The Picture of Dorothy Gray
There was once an old, rich woman named Dorothy Gray. She was the most rotten, unkind, and heartless woman in the small, quaint town of Littleblossom New Hampshire, and her face showed it. She had a twisted, wrinkly, menacing face with a snaggletooth and a crooked nose. She never gave a cent of her money away to charities, she never offered help to anyone, and she yelled at children if they came knocking on her door selling cookies. Now one dreary, rainy day in April, Dorothy was relaxing in her house when a knock came to her door. Dorothy groaned and went to her door, prepared to yell at the little brat behind the door. But when she opened the door, she did not find a child or a charity worker.
She saw a beautiful angel, with feathery wings of white, and robes that shone like diamonds. The angel floated down and began to talk to her: “Mrs. Gray, throughout your lifetime you have always been unkind to people; the Lord has recognized this. You have 1 more year of your life left, and if you can do 100 acts of kindness over this year, you will be given another chance at life. If you fail, however, you will die and go to hell.” With that, the angel snapped his fingers and a portrait appeared of an ugly old crone with quite the likeness to herself. The angel continued: “For every act of kindness you do, you will see a change in the portrait’s appearance. The portrait will look younger for every act you do.” Mrs. Gray nodded, and the angel slowly disappeared, leaving the portrait hanging on her wall.
Shaken by her experience, Dorothy decided she would go for a walk down to the grocery store to get the feeling off of her shoulder. As she walked by the old barber shop, she felt a tug on her skirt. She looked down, and there on the sidewalk was a poor old man, in peasant’s clothing with an unshaven face holding out a tin cup. Dorothy was about to yell at him for pulling on her skirt, but remembering the angel’s words, she gave him a friendly smile and dropped $2 in his cup. The old man gave her a smile back and said “thank you.” Dorothy walked on in shock that somebody had smiled at her and said kind words. It had felt wonderful!
She finally got to the grocery store and entered. As she walked to the fruit section, she saw an older woman with dyed bleach blonde hair drop all of her fruit onto the floor. Dorothy normally would have walked on and pretended not to notice, but today she felt different- the kind words and smile had made her feel good about herself. So she walked over to the woman, helped her up, and then helped her pick up her fruit. As the woman got up, Dorothy saw that the lady was Mrs. Cradhapper, her enemy.
Dorothy felt a spark of rage inside of her; she wanted to pick up the basket and throw it on the ground again. Cradhapper and Dorothy had hated each other since 1st grade, when they had had a crush on the same boy, Roberto Cradhapper. In the end, Cradhapper had married the boy, and lived happily ever after. Cradhapper looked at Dorothy and sneered, “Thanks a lot, Gray. Now that you’ve contaminated my fruit with your filth, I have to get new ones. GOOD BYE.” And without one kind word, Cradhapper stalked off. Dorothy, for the first time in her life, felt hurt. She felt unappreciated after being talked to so kindly before.
She paid for her groceries and quickly went home. As she prepared her chicken parmesan dinner, she thought about how terrible the girl scouts must feel when their cookie offers were rejected. Dorothy knew that tomorrow was cookie day, and that the girl scouts would knock on her door. She decided that she would buy 10 boxes of cookies, and later on in the day, make a large donation of $10,000 to fund the girl scouts campaign. After she had eaten, she checked on the portrait. It now had a kind smile on it's face, and the snaggletooth was gone. She went to bed feeling cheerful and confident about her next act of kindness, despite her feeling towards being rejected in the supermarket.
The next day, she sat by her door, waiting for the girl scouts to come. But as a girl wearing a girl scout uniform with green eyes and long, brown braids came up near her door, another girl with black hair and blue eyes, who was slightly taller than the first girl scout said: “Don’t even bother, Jilly. She just yells at us to go away.” So Jilly turned around and started to leave, head hung low and braids sagging. Dorothy was horrified. Was she really that terrible?!?
