A Pleasant Surprise

Tonight I bought a cello. I brought it home and set it up in my living room. I sat with the cello, took out the bow and commenced playing. It sounded horrible. I tried for fifteen minutes and it actually got worse. I got frustrated and kicked over the cello and threw the bow in the trash can.

My cat came in through the pet door. She looked at the cello on the ground. She spotted the bow, got it out of the trash, turned the cello upright, sat down and began playing. She played a variation of Mendelssohn’s 3rd in E flat. It was spot on. I couldn’t believe it. Her playing made me cry.

When she was done, I said to her, “How can you be so good? You’ve never played the cello before.”

She said, “Since you’re allergic to me, I have a lot of time to myself. For the past three years I have spent that extra time over at Fullerton Community College taking cello lessons. You haven’t heard me play before because I rent the cello from the school, and they won’t let me remove it from the premises, so I practice at the college. I was actually going to surprise you with a private concert for your birthday in March, but when I saw you in your sullen state, I thought now is better than later.”

I said, “Thank you so much!” I moved to pet her.

She backed away and said, “No, no, remember your allergies!”

I stopped and said, “Your compassion knows no bounds.”