The Sound of Music

(One sunny afternoon, Maria took the children to the environs.)

Louisa: Fraulein Maria, can we do this every day?

Maira: Don’t you think you’re going to get tired of it, Louisa?

Louisa: I suppose so. Every other day?

Kurt: I haven’t had so much fun since the day I put glue on Fraulein Josehpine’s toothbrush.

Maira: I can’t understand how children as nice as you could manage to play such awful tricks on people.

Louisa: Oh, it’s easy.

Maira: But why do it?

Louisa: For how else can we get father’s attention?

Bargitta: Yes.

Maira: Oh, I see. Well, we have to think about that one. All right, everybody, over here!

Children: What are we going to do?

Maira: Let’s think of something to sing to the 1)baroness when she comes.

Louisa: Father doesn’t like us to sing.

Maira: Well, perhaps we can change his mind. Now what songs do you know?

Frederick: We don’t know any songs.

Maira: Not any?

Louisa: We don’t even know how to sing.

Bargitta: No.

Maira: Well, let’s not lose any time. You must learn.

Bargitta: But how?

Maira: Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read, you begin with ABC, when you sing, you begin with Do, Re, Me. Do, Re, Me, the first three notes just happen to be Do, Re, Me. Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti. (Oh, let’s see if I can make it easier.) Doe, a deer, a female deer. Ray, a drop of golden sun. Me, a name I call myself. Far, a long long way to run. Sew, a needle pulling thread. La, a note to follow Sew. Tea, a drink with jam and bread. That’ll bring us back to Doe...