Vera Rings the Hidden Door — Up in the bell loft, where cold air smelled like pine pitch and old brass, Vera zipped between two great Christmas bells with a polishing cloth in her pocket. Read the full story →
Up in the bell loft, where cold air smelled like pine pitch and old brass, Vera zipped between two great Christmas bells with a polishing cloth in her pocket. She wanted the first peal at moonrise to be so bright that every rooftop pigeon would hop. The holly trembled, the berries clicked like beads, and the wide ribbon above the bells bounced as she tugged the ropes. “Ready, big beauties?” she whispered.
The bells answered with a booming bong, bong, bong that rolled through the rafters. Vera laughed and spun, following the sound as it shook snowflakes from the high window. While she smoothed one ribbon tail, her thumb found a small round bump hidden in the knot—not a stitch, not a berry, but a button. She pressed it. Pop! A tiny door opened inside the bow, and out burst a flock of silver paper birds, each carrying one clear note in its folded beak.
The birds swooped through the loft, catching the bell-song and carrying it farther than Vera’s ropes ever could. Down the village chimneys, across the frozen fountain, over the dark train tracks, the notes flew and chimed in every mittened hand. Vera rang again, and the hidden door sent out more sparkling music. Next time you see the biggest knot above the bells, check it closely; it may still be holding one more bong, bong, bong.
