Robin's Song

ROBIN’S SONG by Barbara Alfaro

  Copyright 2014 by Barbara Alfaro

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Long ago and far away there was a boy named Robin who sang so sweetly everyone who heard him felt glad. Robin did not have the gift of perfect speech. When he spoke, he stammered. Stammering is when someone’s words seem to trip over themselves. It is as if their voice has lost its balance so it sometimes takes a long time to say even one word. A stammerer might say “st...st...stam...mer.” Because of his stammer, when Robin spoke he was not able to finish saying a word easily. It was difficult for him to say a whole sentence. He knew when he stammered he had to get used to being interrupted by others. In a way a stammerer interrupts himself with his stammer and then others also interrupt him. A long time passes before their thoughts are spoken.

  Some children interrupted Robin because they felt sorry for him and wanted to help him finish the word or the sentence that seemed so difficult for him to say. Other children interrupted him because they were impatient with him and annoyed at him for taking so long to speak. Robin was used to being interrupted. He was used to others poking fun at him. If he wanted to finish his sentence himself and not have someone else finish it for him, he sometimes had to interrupt his interrupters. He could do this by saying “no” as that was a word he was able to say without stammering or by shaking his head no or talking over their talk in a louder, though still stammering voice. This caused some problems because those with what is called normal speech do not like to be interrupted by those who stammer.

  What was easy and natural for most children – talking – was difficult and painful for the boy who stammered. But even the children who made fun of him when he stammered were silent when he sang. Robin’s beautiful singing voice healed the scratchy places in listeners’ hearts.

  Hammertown, the land the boy lived in was known for the excellence of the hammers the townspeople made. Hammertown had a hidden king. Because the townspeople had not seen the king in many years, many of them began to be afraid of him. Years ago, horseback riding in the forest, the king became lost. An old woman helped him find his way but this woman, a witch, wanted the king to marry her witch-daughter who was beautiful on the outside but ugly within. Because the king refused to marry her daughter, the witch cast a spell on him and doomed him to have two voices that speak at the same time. And because the two voices belonged to the witch, they were hideous and frightening to hear. The king’s own rich voice was silenced.

  In spite of the terrible curse of two voices, a gentle princess loved the king and he loved her. The two were married. Their marriage angered the witch even more. The witch put a second curse on the king, a thing worse than the loss of his voice – the loss of hope. The king’s troubles and worries overwhelmed him so much that even the days when the sun shined, he did not notice its warmth. In the mornings, at breakfast, the queen would reach across the table and place her hand on the king’s hand.

  The gentle queen felt the king’s sadness as if it were her own and longed for the day when joy would fill their lives and the royal palace. The court physicians gave the king potions and the court jesters told jokes so that sometimes the king seemed somewhat better. But alone, late at night in his bed chamber, the king sat very still and stared into the air as if something visible only to him were floating there. Sometimes, he sobbed and mourned the loss of his real voice and all his own songs that were, because of the witch’s spell, unsung.

  Palace servants gossiped while they worked and someone they gossiped about was Robin, the boy with the beautiful voice.

  “Oh, I’ve heard him sing,” said the kitchen maid, “and he sings like an angel.”

  “It’s true,” agreed the cook, “whenever I hear him sing, I feel glad.”

  The queen, overhearing their talk, sent for the boy.

  Robin dressed in his very best clothes and was brought by the king’s servants to a large room in the palace. The servants withdrew from the room, leaving the boy alone. To calm himself, he began to sing. The king entered the room and the second he heard Robin’s voice, hope returned to his heart. When he saw the king, Robin stopped singing but the king motioned to him to continue his song. At the end of the song the king gave a great sigh and handed Robin a letter indicating it should be read now, in the king’s presence.

  The letter told of witch’s curse and the secret of why the king remained hidden and separate from his people. It told too how there was only one way to undo the bewitchment -- a child who sings as sweetly as a swan must give their singing voice to the witch. In exchange for the singing voice, the child would be given another one, a normal voice, but one incapable of song. The letter went on to say the king realized this was a tremendous thing to ask of the boy and he would not ask Robin to answer until he was ready.

  “Know,” it was written, “if you decide to do this brave thing, I will be with you, by your side, protecting you, when we meet the witch. But know too that you do not have to do it if you don’t want to.”

  A long while passed and neither the king nor Robin spoke. Robin imagined the king speaking to the people of Hammertown in a strong rich voice and the people loving and cheering their king. He imagined the king singing songs filled with joy. The king spoke or rather the two voices spoke and they said at the same time there was no need for Robin to give his answer right away. Robin was frightened by the sound of these voices but comforted by their words. They asked that he stay the night at the castle and decide in the morning. A messenger would be sent to Robin’s mother and father to keep them from worry.

