The Music Box

Once upon a time in a far off land lived a little girl, her mother and her old old granny. The little girl’s name was Katrina Annabelle but they called her Katie Ann, her mother’s name was Alice and her granny was called, well granny. They lived in a small quiet village that had a town square, a church with a steeple that rang its bell for every celebration and in the springtime, the mountains around their village were alive with beautiful flowers of every color. Katrina’s papa had left for the war and had never returned even though they always kept a candle in the window for him in case he lost his way home.

Katie Ann was a beautiful little girl with long raven black hair that curled in long curls at the ends. Her mother would comb her hair and sing a beautiful song while she twisted it into braids or left it swinging with colored ribbons to hold it back. Granny busied herself baking delicious pies and making colorful quilts that all of the villagers praised her for. She was loved by everyone far and wide and was well-known for her kindness. The three women worked keeping their little cottage clean and tidy and always welcomed in everyone who came to their door.

Granny had a wonderful music box that she kept on a special shelf high above the china cabinet in the corner. She would take it down sometimes in the evening with the time seemed to stretch on endlessly and place it on a special white cloth on their little dining room table. On top of the music box was a beautiful ballerina. When the music box was wound with its little key, the ballerina would twirl and dance on the top of the box while the music played the Blue Danube Waltz. It was absolutely Katie Ann’s favorite thing in the whole wide world.

One day, a stranger came to the door with a big ugly trunk which was thrown over his shoulder. His hair was matted and dirty and he smelled like the swamp. The three women opened their door to him just as they did for every body who knocked and invited him inside even though he was so dirty. He was hungry so they busily fixed him a plate of their dinner even though they all had to share. He wolfed down the food, cleaning his plate by licking out each crumb. Granny then cut her fresh apple pie in half, giving him the largest piece which left the three women to share what was left. He ate it down and gulped down his mug of hot tea. With that he bowed his head to show his gratitude, never uttering a single word and spreading his filthy coat on the floor in the corner, he laid himself down and began to snore.

The women cleaned up the table and seeing that the evening had turned cold, they stoked up the fire in the fireplace and covered the man with a beautiful quilt that was bright with color and puffy and warm. In the morning when the sun peeked over the mountain, much to their surprise, the man was gone but his old trunk remained sitting in the corner.

“Oh dear,” cried Alice, “he has forgotten his trunk!”

“We will keep it safe for him,” said Granny. “For he has carried it a long way so it must mean a lot to him. When he sees that it is missing, he will surely come back for it.”

Katie Ann eyed the trunk with disgust. It was dirty and the leather that covered it was old and cracked. It may have been beautiful long ago, but it was ugly and worn now. That night as the women and girl ate their meager supper they wondered about the man who had come into their home the night before.

“Who was he? Wondered Katie Ann. “He had never said a single word.”

“Just a lonesome stranger wondering through the countryside,” mused her mother.

“Everyone is always welcome into our home.” Said Granny. “Never forget that your work in life is always to look after others no matter what.” “Let’s listen to our lovely music box and watch the beautiful ballerina dance.”

And so they spent the evening watching the dancer spinning and twirling to the wonderful music of the music box. The music filled the room beyond the candle light and warmed their hearts as the stars twinkled over their little cottage.

The trunk stood in the corner for months and winter turned to spring, and spring to summer and summer to fall and still the stranger did not come back to retrieve his trunk and still it stood silently in the corner. It was Katie Ann’s job to keep it dusted and she wrinkled up her nose every time she got near it.

And then one horrible night in late autumn just when the leaves were falling and one that Katie Ann would never forget a troop of mean and vile soldiers came riding into town on their horses and set fire to the town square, the stores and all of the little cottages. The church burned to the ground as the bell in its steeple rang its last ring. Katie Ann was jerked awake by her mother. “Get up, get up my darling daughter.” Our house is burning down!”

Katie Ann ran to the living room and climbed up on the china cabinet and snatched the little music box. Granny screamed from the porch – we must save the trunk!” Then she collapsed. Alice dashed back into the burning house and with all of her might she dragged the trunk out just as Granny had wished. Their beautiful little cottage was engulfed in flames as they carried Granny to the edge of the forest. They bathed her face with clear water from the mountain spring. When she opened her eyes, she asked, “Where is the trunk?”

“Mother, mother cried Alice, we were not able to pull it this far.”

“Go back at once. You must save that man’s trunk. Now do as I say!”

