The Little Mouse Musicians

Diana Malivani

The Little Mouse

Musicians

An Illustrated Story in Verse

Translated from Russian into English by

Mark Herman and Ronnie Apter

Illustrated by the Author

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An orchestra of Little Mouse Musicians performs on the summer meadow (an Illustrated Story in Verse)

For a little girl named Michelle

The Author would like to express her deep gratitude to her husband for his support and assistance with this book

Table of Contents

The Little Mouse Musicians

The Author

Other books by the Author

The Little Mouse Musicians

In a meadow, a talented orchestra

Of Little Mouse Musicians

Is getting ready to perform

Some well-loved compositions.

Young Friedrich is the conductor.

He struts in with aplomb,

Shakes the paw of the first violinist,

And raises his baton.

Melody echoes through the woods,

The harmony is sublime.

Little mouse whiskers twitch in the wind,

And little mouse tails keep time.

Butterflies are fluttering by,

While song birds twitter in rhythm.

The sun shines down on everyone,

And the breeze is singing with them.

Young Mouse Klaus plays the grand piano,

A precocious virtuoso,

He pounds the keys with his flexible tail

Marcato non gracioso.

On a stump stands Young Fat Hans,

Plump about the middle,

But fully at home with his instrument,

The big bass fiddle.

Christopher loves the violin;

His bowing couldn’t be brisker.

He happily squeaks along with the tune

And rhythmically wiggles a whisker.

Saxophonist Marcus is known

For his intuitive playing.

He blows a “G” in ecstasy,

Closing his eyes and swaying.

On his oboe, Karl adeptly

Plays a short arpeggio

From “C” to “E” in lettered notes

(“Do” to “mi” in solfeggio).

Gaston joined his musical friends

To play his wonderful harp.

He plucks the strings with his upper paws

While he pedals the flats and sharps.

Blest with a keen and sensitive ear

Is Heinz, whose speciality

Is playing the trumpet precisely on pitch

With gusto and musicality.

Cheerful Heinrich fingers his flute

While tapping with his toe.

With a flower pinned to his white vest,

He is dressed comme il faut.

Jon plays the bass clarinet.

A dandy without peer,

He wears red boots and a bow on his tail

And a tulip behind his ear.

The littlest, Wilhelm, plays a pan pipe.

He rustles the grass with his tail

As he rapidly blows across the reeds,

First trilling, then playing a scale.

All day long the music swelled,

The mouse tenor sang

As the sound poured out to the river,

And the summer meadow rang.

What was played on that holiday

Would never be forgot: a

Marvelous musical piece,

The Little Mouse sonata.

About the Author