The Chimney Sweep’s Lucky Star

A story about a sweep who is initially frustrated at a woman for not properly paying her, that is, until he finds out the truth. The story shows the power of pausing, being curious, and ultimately empathizing with someone you may have judged. It is a story of gratitude and forgiveness.

A long time ago, back when most houses were heated by wood stoves, fireplaces, and thick brick chimneys, there was a Master Chimney Sweep named Percival Potts. Percival cleaned many of the chimneys in the houses in and around a small city to the North. A number of the houses were spread out along the countryside and Percival spent many hours traveling along back roads with his horse and wagon. Since he never knew exactly what time or for that matter, what day he would arrive at a particular house – he simply showed up and stayed until the job was done. The proprietors of the house often fed him lunch and dinner and if it got late, gave him a place to sleep for the night before continuing on in the morning.

It was steady work for Percival and he lived well enough. Through the spring, summer, and fall he was busy and then able to rest in the winter. What he liked best about the work was how he was held in high regard. You see back in those days, people thought that seeing a Chimney Sweep was good luck – so people were always very glad to see him. It was not uncommon for people to call out, “Oh look – a sweep, today is my lucky day!” It made him feel good – powerful and important. When he went into town, he always sat up tall on his wagon and raised his eyebrows with pride. He almost felt royal.

But this feeling never lasted very long. Once he left town and no longer had the smiles and well wishes, he felt lonely. And small. At the end of a long day or series of days, he often found himself sitting alone in a tavern eating a bowl of stew and sipping a pint of lager. He tended to look around to see if anyone was looking at him – smiling at him – glad to see him and considering him lucky. But more times than not, he was simply alone.

As I said, Percival’s days were fairly consistent. He drove his horse and wagon along the back roads to a house. He arrived anywhere from early morning to late afternoon, but whenever he arrived, the first order of business was to have a bite to eat. Since his clients always tended to feed him, he seldom brought food along. He had grown to be dependent on their regard for chimney sweeps. So Percival knocked on the front door and was generally greeted by a welcoming and smiling face.

After a hearty meal, he then unhooked his ladders and pulled out his brushes, and spent the next few hours rubbing, brushing, poking, and polishing the inside of the chimney, the wood stove, and the fireplace until it was nearly spotless. The owners of the house were always very impressed and grateful and paid him in either silver or food or handiwork or anything else that was of value to him. And then he would be on his way.

This happened day after day and then every now and then, he would arrive at a house with no people present. Then he had to make a decision. He either needed to stay and clean the house anyway – or he would move on and clean somewhere else, with the intention of coming back another day.

And this is precisely what happened one day when Percival had arrived at a nice old farmhouse and its owner was not at home. He could not remember the name of the old woman who lived there but he did recall that she was very generous and always paid him well. So when he arrived to see her horse and wagon gone, he decided that he would stay – clean her chimney – and then hopefully she would return by the end of his day.

So he unloaded his tools and while munching on an apple from a nearby tree – he got set up to work. He spent the rest of the afternoon on her two chimneys and fireplaces and by the end of the day, he was tired and ready for a big meal. As she was not there yet to feed him, he felt a little frustrated – packed up his tools, and then left a little sign that he had been there. He made a small star of crisscrossed pieces of straw from his broom and placed it on the clean woodstove. Then he headed back home. He stopped at a tavern in town for his dinner and when his belly was full, he figured she would pay him one day. He was not worried about it. He was sure she would settle the debt.

So he worked the rest of the year until the snows started falling. He mostly stayed at home during the winter, but when the days began to warm again – he returned to his work as a Sweep.

As another season began he started from one side of the country and slowly made his way to the other – house by house. Neighborhood by neighborhood. Soon he came to the same road that led to the old woman’s house. He remembered how he had cleaned her chimney thoroughly and left her the broom straw star but had never followed up with her about the payment. He felt frustration as he recalled this and wondered why the woman never came to him to offer payment – but his concern didn’t last long. He felt sure that they could settle things this year.

