Trubloff - The Mouse who wanted to play the Balalaika
This is the story of a musical mouse who lives with his family behind the panelling of the parlour bar at an inn in central Europe. A book inspired by John’s own travels around Europe.
One day a group of travelling Gypsy musicians came to perform at the inn and Trubloff is utterly entranced and desperate to learn the balalaika himself. Nabakoff, the local mouse craftsman, makes Trubloff his own balalaika and he follows his heart and his dreams, stowing away with the Gypsy troupe.
Soon he is followed by his sister who persuades him to return to the inn as their mother is desperate without him. They travel day and night through the snowy lansdcape, arriving home to see their mother greatly relieved.
At home Trubloff saves the day for the innkeeper when he is without entertainers, and he plays for the restless patrons.
When Trubloff finally went to bed, he dreamed that he was the greatest balalaika-player in the whole country. In his dream the conductor of the orchestra stood humbly back while the audience clapped and clapped
But then he had an idea: he would hide in one of the gypsies’ sleighs and travel with them.
As soon as they were some distance from the village, Trubloff came out of the old gypsies’ pocket into which he had climbed as the sleigh sped over the snow.
One night while the gypsies were sheltering in a barn, Trubloff’s sister arrived on skis. All of the gypsies were asleep except for the old man who was giving Trubloff a lesson. Trubloff was surprised to see his sister.
“You must come home at once”, she said. “Our Mother is very ill”
