The Music of the Night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H65FIlWl0Q

This is a video of Sarah Brightman singing The Music of the Night. This song inspired my story about the animals and the special music of the night they share with me.




Wooffer was humming a song as he trotted off to visit the frogs in the ditch. It was his favorite song. He knew all of the words and the tune almost perfectly. The frogs, however, hated to hear Wooffer sing the songs he made up and told him to be quiet and were very rude about his songs and his singing every time he started to sing. Wooffer was well aware that his singing annoyed the frogs no end so, this morning, as Wooffer approached the ditch, he had a smirky smile on his face. He crept up to the edge of the water, and then, at the top of his voice, he began to sing “The Music of the Night.” He could hardly sing it for chuckling to himself about how much it would set the frogs to putting their hands over their ears and groaning, “Oh! Not the singing again!”

Wooffer kept on singing all the words and keeping the tune and rhythm perfectly. He had only gotten to the second verse when he noticed that every frog was sitting on the opposite bank and listening very closely with their mouths wide open. Wooffer continued singing the song expecting that, at any moment, they would start croaking and yelling for him to “knock off that terrible noise.” … Not a frog moved! Wooffer finally got to the last part of the song, and sang as loud as he could. Every frog eye on the bank was looking straight at Wooffer.

For a moment, not a croak was heard. Slowly, a little clapping … then a few whistles … and some stamping of the hind feet … and finally Old Bully Frog croaked, “That is our song. How do you come to know it so well? You sang it beautifully, too!” Wooffer stood there dumbfounded. He had done it as a joke! He could not believe that they knew the song too.

Wooffer said, “Oh, yeah? I don’t believe you know the song. If you do, then sing it to me!” So the frogs all sang together and did not miss a word or a note of “The Music of the Night” … and they did it beautifully, too.

The Bully frogs had a better opinion of Wooffer that day, and invited him to come and sing with them anytime … but not the songs he made up … “please.”

The whole rest of the day, Wooffer could not get the song out of his mind. He hummed it, he sang it out loud, he howled it, and la la la-ed it everywhere he went. Naturally, all the other animals on the farm heard him doing one or the other all day. Wooffer did not know, but every one of them knew the song as their favorite song in the whole wide world! They all knew the words and sang it every night! It was not long before Cho Lee had discussed it with Margaret and Reginald, and Margaret and Reginald had discussed it with Basil and Silverthorn, and Basil and Silverthorn had discussed it with Old Agnes … and so on until the whole farm was talking about how Wooffer knew the song, “The Music of the Night.” They were all amazed! But they were proud of Wooffer too! He never went out at night (except on Christmas Eve) and so they did not know how he could have learned the song. No one EVER sang it in the middle of the day! … But Wooffer had, and they had all heard about the frogs singing it right back.

Two weeks had passed since the “joke” Wooffer had tried to pull on the frogs, and all the animals knew that a very special day was coming. It would be Wooffer’s mom’s birthday in a few days. They all talked and wondered what special thing they could do to make her happy on her birthday. They finally had a meeting under the Old Oak Tree to decide what they could do to make a very special old lady be glad to have another birthday. Wooffer was there and so were all the animals of the farm. It was Ho Chi’s idea that they all sing “The Music of the Night” for Wooffer’s mom on her birthday. Wooffer was very surprised that they all knew the song, and he was overjoyed that they wanted to sing it for his mom, because he knew it was her favorite song, too. They all practiced it together, every day in the middle of the broom weeds, so that no one could see or hear them and it would be a big surprise.

The “special day” finally came, and the animals all waited until dark.

They had all worked hard to push a chair under the Old Oak Tree for Wooffer’s mom to sit on. When everything was ready, Wooffer brought his mom out and she sat in the special chair. Wooffer and Ho Chi and Margaret and Basil and all the other animals started to sing. Wooffer’s mom closed her eyes, and listened to “The Music of the Night.” It was the best concert she had ever heard. And when it was over, she thanked everyone personally with tears of joy in her eyes.