Dorothy flung open her door and cried out, “Wait! Come back! I want to buy some! Please!” Jilly gave her friend a look and walked back to the door. She smiled a beautiful smile and asked, “What type of cookies would you like, Ma’am? We have chocolate fudge, mallowcreme, and butterscotch ripple.” Dorothy thought for a moment, and then replied, “5 boxes of each, please.” Jilly looked shocked. Dorothy gave her the money and told her to come again next week.
After Jilly and her friend left, Dorothy walked down to the Girl Scouts Headquaters to speak with their leader, Jen. Jen was Jilly’s mom, and was a big woman with a bulldog face and husky build. She had thin black hair that was cut very short, and looked like a drill sergeant. However, she was very surprised to see who she thought to be the crankiest woman in town standing in her office.
“What do YOU want?” asked Jen. “I wanted to make a donation of $10,000 to fund any girl scouts campaigns,” replied Dorothy. At this, Jen’s jaw dropped open. “Your kidding,” said Jen. “You HAVE to be kidding!!!” “Nope,” Dorothy said, as she signed the check. “Here you go.” “We can’t accept that!!!” exclaimed Jen. “I insist,” replied Dorothy.
With that, Dorothy left and went home, feeling very pleased with herself. When she got home, she got a call from the mayor, asking her to come to the town center the next day. Dorothy was worried; was she in trouble? Had Cradhapper reported her for a past experience? What was happening? Dorothy tossed and turned all night, and had bad dreams about Cradhapper. In the dreams, Cradhapper laughed at her and scorned her, and made her feel small.
The next morning, Dorothy woke up very shaken. She ran to the picture to check it. It now had a straighter back and a slimmer figure. She got dressed in her best business suit, which was a soft lilac with a white lace trim, and hurried to the town center. When she arrived, she saw that there were food tables all around, and that a large crowd had gathered around a podium. There were streamers hung from lampposts, and the fanciest of foods were being served. The whole lawn looked like some kind of gala event, except for what everyone was wearing.
When she stepped out, the mayor called her over to the podium. He spoke into the microphone and said: “Today we are here to honor a very generous woman named Dorothy Gray. She made a wonderful gift to our Girl Scouts; TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS TOWARD ANY OF THEIR PROJECTS!!! A young girl scout named Jilly came and informed me of this; Jilly, please come out and tell everyone what you think about Mrs. Gray.”
Jilly raced out of the crowd, hair flowing around her shoulders, and climbed up onto the podium. “I first thought that Mrs. Gray was really mean, mostly because of what my friend Lucy told me. I had never worked Mrs. Gray’s side of town until then, and Lucy told me she would just yell at me to go away. But as I turned, she called out and said she wanted to buy some cookies. She then bought 15 boxes of our cookies. I was shocked, and I told Lucy she was silly to think that Mrs. Gray was mean.
When I got home from school the next day, my mom, who is the leader of my girl scout troop, said that someone had come into the office and had made a $10,000 donation towards any of our projects. We had been saving money to go to Disney Land in the summer, and thanks to Mrs. Gray’s generous donation, we can. I think that Mrs. Gray is a wonderful person, and I told my mom that she should get an award. So my mom called the mayor, and he agreed that she should get an award. So Mrs. Gray is getting her name on a trophy that is going to be put in our town hall that says “Most Generous Donation” on it, and she is also invited to come to Disney Land with us in the summer.”
Dorothy, all the while, had been standing off to the side of the podium with a shocked expression on her face. HER? AN AWARD??? THAT WAS CRAZY! With that, a trophy was brought out and the crowd followed the mayor inside the town hall, where the trophy was placed on the middle shelf. The middle shelf was always the most looked at when people visited the town hall. Dorothy felt very proud that her trophy was going to be the first seen.
Dorothy stayed at the afterparty for a little while, enjoying some shrimp and chicken. She got tired very quickly, and decided to walk home. As she walked home, she saw a lady, much older than herself, stop and sit on a bench. The old woman put her bag down by her feet when she started to rest, and was soon asleep. As she slept, a man snuck up on her and grabbed her purse. Dorothy was horrified! What a terrible thing to do! She immediately called for help. “Stop that man!!!” she screamed. “He stole that woman’s purse!!”
