The Old Violin
There that old dusty relic sat- neglected, battered, and ancient. In its better days, that violin might have been used as by a philharmonic society or string quartet but in the home of Thomas and Margaet Chamberlin, the old collection of strings and wood saw no use at all. Those wealthy old-guard foxes saw no use for it but in an attempt to clear their home of all the things they thought that they would no longer need- fine china, Ming vases, autographed sports memorabilia, they for some reason included it in their auction. And thusly, this violin having suffered years of neglect/abuse would be auctioned.
"Oh, Thomas" his wife would say examining the battered musical instrument "that thing is so old and so abused no one would want this violin. For what earthly reason, in the middle of our auction, would you want anyone to buy it? Even those with no musical experience would find no use for the violin at all, it's not a Stradivarius? It's useless!"
"No Margaret! I'm absolutely certain that there would be somebody who would actually want this neglected violin. Just remember," the fox said "the touch of the master's paw can make even the most damaged thing in the world new and beautiful again." He took the bow of the instrument (which the vulpine couple intended to sell with the violin itself) and began to play, confident that his early years as a concert violinist would be enough to coax good music out of the antiquated machine. What followed was a series of discordant and terrible noises highly reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard that caused his wife to cover her ears in silent disgust. "Obviously, I'm not the master. But I'm certain there's somebody who could play this."
"Well, I guess we have no choice but to include it with all the other things that are just taking up space in our house. We have an entire mansion of things we feel would be better off in someone else's care. I hope we make $10,000 at this auction at the very least," Margaret said, the vixen's fascination with money becoming obvious in her muzzle. Her avarice and distaste of old and worthless stuff knew no bounds, so the auction would help her have money to buy new things and clear out the old "junk as she saw it that was congesting the fox couple's mansion. Thomas saw things a little differently believing that even though they were trying to unload these items they were not "junk", as his wife believed. But the day was getting late and as the couple, exhausted from a day of labeling and collecting all the trinkets from the mansion fell asleep, they thought of the money they would get at the auction the next day.
The following afternoon at the auction...
Thomas Chamberlin stood on the stage with his wife, the seats that once held vases, sculptures, and paintings empty and there was only thing remaining- the old violin. And he knew that this afternoon of selling, as exhausting and tiresome as the previous day was with the compilation of all the items, would soon be over with the sale of this old instrument. Nevertheless, the fox knew better than to simply rush things through- the violin would be given as much time as the other items were to appreciate in value and being packaged with a high-quality bow would make it worth 20, maybe $30 dollars at maximum. Then he and his wife could thank the guests for coming over and rake in thousands of dollars in profits.
Thomas picked up the violin by the handle and said "I know this might not look like much but the auction can't end until everything has been sold. And this is the final item up for bid. I will set the bidding for this violin, which comes with its own bow at exactly one dollar. Bidding starts now."There were audible groans from the crowd, indicative of the scorn at having been told to wait for this worthless violin to be disposed of before the more valuable pieces of art could be claimed but there were a few interested takers.
"2 dollars, I want my daughter to learn to play the violin," a she-wolf in a red dress said, holding up her card in the air.
"3 dollars, I want to learn how to play myself," a refined-looking tiger dressed as a Southern gentleman said, after a long pause. Both of these offers were incredibly disappointing even for the lowered expectations that Thomas and Margaret had for the violin. They had expected $20 at least for it.
"Well, folks. This may look like a beaten-up violin but I'm certain that someone here could play it with the grace and virtuosity of a professional. I'm sure my husband can find someone who wants it." Margaret said, anxiety now present in her voice.
"I'd like to play it- right now!", a deep-voiced lion exclaimed. His mane had long since turned gray seated at the back of the open-air stage. His words shattered both the heat of the sultry day and the boredom of the guests. Breaking the rules of the auction, he stepped forward on to the stage and motioned towards the chair with the violin on it. And before the stunned audience and auctioneers could say anything, he took the bow to the strings and began playing. Unlike the last time someone tried to play the old violin, this time nothing but beautiful chords issued forth. The purity and sweetness of the instrument captivated all those in the audience, as well as Thomas and Margaret themselves before the violinist stopped. It was as though the music of heaven was being played right on that stage for all the stunned crowd.
"Now who's got a bid for this old violin?", Thomas asked the audience once more. And immediately the paws shot up.
"One thousand," someone said but that was soon followed by a panther offering double that amount. And then an otter raised his card for "$2,500" and more expensive offers were being made. By the time that gavel sounded, that violin ended up going for tens of thousands of dollars, easily the most expensive item the Chamberlins sold. And that night when Thomas, dressed in his robe looked at the amount of money for just the violin alone received the surprised fox reached this conclusion talking to his wife "The only reason that the violin appreciated was the touch of the master's paw. That lion must have been a professional who knew something about how to play the violin more than anyone else who attended. And it reminds me of life itself."
This surprised Margaret "And what exactly is THAT supposed to mean?", she questioned, slipping her tail through the back of her evening gown.
"That old violin is much like many of us, worthless and out of tune. We're battered and scarred and with no inherent value whatsoever. And we'll get sold to a cheap and thankless world, much like that old violin. But when the master comes into our lives those same people will be confounded as we are turned from worthless junk into wonderful and enviable treasure. They will never understand." The fox paused a little while for his wife to digest this information. "Because the changes occur in our worth as the master works through us, again much like the old violin."
With thanks to the late great singer JD Sumner (1924-1998), known for singing the lowest note in recorded music history and for touring with Elvis Presley. The inspiration for this Furry story is his poem "Touch of the Master's Hand".