The Goat Who Learned the Tune
3 chapters for 3 characters · about 10 minutes · told 0 times. The highlighted parts are filled in with your own characters when you make this story yours.
Chapter 1: The Goat That Ate the Bunting
⟨Character 2⟩ climbs a hay bale near the festival stage. A goat with one crooked ear chews a red bunting flag. ⟨Character 1⟩ counts ribbons at a folding table.
⟨Character 2⟩: “Look at that goat, ⟨Character 3⟩! It is eating the red bunting flag right off the rope. Its ear is all crooked and it does not care. I am going to teach that goat to sing before the festival. Everyone will clap for us. It will be the best act on stage, better than the ribbon counting. Just you wait.”
⟨Character 3⟩: “Careful up there, ⟨Character 2⟩. That goat will eat anything red. It chewed the stage rail last night, and I mended it with a neat pine strip. Goats do not sing. They bleat, they eat, and they bump things. A song is too fancy for a goat. You might as well teach a fence post to dance.”
⟨Character 1⟩: “Now it has eaten the red edge of my tally sheet. Gone, just like that. That was my count of blue ribbons. And listen, it just bleated two short, one long. That rhythm matches my old counting tune exactly. I hum it when I add figures, two quick notes and one slow. How does a goat know it?”
⟨Character 2⟩: “Two short, one long! ⟨Character 1⟩, that is the tune you hum all the time. The goat likes your song. So we can teach it the whole thing before the festival. We just need to be patient. It will be the best singing goat in the village. No one else has one. And I will be the teacher, you can be the music, and ⟨Character 3⟩ can fix the stage after it stomps.”
Later, ⟨Character 3⟩ checks the stage rail the goat had gnawed. ⟨Character 2⟩ offers a red apple core, but the goat turns away. ⟨Character 1⟩ hums the counting tune under her breath while writing, and the goat trots to her and bleats the same rhythm back.
⟨Character 3⟩: “A one-tune wonder. It only sings ⟨Character 1⟩’s counting song. That goat will not learn a new note for any apple. It wants the rhythm, not the treat. You can shake a whole basket of apples and it will just sit there, waiting for ⟨Character 1⟩ to hum. But I suppose that is something. A goat that answers a tune.”
⟨Character 2⟩: “Then we will teach it the whole song. It can learn more than one tune. I am sure of it. Apples are not the trick. The trick is following its rhythm, like a conductor. ⟨Character 1⟩ hums, you tap your hammer, and I will wave my hands to lead it. We will make it sing the full verse at the festival.”
Chapter 2: The Hammer’s Secret Rhythm
In the practice yard, ⟨Character 2⟩ teaches the goat to sing with an apple core, but the goat sits down and closes its eyes. The hay smells sweet and the sun is warm.
⟨Character 2⟩: Please, goat, just one little bleat? I have this whole red apple core, and it is yours if you sing even one note. The festival is tomorrow, and everyone wants to hear you. You do not have to be scared or worried. I will stay right here, and we can practice slowly, one tiny bleat at a time. The apple is very red and very tasty.
⟨Character 3⟩: I built a little wooden podium with a foot pedal. When the goat bleats, I step on the pedal, and a shiny red apple drops into the bucket. But it only works if ⟨Character 1⟩ hums the tune at the same time. Watch this. ⟨Character 1⟩, start the counting tune, and I will push the pedal when it bleats back.
⟨Character 1⟩: It sang back to me, two short, one long, but then it stopped as soon as I stopped humming. Then it gobbled the apple and wandered off to sniff the fence. The apple is just a snack to that goat. It wants the rhythm, not the treat. We have to lead it with the tune and a steady beat.
Later, on the festival grounds, the goat wanders toward a sheep bell.
⟨Character 3⟩: Hear that? It left the bell and came back when I tapped my hammer on the stage edge. Tap, tap, tap. It likes the hammer better than any apple. Now, ⟨Character 1⟩, hum the first verse, and I will tap the beat on this pine block. Let us see if it sings the whole thing. It is watching me like I am the music now.
⟨Character 1⟩: It sang the entire first verse! Even the high note at the end, and it turned to you, ⟨Character 3⟩, when you tapped. But ⟨Character 2⟩, you looked sad when it stopped for your yelling. Look, it is waiting for your hand. Raise it slowly, like a calm wave, and see what happens.
⟨Character 2⟩: I yelled because I felt left out, but the goat does not like yelling. Then I lifted my hand, and it kept its eyes on my fingers. When I moved them up, it bleated the next note without any apple. I do not have to be the boss. I can be the quiet conductor, and it will follow my hand.
Chapter 3: The Festival Bleat
⟨Character 2⟩ teaches the goat to sing the soft high note by scratching behind its ear, and the goat bleats it. Then ⟨Character 2⟩ leads the goat into the open square, and the waiting villagers hush.
⟨Character 1⟩: Now, little goat, listen to the tune. I will hum, ⟨Character 3⟩ will tap, and ⟨Character 2⟩ will show you the notes with their hands. We practiced, and you know this song. All you have to do is sing it for the village. Take a deep breath.
⟨Character 3⟩: Tap, tap, tap. Here we go. I will keep the beat steady on this pine block. You watch ⟨Character 2⟩’s hand. When it goes up, you bleat; when it goes down, you rest. Ready, ⟨Character 2⟩? Ready, ⟨Character 1⟩?
⟨Character 1⟩: It sang the whole verse, and then that extra high note! That is an old goat-call from the shepherds, from when I was a child. It means come home, and I have not heard it in years. Oh, little goat, you remembered it just for us.
⟨Character 2⟩: We did it! I taught it, and it sang the whole song, plus the old goat-call. Listen, everyone, that was my friend the goat. It only needed a patient hand and a scratch behind the ear. And now it wants an apple core, the rascal.
After the crowd leaves, the square is quiet, and the three sit near the stage. The goat settles beside the apple core ⟨Character 2⟩ left, and the lanterns start to glow.
⟨Character 3⟩: The stage is mended now. That goat stomped a bit during the song, but I fixed those boards with care. Mended means fixed with love, not just patched up and left. Like the way I tighten a chair leg so it will hold for years.
⟨Character 1⟩: And that song mended the whole festival. It brought us together, just like your hammer and ⟨Character 2⟩’s patience. The goat is asleep by the apple core, my ledger is closed, and the lanterns are glowing. Let us sit a while and listen to the quiet.
Rest now, ⟨Character 1⟩, ⟨Character 2⟩, and ⟨Character 3⟩. All is well. Goodnight.
A question for tonight
What is one small kindness you might try tomorrow, the way ⟨Character 2⟩, ⟨Character 1⟩, and ⟨Character 3⟩ each gave the goat a little patience and care?