In a village far away, there was a church with a high tower. In it was a huge bell. An old man lived in a cottage near the sea and he told everyone that whenever anything special happened, the bell would ring out.
One rainy night, a little baby was found on the doorstep of the church. Father Michael picked him up and took him to his house. He put him in a large armchair in front of the fire and gave him warm milk with a spoon. As the night wore on, Father Michael fell asleep in the chair, with the baby on his lap.
He was woken up in the morning by the sound of the bell ringing out. Startled, he woke up and recollected the infant sleeping in his lap. Everyone in the village and around it heard the bell and soon there were people running to the church in hordes.
They all were curious about the ringing of the bell. When they saw Father Michael holding a baby, they were amazed.
“Who’s this, Father?” “Why did the bell ring?” “Who rang the bell?” “What are you doing with a baby?” The villagers had questions tumbling out one after another. And Father Michael had no answers, because he was as puzzled as they were, in fact.
Mrs Penty came forward. She was a motherly woman with a family of five children. She took the baby from Father’s hands.
“I’ll look after the little one, Father,” said Mrs Penty. The women of the village clustered around her. “What shall we call him?” asked one of them.
“Michael, of course!” said Mrs Penty, “This one will be little Mike!”
Little Mike grew up in the village with Mrs Penty’s children. Father Michael visited him regularly and made sure that the family always had some extra money to care for their family. In this, all the villagers helped him. They stitched clothes, made food, brought fruits and vegetables, cakes and pies, not only for little Mike, but also for the whole Penty family.
Mike was about ten years old when one day he asked Father Michael all about the day he had been found. Father told him the whole story.
“Why did the magic bell ring that morning, Father?” asked Mike, “There was nothing special that happened.”
“Oh, but it did!” exclaimed old Father Michael, “You came into our midst, Mike. And you brought so much love and kindness into the whole village! That was the real magic why the bell rang!”
