Vitalina's mother had dreamed since childhood of learning to play the piano. However, when she was a child herself, her family struggled financially: the money her father and mother earned barely covered life's necessities, so her parents could not afford such an unthinkable expense—buying their daughter a piano, which cost a great deal of money.
And so, in her childhood, Vitalina's future mother 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 apartment where she lived with her husband and daughter, an electric piano appeared, delivered in special cardboard packaging from the "Music" store.
Vitalina's father unpacked the box, carefully removed the small, elegant musical instrument from it, and placed it on the coffee table. The piano gleamed and sparkled, attracting and delighting everyone's eyes. Vitalina could not resist: she ran to the coffee table and had just tried to touch the piano keys with her little fingers when her mother sharply cried out:
Don't you dare! You can't!
And they stood for a long time near the wonderful musical instrument, silently admiring it. Finally, Vitalina's father said:
Well, that's enough! We've looked and that's sufficient.
After which he took the piano in his hands and put it back in the box, and placed the box with the piano inside back in the wardrobe. He closed the wardrobe door with a key and gave the key to his wife, Vitalina's mother.
Days passed. Vitalina's mother practiced playing the piano for an hour every day. She studied easy piano pieces from sheet music, which her close friend who lived in another city—a music teacher and pianist—sent her by email.
When, several months ago, Vitalina's mother shared with her pianist friend her cherished plans to acquire 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 years old, her pianist friend, along with promising to help send her 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 mother did not understand the meaning of this strange recommendation, but did not ask her questions to clarify what she meant. She warmly said goodbye to her friend and ended the phone call. But then she constantly thought about her friend's words, trying to decipher their hidden meaning.
Vitalina, each time she was present at her mother's music lessons, listened with pleasure to the beautiful melodies of songs and dances that her mother performed with her skillful fingers.
Vitalina herself did not dare even approach the wonderful musical instrument: her mother strictly forbade her to do so. Mother explained to her daughter:
Vitalina, you are still very small, you still do not have the necessary skills and ability to press the piano keys correctly and properly. If you suddenly start randomly drumming your fingers on the piano keys, it might get offended and even "get sick" 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 mother. She continued to be her mother's only and most devoted listener. And this greatly inspired her mother, and she tried to perform piano pieces on the piano as well and without mistakes as possible, so that her performance would each time cause her daughter genuine admiration and delight.
As for Vitalina's father, he viewed his wife's new hobby skeptically and coolly. He considered it her ordinary whim, a feminine caprice, and treated her "piano exercises" with patient condescension. Especially since he spent most of his daytime at work.
In the evening he returned home tired. Vitalina, who always waited impatiently for his arrival, each time joyfully and enthusiastically threw herself around his neck, but her father, picking her up in his arms and tenderly kissing his daughter, immediately put her down on the floor and went to his room to rest.
Mother, during her music lessons, still found time to talk with 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 sharply with their pads, as if they are running, playing, dancing. All ten fingers—five on the right hand and five on the left—should be equally skillful, obedient, and strong, then a pianist can manage them skillfully and be proud of them.
Yes, mother, you're right not to let me near the piano. After all, it's very difficult to control all ten fingers, which must press the keys in turn and in different sequences. I will never learn this!—Vitalina said bitterly.
Well, don't despair! You'll grow up and everything will work out for you. For example, centipedes, which look like caterpillars, don't actually have forty legs but many more, and they manage all their legs easily. You are smarter and more capable than these centipedes, aren't you?!
Vitalina, having listened to her mother's words, walked away thoughtfully from the piano, approached her little chair standing by the wall, and sat on it.
When her mother went to the store for groceries and left Vitalina alone at home for a while, with the musical instrument locked in the wardrobe, she would approach the wardrobe and talk through the door to the piano:
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 mother no longer hid the electric piano in the wardrobe, and it remained lying turned off on the coffee table.
One day, when her mother was not home, Vitalina could not resist the temptation: she approached the musical instrument to at least touch it with her hand and gently stroke it. She moved her mother's chair, which was too high for her to climb onto and sit, and stood before the piano, looking at it with admiration and love.
The piano unexpectedly turned on by itself. Suddenly a key lit up, and the number "1" shone brightly on it. Vitalina, without thinking, immediately pressed this key with her large first thumb of her right hand; the key sang a pleasant sound, and its light went out.
Then the neighboring key to the right of the first, 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 as well.
Keys marked "3," "4," "5" successively lit up, sang, and went dark. Vitalina pressed them with the corresponding fingers of her right hand. Vitalina performed this exercise for the five fingers of her right hand with the "magic" piano four more times, after which it turned off by itself. Vitalina said with passionate feeling:
Thank you, Magic Piano, for the music lesson you gave me! I will be your most diligent student. You won't be disappointed in me!
And after these words she ran to her room, sat on her little chair standing by a low desk, placed her right hand on the desk, and began to tap out with her fingers her musical "homework" assigned 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 flawlessly completed "homework," Vitalina had already learned to beautifully perform about a dozen simple pieces on the musical instrument: songs, dances, and little etudes.
One day, when Vitalina's mother went to the store for groceries, and Vitalina herself, taking advantage of her absence, was learning new pieces on the piano assigned to her 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 stunned with amazement: his little daughter was skillfully playing surprisingly pleasant musical compositions on the piano with her small child fingers.
With tears in his eyes, he rushed to his daughter, picked her up in his arms, embraced her, tenderly kissed her, and said in an emotional voice:
My dear, how talented you are! How did you manage to master the art of playing such a complex musical instrument as the piano on your own?! How proud and amazed I am of you! I'm sorry I paid so little attention to you. Now I will treat you differently, I promise!
Vitalina quickly and fearfully stammered:
Dear daddy, just don't tell mommy that I played the piano without her permission—she will scold me severely for this and will be very displeased with my wrongdoing.
Alright,—her father answered,—I won't give you away. But here's what I propose: soon is mommy's and your beloved grandmother's holiday—International Women's Day, March 8th; let's arrange a concert for them on this holiday—it will be an unexpected precious gift for them, a real surprise! Do you agree?
Yes,—Vitalina answered enthusiastically.
March 8th arrived. From early morning, Vitalina asked her mother to dress her as beautifully as possible, like a princess.
After all, it's my holiday too,—Vitalina explained and added,—and I will congratulate you and grandmother in the evening when all the guests gather at our holiday table.
In the evening, when all the invited guests had arrived, mother was still busy in the kitchen, preparing holiday treats for the guests.
The guests were bored, and Vitalina's father announced:
Dear friends, in honor of today's holiday, my daughter has prepared a small holiday concert for all of us, which she will now perform for us.
He approached the electric piano, turned it on, moved a low stool up to the piano, called Vitalina over, and seated 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, shouts of "bravo" and "encore" sounded after each beautifully played piece. Standing in the kitchen doorway, Vitalina's mother watched the unthinkable miracle happening before her eyes in a semi-conscious state.
She realized that, of course, Vitalina had violated her ban on touching 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 with teaching their daughter to play the piano, because everything forbidden, which constantly arouses a child's growing interest, gradually becomes more and more coveted for them.
This is how true great talent awakens in a child.