James Baquet

In 1936, Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev debuted an unusual “symphonic fairy tale for children” that has delighted youngsters — and their elders — ever since. The piece, called “Peter and the Wolf,” features a narrator telling about Peter, who lives in a clearing in the forest with his grandfather. He is often shown wearing the red scarf of the Young Soviet Pioneers, a sort of Leninist version of the Boy Scouts.

One day Peter goes into the clearing and accidentally leaves the gate of his grandfather’s garden open. Grandfather’s duck escapes and goes swimming in the nearby pond. A little bird mocks the duck, asking, “What kind of bird are you if you can’t fly?” The duck retorts, “What kind of bird are you if you can’t swim?” Meanwhile, Peter’s cat is stalking them, but when Peter calls out to warn bird, it flies to safety in a tall tree.

When Peter returns home, his grandfather scolds him for going out to the meadow alone, asking him, “What if a wolf came out of the forest?” Defiantly, Peter answers, “A boy like me is not afraid of a wolf!” After they go inside, a big, grey wolf actually does emerge from the forest. The cat climbs up in the tree next to the bird, but the wolf chases and eventually eats the duck.

Peter, however, has observed it all. He grabs a rope and, climbing into the tree, instructs the bird to fly around the wolf’s head to distract it. As the bird does this, Peter fashions a noose in the rope, lowers it down, and catches the wolf by the tail. He then ties the rope to the tree to secure it.

Just then, some hunters, who have been stalking the wolf, emerge from the forest and are ready to shoot it. But Peter convinces them to take the wolf to a zoo, and they hold a victory parade — much like the Young Pioneers do during May Day celebrations.

Each character has his own theme, played by different instruments in the orchestra. Peter’s is performed by various string instruments; the wolf is represented by French horns. Grandfather is a bassoon; the duck is an oboe; the cat is a clarinet; and of course the bird is a flute. The manly hunters are represented by woodwinds and trumpets, and deep drums make their gunshots.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. catch the attention of

2. related to an orchestra

3. with bold disobedience

4. answers sharply

5. loop in a rope which can slip closed

6. people who are older

7. come out of

8. was shown for the first time

9. sneaking up on, following secretly

10. makes fun of