The Intrusion

“Time to get up, Mary,” Nanny had come into the room, stoked up the fire, and opened the curtains.

“Oh, Nanny, can I just have five more minutes?” Mary was begging.

Suddenly, soot came rushing down the chimney, and the room filled with smoke. Nanny was about to mess with the flue when a boy fell out of the chimney into the fire. Mary screamed and clutched the bedcovers to her chest.

“Yee-ouch!!!” The boy hollered. He jumped out of the fire, knocking over the fireguard and the fire tools, and jumped entirely out of his right shoe. His jacket was burning, so he yanked it off, throwing it down, and ran for the window.

Nanny grabbed his jacket and, shaking it at him, chased him to the window, “Young man, come back here and apologize, you ill-mannered lout!!”

The boy just turned, waved, and jumped out the window.

Nanny looked at the mess the boy had created sliding down the chimney and groaned. She rang the bell for the housegirl to come upstairs and clean the mess up.

“Who do you think he was, Nanny?” Mary was asking.

“Just some ruffian that you will never see again, Mary. Now get up and get dressed,” Nanny responded.

So Mary got up and dressed. Nanny helped the housegirl clean up the mess, and everyone proceeded as if nothing had happened.

That evening, when Mary’s father came in, he brought someone in with him and hollered for Mary and Nanny to be brought down. When they got downstairs, Mary’s father said, “Meet Christopher, Mary; he’s going to be staying with us.”

Mary squealed.

Nanny fainted dead away.

Standing beside Mary’s father was the ruffian that had caused such a commotion this morning.