In the 6th Century BCE, the Greek Pythagoreans believed that the number 3 represented Harmony since 1 meant Unity, and 2 meant Disorder. Add the two together and you reach a harmonious conclusion.
Explanation:
The number three is considered lucky for a number of reasons. First, there's the fact that a man and a woman — a unit of two — can become a unit of three with the creation of a child, giving the number three a bit of magic all around the world. In Christianity, there's the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Islam has its three main holy sites. This magic associated with the number three has given rise to sayings like "third time lucky" and "third time's a charm," both of which suggest that two failures are sure to be followed by success on the third attempt.
Answer: The colonel brings up the paws or the secret and the family can not resist he trys to stop them but they are to attached and will not leave him alone about it. He also has to get rid of the paw because it haunts him everyday.