The Pied Fiddler smiled like she had a secret. And she did: she knew the way to attract these cautious learners closer. She knelt down and unzipped the box. Out of it she took a shiny, curved, wooden thing with wires running from top to bottom, and a long stick. The learners watching didn't know what it was. A guitar?
The girl twisted something at the end of the stick, fussed with some pegs stuck into the swirly-whirly bit, settled the instrument down onto her left shoulder. Then, without warning, she launched into a frenzy of noise. Her toe tapped, her fingers flew and her hair blew about across her face. She didn't seem to take any notice of the astonished learners. They didn't know what to make of it. How did she make such music out of a stick and a block of wood? Without noticing what they were doing, several learners walked forward so that they were right in front of the Pied Fiddler.
When she finished, the girl lifted the stick right up into the air in a grand flourish. Then she laughed from sheer delight and looked down at the learners.
'You,' she said, nodding at a boy nearest her. 'Would you like to try?' She held the instrument out to him and she helped him put it in the right place on his shoulder. She said things like 'That's it,' and 'Well done!' as he scraped the bow across the strings. After a while, having posed for a photograph and got some laughs from his friends, he handed it back.
'Who next?' asked the Pied Fiddler, and she was satisfied to see several volunteers. 'Would you like a go?' she asked one girl. She shyly stepped forward and took the shining instrument.
'But - what is it?' asked the boy.
The Pied Fiddler smiled. 'This,' she said, 'is a violin.'
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