The Drummer Boy

Mary didn't believe the New Boy. He talked about things that she couldn't see. Mary only believed things she could see.

The New Boy was blind. He couldn't see anything. And he believed all sorts of things he couldn't see, like the Drummer Boy.

"The Drummer Boy?" asked Joanna.

"Yes, Yanni, the Drummer Boy. He lives right here in the Project," said the New Boy.

"I've never met him," said Joanna.

"I haven't met him either," said the New Boy. "But I hear him every time it rains."

"Where do you hear him?" asked Joanna.

"Right outside my window, down by the trash cans."

"I don't believe it," said Mary.

"Oh, Mary, you never believe anything," said Joanna. And she asked the New Boy, "What's Yanni like? Do you think he'll teach me how to play the drums?"

"I don't know," said the New Boy. "He keeps to himself. He only comes out when it rains."

"I wonder why I haven't heard him?" asked Joanna.

"You've heard him, silly," said Mary. "I bet it's just the rain beating on the trash cans."

"Mary's partly right," admitted the New Boy. "He sounds just like the rain beating on cans. He's a fantastic drummer. It's awfully hard to sound like the rain beating on cans. It's a very special beat."

"Oh, silly, why would anybody sit out in the rain and play the drums?" asked Mary.

"Because the rain makes him sad," said the New Boy. "He always plays the drums when he feels sad.

"He used to live back on Earth when there were jungles and forests and fields; when tigers and lions and monkeys and kids all played together.

"Then the jungles and forests got cut down. People built roads and parking lots and shopping centers. Then the tigers and the lions and the monkeys and even the kids stared disappearing. Soon there was nobody around but grownups and cars and a few stray dogs and cats, and Yanni.

"Yanni was very lonely until one day he met Brenda. It was in a parking lot. She was playing with old cans and invited Yanni to join her. They piled the cans high like big buildings and knocked them over to make new buildings, just like grownups do.

"Then it started raining, and Brenda's mother came and drove off with her. Yanni was left alone with the rain beating on the old cans. He never saw her again.

"Yanni likes it here in the Project, out in outer space. Here he can play with his old friends the tigers in the intercoms. But he misses Brenda. And whenever it rains, he goes out and plays his drums, making a beat just like rain on old cans."

• Hair Replacement:
  Hair Restoration for Hair Loss
• Hair Transplant Surgery:
  Hair Restoration

• Cosmetic Surgery:
  Plastic Surgery & Surgeons
• Automotive:
  Used Cars Guide

• Clothing:
  Homecoming & Prom Dresses