a number of other small businessmen, he formed a committee.

As firm believers in democracy, they held talks with the Commissars and, in fact, attempted to formulate an alternative plan.

Now, the Commissars had gone to the Central Committee to borrow the money as they had none of their own, as they had never had to run their own businesses.

The Central Committee said: "Yes, you can borrow the money, but you have to use it within the next twelve months, as there may be a revolution, and if we lose, our opposition will stop you spending. Anyway, all you have to do is to increase local charges to get the money back." So the Commissars returned to the community and said to the planners: "Look, hurry this plan up or the money will not be there, and you will be out of a job.

So the planners started to put pressure on the group to hurry the matter forward.

Facts were produced at committee that were not exactly true and the small businessman was able to prove this by producing the true facts.

One day, the small businessman had a visit from the Thought Police, who accused him of being in possession of facts that he did not know about, and, as a result, he would be taken to court and punished.

In fear that this would affect his business and thinking that he may never see his wife and family again, he recanted. Unable to attend the next meeting of the committee it was alleged that he was helping the Thought Police with their inquiries, and that the evidence he had produced should be disregarded as lies.

The plan was voted through. But the small businessman had friends. They found that the planners had told the Thought Police to visit the small businessman. This was to put the small businessman in fear and to make an example to other people who made a stand against The Commissars. The fight went on.

But, thank God, we live in a democracy -- that sort of thing could never happen here! But it could, if we fail to turn out to vote.

And they all lived happily ever after -- well, reasonably happy, perhaps not so happy. In fact, miserably.

D D'ARCY, Haslingden Old Road, Knuzden, Blackburn.