The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845 .

A homely tale about stout Parcel Carrier John Peerybingle, his small young wife Dot, Caleb Plummer and his blind Daughter Bertha, their employer the gruff old Mr Tackleton and his young bride to be and what portentous consequences the arrival of mysterious old man means for them all. Narrated by Michael Ward.