“I Don’t Want a Paralyzed Girl…” said the Daughter-in-Law and Walked Out — But She Had No Idea What …

I dont want a cripple… said my daughter-in-law, and she walked out the door. She had no idea what might happen next.

There once lived an unremarkable old man in a small English village. He had a fondness for a little tipple of gin each weekend and carried a simple dream: to have a dog, not just any mutt, but a pure-bred English Mastiff. He was ready to travel all the way to the far north if thats what it took to find the right one and bring it home.

The villagers all called him Old Henry whether it was by name or by habit, nobody really knew. Henry or Old Henry, everyone used it, and he never bothered to correct them. After tending his garden, hed sit on the bench beside his cottage, reminiscing about days gone by, sometimes joined by the local youths eager to hear his stories about how village life used to be.

His wife, Alice, had passed on years ago. She suffered from heart trouble. The doctors had forbidden her from ever having children, but Alice so dearly wanted a baby. She bore Henry a son, and afterwards her health never truly recovered. Henry loved Alice tenderly; hed do anything for her, even carrying home the smallest milk carton from the shop No, doctors said you mustnt! he would insist. Henry handled all the house chores and looked after their young son on his own.

Alice would fret, Youre embarrassing me! The other women will laugh I dont lift a finger in the house, you do it all!
But the village women didnt laugh, they were envious, saying, Oh Alice, you should lend us your Henry for a day, just to get a taste of your life!
She only smiled and kept quiet. So, still smiling, she left this world. Henry found her cold one morning and wept as only a brokenhearted man can, for days. Then, he devoted himself to raising their boy.

The lad was just heading into his teenage years fourteen, that tricky age. Later, after serving in the army, Henrys son married early and stayed where hed been stationed. So Henry found himself alone. Yet he didnt mope he enjoyed chatting with the young people on his bench.

His son had a daughter, and Henry would always hope to visit, but somehow, they never came. Lifes demands, work, one thing after another. He saw his granddaughter only in photos.

One day, villagers noticed Henry wasn’t himself gloomy as a raincloud, not joking, not smiling, not even sitting on his usual bench. They asked after him and finally found out: Henry had received a telegram. His daughter-in-law wrote that the family had been in a car accident. The granddaughter was in hospital in critical condition; Henrys son had died.

Oh, what misfortune, what sorrow! people murmured, but what could they possibly say to ease such pain? Henry accepted their condolences, but his heart was no lighter. He grieved his son but there was no bringing him back; even worse was the fate of his granddaughter lying in hospital, only fifteen, so young, life ahead of her. Henrys soul ached for her.

Whats more, he heard nothing from his daughter-in-law. She wrote no letters, ignored his telegrams, never answered the phone. How could he know how the granddaughter was doing? Hed never met her in person, but loved her all the same; judging by the photos, the girl was a spitting image of Alice in her youth.

Henry was about to set off for the city where his son had lived when right on the eve of his departure a car drew up to his cottage. Out came a woman, barging into Henrys house. At first, he didnt realise it was his sons widow, but she was followed by paramedics carrying a stretcher with his granddaughter lying motionless. They dropped her off on his sofa and left.

Shes paralysed head to toe. I dont want a daughter like this. Ive got time to remarry and have a healthy child still! the woman proclaimed.

Im not a doctor myself! Henry protested.

A doctor wont be any use. They cant help. She needs someone to look after her, and if you dont want to, just bury her alive! Im not going to ruin my life. Im not her nurse! she said, and slammed the door on her way out.

Youre not even her mother, from the looks of it! Henry shouted after her.

Now he understood why his son never came to visit with the family. With a wife like that, best steer clear of company and public outings. How did his son ever end up with such a woman? All too late to ask now. If only hed known she would turn her back on her own daughter no doubt hed roll in his grave. And so, Henry and his granddaughter were left alone.

The girl truly was totally paralysed. But Henry wasnt new to caring for others it gave his life new purpose. His one aim: heal the girl.

Doctors had washed their hands of the case discharged her from hospital, telling Henry it was a miracle shed survived at all. Her injuries were severe, virtually incompatible with life. Only old folk remedies and natural healers remained. But there were no healers in the village, and the closest was too far off. You couldnt take a paralysed child to her, nor would the old woman travel; she was much too frail.

Uncertain what to do, Henry drove every week to visit the healer, and she gave him herbs and tinctures for the girl. Thats how he treated his granddaughter. More than a year passed, and she still couldnt move a hand or leg, still lying there like a log under her blanket. She couldnt even speak properly only mumbled strange sounds.

Occasionally, Henry saw tears run down her cheek. At such moments, his heart broke. He thought she missed her mum and dad. He talked to her at length and read her stories, but she couldnt respond. They both suffered through the days.

One night, something unexpected happened. Henry was sitting by his granddaughters bedside as usual when a crowd of drunken young lads burst into the house hed forgotten to lock the front door. The gang was returning from a party and saw the lights. Knowing a paralysed girl lived there, one of them suggested they go in for a bit of fun surely she wont mind, cant resist anyhow. One kicked the door and it opened.

Right, grandad! Uncover the girl and spread her legs well draw straws to see who goes first! barked the drunkest of them.

Have mercy, lads! Shes only fifteen! pleaded Henry.

Oy, hold on, just let me brush my teeth! said Henry as he dashed into the kitchen. There he flung open the cellar and yelled, Fetch!

Out sprang a massive English Mastiff, grabbing thugs by the trousers left and right! He nearly took off the leaders privates; tore the seat out of the others pants. The drunks sprinted half-naked through the village to the roaring laughter of everyone, pursued all the way to the outskirts by the dog, who even leapt out the window in hot pursuit.

When Henry returned to the room, his granddaughter was sitting upright in bed, shouting out the window: Max! Max! Quick, granddad, grab him so he doesnt get away!

Henry was moved to tears. From that moment on, his granddaughter began to recover. Before long, she started to walk. Whether it was the healers concoctions, the shock of the wild event, or simply the will to live, nobody knew, but the girl wouldnt stop talking she was making up for lost time.

And where did the dog come from, you ask? Its simple. The mastiff Max had belonged to Henrys son, and when the tragedy struck and the son died, the heartless daughter-in-law discarded both the daughter and the pet. She brought the mastiff along with the girl, but never said a word to Henry. When she left his house, Henry went out to close the gate after her and found the dog sitting there emaciated, exhausted, its eyes mournful, real tears streaming down its face. Henry never even knew his son had a dog. Of course, he couldnt abandon his sons faithful companion to the street he took him in.

Max served Henry loyally. During that harrowing night, hed just happened to be in the cellar because the summer heat was unbearable. Henry, ever thoughtful, kept Max in the cool cellar during hot days and let him out in the evening after sunset. That night, hed simply not let him out yet; if Max had been upstairs, those hooligans would have never dared enter.

The granddaughter later told Henry that when she cried, the tears were for the dog. Henry always kept Max outside but never let him into her room. She missed him dearly, but couldnt say so.

After running off the thugs, Max returned and licked his young mistresss face in joy. Hed missed her, too. So, thats how the three of us came to carry on together: me, my granddaughter, and Max the mastiff. As for the girls mother, we never heard from her again.