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Chapter Sixteen
Kermit was, as usual, among the last to enter the house that night. When he did, he was surprised to pick out, from the usual cacophony, the unusually slow sound of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on Rowlf’s piano.
First he smiled. Then he frowned. Rowlf’s wrists were broken, and playing piano was bad for them, wasn’t it? The notes seemed more fluid than he would have guessed Rowlf could play in casts. His curiosity led him straight to the piano.
He wasn’t the only one. A small circle was starting to form. The piano had been greatly missed.
And sure enough, that was Rowlf sitting at the piano, with a huge, contagious grin on his face.
Kermit wore half a smile as he crept around the piano. Then he broke into a grin as big as his whole face when he saw Robin in the dog’s lap, using two fingers to press each key, his eyes jumping between the keys and an old piano book that Kermit didn’t recognize. Rowlf had his paws to either side of the young frog, and he lightly played a few chords, giving a slightly grander sound than Robin could have achieved on his own. As they played the final notes, Rowlf nodded his approval and murmured, “Very good.”
Kermit was proud to applaud his nephew.
Robin’s smile was as big as Rowlf’s when he looked up, noticing for the first time that his uncle was standing there. He instantly had a thousand things to say and didn’t know which to tell first, or that Kermit had all ready comprehended most of them, so the old stand-by punched out of him with an energy that was roughly comparable to Animal’s. “HI UNCLE KERMIT!”
“Hey Robin,” Kermit beamed, “Hi Rowlf. Looks like you guys have been busy!”
“Yeah!” Robin exclaimed.
Rowlf chuckled. “You’ve got one quick study of a nephew, Kermit,” he said. “He plays the melody, and I try to keep up.”
“Sounds like a good system,” Kermit said, sitting next to them on the bench.
“Works so far,” Rowlf said.
If Robin had been wearing pants, one might have said that he’d had ants in them. Since frogs typically don’t wear pants, this was clearly not the case, but he fidgeted all the same. “Rowlf taught me about octaves and whole notes and half notes and quarter notes and staccato and scales and he said I learn really fast!”
Rowlf grinned at Kermit. “His hands aren’t quite big enough for proper finger placement, but he’s doing pretty well,” he said.
“I see that!” Kermit said proudly. He set his hand on the piano and played three rising notes. “Mind if I play, too?” he asked.
“Sure!” Rowlf said, reaching for the book. “There’s a duet on the next page.”
Robin looked at his uncle, amazed. “Uncle Kermit- you can play piano, too?”
“Well, it’s been a while, but I think I still remember how,” Kermit said.
“How did you learn?” Robin asked.
Kermit looked over the piano, his nephew, and the dog. “About the same way you’re learning,” he said, “Except that Rowlf’s wrists weren’t broken then, and I didn’t sit in his lap.”
“Well, you could reach the keys on your own,” Rowlf said. “Wasn’t that about when you taught me how to play the banjo?”
“It was the same week, I think,” Kermit said. He turned to the piano. “I don’t think I’ve seen this book before, though,” he observed.
“Well you could all ready read sheet music,” Rowlf said. “We ready to start?”
“Yeah!” Robin said.
They played slowly, and as they did, the surrounding circle of Muppets drew closer. Fozzie sat down next to Rowlf, and Miss Piggy propped herself against the piano with her usual elegance. She watched Kermit’s hands with mute, admiring fascination. Kermit noticed her there, and sharpened his attention on the music.
The two of them set tension across the keys; there was no denying that. But the tension wasn’t enough to keep the Muppets from creeping closer, squeezing tighter, pinching in to fit as many people as possible around the piano. After all, there’s nothing in the world like music, and no feeling in the world like watching music being made in a cozy, tight-knit group.
When Rowlf, Robin, and Kermit finished their song, Rowlf looked around with a huge grin. “I didn’t know we could fit this many of us back here,” he said, for by this time a dozen Muppets had packed themselves between the piano and the wall.
They laughed at themselves and their less than spacious position.
“What else can you play, Robin?” Fozzie asked.
Robin shrugged. “Well… I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
So Robin and Rowlf worked together to play simple children’s songs, and everyone laughed, smiled, and sang along.
With everyone around the piano, Rowlf’s smile was the biggest of all.
