Storyteller: A long time ago there was an old
man. His name was Peter, and he lived in an old, old house.
The bed creaked. The floor squeaked. Outside, the wind blew the leaves
through the trees. The leaves fell on the roof. (Swish.
Swish.) The tea kettle whistled. ( Hiss, Hiss.)
Peter: Too noisy.
Storyteller: Peter went to see the wise
man of the village.
Peter: What can I do? My house makes
too much noise. My bed creaks. My floor squeaks. The wind blows
the leaves through the trees. The leaves fall on the roof.
(Swish. Swish.) My tea kettle whistles. ( Hiss, Hiss.)
Wise man: I can help you. I know what you can
do.
Peter: What?
Wise man: Get a cow.
Peter: What good is a cow?
Storyteller: But Peter got a cow anyhow.
Cow: Moo. MOO.
Storyteller: The bed creaked. The floor
squeaked. The leaves fell on the roof. (Swish. Swish.)
The tea kettle whistled. ( Hiss, Hiss.)
Peter: Too noisy.
Storyteller: Peter went back to the wise man.
Wise man: Get a donkey.
Peter: What good is a donkey?
Storyteller: But Peter got a donkey anyhow.
Donkey: HEE-Haw.
Cow: Moo. MOO.
Storyteller: The bed creaked. The floor
squeaked. The leaves fell on the roof. (Swish. Swish.)
The tea kettle whistled. ( Hiss, Hiss.)
Peter: Still too noisy.
Storyteller: And Peter went back to the wise
man again.
Wise man: Get a sheep.
Peter: What good is a sheep?
Storyteller: But Peter got a sheep anyhow.
Sheep: Baa. Baa.
Donkey: HEE-Haw.
Cow: Moo. MOO.
Storyteller: The bed creaked. The floor
squeaked. The leaves fell on the roof. (Swish. Swish.)
The tea kettle whistled. ( Hiss, Hiss.)
Peter: Too noisy.
Storyteller: And he went back to the wise man.
Wise man: Get a hen.
Peter: What good is a hen?
Storyteller: But Peter got a hen anyhow.
Hen: Cluck. Cluck.
Sheep: Baa. Baa.
Donkey: HEE-Haw.
Cow: Moo. MOO.
Storyteller: The bed creaked. The floor
squeaked. The leaves fell on the roof. (Swish. Swish.)
The tea kettle whistled. ( Hiss, Hiss.)
Peter: Too noisy.
Storyteller: And back he went to the wise
man.
Wise man: Get a dog. And get a cat too.
Peter: What good is a dog? Or a cat?
Storyteller: But Peter got a dog and a cat anyhow.
Dog: Woof. Woof.
Cat: Mee-ow. Mee-ow.
Sheep: Baa. Baa.
Donkey: HEE-Haw.
Cow: Moo. MOO.
Storyteller: The bed creaked. The floor
squeaked. The leaves fell on the roof. (Swish. Swish.)
The tea kettle whistled. ( Hiss, Hiss.) Now Peter
was angry. He went to the wise man.
Peter: I told you my house was too noisy. I told
you my bed creaks. My floor squeaks. The leaves fall on the roof. (Swish.
Swish.) The tea kettle whistles. (Hiss. Hiss) You told me to get
a cow. All day the cow says, "Moo. MOO." You told
me to get a donkey. All day the donkey says, "HEE-Haw."
You told me to get a sheep. All day the sheep says. "Baa. Baa"
You told me to get a hen. All day the hen says, "Cluck. Cluck."
You told me to get a dog. And a cat. All day the cats says. "Mee-ow.
Mee-ow." I am going crazy.
Wise man: Do what I tell you. Let the cow
go. Let the donkey go. Let the sheep go. Let the hen go. Let the
dog go. Let the cat go.
Storyteller: So Peter let the cow go. He
let the donkey go. He let the sheep go. He let the hen go. He
let the dog go. He let the cat go. Now no cow said, "Moo. MOO."
No donkey said, "HEE-Haw." No sheep said, "Baa. Baa."
No hen said, "Cluck. Cluck." No dog said, "Woof. Woof."
No cat said. "Mee-ow. Mee-ow." Only the bed creaked.
Peter: Ah, what a quiet noise.
Storyteller: The floor squeaked.
Peter: Oh, what a quiet noise.
Storyteller: Outside the leaves fell on the roof.
(Swish. Swish.) Inside the tea kettle whistled. (Hiss. Hiss.)
Peter: Ah. Oh. How quiet my house is.
Storyteller: And Peter got into his bed and went
to sleep and dreamed a very quiet dream.