1.5 How Daddy studied music
A bedtime tale from 'When Daddy was a little boy' - A. Raskin
A story from a dad’s childhood, narrated to his daughter, written in 1961. Read the introduction below.
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HOW DADDY STUDIED MUSIC
When Daddy was little his parents bought him all sorts of toys. A ball. A set of lotto. Ninepins. A toy car. And suddenly bought a piano. But this was no toy. It was an honest-to-goodness real beautiful piano with a shiny black top. It was a grand piano and it took up half of the room.
Daddy asked Grandpa: "Do you know how to play the piano?"
"No," said Grandpa.
Then Daddy asked Grandma: "Do you know how to play the piano?"
"No," said Grandma.
"Who's going to play the piano then?" little Daddy asked.
Grandpa and Grandma said in one voice: "You!"
"But I don't know how to, either."
"You'll have music lessons," Grandpa said. And Grandma added: "Your teacher's name is Nadezhda Fyodorovna."
Suddenly Daddy realised that he had been given a very wonderful present. No teacher had ever come to the house before. He had always learned how to play with his new toys by himself.
And then the music teacher came. She was an elderly soft-spoken woman. She played the piano for Daddy. Then she began to teach him the notes. There were seven in all: A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Daddy learned them very quickly, because he drew pictures of all the notes, just like in his Alphabet Book.
He said: "'A' is for apple." And he drew an apple. "'B' is for boy." And he drew a picture of a boy. Then he drew a cat which stood for "C", and a dog which stood for "D", and a fence for "F", and a giraffe for "G". Daddy was very pleased.
But soon he realised that it was not easy to learn how to play the piano. He got tired of playing the same thing over and over and over again. And anyway, it was more fun to read, or to play, or just do nothing. In two weeks' time Daddy got so sick and tired of his music lessons that he couldn't even stand the sight of the piano.
Nadezhda Fyodorovna, who had been so pleased with Daddy in the beginning, now shook her head sadly.
"Don't you enjoy your lessons?" she asked Daddy.
"No," Daddy said.
Each time he said this he thought she would be angry and would stop teaching him. But she didn't.
Grandma and Grandpa scolded little Daddy.
"Look at the beautiful piano we've bought you," they said. "A teacher comes to study with you. Don't you want to learn how to play? Shame on you!"
And Grandpa said: "Now he doesn't want to study music. Then he'll decide he doesn't want to go to school. Then he'll decide there's no sense in working. Such lazy boys should be taught how to work when they're young! You certainly will learn how to play that piano!"
And Grandma added: "If I had had music lessons when I was a little girl, I'd have been only too grateful."
"Thank you very much, but I don't want to study music any more," little Daddy said.
And the next time Nadezhda Fyodorovna came to the house, little Daddy disappeared. They searched for all through the house and out in the street but couldn't find him anywhere. As soon as the hour that he was supposed to be having his lesson was up, little Daddy crawled out from under the bed and said: "Good-bye, Nadezhda Fyodorovna!"
Then Grandpa said: "You'll be sorry this time!"
And Grandma added: "I'll punish him separately when you get through with him."
Then little Daddy said: "I don't care what you do, as long as I don't have to study music any more."
And then he burst into tears. After all, he was still very little. And he hated his music lessons so much.
Then the music teacher said: "Music should be a joy to people. None of my pupils hide under their beds from me. If a child prefers to lie under a bed for a whole hour it means he doesn't want to study music. And if so, there is no sense in forcing him. Perhaps, when he is older, he'll regret it. I'll say good-bye and will go to those children who do not hide from me under their beds."
And she left. And she never came again. Grandpa punished little Daddy anyway. And when he got through with him, Grandma punished him also. For a long time afterwards little Daddy had a dark look on his face whenever he passed the piano.
When little Daddy got older he discovered that he had no ear for music. He still cannot sing a single song correctly. And he, certainly, would never have learned to play the piano nicely. Well, perhaps not all children should take piano lessons.
THE END
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