Vitalina's mum had dreamed since childhood of learning to play the piano. However, when she herself was a child, her family struggled financially: the money her father and mother earned barely covered the essentials of life, so her parents couldn't afford such an unthinkable expense — buying their daughter a piano, which cost an enormous amount of money.
And so, in her childhood, Vitalina's future mum solemnly promised herself that when she grew up, she would definitely buy herself a piano and learn to play it.
And finally, that long-awaited moment arrived: in the flat where she lived with her husband and daughter, an electric piano appeared, delivered in special cardboard packaging from the Music shop.
Vitalina's dad unpacked the box, carefully took out the small, elegant musical instrument and placed it on the coffee table. The piano gleamed and sparkled, attracting and delighting everyone's eyes. Vitalina couldn't help herself: she ran to the coffee table and had just tried to touch the piano keys with her little fingers when her mum suddenly shouted:
Don't you dare! You mustn't!.
And they stood for a long time near the wonderful musical instrument, silently admiring it. Finally, Vitalina's dad said:
Right then! We've looked at it and that's enough.
He then took the piano in his hands and put it back in the box, and carried the box with the piano inside to the wardrobe. He closed the wardrobe door with a key and gave the key to his wife, Vitalina's mum.
Days passed. Vitalina's mum practised playing the piano for an hour every day. She learned simple piano pieces from sheet music, which her close friend who lived in another city and was a music teacher and pianist sent to her by email.
When a few months ago Vitalina's mum shared with her pianist friend her cherished plans to buy an electric piano in the near future and try to learn to play it herself, and perhaps later teach her daughter, who had just turned three, her pianist friend, along with promising to help her with sheet music, said:
I strongly advise you, dear friend, not to let your daughter near the musical instrument, not even allow her to touch it until your daughter is at least five years old. Don't you and your husband want to see your daughter talented?!.
Vitalina's mum didn't understand the meaning of this strange recommendation, but didn't ask her any questions to find out what she meant. She warmly said goodbye to her friend and ended the call. But afterwards she constantly thought about her friend's words, trying to unravel their hidden meaning.
Vitalina, every time she was present at her mum's music lessons, listened with pleasure to the beautiful melodies of songs and dances that her mum performed with her clever fingers.
Vitalina herself didn't dare even approach the wonderful musical instrument: her mum had strictly forbidden her to do so. Mum explained to her daughter:
Vitalina, you're still very small, you don't yet have the necessary skills and ability to press the piano keys correctly and properly. If you suddenly start banging your fingers randomly on the piano keys, it might get upset and even 'fall ill' for a long time. And then my lessons on it will stop, and music will no longer sound in this room. You don't want that, do you?!.
And Vitalina was forced to reluctantly agree with her mum. She remained her mum's only and most devoted listener. And this inspired her mum greatly, and she tried to perform piano pieces as well and as accurately as possible, so that her performance would cause her daughter genuine admiration and delight every time.
As for Vitalina's dad, he was sceptical and cool about his wife's new hobby. He considered it her ordinary whim, a feminine caprice, and treated her piano 'exercises' with patient indulgence. Especially since he spent most of the daytime at work.
In the evening he would return home tired. Vitalina, who always waited impatiently for his arrival, would rush to him with joy and delight, but dad, picking her up in his arms and gently kissing his daughter, would immediately put her down on the floor and go to his room to rest.
Mum, during her music lessons, still found time to talk to Vitalina about how to train and develop her fingers so that when pressing the piano keys, the sounds would be beautiful and full. She said:
You need to teach your fingers to touch the keys lightly and crisply with their pads, as if they're running, frolicking, dancing. All your little fingers — five on your right hand and five on your left — should be equally clever, obedient and strong, then a pianist can manage them skilfully and be proud of them.
Yes, mum, you're right not to let me near the piano. It's very difficult — managing all ten fingers, which have to press the keys in turn and in different sequences. I'll never learn this! — Vitalina said bitterly.
Oh, don't despair! As you grow up, you'll manage it. For example, millipedes, which look like caterpillars, don't actually have forty legs but many more, and they manage all their legs easily. You're cleverer and more capable than these millipedes, aren't you?!.
Vitalina, having heard her mum's words, walked away thoughtfully from the piano, went to her little chair standing by the wall, and sat on it.