He continued down the road and when he arrived it was late morning and almost time for lunch. He pulled his wagon in and looked around for the woman’s wagon and horse – but didn’t see one. He frowned and thought to himself – could it be that she is gone again? He hopped out and went to the front door. He wondered for a moment if perhaps the woman had moved and the house was empty. He knocked on the door and then opened it.

“Hello?” he called. There was no answer so he stuck his head inside. He smelled porridge and butter and boiled cream. Well, the old woman was clearly here for breakfast but now she was gone and he was faced with the same decision he faced a year ago: should he stay and do the work or should he press on.

He walked back to his wagon to consider the matter. He remembered that the woman’s two chimneys were very dirty last year so clearly they would be dirty again this year. If he moved on he would need to come back and that would probably waste a day’s work on extra travel. He nodded to himself and went to pull down the ladder. One more time – he thought to himself – and this time he would remember to follow up on the payment.

And so – with a belly that was hungry for lunch, he got to work. By dinnertime, he was finished and ready for a big meal. But just like the year previous, she was not there – so he made yet another broom straw star and placed it on the wood stove. Feeling a little resentful and hungry, he stopped at a tavern for dinner. And then, after a few days, he forgot – again - all about the woman and retrieving his payment.

Well then – another year passed and the man once again found himself traveling down the same road once again. This time he remembered before he arrived and decided that he would just pass by. If she was in, then he would inquire about his payment. If she was not – well, that would be the last time he would come. He figured that if she really wanted his services, then she would at least pay him for the last two years first. The more he thought about it, the more he found himself in a snit.

When he arrived to see that her wagon and horse were there, he was determined to give her a piece of his mind. He pulled the wagon to the side and then hopped out. He was going to tell her that he was not used to people taking advantage of his work and that he hoped she had some of his payment ready before he did anymore. He stepped hard up to the front door and gave it a solid knock. He waited a few seconds and was about to knock again when the door opened. Percival opened his mouth to start his speech but was surprised to see a young woman rather than the old woman he thought lived there.

“Oh” he said trying to make sense of the situation.

“I suppose You were expecting Marie,” said the young woman.

“Eh, Marie?” asked Percival blinking now in confusion.

“My grandmother – this was her house,” she said with a look that was both calm and a little sad.

“You say this was her house – does she no longer live here?” asked Percival.

“Well…” said the young woman looking down, “I’m afraid she passed away a few months ago.”

“Oh my” said Percival who now felt terrible about his earlier temper, “I am so sorry.”

“Thank you,” said the young woman who then smiled sadly and looked back up, “Is there something that I can do for you?”

“Well – I – my name is Percival ma’am and I clean the chimneys”. But before he could say anything more the woman suddenly looked bright and held out her hands,

“Oh, you are the sweep!” she said, “Yes – my grandmother has something for you.”

Then the woman turned around and went inside and called to him, “Please come in – I – just need to find the … oh, here it is.” Percival stayed where he was with his hat in his hands and smiled a confused smile when she returned.

“She wanted you to have this,” said the woman who handed him a small leather pouch. He looked at the bag and saw that a straw-colored star had been embroidered on the front. A star just like the ones he left on her woodstove the past two years. He took the pouch and could feel from the weight that it contained coins.

“She hoped that would be enough, but if it isn’t – I can pay you the rest.”

Percival held the small bag in his hands and didn’t even check – he was feeling so confused and even embarrassed that he did not immediately answer.

“She felt so badly that she wasn’t here when you cleaned the chimney – you were so kind to go ahead and clean them anyway. It just – well, you might know that my grandmother was a nurse”

Percival looked at her and said, “No, I didn’t”

“Yes,” said the young woman, “And I’m sure you know the small hospital in town – well there has been sickness across the land and many people needing help. Well, for the last few years she has been spending all her time there. Too much time I think. And well, she was hardly ever here and just never managed to pay you. She knew that you would be back and wanted to make sure you felt compensated for your work.”

Percival again looked at the bag in his hands and then held it back out to the woman. “I can’t take this,” he said softly.

“But – why not? is it not enough?” asked the woman looking a little worried.