Kermit was, as usual, among the last to enter the house that night. When he did, he was surprised to pick out, from the usual cacophony, the unusually slow sound of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on Rowlf’s piano.
First he smiled. Then he frowned. Rowlf’s wrists were broken, and playing piano was bad for them, wasn’t it? The notes seemed more fluid than he would have guessed Rowlf could play in casts. His curiosity led him straight to the piano.
He wasn’t the only one. A small circle was starting to form. The piano had been greatly missed.
And sure enough, that was Rowlf sitting at the piano, with a huge, contagious grin on his face.
Kermit wore half a smile as he crept around the piano. Then he broke into a grin as big as his whole face when he saw Robin in the dog’s lap, using two fingers to press each key, his eyes jumping between the keys and an old piano book that Kermit didn’t recognize. Rowlf had his paws to either side of the young frog, and he lightly played a few chords, giving a slightly grander sound than Robin could have achieved on his own. As they played the final notes, Rowlf nodded his approval and murmured, “Very good.”
Kermit was proud to applaud his nephew.
Robin’s smile was as big as Rowlf’s when he looked up, noticing for the first time that his uncle was standing there. He instantly had a thousand things to say and didn’t know which to tell first, or that Kermit had all ready comprehended most of them, so the old stand-by punched out of him with an energy that was roughly comparable to Animal’s. “HI UNCLE KERMIT!”
“Hey Robin,” Kermit beamed, “Hi Rowlf. Looks like you guys have been busy!”
“Yeah!” Robin exclaimed.
Rowlf chuckled. “You’ve got one quick study of a nephew, Kermit,” he said. “He plays the melody, and I try to keep up.”
“Sounds like a good system,” Kermit said, sitting next to them on the bench.
“Works so far,” Rowlf said.
If Robin had been wearing pants, one might have said that he’d had ants in them. Since frogs typically don’t wear pants, this was clearly not the case, but he fidgeted all the same. “Rowlf taught me about octaves and whole notes and half notes and quarter notes and staccato and scales and he said I learn really fast!”
Rowlf grinned at Kermit. “His hands aren’t quite big enough for proper finger placement, but he’s doing pretty well,” he said.
“I see that!” Kermit said proudly. He set his hand on the piano and played three rising notes. “Mind if I play, too?” he asked.
“Sure!” Rowlf said, reaching for the book. “There’s a duet on the next page.”
Robin looked at his uncle, amazed. “Uncle Kermit- you can play piano, too?”
“Well, it’s been a while, but I think I still remember how,” Kermit said.
“How did you learn?” Robin asked.
Kermit looked over the piano, his nephew, and the dog. “About the same way you’re learning,” he said, “Except that Rowlf’s wrists weren’t broken then, and I didn’t sit in his lap.”
“Well, you could reach the keys on your own,” Rowlf said. “Wasn’t that about when you taught me how to play the banjo?”
“It was the same week, I think,” Kermit said. He turned to the piano. “I don’t think I’ve seen this book before, though,” he observed.
“Well you could all ready read sheet music,” Rowlf said. “We ready to start?”
“Yeah!” Robin said.
They played slowly, and as they did, the surrounding circle of Muppets drew closer. Fozzie sat down next to Rowlf, and Miss Piggy propped herself against the piano with her usual elegance. She watched Kermit’s hands with mute, admiring fascination. Kermit noticed her there, and sharpened his attention on the music.
The two of them set tension across the keys; there was no denying that. But the tension wasn’t enough to keep the Muppets from creeping closer, squeezing tighter, pinching in to fit as many people as possible around the piano. After all, there’s nothing in the world like music, and no feeling in the world like watching music being made in a cozy, tight-knit group.
When Rowlf, Robin, and Kermit finished their song, Rowlf looked around with a huge grin. “I didn’t know we could fit this many of us back here,” he said, for by this time a dozen Muppets had packed themselves between the piano and the wall.
They laughed at themselves and their less than spacious position.
“What else can you play, Robin?” Fozzie asked.
Robin shrugged. “Well… I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
So Robin and Rowlf worked together to play simple children’s songs, and everyone laughed, smiled, and sang along.
With everyone around the piano, Rowlf’s smile was the biggest of all.
