Sir Bill & Gentle Mike and the Stranger in the Barn

Sir Bill noticed him first.

A small orange cat had appeared just outside the barn door, watching the Gentlefolk Colony from a safe distance.

"Stranger," Sir Bill announced.

Gentle Mike looked up from his favorite resting spot. "Or perhaps a new friend."

Sir Bill wasn't convinced.

For several days, the little cat kept his distance. He didn't join the others for naps. He disappeared when people approached. And when Sir Bill attempted a proper introduction, the newcomer promptly hissed at him.

"I knew it," Sir Bill said. "Unfriendly."

But Gentle Mike wasn't so sure.

"Maybe he's scared."

So Mike did what Mike does best.

Nothing.

He simply began sitting nearby.

No chasing. No questions. No expectations.

Each day, the distance between them became a little smaller.

Then one afternoon, Sir Bill walked into the barn and stopped.

There was Gentle Mike, stretched out in a patch of sunshine.

And curled up beside him was the stranger.

Sir Bill quietly settled down on Mike's other side.

Perhaps, he decided, a hiss didn't always mean go away.

Sometimes it meant, I'm afraid. Please give me time.

And so the Gentlefolk Colony grew by one more friend—and Sir Bill learned something important.

We don't always know someone's story when we first meet them. Sometimes the kindest thing we can offer is a little patience and enough space for trust to find its way in.