An orphaned boy uses the last of his money to buy a violin, and as he plays, all the animals of the forest begin to dance along. The music attracts the attention of the Giant King, who asks him to play for his daughter, who never smiles. It works - the Giant Princess starts to laugh, and the Giant King promises the boy his kingdom as a reward.
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'After a while a tapir heard the jolly sound. Immediately his threetoed hind feet and fourtoed front feet began to dance. He just couldn’t keep them from dancing; so he, too, joined the procession of boy, cat, sheep, and monkeys.
Next the armadillo heard the music. In spite of his heavy armour he had to dance too. Then a herd of small deer joined the company. Then the anteater danced along with them. The wild cat and the tiger came, too. The sheep and the deer were terribly frightened, but they kept dancing on just the same. The tiger and wild cat were so happy dancing that they never noticed them at all.'
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The Boy and the Violin from Tales of Giants from Brazil, Elsie Spicer Eells
