Story 1

Raman’s New Flute

Vellore, India

Ash a N ehemi a h

Raman the flute-player lived in a village [in India]. He was the best flute
player in the whole village, and he played the most wonderful tunes on his
flute. The tunes Raman played were so wonderful that the crows would
stop cawing and the village dogs would stop barking just so that they
could listen to his music. Whenever Raman played a happy tune on his
flute, babies would stop crying, and even the saddest person in the village
would start smiling.
That’s why whenever there was a wedding or a birthday or a festival,
Raman would be asked to play his flute.
One day, Raman’s flute broke.
“Oh no,” said Raman, “my flute is broken. I must make myself a new
flute at once. For there are many weddings and birthdays in our village, and
I will have to play my flute at all of them.”
So Raman went looking for a length of bamboo to make a new flute. He
searched and searched for a bamboo tree that would have branches of just
the right thickness for making a flute. Finally, he found a perfect bamboo
tree growing on the bank of a river far away from the village. It was a very
quiet and lonely place.
Raman cut a length of bamboo. He took a sharp knife and hollowed out
a beautiful new flute for himself.
Next day, Raman played his new flute at a wedding. But though he tried
his best, he couldn’t play a single happy tune. The sounds made by Raman’s
new flute were so sad that the bride started sobbing. Next the bridegroom
started crying and soon all the wedding guests were in tears.

From the website Long Long Time Ago, http://www.longlongtimeago.com,

edited by Rohini Chowdhury. Reprinted with permission from Asha Nehemiah.