The Cricket on the Hearth

The Cricket on the Hearth is the third in a series of five stories that Dickens wrote for the festive season. The title creature is a barometer of life at the home of John Peerybingle and his much younger wife, Dot. When things go well, the cricket on the hearth chirps; it is silent when there is sorrow. Tackleton, a jealous old man, poisons John's mind about Dot, but the cricket, through its supernatural powers, restores John's confidence in life and in the season of giving.