All the animals had tears of joy in their eyes too and, as they all went home to bed, they were glad in their hearts that Wooffer’s mom loved them and they loved her, too. Wooffer was happy too because she was his very own mom, but his mom was happiest of all because Wooffer and all the animals loved her enough to sing “The Music of the Night” just for her.



I hope you enjoy both.



Love,

Betty

Betty,

Thank you for sharing your soul with us.

Ann

I've just changed my signature to a quote of Campbell's. I have this little gadget on my homepage. Every few hours it gives a new Campbell insight. I noticed this one just after reading Betty's "Music..." post and tale. That is why she is such an inspiring artist. She is keeping the myth alive for all of her readers.

Ann

12/5/2009

Betty..

That was beautiful...Are you going to do
a Christmas story for the Christmas Book ? I think
a story with wooffer and his friends would be great.

Love Joe

Well done, Betty.

Great story Betty. Thank You.

Beautiful, beautiful.

Love Carol

Very nice. Ann's quote really fits, too.

Thank you for sharing this.

Malcolm

Thank you all for your kind words. Wooffer loves Sarah Brightman. When I put her cd on, he comes from what ever spont he happens to be on the farm and sits in front of the cd player and sings along. It makes me smile. He loves Sarah so much that when we got our second daschound, we named her Sarah in honor of Sarah Brightman. Wooffer loves her, too.

Love,
Betty

Yes, I have heard the wildlife of the the swamp singing - in concert - I call it the "swamp song." It is beautiful. I can't personify my swamp friends with the artistry that Betty has; but they are more personal because of Betty's descriptions.

Dear Diane,
Oh! You have a talent for lovely words about your swamp. You make is personal. I can see it through your eye, every lichen, every smell, the bark of every tree. The snails, the algae, the dark water, the big trees, the shadows, the board walk bridge, your breathing in and out as you walk that trail.

Once. long years ago, I waded across a dead water to Bird Island, which is in the Alafia River, and now protected from people so that the birds have a chance to mate, survive. It was a rotten little mucky smelling place. Wading across, the sump bubbles realeased from the mucky bottom smelled of old farts and nasty particles floated up to the surface with each step. Wading ashore, there was an old shack which had been built many years before by someone who stayed there. Periwinkles grew at the door. Sky Blue.

I have wondered these many years about the person who built that shack. A Child on a lark? Someone hiding out? Who would ever know. The fact that they planted flowers made me wonder and consider they had some beauty of spirit.

Love,
Betty

The swamp I grew up in

A friend of mine from home once took a plane trip. She sat next to a gentleman who was intrigued to learn that she was from Orange. "Is that the place that is controlled by three millionaires who are first cousins who hate each other?" "Well, I guess so.." "And one of them keeps long-horn cattle in the middle of the city limits?" "Uh..Yeah.."

The story goes on. I think I've told it before. The millionaire who kept his prized longhorns in the middle of the city was named Lutcher Stark. (My brother and I graduated from Lutcher Stark High school) He was also the founder of Shangri-La, a private park just next to the property where he kept those cattle. During the fifties and early sixties it was open to the public, and it has just recently been reopened as it is being revamped as a botanical garden. This article has a few pictures.

http://blueeyesandbluebonnets.com/2009/04/shangri-la-gardens-part1/

I tried to find some pictures I had of the park as it looked when I was growing up, but couldn't. this one comes close:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3308950809_0780b5600d.jpg

But it doesn't really capture the wild, natural look the azalea bushes had then.

I will keep looking. I remember the family's houseboat, which was docked on a portion of the same bayou you can see in the first group of pictures, just a few miles away. This picture, in particular(minus the fence), reminds me of the spot where we docked.

http://blueeyesandbluebonnets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dsc_0075b.jpg

Maybe you can get a sense of our version of that swampland's "night music."

Ann

I also like Sarah!

Malcolm

Dear Malcom,
This avatar is a picture of my Sarah.

Sarah Brightman's singing transports me. Evidently, It transports Wooffer, too. Floating on the sounds of music.

Love,
Betty

Did I tell you that my next door neighbor has Wooffer's twin? And Satcha adores me - and I'm allergic!!!