A Stranger Comes A'Calling

Bringing happiness and joy. And even miracles, sometimes.

Once upon a time, there lived a kind-hearted, little lady named Ruby.  She was 82 years young.  Ruby lived in a lovely white cottage in the middle of a small glen, surrounded by forest.  There were perhaps a dozen cottages in all, forming a small square.  It was quiet and peaceful for the most part; that is, until a stranger came a’calling.

 

Ruby had been a widow for many years.  She missed her dear husband terribly, but she kept herself busy with gardening, teaching Sunday school and enjoying the company of her charming cat, Kit.  You see, Ruby was never quite sure whether Kit was a he or a she, and that was just fine with her, because fiddling about in his (or her) hindquarters to find out just seemed plain rude.  Ruby loved Kit, and Kit loved Ruby, and that was all that mattered.  When the snow fell and the cold north wind rattled the timbers, Ruby and Kit would burrow beneath a thick layer of quilts, with their heads side by side on their pillows.  Kit was a very smart cat.  He even learned how to pull the quilts up around his neck, just like Ruby. 

 

During the early Spring one year, Ruby noticed a beautiful white cat coming and going through the sewer drain across the street.  She began to set out food for the cat, because she looked so skinny and scared.  At first, she would only come to eat the food after Ruby went back inside the cottage, but little by little, they started to become friends.  After a while, the white cat started to bring her beautiful orange daughter over for dinner, as well.  Ruby discovered that the white cat’s name was Missy, but she didn’t know the kitten’s name yet.  The kitten was very shy and would run like the wind if Ruby so much as looked at her. 

 

Some of the other people living in the glen said the kitten was too wild to ever be tamed, but Ruby kept working on it, little by little, day after day.  By the time Spring turned to Fall, Ruby found out the kitten’s name was Jewel.  When the first wave of frost dusted the grass and the trees turned to gold and auburn, Ruby invited Missy and Jewel to live in her cottage, along with her and Kit.  When they accepted her invitation, it was a joyous occasion for all.  Everyone got a wear a party hat, and Ruby made her roommates a tuna cake, complete with candles. 

 

Fall turned into Winter, and a terrible Winter it was!  Sheets of ice coated the bare trees, then several feet of snow fell.  The cold north wind howled, and the snow blew into drifts so deep that Ruby could barely open her door.  At night, the four of them - Ruby, Kit, Missy and Jewel - would gather around the fireplace to warm themselves, and sometimes they would even roast marshmallows on sticks.  They were snug and warm inside their cottage, and they would wait patiently, knowing that Winter would tire of them soon enough and make room for Spring.

 

That’s when the stranger came a’calling.  In the middle of one of the coldest nights of the year, Ruby awoke with a start.  Someone was ringing the doorbell!  She looked out the frost-covered window, but couldn’t see anyone there.  “Who would be calling in this weather, in the middle of the night?” Ruby thought.  Now, with Ruby being a widow and all, and her only housemates being cats, she was a little afraid, but she and the cats pulled the covers up over their heads and tried to go back to sleep. 

 

By the time morning rolled around, the doorbell was forgotten and all seemed to be in order.  Ruby cleaned her cottage and the cats played hide and seek with one another, then fell asleep in the kitchen chairs as the sun drew to a close.  Everyone had their supper, and decided to settle in for another cold night. 

 

“Ring!!!!”  There it was again! The doorbell!  “Oh, my lord,” said Ruby.  “Who could this be, calling in the middle of the night, in the freezing snow?”  She looked out the window again, but saw no one.  Now, she was truly frightened.  As a child, she’d heard ghost stories told around the campfire of evil goblins who delighted in playing tricks on little ladies.  Even Jewel was frightened, and she snuggled close to her mama for safety.  Kit stayed close to Ruby.  He was determined to protect her, no matter what. 

 

After a while, they all got back into their soft warm bed and burrowed underneath the soft down quilts and fell fast asleep.  The morning light came shining through in no time at all.