When mum went to the shop for shopping and left Vitalina alone at home for a while, with the musical instrument locked in the wardrobe, she would go up to the wardrobe and talk to the piano through the door:
Dear wonderful piano, thank you for the beautiful music you give us. I love you so very much and will always love you.
Several months passed. Recently, Vitalina's mum no longer hid the electric piano in the wardrobe, and it remained lying switched off on the coffee table.
One day, when mum wasn't home, Vitalina couldn't resist temptation: she went closer to the musical instrument to at least touch it with her hand and gently stroke it. She moved her mum's chair, which was too high for her to climb onto and sit, and stood in front of the piano, looking at it with admiration and love.
The piano unexpectedly switched itself on. Suddenly a key lit up, and the number '1' shone brightly on it. Vitalina, without thinking, immediately pressed this key with her big first finger of her right hand; the key sang a pleasant sound, and its light went out.
Then the neighbouring key to the right of the first one, marked with the number '2', lit up, which Vitalina immediately pressed with the index second finger of her right hand; the key sang this time a slightly more tender sound than the first key. A moment later the light went out in this key too.
Keys marked '3', '4', '5' lit up in sequence, sang and went out. Vitalina pressed them with the corresponding fingers of her right hand. She did this exercise for the five fingers of her right hand with the 'magic' piano four more times, after which it switched itself off. Vitalina said with passionate feeling:
Thank you, Magic Piano, for the music lesson you gave me! I will be your most diligent pupil. You won't be disappointed in me!.
And after these words she ran to her room, sat on her little chair standing by the low desk, placed her right hand on the desk and began to tap out with her fingers her musical 'homework' given to her by her Teacher — the Magic Piano.
Two weeks later, under the guidance and with the help of the Magic Piano and thanks to her impeccably completed 'homework', Vitalina had already learned to perform beautifully on the musical instrument a good dozen simple pieces: little songs, dances, small studies.
One day, when Vitalina's mum went to the shop for shopping, and Vitalina herself, taking advantage of her absence, was learning new pieces on the piano set by her Teacher — the Magic Piano, her father unexpectedly came home. He heard beautiful music coming from the next room, went in there and was absolutely astonished: his little daughter was skilfully playing surprisingly pleasant musical pieces on the piano with her small child fingers.
With tears in his eyes, he rushed to his daughter, picked her up in his arms, hugged her, gently kissed her and said in an emotional voice:
Daughter, how talented you are! How did you manage to master the art of playing such a complex musical instrument as the piano all by yourself!? How proud and amazed I am of you! I'm sorry I paid you so little attention. I promise I'll treat you differently from now on!.
Vitalina quickly and fearfully blurted out:
Dear dad, just don't tell mum that I played the piano without asking her — she'll be very cross with me for this and will be very unhappy about my wrongdoing.
Alright, — her father replied, — I won't give you away. But here's what I suggest: soon it's mum's and your beloved grandmother's holiday — International Women's Day on 8 March; let's arrange a concert for them on this festive day — it will be an unexpected precious gift for them, a real surprise! Do you agree?.
Yes, — Vitalina answered enthusiastically.
8 March arrived. From early morning, Vitalina asked her mum to dress her as smartly as possible, like a princess.
After all, it's my holiday too, — Vitalina explained and added, — and I'll congratulate you and grandma this evening when all the guests gather at our table for the celebration.
In the evening, when all the invited guests had arrived, mum was still busy in the kitchen, preparing festive treats for the guests.
The guests were bored, and Vitalina's dad announced:
Dear friends, in honour of today's celebration, my daughter has prepared a little festive concert for all of us, which she will now perform for us.
He went to the electric piano, switched it on, moved a low stool up to the piano, called Vitalina over and sat her on it.
Vitalina began to play. She performed with both hands together, like a real professional pianist, one piece after another and then all the remaining ten to twelve musical pieces. Loud applause, ovations, cries of 'bravo', 'encore' sounded after each beautifully played piece. Vitalina's mum, standing in the kitchen doorway in a semi-dazed state, watched the unthinkable miracle happening before her eyes.
She realised that, of course, Vitalina had broken her rule not to touch the piano, but at this moment she was overjoyed about it. Now she understood the meaning of her pianist friend's words, who had asked her not to rush into teaching their daughter to play the piano, because everything forbidden, which causes a child's constantly growing interest, gradually becomes more and more desirable for them.
This is how true great talent awakens in a child.