‘Tea Party’

“Many years ago when I was a little girl, I visited my grandmother who lived on a small ranch in Wyoming. She lived by herself, except for a very fat, gray cat named Max.

“I loved to visit her. We would sit at her red kitchen table and watch the birds at the feeder outside her kitchen window. Sometimes a deer would wander into her backyard.

“My favorite place was the big rocking chair on the porch. Wrapped in an old quilt, I would read, eat, play and dream. It was during one of my rocking chair visits that I first met the fairies.

“One evening after dinner,” Nana continued, “I went outside to sit in my chair. It was a warm, dark night, and I fell asleep. Suddenly, Max, grandmother’s cat, jumped in my lap and woke me. His fur was standing on end and he was hissing at something in the grass. Max never showed much interest in anything but eating and sleeping, so I was very surprised and a little scared.

“I couldn’t see or hear anything. Max’s hissing changed to a low, deep growl. His tail was flicking back and forth with great seriousness. Then, he jumped down and ran into the house. ‘Silly cat,’ I thought.

“I tiptoed to the edge of the porch closest to where Max had hissed. Moving very slowly, I lay down on my stomach with my chin resting on my hands. I inched closer to the edge of the porch. I turned my head so I could hear better and I heard music! Music that sounded like tiny bells ringing.”

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Wednesday: Who or what was making music under the porch?

This is a Kids’ Reading Room Classic. The series first appeared May 8-12, 2000. It will be on The Times’ website at latimes.com/kids.