 

While Ruby was preparing their breakfasts, the doorbell rang, again!!  “Ah-ha!” she thought.  “Now I’m going to see who’s been trying to scare me in the middle of the night!”  She went to the door and pushed it open as wide as she could - which wasn’t very wide because the snow had drifted so high.  Too late!  The culprit had vanished again!  Just as she finished climbing the flight of stairs and started making the tuna pancakes, the doorbell rang again.  “Lord have mercy!” she swore, and ran down the stairs as fast as she could.  Surely she would catch the little rascal this time, and give him a good what for!  Alas, she was too late again.  Poor Ruby!  She was so distraught, she sat down on the stairs and hung her head to cry.  Kit tried his best to console her, and he did help a little, that’s for sure. 

 

Just about that time, Ruby’s telephone rang.  It was Lil’ Jeff, the young man who lived in the cottage across the way.  Now, Lil’ Jeff was a bit rugged around the edges, but Ruby knew he had a kind heart.  “I bet y’all been wonderin’ whose been a ringin that bell,” he said.  “Why, yes,” said Ruby.  “Do you know?” she asked.  With that, Lil’ Jeff let loose a big old belly laugh - he got that belly from drinking too much ale, don’t ya know!  He said, “Go to yer door now and take a gander outside.”  Ruby was scared, after all she’d been through, so she asked Lil’ Jeff to stay on the phone with her while she pushed her door open.  He was giggling a little bit, but he tried to hide it because he was very fond of Ruby, in his rough and tumble sort of way. 

 

When Ruby opened the door, all she could see was Lil’ Jeff standing in his doorway across the road.  Now, she was really getting scared.  “What is it, Lil’ Jeff?” Ruby asked.  “There’s no one here!”  Lil’ Jeff laughed again and said, “Looks like yer gonna hafta step all the way outta yer door if’n you wanna see the devil that’s been skeerin’ ya so bad.”  Well, Ruby tried to be brave, knowing that Lil’ Jeff was watching, so she pushed the door open wide and stepped out into the freezing cold.  Lil’ Jeff pointed his finger to the west so that Ruby would turn her head. 

 

“Good Lord in Heaven, have mercy!” she exclaimed.  There, in the flower box attached to her cottage, was a beautiful, half-frozen orange cat.  Just as Ruby spoke, the cat reached his paw out of the flower box and rang the doorbell.  Lil’ Jeff laughed and laughed, as he was prone to do over most things.  As Ruby moved toward the cat, he leapt from the flower box, directly into her arms.  He started to snuggle his head down into Ruby’s coat, with his beautiful orange hair coated with ice. 

 

“You poor dear!  You poor darling!” Ruby said, as she brought the cat into the house.  The other cats strained their necks to see the commotion, but it was Missy who stepped forward to get a closer look.  Why, it was a miracle!  It was Missy’s long, lost husband - the father of Jewel!  She had taken him for dead, and here he was, at last!  Oh, what a joyous reunion they had!  Ruby brought Missy’s husband upstairs and finished making tuna pancakes for everyone.  Missy said her husband’s name was George, and boy, he sure was hungry and cold!  Jewel gathered around her father and purred, and Ruby burst into tears of joy! 

 

Later that night, after they were all warmly tucked into bed, the doorbell rang again.  “Who is it now?” thought Ruby.  She looked out the window and saw no one, but she was no longer afraid.  She went downstairs, followed by Kit - her protector - and opened the door.  Following George’s example, a handsome grey tabby, cold and hungry, was in the flower box, ringing the bell.  She opened the door and he trotted right in, purring and wrapping his ice-covered fur around her legs.  “OK, let’s get you something to eat and a warm bed for the night!” Ruby said. 

 

All in all, six strangers rang Ruby’s doorbell that winter, and each was well-fed, happy and warm.  When Spring arrived, they decided to part ways and return to their lives in the forest.  All except for Kit, Missy, Jewel and George.  They stayed on and lived happily ever after.

 

The End.

 

 

Reviews

[Veronica Chandler]

Such a lovely story and pleasurable read; it captivated my attention from start to finish. You really have something with this one; they say that truth is stranger than fiction, and it seems like this story is no exception.

[Joe Lilac]

It flowed well from one paragraph to the next, and all with hidden depth. A happy, simplified tale of life... and lives. I really enjoyed the read.

[Siobhan Welch]

Aside from the dialogue and a few other obvious fictions, this is a true story. Ruby is my mother, and cats really have been ringing her doorbell as stated.

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good story. Anything to do with kittens and animals can make a very good story. We need our animals to create a peace and comfort when we are alone. A outstanding story of kindness and love.
Coyote