“No – it's just that your grandmother was working hard – helping people and … I just don’t feel right taking her money.”

“Oh but you deserve it,” said the woman, “And she says you are very good at what you do. A lucky star, she said. Please, it was important to my Grandmother that you be paid.”

Percival sighed. A lucky star is what she called him. He did not feel like a lucky star in that moment – not at all. He frowned a little and took a breath. He wanted to do the right thing and wasn’t sure what that was. The woman was so insistent, however, that he nodded his head and put the bag in his pocket.

“May I clean your chimney while I’m here?” he asked humbly.

“Oh,” said the woman with a look of surprise, “Well, I guess we should…”

“If I may…” said Percival quietly, “I would like to clean it as a gift. In her memory”

The woman looked at Percival and seemed to study him for a moment. Then she smiled and said, “That is very generous – thank you”

Percival nodded his head and went back to his wagon. He stayed for the rest of the day and when she offered him dinner, he politely declined.

“I’ll swing by again next year and then we can look at those chimneys again.”

“Thank you,” said the woman who smiled a warm grateful smile. Percival smiled too, though his smile was still a little sad.

The entire ride home he thought about the old woman – though he never really knew her. He imagined her working long hours in the hospital helping the sick however she could. He was disappointed in himself for making such a fuss earlier and feeling so stingy about his payment. By the time he got home, he resolved to make a few changes.

The following morning Percival made his first stop at the hospital in town. He took his hat off and walked inside. It was a big room with beds along each side and he saw two nurses making their rounds. As soon as he stepped in he felt many eyes on him. The patients in their beds saw him and smiled and a few of the patients sat up and pointed. He heard one of them say,

“A sweep – well, this is my lucky day!”

As I said before, this was not uncommon for Percival to hear when he was in town. Seeing a chimney sweep was considered lucky so he always got delighted smiles and people wanting to shake his hand – but today, it all seemed strange to him. Lucky star, the woman called him. Why was he considered lucky – he wondered. What do they see?

So he stood still at the front of the meager hospital and looked at all the smiling faces. They were bandaged and some of them could barely sit up, and yet they were smiling … at him.

One of the nurses came over to him and asked, “Well, this is a nice surprise – you have certainly raised spirits here this morning. Can I help you with something?”

Percival looked at the nurse and thought of the old woman. He looked humbly down at the floor and then pulled out the small purse with the yellow star that was filled with silver.

“This is for you – for the hospital”

The nurse frowned in confusion and then slowly opened the purse. When she saw the silver she looked back up at Percival and said, “You are giving this to us?”

“Not me,” said Percival quickly, “It is… from a friend”

“Well,” said the nurse with a wide grin, “I hope you tell your friend that he has done a very great service to us. We weren’t sure how to purchase some needed medicine and … well, now we can. We are very very grateful” Then the nurse bowed slightly to him. “You are our lucky star.”

“Not me,” he said again as he stepped back “I am only delivering it…” Then Percival looked back at all the beds and the smiling patients. Lucky star, he thought again. Then it occurred to him that he just might be able to be lucky after all.

“But - I’m wondering…” he said softly, “Would it be possible to come back sometime … perhaps I could help here. Anything you need.”

“Oh,” said the woman with some surprise, “Well… we can always use help – there is much to do here and often not enough hands”

“I’ll be back,” said Percival nodding his head, “I have some chimneys to clean but – maybe later today – I’ll come back.” Then Percival smiled. It was his first smile in what seemed like a long time.

As he turned to go he felt a wash of warmth through his body. He felt different, he felt filled with energy like he was doing something very important. And as he approached his wagon he turned to look back at the hospital. He took a big breath and thought about all the sick and injured inside and how they seemed so happy to see him. He thought about the old woman who served them for long hours every day – the old woman who was now gone and even after her death made sure that he was paid for his work. And he thought about the young woman and her kind smile. He nodded his head as he imagined coming back to the hospital at the end of the day and then realized what it was he was feeling: gratitude. He was feeling thankful to the hospital, to the old woman, and to the young woman for giving him a chance to help those who really needed – well, a lucky star.