She chased after him, and though her legs were tired, she knew that she had to get the lady’s purse back. She cut through an antique storefront and cut the man off as he rounded the corner. She grabbed a stick from off the ground and started beating the man with it, until he was unconscious. By this time, the police had been flagged down and were surrounding the criminal. They put him in handcuffs and gave Dorothy the purse. She thanked the police and walked back to the old woman, who was awake.
The old woman gave Dorothy a kindly smile. “Thank you so much,” the woman said. “I was taking my daughter’s diamond necklace home from the cleaners, and I was very tired. My daughter would have been heartbroken if the thief got away with those- they were a gift from her late father.” “I insist you come back to my house for a cup of tea,” said Dorothy. “You need to take a load off before you continue your journey, and my house is only a block away, on Appletree Lane.” “Oh, thank you,” said the old woman. “By the way, my name is Claire Herridence.”
It was a pleasant walk home for Dorothy and Claire; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the dogwood trees along the side of the road were just starting to blossom their soft pink flowers. The wind was just strong enough to blow some of the blossoms through the air. Dorothy smiled and said, “This one is my house, Claire.” “My, what a beautiful house you have!” exclaimed Claire, goggling on at the huge yellow mansion with fountains surrounding it. “Thanks!” said Dorothy with a smile. She brought Claire inside and sat her down in the fancy parlor.
Claire was stunned at how beautiful everything was; from the silk drapes down to the oak floors, everything was perfect. The deep purple couches set off the lilac footstool perfectly, and the oak bookshelves matched the floor. When Claire sat down on the couch, she felt like she was in heaven. The couch was as soft as a cloud! She looked around while she waited for Dorothy.
Meanwhile, Dorothy was in the kitchen, preparing earl grey tea and sugar cookies for her friend and her. She brought the food out on a shining, freshly polished silver tray. “My, that does look good!” said Claire. “Why thank you!” said Dorothy, as she poured the steaming tea into the cups. “Cookie?” she asked. “Yes please,” replied Claire. The two sat and drank their tea with cookies while they talked. Finally, at 5:00, Claire said, “I really must be going, or my daughter will start to worry. I’ll see you around, and thank you for the lovely snack!” And so Claire left, and as she walked home, she thought to herself: “What a wonderful lady. She must have many friends, as she is so kind!”
Dorothy liked having a friend. It was nice to have someone to talk with over tea, to have someone to wave goodbye to, to have someone to walk home with. She was starting to see the benefits of being kind. Every Monday, Dorothy and Claire would get together for tea and talk until 5. That is, until the end of May. One Monday, Claire did not come over for tea. Dorothy got worried, and went to call on her house.
A distraught young woman in her twenties opened the door, sobbing. She had copper red hair that was curly all down her back, and big green eyes. When Dorothy asked about Claire, the woman cried even harder. “C-come innnnnn,” sobbed the woman. “My n-name is V-v-valerie, and-d Claire was my m-m-mom…..” “Wait. WAS??” cried Dorothy. “Sh-she died last night of a heart attack,” cried Valerie. Dorothy felt a stab. How could this be? Her first and only friend, dead!?
Dorothy started to cry. She fell to her knees on the carpeted floor and looked up to the sky. “WHY!?” she screamed. She got up, still sobbing, and asked, “When and where is the funeral?” “It is in Gratenbaum Cemetery, tomorrow at 5,” said Valerie. Dorothy nodded. She would definitely be there. Dorothy walked home feeling sick to her stomach and very sad. Claire had been the best friend that Dorothy had ever had, even since her childhood. She had understood her, and had talked with her. Dorothy went straight to her picture, and looked up at it. It had changed a little more; the woman's hair was now long and down her back. Dorothy went to bed early that night.
