Miss Stokes rarely spoke to anyone, neither smiled nor shared anything. If any of the children wished her, she would not reply. She had a fat brown cat called Boris whom she loved. Everyone in the village was a little upset with her and some of the small children were afraid of her. They thought she must be a witch!
She lived in the house at the end of the lane. Normally, it was a very busy place. Fathers would be busy coming and going, or mowing the grass on weekend. Mothers pushed prams, ran after children or rushed around to get their shopping completed. Children played cricket or football, rode on bicycles or roller skates, rolled on the grass or climbed up trees.
But when Miss Stokes and her cat came out, there was a sudden silence in the lane! She would walk down and when she had gone, the whole street would burst into activity again.
One day, as Miss Stokes was passing the house of Annie Pratt, she saw the pale face of a little boy at the window. He smiled at her and said, “Good morning, Miss Stokes.” Miss Stokes turned her face away without replying and walked on.
The next time she went past, she again saw the little boy. He wished her again, and again she walked on without replying. This went on day after day.
After a few days, Miss Stokes got used to seeing the little boy each time she went past. But one day, the boy was not in the window. Miss Stokes was surprised but walked on. She missed him.
So, she went to the house and knocked. Annie came to the door, surprised to see Miss Stokes.
“My name is Miss Stokes,” she said, “I haven’t seen the little boy at the window.”
Annie smiled. “Come in, please. That is Colin. He’s my sister’s son. He broke his leg in an accident. My sister died. Now he lives with me. He’s been ill for the last few days, so he’s in bed.”
Miss Stokes went in with Annie. Colin looked up and smiled at his visitor.
“Hello, Colin. Do you like cats? I have Boris here. Would you like to keep him for a while?” asked Miss Stokes.
“Oh, yes, Miss Stokes. I’d love that!” replied Colin.
Miss Stokes came daily to meet Colin after that and Boris stayed to play. Soon all the children lost their fear of Miss Stokes. Now she read stories to them and baked the best cakes in the village!