Denmark's Godtfred Kirk Christian sen, 47, is fond of remarking that even the best is none too good for children, and he should know what he is talking about: the worldwide success of his Lego toymaking business has all the ingredients of a modern-day Hans Chris tian Andersen fairy tale. An anomaly among internationally minded Danish executives, Christiansen speaks no for eign languages, bases his family-owned enterprise not in Copenhagen but in the remote Jutland village of Billund (pop. 1,300). Nonetheless, his up-from-nothing business has annual sales of more than $30 million, now accounts for almost a penny of...

