There once was a young girl who lived in residence at the Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg. One day while walking to class she heard a mournful sound — like a child crying.

She followed the sound to a knoll near the woods and found a young man playing a gold handbell. When he saw her listening to him play he offered her his hand and asked her to come and live with him. She agreed.

The next year the young girl returned to her dorm to fetch some of her things and assure her friends that she was all right. Her dorm mate saw that she was swollen with a child and urged the young girl to stay, if only for the child’s sake. But the young girl replied, “I cannot stay, I must return, if I wish to hear my child cry.” 

The friend urged her to stay and visit, just for the afternoon, and the young girl agreed. When evening drew near the young girl got up to leave but again the dorm mate urged her to stay, if only for the safety of her child.

Again the young girl replied, “I cannot stay, I must return, if I wish to hear my child cry.”

The dorm mate begged her to at least stay for supper, as she hadn’t been seen in so long and her friends didn’t know when they would see her again.

The young girl agreed.

When supper was done and the hour had grown quite late the young girl fetched
her things and made to leave, but her dorm mate blocked the door and her friends refused to let her go. They insisted she stay the night. The young girl replied, “I must now stay and not return. My child now will never cry.” 

The group then went to bed.

When the dorm mate woke in the morning it was to find the young girl missing. They searched high and low for her but could not find her. Then the dorm mate heard a mournful sound — like a child crying. She followed the sound to a knoll near the woods and found the young girl lying there.

She had given birth to the child too soon and both mother and child were dead. Beside them, at the base of the knoll, lay a gold handbell. 

People have thought that this really did happen, due to the fact that the handbell choir at the Canadian Mennonite University is one of the best handbell choirs in Canada. Their greatest asset is a gold handbell that, when played, sounds just like a child crying.