Peter and the wolf is a simple story of a boy brave enough to ignore his grandfather's advice and capture a wolf almost single-handedly (he had help from a bird).
What really makes "Peter" great is the fact that it's a musical.
Each character is represented by a different instrument of the orchestra — the bird is played by the flute, the duck by the oboe, the wolf by French horns, and so on.
The result's pretty entertaining even for the adults.
My reason for mentioning the story here isn't the music, of course.
It's the last line.
It goes:
And if one would listen very carefully, he would hear the duck quacking inside the wolf, because the wolf, in his hurry, had swallowed her alive.
This line is one of those little quirks a writer adds as a leave behind.
It's beautiful, and very visual, but it's also unnecessary to the plot; the story really ends on a celebratory procession that includes Peter's complaining grandfather and the gloating bird.
This line comes after — a deliberate loose end that, in my opinion, makes the story itself so memorable.
It's also a good lesson for writers: you may have finished writing the story but don't close the book just yet. There may still be something beautiful waiting to come out.
PS: A must see page of vintage album art for Peter and the wolf here: http://peterandthewolfgallery.blogspot.com/
What really makes "Peter" great is the fact that it's a musical.
Each character is represented by a different instrument of the orchestra — the bird is played by the flute, the duck by the oboe, the wolf by French horns, and so on.
The result's pretty entertaining even for the adults.
My reason for mentioning the story here isn't the music, of course.
It's the last line.
It goes:
And if one would listen very carefully, he would hear the duck quacking inside the wolf, because the wolf, in his hurry, had swallowed her alive.
This line is one of those little quirks a writer adds as a leave behind.
It's beautiful, and very visual, but it's also unnecessary to the plot; the story really ends on a celebratory procession that includes Peter's complaining grandfather and the gloating bird.
This line comes after — a deliberate loose end that, in my opinion, makes the story itself so memorable.
It's also a good lesson for writers: you may have finished writing the story but don't close the book just yet. There may still be something beautiful waiting to come out.
PS: A must see page of vintage album art for Peter and the wolf here: http://peterandthewolfgallery.blogspot.com/
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