The next day, Dorothy got up and dressed herself in a long, black dress. She hung her head and walked slowly towards the church for the service before the burial. When it was time for the eulogy, Dorothy stood up. She hadn’t known Claire long, but she still wanted to tell the town what she thought about her. She got up and began her speech:
“Claire Herridence was the closest thing that I had ever had for a friend. She was a wonderful woman, and was patient. If you needed someone to talk to, she would sit and listen to you for hours, even if it seemed like an endless rant. If you were feeling down and needed a shoulder to cry on, Claire was there for you. She was willing to take the time out of her day to help people, even though to others it seemed like a pointless waste. On top of all this, Claire was also a passionate and caring mother and wife. She was known to be shy, tender, and loving. She will be deeply missed.”
With this, Dorothy bowed her head low, and the rest of the church followed suit. Everyone filed into one straight line to pay their final respects to Claire. Then, the pall bearers lifted the coffin upon their shoulders, and marched out of the church towards the graveyard. The rest of the procession followed.
The skies were gray and the wind howled as the town slowly walked towards the cemetery. It started to rain lightly, and as they walked, the rain grew heavier, until it was a full blown rainstorm. Everyone pulled out umbrellas as they stood around the grave. The coffin was slowly lowered in. Everyone threw flowers onto the coffin, and then 2 rugged looking men with unshaven faces began putting the dirt on top of the coffin.
Dorothy walked slowly home, even though it was raining. As it got dark, she began to hurry. She didn’t want to lose her way in the middle of a thunderstorm. As she passed an abandoned house, she heard a loud squeal. She stopped short, not sure of what she had heard. That house had stood for 20 years without anyone living in it, and she hadn’t heard a peep of noise coming from it.
Dorothy went up to the gate of the house to investigate the noise. The thunder boomed in the distance. She heard the squeal again, from off to the left. As she walked towards the noise, a flash of lighting illuminated the yard and showed a small kitten stuck in the thorns growing against the gate. Dorothy rushed over to it. The poor thing was skin and bones, and was cut up and scratched everywhere. Dorothy knew she had to do something, or else it would die. She talked softly to the kitten, and promised to be back soon.
Dorothy went home and got a pair of weed choppers from her garage. Then, she hurried back to the abandoned house. She went along the fence to where the kitten was, and began to hack at the thorns. Soon, the kitten came loose. Dorothy took her shawl and wrapped the kitten in it to warm it up. Then, she walked through the rain to get the kitten back to her house.
When she got in, she gave the kitten a bath and washed out its cuts with disinfectant. She groomed its tangled fur, and fed it some tuna. As the cat ate, Dorothy looked at it from all different angles. “You need a name,” she said to the cat. She sat and thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I have it! I’ll call you Miracle, since it’s a miracle you survived.” She cuddled the cat in her arms. “Of course, tomorrow I’ll have to take you to get your shots, and buy you a collar, leash, and bed, and…..”
So as Claire passed out of Dorothy’s life, Miracle slipped in. She was the love of Dorothy’s life, and was just as patient as Claire. She, too, would sit and listen to Dorothy’s rambles, and she was there when Dorothy felt down. On top of all this, every girl scout that came up to Dorothy’s door wanted to come in and pet Miracle. Soon, Dorothy had made 8 new friends from the girl scout troop: Lucy, Jilly, Anne, Mari, Jane, Kaylie, Issy, and Bella. Dorothy was happy to have friends again, and the Disney Land trip was quickly approaching.
It was now early July. Dorothy and Miracle had been doing good. Miracle was very healthy now, and had full figure. She was constantly running around the house, keeping Dorothy on her toes. They would take walks in the park on nice days, and stay home and rest on the dreary ones. The portrait kept getting prettier every day, it now looked like a ravishing young woman in her forties. It was a nice day, and the girl scouts were due to be selling cookies at any minute. Dorothy was all set with her money and was waiting by the door.
Mari came skipping up to the door. She was a small little girl, with short brown hair and brown eyes. Small freckles outlined her cheeks. She bounced up to the door and said, “No cookies today, Mrs. Gray! I came to tell you we are leaving for Disney Land tomorrow, so that you could pack tonight.” “Wonderful!” exclaimed Dorothy. “Also,” Mari went on, “My mom says she’ll watch Miracle while we are away.” “OK,” said Dorothy. “I’ll be ready tomorrow at 11!”
