Louie, Nephi, and the Piano

By Noelle Lambert Barrus

(Based on a true story)

PLUNK! This part of the song was hard.

This story happened in Taiwan.

“Ready, Louie?” Miss Li asked.

Louie nodded. He put his fingers to the black and white piano keys and began to play. Plink, plink, plink. He loved playing all the notes together to make music. He played through the whole first page and moved to the next.

PLUNK. Oops. He always had trouble playing that part. It had lots of quick notes. Louie started again from the beginning.

PLUNK. Louie frowned. Not again!

“That’s OK,” Miss Li said. “Let’s try again slowly.”

Louie practiced with Miss Li’s help a few more times. But he still couldn’t get through that part very well.

“This part is tricky, but I know you can do it,” Miss Li said. “Do you think you can practice more at home before the performance?”

“I think so,” Louie said.

The next day, Louie practiced piano again. But he kept messing up the same part! Plink, plink, PLUNK.

Dad came into the room. “How’s it going?” he asked.

Louie pointed at the notes on the music sheet. “This part is really hard. I keep having to do it over and over!”

“That does look hard,” Dad said. “But this reminds me of a story in the Book of Mormon. The story about Nephi going back to get the plates.”

Louie’s eyes got big. “I love that story! Nephi kept going back to try again. And Heavenly Father helped him.”

Dad smiled. “That’s right. I think if you keep trying, Heavenly Father will help you like he helped Nephi.”

Louie nodded and started over. Dad sat in a chair close to Louie and listened. Louie focused on the part that was hard. He played each note slowly.

Then Louie played through the whole song again. Each time he played, he got faster. At last he played all the notes right! He felt so good. He didn’t even notice how long it took.

“You did it! Great job,” Dad said.

Mom stood in the doorway. “It sounded great, Louie!”

“Thanks,” Louie said. “I finally learned the hard part.”

Mom gave Louie a hug. “I’m proud of you for working so hard.”

On the night of the performance, Louie was nervous. His heart was pounding. His hands were sweaty.

Finally, his name was called. He walked onto the stage and looked at the parents and kids listening. He said the name of his song, then sat down on the hard bench.

Louie took a deep breath and placed his hands on the shiny keys. He knew he had done all he could. Heavenly Father would help him.

Louie started to play. The notes came just as he had practiced. Then it was time for the hard part.

He played each note right. It didn’t feel quite so hard this time!

Finally he played the last note of the song. Everyone clapped as he lifted his fingers from the keys. Louie smiled and bowed. He saw Mom, Dad, and his sisters clapping and smiling. He did it! He had tried again even when it was hard, just like Nephi. And Heavenly Father had helped him.

Illustrations by Toby Newsome