Extrait du livre Beethoven
Beethoven by Ann Rachlin and Susan Hellard Flowerpot Children's press
Beethoven
It was unusually quiet in the hen yard and Cecily Fischer, the baker’s sister, looked around suspiciously. Then the hens began to squawk in fear. Quickly, she strode across the yard and flung open the door of the hen house. “Ludwig! Well! Now I know who has been stealing my eggs!” “No! No! Miss Fischer,” lied the little boy, “Kaspar threw my handkerchief in here and I came in to get it!” Ludwig van Beethoven lived with his father and mother and his two brothers, Kaspar and Nikola, in the baker’s house at No. 934 Rheingasse in Bonn, Germany. In 1774, he was a scruffy little four-year-old, with untidy hair and dirty fingernails.
Ludwig went to school with his brothers. He hated his lessons. He studied French, Italian, and Latin, but his marks were very pooor.As for mathematics, poor Ludwig was so bad at multiplication that if he had to find the answer to three times four, he would write down four three times and add them all together! Kaspar and Nikola were very good at school. But when it came to music, no one was brilliant as Ludwig! Ludwig was so small when he began to play the clavier that he had to stand on a bench to reach the keys. He also learned the violin. His father, Johann, was a singer. He gave Ludwig his first lessons, but was very strict. Coming home late at night, Johann would drag Ludwig out of bed to practice. If Ludwig tried to play from memory, his father would become very angry ! "What silly rubbish are you scratching now ? he would scream. "Scratch from the notes-otherwise you will never be a real musician!"
