They had seats near the front of the concert hall.
The mother found a friend to talk to and the boy slipped away. When eight o'clock came around, the spotlights came on, and only then did they notice the boy at the piano bench innocently picking out "Twinkle, twinkle little star."
The master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard.
"Don't quit. Keep playing," he whispered to the boy.
Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd spellbound.
In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." And as we do, he augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created.
