The Cricket on the Hearth Charles Dickens - The Cricket on the Hearth is the third of Dickens's five Christmas books. It tells the story of John Peerybingle, a carrier, who lives with his young wife Dot, their baby boy and their nanny Tilly Slowboy. A cricket chirps on the hearth and acts as a guardian angel to the family. One day a mysterious elderly stranger comes to visit and takes up lodging at Peerybingle's house for a few days.