In a small village at the base of a beautiful mountain range lived Victor Borgon. Victor was a famous musician known throughout the surrounding land. Victor loved to travel to the neighboring towns to play his violin. All the townspeople loved to listen to Victor’s music. It was always so peaceful. It made them feel happy. Victor always said his music was for everyone to enjoy.
Victor also loved to teach others how to play the violin. He freely gave of his time and talents to teach those interested in learning. Victor hand-crafted his own violins and gave them as gifts to those he taught. The craftsmanship was perfect in all aspects.
Victor had one requirement for those he taught: the students must teach their new talent to someone else.
One day as he was teaching a small group of children he noticed a little girl peek around the corner of a house. He beckoned to her but she hid herself and did not come. One boy had noticed this and said, “That’s my neighbor. She’s shy. You won’t want to teach her. She’s not good at anything.” The other children nodded in agreement.
“My talents are for everyone to enjoy,” said Victor. “She is welcome to come and learn if she wishes. I’m sure she can make wonderful music.”
“No, she’s too stupid to learn anything,” the boy said. The other children laughed. “She can’t even tie her own shoes without help.”
“I have never taught a single person who has not learned to play beautiful music,” Victor responded cutting the children off in their laughter. “All it takes is a willing heart and an open mind coupled with practice.”
Victor finished teaching and sent the children home to practice. As he closed his violin case he heard a noise from behind. Turning himself around he saw the little girl. She wore a tattered dress. Her black hair was unkempt and her cheeks were dirty. She didn’t look at Victor but stared at the ground.
Victor smiled. He kneeled down and asked, “Do you want to learn to play the violin?”
At first Victor was not sure if she understood him. She continued to stare at the ground with her hands clasped tight together. Then he saw the nearly imperceptible nod of her head.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Amelia,” she said.
“That’s a beautiful name, Amelia. If you come back here tomorrow morning I will give you a gift.”
Without even saying yes or no but with a giddy school girl grin she ran as fast as she could down the street and around the corner.
He walked inside his shop and found his prized violin reserved for someone as special as Amelia. He tightened the strings, polished it until he could see his reflection in the wood, and tuned it to the perfect sound. He tied a red ribbon around the neck and placed a hand-written note between the strings. He laid it gently in its case.
The next morning upon opening his shop door Victor discovered the same children from yesterday waiting for him.
“Good morning,” he said. “It’s a fine day to play the violin, don’t you agree?”
The children looked at each other. One boy had a sly grin on his face. Then he spoke, “We heard you are going to teach Amelia how to play the violin. We don’t think you can. She’s not smart enough to learn.”
“We shall see” was all Victor said. He grabbed his violin, tucked it under his chin, and began to play. The children sat and listened as they waited for Amelia.
A few minutes later Amelia came around the corner. She looked the same as yesterday. She wore the same brown dress, the same untidy hair, and the same unwashed face. Seeing the children, she walked slowly to Victor’s shop. Her head was down but she was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
Without saying a word Amelia approached Victor’s chair and sat down. Victor stopped playing. As he looked Amelia in the eyes he repeated yesterday’s question, “Do you want to learn to play the violin?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I want to learn from the master.”
“In that case, follow me. I have a surprise for you.” She stood up and followed Victor into his shop. The children knew Victor was giving Amelia a violin. Only a broken violin would fit Amelia well, they thought.
“Amelia,” he said. “I have for you a special violin. It is yours as long as you promise you’ll follow my every instruction. I expect a willing heart, an open mind, and lots of practice and you’ll become just like me. And you must teach someone else your new talent as I have taught you. Do you agree to my requirements?”
Amelia nodded her head in agreement.
Victor picked up the violin with the red bow and hand-written note and handed it to Amelia. Amelia took it in her hands. She had never received such a beautiful gift before. The violin was very beautiful.
Between the strings she noticed a piece of paper. Curious, she looked at Victor, who only nodded as if he already knew her unspoken question was whether she should look at it or not.
She removed the note and read:
Dear Amelia,
The secret to playing excellent music is not in the violin. The violin by itself does not make music. The violin requires someone with a certain talent to play it. Only you can discover this talent for it is found within you. I can’t teach you to play unless you believe in yourself as I believe in you. Follow my every instruction and one day you will play beautiful music.
Sincerely,
Victor Borgon
Tears formed in her eyes as she finished the note. Gently, she put the violin down and rushed to embrace Victor. This time when she spoke it was with confidence, “Thank you Mr. Borgon. Thank you so much.”
Amelia followed Victor’s instructions and years later she became a brilliant musician. She did follow in Victor’s steps and taught others to believe in themselves as Victor did for her.
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