Matilda’s Farm Bell

Matilda and Gwen help Farmer May tidy the visitor yard before a group arrives. May puts a small handbell on the low wooden bench. She will ring it when it is time for everyone to gather beside the gate.

A gust lifts the corner of their cleaning cloth and sends it sliding across the bench. Matilda catches the cloth, but the bell is no longer where May left it. A faint ringing comes from somewhere close by.

Gwen looks through the fence at the sheep, wondering whether one has a bell on its collar. May explains that none of these sheep wears a bell. The sound must be coming from something in the visitor yard.

They stand still and listen instead of calling over each other. Another gust moves the empty bucket beneath the bench. There is a soft clink, followed by the same brief ringing they heard when the bell first disappeared.

Matilda crouches beside May and looks into the bucket without moving it. The little handbell is lying on its side at the bottom. When the wind rocks the bucket, the bell rolls against the metal and makes its unexpected sound.

May steadies the bucket while Matilda lifts out the bell by its handle. Gwen finds a shallow wooden tray for the bench. They put the bell inside it, where it cannot roll off when another gust catches their cloth.

The visitors arrive as the girls finish folding the cloth and putting their cleaning things away. May asks Matilda to ring the recovered bell. Its clear sound brings everyone together beside the gate, ready to hear about the farm.

“The sheep were our first guess,” Gwen whispers, “but the bucket gave us a better clue.” Matilda smiles and returns the bell to its tray. She is glad they listened carefully before searching the whole field for something nearby.