A Puppy For Penny

Penny McAllister was disappointed on her sixth birthday when she did not get the puppy for which she had asked, although, being October she knew deep down in her heart it wouldn’t be long before Santa would surely bring her one for Christmas. She had seen the disappointment on her older brother, Robbie’s face, last Christmas, when he didn’t get a fiddle, but she had been particularly good this year so there was no question in her heart that Santa would not forget her.

Doug and Irene McAllister were hard working people. Doug had been a coal miner in Glace Bay since he was fourteen years old. His Daddy and his Grampy had also worked the mines, years before him. Whatever money was left over after he’d finished work and had gone to the Legion with the boys, went to cover the rent on the small, company owned, house. Irene was fortunate to be the cleaning lady for Mr. and Mrs. Sangster, the Dominion Coal Mine Manager. Whatever Irene made went towards food and clothing for the family. Penny’s little dresses were slightly tattered and Irene had sewn numerous patches in Robbie’s breaches.

Christmas was only a couple of days away and Penny’s wishing Santa would bring her a puppy had reached a feverish pitch to the point of pleading to anyone who would listen. Finally Robbie had had enough and shouted out to Penny,

“It’s about time you grew up and realize there is no Santa.” 

Penny stopped and her mouth opened, not believing what she had just heard. Her heart was pounding and her eyes welled up and she started to cry as she ran to her mother in the kitchen. Robbie followed her and continued,

“Just look ‘round you, we’re so poor we can’t even afford a Christmas tree. If I can’t get a fiddle then there’s no way you’ll ever get a puppy.”

Irene intervened,

“Robbie, stop that right now. Look what you’ve done to your little sister.” She knelt down and hugged Penny and said,

“Don’t listen to a word he says. As long as you believe in Santa, there’s a Santa. Now,” she cautioned, “Santa cannot bring every little boy and girl in the world everything they want, but he tries his best.”

“Mom” said Robbie, “Why are you filling her mind with such garbage, she’s going to find out sooner or later. I didn’t get a fiddle and she won’t be getting a puppy.” With those words, Penny grabbed her little coat and mitts and went out into the snowy Glace Bay night, crying her eyes out.

She started running and eventually slowed down to a walk. It was a heavy, wet snow and was blanketing everything. The snow created an eerie silence and muffled everything. Penny could barely hear the odd car as it drove by her and she looked up at a street light and the snow formed a halo of light around it. She wished she had put on her little knitted hat as the snow was building up on top of her head and melting and running down her pig tails. Eventually she got to Main Street, still sobbing, and her little heart aching more with every sniffle, when she tripped over something. It moved and from underneath the mound of snow old Charlie Calkin threw off his threadbare quilt. Penny had heard of old Charlie but had never actually seen him before. He was without a home or family and many of Penny’s friends called him the bogeyman. She didn’t know what to do or where to run to when old Charlie said,

“Look at your eyes, they’re all red and puffy. What have you been crying about, my little sweet?”

“My big brother told me that there wasn’t a Santa and I wouldn’t be getting a puppy for Christmas, just like he didn’t get a fiddle last Christmas.”

“Listen, my little one, you get yourself home and don’t be listening to your big brother’s foolishness. If you believe there’s a Santa, that’s all that matters. Get along now. You shouldn’t be out in this weather. You’ll catch you’re death of cold.”

“What about you?” asked Penny

“Don’t you worry about old Charlie, I’ll be all right. Now get along and wipe away those tears.”

Christmas Eve was a quiet one. Dougie had worked the last shift before the mine closed for Christmas and had come home with more than beer on his breath. He went right up to bed to sleep it off, not even pausing to take a shower to get the blackened coal soot off his grimy face. The children hung their stockings on either side of the fireplace as Robbie grumbled that they’d be lucky if they got anything better than a lump of coal in the toe. They each went to bed after having a couple of fish cakes.

The next morning everyone awoke and Irene had decorated the mantle with a piece of holly she had cut from her snow covered garden. There was a large orange in the toe of each of their stockings and Penny got a brand new, lined scribbler with a new pencil and eraser while Robbie got a book filled with over a hundred fiddle tunes.

“This isn’t going to do me any good without a fiddle,” he grumbled

“Well you can always sign out the fiddle from school and practice it at home,” said Irene.

Penny resigned herself that she was not going to get her puppy as she spent the rest of her day practicing her ABC’s in her new scribbler. The weather outside had turned into a nor’easter and Irene was thankful the fire was on and everyone was home safe and inside.

Dinner time eventually came and Irene surprised everyone with a huge turkey, complete with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash and peas.

“How’d you afford that?” asked Dougie.

“I’ve been saving a little each week so we could have a nice Christmas dinner, and Mrs. Sangster gave me a ten dollar Christmas tip a week ago, so I put it towards the dinner. And,” she emphasised, “I bought you a six pack so you’d stay home with the family for a change.”

Just as they were all about to sit down at the table there was a knock on the door. Dougie got up and opened the door as the snow and wind blew in and old Charlie Calkin stood there with his blanket held tightly around him.

“Come in Charlie, you old fool, what on earth are you doing out in that weather?” asked Dougie.

“I’ve got something for that little girl of yours.” And with that he stepped inside and opened his snow covered blanket as a little black and white Border Collie puppy jumped onto the floor, and hearing Penny’s scream of delight, ran directly towards her and leaped into her arms, starting to lick her face before it even got settled.

Charlie looked at Robbie and said, “Are you the big brother who told his little sister not to believe in Santa?”

“Yes,” said Robbie.

Charlie opened his winter coat and pulled out an old battered fiddle and bow and said, “Here, I want you to have this. It was mine and it won me a lot of fiddling contests down in Mabou and around the Island. The arthritis has set in and I want her to go to someone who really loves her. I hope this is a lesson to you that you should never stop believing.”

Robbie’s face was aghast with every emotion joy could bring.

“Will you join us for dinner? I insist,” said Irene, as she quickly added another place setting at the table. They all sat down and held hands and said Grace.

Shortly afterwards Dougie said to Penny, “I think you should call the puppy, Creid; that means ‘believe’ in Gaelic, and so, Creid was named and became the fifth member of the family. After dinner Charlie taught Robbie how to play St. Anne’s Reel while Dougie and Irene were tapping their toes and Penny was playing fetch with her playful puppy ‘Creid’.  Dougie reached out and held Irene’s hand and said, “I’m not going to go to the Legion anymore. This family’s too precious.”

Charlie left Robbie to practice on his own and went over by the hearth to speak to Penny. His kindly, white bearded face looked at her and there was a magical twinkle in his eyes beneath his bushy eyebrows.

“Thank you Penny,” he said, “Thank you for believing. This has been my best Christmas ever.”

With that he got up, put on his coat, and wrapped his blanket tightly around him and thanked Irene for the wonderful Christmas dinner. As he went out into the blustery Glace Bay winter weather, he turned and said, “Merry Christmas to all of you.” and closed the door tightly behind him as he left.