Click, Click, Clickety-Click – Read and Print

By Rachel Dunstan Muller, copyright 2023

(Scroll to bottom for printable PDF)

Long ago, in a land of ice and snow, there was a little village, in a deep valley. As you can imagine, winters in that valley lasted a long time. Oh, but the nights were dark and cold! But the villagers kept themselves busy in their cozy little houses. They’d take turns visiting. They’d gather close together by the fire, and pass the night singing songs and telling stories. And the old grandmothers – and some of the grandfathers, too – would knit, as they listened. Click, click, clickety-click, went their knitting needles, as they turned woolen yarn into thick socks and heavy blankets, to keep everyone toasty and warm through the cold winter months.

Now, there was one old woman in the village, Ursula, who could knit twice as fast as any of the others. And the cozy things she made – soft slippers, warm woolen sweaters – were the envy of everyone. One winter’s night, the other villagers noticed that the blanket Ursula was knitting was getting unusually big. It was so big, in fact, that it took up half the room where they were gathered. There was barely enough space for the others to sit.

“Oh, Ursula,” they said. “Surely that blanket must be finished by now. Just look how big it is. Why, it’s as big as a tent!”

But old Ursula just kept knitting – click, click, clickety-click.

The next night, everyone gathered by the fire at another house. And there was Ursula again, sitting in a corner, still working on the same blanket. The other villagers had to squeeze in to fit inside the room. And as the night went on, and Ursula kept knitting, that blanket got so big that some of the villagers had to move into another room entirely. 

“Ursula! Your blanket would cover a house, it’s so big! You must be finished now!”

But the old woman just kept knitting – click, click, clickety-click.  

The very next night, there was a blizzard: howling wind and swirling snow. None of the villagers went out that night, of course. Instead, they all sat close to their own fires. But as fierce as the storm was, when the villagers listened, very carefully, they all heard the same thing coming faintly over the wind: click, click, clickety-click. Even through the storm, Ursula was still hard at work.

In the morning, after the villagers had dug their doorways free of snow, they put on their snowshoes and gathered to visit in the town square.

“Well?” someone asked Ursula. “Did you finish your blanket last night?”

Ursula shook her head. “Indeed, I did not. I couldn’t finish my blanket; I ran out of yarn.”

Well, the other villagers laughed, of course. Ursula had brought her blanket to the town square – and it was now big enough to cover three houses. But because it was Ursula, and because the other villagers loved her so much, when they were finished laughing, they each went back to their own homes and gathered up all the yarn they had – red yarn, yellow yarn, purple yarn – whatever they could find. And then they met back at the town square, and all the knitters joined together: click, click, clickety-click.

By the end of that day, all the extra yarn was gone, and that blanket was so big, it now covered half the village.

“Thank you,” Ursula told the other knitters. “I’m happy to say that this blanket is now complete.”

“But why on earth do you need such an enormous blanket?” one of the villagers asked.

“Oh, it’s not for me,” said Ursula. “It’s for the baby.”

“The baby?” said the other villagers. “What kind of baby needs a blanket that size?”

At that very moment, there was a sound like thunder, and the ground began to shake.

And then, those villagers turned to look at each other, and one by one, they began to smile.

“That’s right,” said Ursula. “Did you forget? Our neighbours are having a baby!”

The thunder got closer, and a giant appeared from behind the nearest mountain – a giant sooo big, that he blocked out half the sky.

Well, if I had seen that giant, I would have run straight into my house, slammed my door, and hid under my bed.

But the villagers didn’t run. Ursula didn’t run. She stood where she was, and waved. “Hello, Hamish!” she said to the giant. “And how is your wife? Has the little one come yet?”

The giant threw back his head – and laughed. “Oh, she’s not so little, dear Ursula. But yes, our baby daughter arrived just last night. We named her Phoebe. But she needs a proper blanket to cover her and keep her warm.”

“Now, Hamish,” said Ursula. “Didn’t I tell you I would knit you a blanket? And here it is, just as I promised.”

Hamish was so happy when he saw that great, big, warm blanket, that he clapped his hands for joy. That clap echoed across the sky like even louder thunder.

“Oh, thank you,” the giant said to Ursula. “This is just what we needed!”

“Well, of course,” said Ursula. “That’s what friends are for.”

Hamish promised that he would return again soon, to bring Phoebe to meet the villagers. Then he said his farewells and turned to go home, with the giant baby blanket slung over his shoulder.

“Goodbye,” said the villagers. “Goodbye!”

“Well, wasn’t that lovely,” one of the old grandmothers said once the giant was gone. “I’m glad Hamish’s baby has a proper blanket. But still, it’s a shame we don’t have any yarn left ourselves.”

“Not to worry,” said Ursula. “Winter’s nearly finished anyway. As soon as the spring comes, we’ll shear the sheep, and spin their wool into new yarn.”

And that is exactly what they did.

Print PDF

This story may be reproduced and used for personal or educational purposes only. Permission must be obtained from the author for public performance, reproduction or commercial use.