Dorothy was excited about the trip. She had never left New Hampshire before. She went to her room and pulled a carpet bag from her closet. “What to pack, what to pack,” she hummed to herself as she flipped through her clothes. She found her swimming suit and cap, and packed them into her suitcase. She also packed a pretty floral dress, and shorts and a tee shirt. Then, she packed her toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, and deodorant. She snapped shut her carpet bag and smiled to her self.
Then, Dorothy picked up Miracle and put her on her leash. She locked her door and started off for Mari’s house. The sun beat down on their back as they walked. As they cut through the park, Dorothy heard the ice cream man’s bell and stopped to get her and Miracle a treat. Miracle got a plain vanilla ice cream in a cup, and Dorothy got a small butterscotch sundae.
After they finished their treats, Dorothy and Miracle walked two blocks to Mari’s house. “Thank you for watching her,” Dorothy told Mari’s mother. “Oh, it’s nothing,” said Mari’s mom. “You just go and have a great time!” “I will,” said Dorothy. Then, she said goodbye and started to walk home.
It got dark fast, so Dorothy hurried her pace. When she got home, she ate a salad and steak for dinner, took a shower, and then went to bed early. She wanted to be ready for the long plane trip tomorrow. Her dreams no longer haunted her- she felt wonderful for the first time in a long while. She had friends, a wonderful pet, she was healthy, and she had enough money to support her for a long, LONG time.
The next morning, the taxi came to get her from her house. Dorothy grabbed her carpet bag and hopped in. The taxi took her to the airport, where she met up with the girl scouts and Jen. Dorothy had never been on a plane before. She had been born in Littleblossom, and had never left. She felt very young at heart as she stepped into the plane. Soon, the plane took off, and was flying high in the air above New Hampshire.
The entire flight took about 9 hours. Jilly wanted to sit next to Dorothy the whole way. It was nice to talk to Jilly; she was a kind-hearted, friendly and polite young girl. They got into many games of Hangman, and then ended up reading to each other and to themselves. Dorothy preferred to read the Bible, while Jilly was full absorbed in Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery books. (Dorothy also discovered the hard way that she gets airsick very easy.)
When the plane landed, it was about 10:00 p.m. and everyone wanted to get to the hotel. The hotel was one inside Disney Land, and it had a late night spa. Jen insisted the girls get to bed, but Dorothy said she’d catch up to them at their rooms. She wanted to try the late night spa to relax her after the long flight. When she went in, she saw clean, fluffy white robes hanging on the wall. There were also fresh swimsuits for people looking to use the hot tub.
Dorothy signed in on the guest book, and then changed into a swimsuit. She went over to one of the hot tubs and climbed in. It felt like heaven on her back. She laid back her head and let the water soothe her for 30 minutes. Then, she got out of the hot tub and got into one of the fluffy robes. She went over to the massage booth, and got a wonderful back massage. She paid the masseuse, and then went up to her room. She had never felt better, the late night spa had really done her good.
Dorothy was awakened in the morning by the sound of 8 excited, giggly little girls. She hopped up out of bed and got dressed in her shorts and tee. She was ready to go on some of the rides with the girls. The first thing the girls wanted to do was get their photos taken with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. However, this would mean crossing the entire park. Dorothy said she didn’t want to walk the whole park, so she would stay behind and relax at the hotel.
The girls and Jen sprang off towards Mickey and Minnie Mouse’s house, promising to be back in an hour to go on rides with Dorothy. In the mean time, Dorothy decided to swim in the hotel’s pool. The water was crystal clear, and got deeper as you went. It was cool and refreshing on a hot day like it was. Dorothy was just getting used to the water when she heard a scream from the other side of the pool.
The scream came from a young woman, maybe 26 years old. She cried, “MY CHIDL WILL DROWN!!!!! SHE IS IN THE DEEP END AND CAN’T SWIM!!!! SOMEONE, PLEASE! HELLLLLPPPPPP!” Dorothy saw the little girl. She was about five with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was struggling in the water and started to go under. Dorothy panicked and swam with all her might to the other end of the pool.
