Chapter 7                   From Staff to Finish

 

            Annette and Minnie sat together in a carriage just opposite some quavers who were wriggling about on their seat as if they could not stand keeping still for so long.

            "First the train will accelerando," said Minnie, ad just at that moment the train started and gradually became faster. A short time later it slowed down near Staff City station and Minnie said. "Now the train is rallentando, or ritardando, which is the same thing."

            The man who took their tickets asked in a deep voice, "Did you enjoy your ride?"

            "Very much, thank you," said Minnie. "Even though the train was sometimes presto, it went very legato."

            "What are you talking about?" asked Annette, confused by the strange language.

            "Oh, that's music language, " said Minnie. "We all speak like that here in the city. But I'd like you to meet the station master, Mr F. Clef. He used to be in charge of a section of the Bass Staff, but he's retired now."

            "Pleased to meet you," said Mr Clef, in his bass voice. "By the way, Minnie, there's a job for you  just down the block. They need a minim right away."

            "That's good," said Minnie. "Then I can have my house painted again. Come on, Annette." And she hurried away, leading Annette by the hand, through the strange city, which, instead of shops and offices, consisted of a lot of sections of a staff, usually in pairs, one above the other. At the beginning of each, Annette could seed Bass Clefs like the Station Master, and other creatures who were apparently Treble Clefs, usually on a higher section of each pair.

            "There's the part of the Staff I'm going to," said Minnie, pointing to a very small section with only a Treble Clef at the beginning. Then she started running again.

            "Gee!" said the Treble Clef, as Annette and Minnie appeared in front of her.

            "Annette, I'd like you to meet Miss G. Clef. Miss G., this is Annette."

" .

            "I am pleased to meet you," said the clef, in a fairly high voice. "You have such a pretty                

"I have no pardon for you to

            "I beg your pardon, " said Annette.

Minnie, seeing that Annette could not understand Miss G.'s sentences, which ended up with a little group of notes, explained that she was speaking in Music. "You'll get used to it," she said. "If you concentrate hard you will begin to understand. However, I have to leave you now. I have to get on the staff as some one is just about to play this tune. You can stay and talk to Miss G. for a while. Goodbye."

            Annette watched as Minnie ran off and climbed onto the staff some distance away.

            The Treble Clef was the first to continue the conversation. "Did you get here by train?" she asked. "Or by  

?"

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

To Annette's surprise, she found she could understand what Miss G. Said. She must be picking up the language very quickly.

            "I came by train," she answered. "And Minnie says we had a very legato journey."

            "You are speaking too piano," said Miss G. "You will have to crescendo your voice until it is forte. The truth is, I am a little                                              ."

 

            "Crescendo," said Annette to herself. "I'm sure I know what that means."

" .

away. I wish you would have more consideration for my   my

"You are diminuendo even more," complained Miss G. "Your voice seems to have

almost

," said the clef. "Tell me, dear, have you been

"Now, that's not so

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Annette, in a louder voice. "I was trying to think what crescendo meant."

?"

            "As a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I ate," said Annette. "But, what's that?" Annette had just seen a creature shaped like the figure two running up to the staff.

            "I'm late, I'm late!" he was panting. Annette almost expected him to take a watch out of his waistcoat pocket, except that he wasn't wearing one. He disappeared up the staff, and a moment later a figure three climbed down and walked away.

            "What was that about?" asked Annette.

            "It's obvious!" yelled a sharp voice from the top of the staff. "This staff has just been used for a waltz and now the time has been changed from triple time to duple time"

            Annette looked up at the speaker, who was on the top line.

            "Who are you?" she asked.

            "You should know!" came the sharp answer. "I'm F Sharp, and it's my job to put this tune into G Major. You look very much like the little girl who often leaves me out. Me, the most important of all sharps. If I could get down from here, I'd cut your hair off, and maybe take your head with it!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Annette quickly ran away from the staff until she was some distance from the sharp. "What a horrible creature!" she said. "I don't like him at all!"

            From where she was standing now she could see the whole staff at once. There were sixteen notes altogether, mainly crotchets. Right at the very en she could see her friend Minnie waving to her. She waved back and was just about to go closer to Minnie, who was hanging up by her legs, when the sharp screamed out, "How dare you shake your fist at me! How dare you!" And he gave a long whistle, at which a huge crowd of sharps seemed to appear from nowhere and run towards Annette. She rushed towards Minnie as fast as she could.

            "Save me, Minnie! Save me!" she yelled.

            But it was too late. The sharps fell in a heap on top of her.

 

                                                                        BOOM!!!

 

            Annette listened as the thunderous sound disappeared into the distance. She had fallen sideways a little and her arm had thumped the bass notes of the piano so loudly that it woke her up.  Immediately she jumped up and ran to find a sheet of manuscript paper. While the picture was still in her mind, she drew all sixteen notes on the staff. She put the horrible sharp in its place and the time signature 2/4 after it, and drew Minnie hanging upside down at the end. Quickly she ran back to the piano and played it as well as she could.

            "I recognise that tune!" she exclaimed. "That's the little melody the piano played when my dream first began And now, whenever I play it, I'll remember all the adventures I dreamt that I had, and the new friend that I made in Music Land."

            As she placed her composition with her other music, she looked at the last note on the line. "Goodbye, Minnie," she said. And for a moment she thought she could hear the note speak to her. "Goodbye, Annette," it seemed to say.