As the story goes, the candle is designed to burn for exactly 24 hours. The 3 sections of the box represent the 3 divisions of the day (1/3 for work, 1/3 for play, and 1/3 for sleep). An evil dictator mandated that the play portion be cut from the day and the center of the candle is eliminated. The doors are opened and the candle is missing in that section. In the end the dictator is thrown out and the candle is restored.