The little girl went under. Dorothy took a final gasp of breath, and dove under after her. She saw the girl open her mouth and sink towards the bottom of the pool. Dorothy swam hard and reached her just in time. She pulled her up to the surface, and swam her to the side of the pool. The mother ran over, screaming in joy. “Oh, thank you!” she gasped. “You’re welcome,” replied Dorothy with a smile.
“Now, to enjoy the pool,” Dorothy thought to herself. She started out with a nice, casual back float, and then went into a dead man’s float. To finish up the last bit of her time she had left, she doggy paddled back and forth down the length of the pool. She then got out and dried off in her regular clothes before the scouts got back.
When the girls got back, they were bubbling with excitement. They all started talking at once, describing how they met Mickey and Minnie, and what it was like in their house, and all of the details. Finally, they flooded around her and asked, “What ride do you want to go on?” Dorothy didn’t quite know how to answer THAT question. She smiled and said, “What ever you’d like to go on works for me.”
They then proceeded to go on Space Mountain, Mt. Everest, The Haunted Mansion, and finally, Splash Mountain. Jen, who got crabby after getting wet on Splash Mountain, grumbled that they had to get back to the hotel room to rest up before their flight home the next day. Dorothy was very happy, and also very worn out. By the time she had eaten a quick McDonald’s meal and changed into her PJ’s, she felt ready to
collapse.
The next morning, the hotel room was a bustle as everyone hurried to get dressed and pack their clothing into their suitcases and carpet bags. They got into a cab and were soon at the airport. Jilly went up to Jen and whispered something to her. Jen nodded, and then walked over to Dorothy. She said, “Dorothy, the girls very much enjoyed having you along, and wanted to know if you would become an honorary member of their troop. That means you would organize the events they earn money for, such as this trip.”
Dorothy was amazed. A business offer!? But she was so old… but then again, the girls were so sweet, how could she resist? She knew they would be heartbroken if she said no. So she nodded her head and said, “I agree. I will be an honorary member of the Littleblossom Girl Scouts.” Jilly and her troop cheered loudly for her. Then, their flight number was called, and they all boarded the plane, all of the little girls laughing and screaming.
The months passed quickly for Dorothy. When she was reunited with Miracle, she hired Mari’s mother as a cat-sitter so she could focus more on her Girl Scout activities. She had them saving money so that they could make a trip to Hawaii the next year. Any holidays were spent with the troop. Dorothy really felt like she was one of the girls. She liked Jilly the most out of all the scouts, though. The picture hadn't been looked in in a long time, Dorothy had almost forgotten about it.
Soon, April came again. Dorothy was dreading the angel’s next visit. She was worried that she hadn't done enough good deeds. She was nervous about what the angel would say to her. Soon, there came a knock on her door. Dorothy slowly walked to the door. She opened it, and there was the angel. He smiled at her and said, “Look at your picture." Dorothy shook her head. "No, I don't want to," she protested. The angel looked calmly at her and said again, "Look at your picture." Dorothy turned to look at her picture, and suddenly slumped to the floor in a faint.
“Dorothy! Dorothy, get up!” 18 year old Dorothy Gray sat up in her bed. Her mother was standing over her, looking cross. “You’ll be late for your painting!” she shrieked. Dorothy shook her head. “I need some time to think,” she said. “I had a very strange dream, and right now, I think I should call some people. They need a good, long, heartfelt apology.”
Dorothy Gray went on to become the nicest woman the town had ever known. In her old age, she made kind gestures to the Girl Scouts and became an honorary member. She lived a long and happy life along with her cat, Miracle. She died at age 96. In her will, she left her money and house to a girl named Jilly Parker, whom she said was "the nicest little girl you could ever meet". Jilly later went on to become the governor of New Hampshire.
The moral of this story is:
Bad gets you nowhere. Being nice gives you benefits. Always try to lend a hand and be kind whenever you see a chance.
