The story of how one young Canadian vowed to turn a big red paper clip into a big white house in a year easily could be the plot of a children’s book. It might begin, “Young MacDonald had a thought, and it was a good idea. Now he’s got a big white house ... and a movie deal.”

Or anyway, let’s hope so.

MacDonald, a 25-year-old blogger from Montreal, posted a notice exactly a year ago stating that within a year, he was going to barter his oversized red paper clip for a house, one trade at at time, always “for something bigger and better.”

The whole adventure makes for entertaining reading on his blog site, http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com.

It took him 14 trades to go from paper clip to fish-shaped pen to a record deal etc., but today “he trades with the Town of Kipling, Saskatchewan, for a house located at 503 Main Street.”

Of course, a television actor interested in making a movie of this is involved and the idea benefits from being an original gimmick. We are suckers for a good, original idea. (The Pet Rock and Cabbage Patch dolls come immediately to mind.)

So what was it about MacDonald’s simple plan that captured the world’s imagination? Mainly, it reaffirmed all of our fondest wishes: That a nice young man from Montreal can go from owning a paper clip of questionable practical application to having a house (and a recording contract and fancy snow globe) and acclaim, all within one turn of the calendar.

That the online barter stunt was was 90 parts inspiration and 10 percent perspiration just adds to its appeal.

Actually, MacDonald did work at his project, driving far and wide for the next better trade. He also graciously gave his trading partners prominent online write-ups.

Of course, the real stars of MacDonald’s successful journey are timing and luck. He was the first to promote such a plan and have the media pick up on the story. He also was lucky to have attracted the attention of television star Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) and former rocker Alice Cooper and the townsfolk of the small, shrinking town of Kipling, who are happy to be back on the map.

So, the whole story is likely to end up on the silver screen, and we sort of hope it does.

In a season of remakes and reruns and sequels, the most entertaining and original events are still the lives of real people who recognize that a little imagination is a lucrative thing.