Alice and Katie Ann found an old sled that had not been burned and placing the trunk upon it, dragged it, resting and then dragging it again until they were able to get hidden in the forest. Granny remembered playing in an old cave when she was a girl and slowly but surely they made their way deep into the forest, safe from the savage soldiers who were unaware that they had survived the fire, to the small dark cave and it was there that they hid. Each day they would venture out of the cave and pick berries to eat but soon the first snow fell and it became harder and harder to find food. To keep up their spirits, they played the little music box in the evening while they huddled together to keep warm. But one evening, the music box would not play and the ballerina would not dance.

Granny watched the small campfire die in the silence left by the silent music box. “Katie Ann,” she said, “you must never ever give up in your life. Always have courage and stand up for what you believe. Even when you the most frightened, if you will have courage, you will feel yourself get stronger and you will be filled with enough strength to survive.” Granny could see the hopelessness in the eyes of Alice her daughter and Katie Ann, her granddaughter.

For three days, the music box would not play and the women ran out of food as the cold winds blew and the winter came on in full force. Someone must venture out for food or we will surely die!” Katie Ann thought. “But Granny is too old and sick and mother has to take care of Granny. What will happen to us!” Big tears slid down her cheeks and her tummy rumbled with hunger.

That night as she slept, she had a strange dream. In it the ballerina came to life and danced joyfully around the cave spreading sparkling light and warmth. When she came near Katie Ann, she bent down and whispered in her ear, “Katie Ann, you can and you will!” And then the dream faded and Katie Ann awoke to the coldness of the cave. The fire had gone out. Suddenly she remembered the dream and the words of the ballerina and repeated those words to herself. “I can and I will.” She wrapped her jacket around her head and shoulders and crept out into the snowy forest. She trudged through the snow further and further and finally came to a road where carts were stopped. As she approached them, a young man came out and called to her. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I am but a little girl who is trying to find shelter and food for my aging granny and my loving mother.” With that, the people in the carts welcomed her inside their small circle and gave her a few crumbs of bread and a few drops of tea. It tasted wonderful to this hungry girl.

“We will share what we have with you so that you can take some back to your family. We are on our way to the port where a ship is waiting for all who have enough money to go aboard. It will take us to America where we will be free to have a good life! We do not have any money but we are going to go just the same. If we stay here we will all freeze or starve to death. Here’s a small bag of food.”

Katie Ann thanked them for their kindness and wished them good luck and started back through the snow. She walked for miles as her feet lost their feeling. Many times she got lost and yet she remembered the words of the ballerina – I can and I will! And each time she said those words she was filled with courage and strength. At last after hours she reached the cave to find her mother and granny desperate with fear that something bad had happened to her. When she gave them the small bag of food, they bowed their heads thanking the Lord for their small miracle. Then all hugged one another. The music box began to play without even being wound! The ballerina twirled and danced and the women in their moment of happiness grabbed each other and shouted out with delight. When they did, Katie Ann accidentally knocked over the music box which fell with a clang on the cold cave floor. “Oh no!” she cried as she stooped to pick it up. It was lying on its side but a curious thing had happened. A little hidden compartment in the base of the music box flew open and out fell an old iron key. “What is this?” exclaimed Alice. “Let me have a closer look at it,” said Granny. She turned it over and over in the moonlight that shone in from the mouth of the cave. And then she sat down on the trunk. Just then the music box began to play again and the lock on the trunk seemed to rattle. All three of the women looked at each other in wonder. Could it be? Hurriedly, Alice tried the old key in the lock of the old trunk. The lid flew open and light burst from within. It was filled with gold! A note was placed on the top of the gold coins as they glistened and shone. It read: “My darling mother, wife and daughter. I am wounded and am afraid I am going to die. I was awarded this gold by the king for bravery when I saved the lives of 100 men on the battlefield. I am entrusting this trunk to my dearest friend to bring it to you. Before I left home to go to war I hid the key to this trunk in the music box for safekeeping. I will place the gold in this trunk and hope that it reaches you in safety. Always remember how much I love you! Your devoted son and husband and father.

The three women were struck with sadness and hope all at the same time. Quickly they placed the trunk on the sled and wrapped themselves in every covering that they could find. At day break they began their long journey through the forest to the road and then down the road toward the sea in hopes of getting there in time to get aboard the ship to America. They caught up with others along the way and traveled with them from town to town using some of their gold to buy food for themselves and the others.

At last, after many weeks, they arrived at the dock. Just as they made their way up to the ticket window, a blinded soldier stuck out his hand and asked for help in finding his way. When they took a closer look they saw that he was their beloved son, husband and father. He had survived even though he was injured and could not see. They embraced him with tears of happiness flowing down their cheeks. They bought tickets for everyone and as they boarded the ship, the music box burst into music and once again the little ballerina began to dance. We are off to America where we will be safe and free and where they will make your eyes to see!