No Inventing Allowed

I'm the blacksmith here in the village. It's a good trade, and I enjoy it. I make horseshoes, cookware, nails, iron tools; whatever we need. I keep my shop clean and my forge hot.

One day I had an idea. I was educated enough to know how steam engines work, so why couldn't I build one? I hammered two big pots into hemispheres and joined them. Water inside, fire underneath — a serviceable boiler. A piston and valve system was easy. A wagon wheel with some added weight would make a good flywheel.

I began to modify a carriage to run on steam power. I was busy with the transmission when _he_ walked in. The man who could take my job away in an instant if he pleased.

"What the hell is this?" he asked. Straight to the point.

I put on my best salesman act. "Sir, may I present... the horseless carriage."

The manager sighed. "You really don't get the point of a museum, do you. You'd better restore that thing to original 1840s condition before the next busload of tourists get here."