  That evening, court musicians played sweet music in the great garden, under the moon. The smell of honeysuckle was everywhere and the sound of buzzing insects making their own music. In the morning, the king took Robin horseback riding. Mercury was the name of the king’s great horse. The king sat Robin in front of him on the horse and told him to hold on to Mercury’s mane.

  “Hold steady,” the king’s voices said, “for Mercury never hesitates.”

  The sound of the king’s two voices frightened Robin but again, their words and the king’s kind manner comforted him.

  At the king’s signal, Mercury galloped along the bridal path near the palace. Sometimes tree leaves would brush Robin’s face very gently. Sunburned and smiling, Robin laughed out loud as this was the most exciting thing he had ever done. The king slowed the horse’s pace to a walk and returned to the palace. After dismounting, Robin gave a piece of carrot to Mercury and said, “You are a wonderful horse!”

  The minute they were away from Mercury, troubled thoughts returned to them both. The king felt he was asking too much of the boy in asking he give up his beautiful singing voice. Yet, how could he rule his kingdom wisely and well when separated from his people and attached to two evil voices?

  Robin could not imagine a life without song. But he thought too how wonderful it would be to have a voice that did not stammer. How wonderful it would be, he thought, to speak without interference – and to speak without being mocked. The boy told the king that in order to end the cruel spell cast on the king, he would give his singing voice to the witch in exchange for one that could not sing. The king lifted Robin to his heart and hugged him there awhile. Still, something in Robin was uncomfortable. It was as if he secretly knew, even though it may be damaged, you should never give up your voice.

  It rained during the night and the brown earth and green trees were still glistening early in the morning when the king, the boy, and the soldiers rode deep into the dark forest. As they neared the witch’s place, Mercury’s ears went straight back. The king’s guard followed closely, strong, loyal, and ready to protect.

  The old witch was waiting, alone, in front of her hut. Her daughter who was beautiful on the outside but
ugly within had moved away years ago when she married another king who had also been lost in the forest. Beside Robin the whole time, the king spoke to the witch.

  “Here is a child named Robin whose voice is as sweet as a swan’s and whose heart is as brave as a lion’s for he has the courage to stand here before you.”

  The king commanded the witch to release him from the spell she had placed him under. Rude, as always, the witch yelled no spells would be ended until she heard the boy sing. Trembling, Robin held the king’s hand and began to sing.

  Near the witch’s hut was a lake with a large and perfect swan living in it. Though evil, the witch liked beautiful things nearby. The swan heard Robin’s song and was so moved by its beauty that she left the lake and came to the boy to be close to him and his sweet song. Thrilled to see the graceful swan so near, Robin stopped singing. The witch, furious that he stopped his song, raised her hand to hit the boy. Seeing what the witch was about to do, the swan with a single swift movement of its enormous and powerful wing, struck the witch dead. The second the witch died, the spell upon the king ended.

  The beautiful queen, disguised as a soldier, stepped forward leading a fine young pony. The queen put the reins in Robin’s hands and said, “This Pony is named Brava and now she is yours to care for and love.” The queen had disguised herself as a soldier because she knew the king did not want her near danger. The queen was not afraid of witches because she knew even wicked witches are powerless before the force of goodness. The queen always believed that the cruel spell cast over the king would be broken. And now, because of the courage of the boy and the loyalty of the swan, it was so. The first words the king spoke in his own rich voice full of love, were to the boy and the swan.

  “Cherished ones, this day I will issue a proclamation to all in my kingdom to love and protect you always.” And from that day forward all children and all swans in the kingdom were under the special protection of the king. The king lifted Robin to his shoulders and announced to all those in the forest that Robin was his hero and theirs.

  The swan returned to the lake, lovely in her own element. Returning to the palace, the queen rode her own horse, a beautiful mare named Gift, the king rode Mercury, and Robin rode his fine pony Brava. Robin and Brava were between and in front of the queen and the king so that if you saw them from a distance, the three seemed to form a large letter V. Moving forward in the sunlight, they talked and sang songs along the way. Sometimes Robin stammered when he spoke and sometimes he spoke without stammering but at all times he was able to sing in his own voice.

  About the Author

  Barbara Alfaro graduated from Goddard College in Vermont and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She is the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award for her play Dos Madres.

  Mirror Talk: A Memoir won the IndieReader Discovery Award for Best Memoir.

  Other books by Barbara Alfaro

  Mirror Talk: A Memoir

  Irresistible Impulse and Other Short Stories

  Stagestruck & Other Short Plays

  First Kiss, a poety ebook

  Singing Magic, a paperback edition of poems

  Visit https://www.BarbaraAlfaro.net