The Sound Machine by Roald Dahl

On a warm summer evening, Klausner hurried into the backyard garden

through the front gate and around the side of his house. He went to a shed,
unlocked it, and went inside. The shed was plain, without any paint. Against one
wall, on the left, there was a long wooden workbench and on it, among a
littering of wires and batteries and small sharp tools, there stood a black box
about three feet long, the shape of a child's coffin.

Klausner approached the box, which had its lid open. He examined it carefully,
occasionally referring to a piece of paper nearby. He spent about an hour testing
and adjusting wires inside the box, occasionally speaking softly to himself and
adjusting dials on the front of the box.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching and turned to see a tall man entering
the shed. It was the doctor, Scott. They exchanged greetings, and the doctor
inquired about Klausner's health.
"Well, well, well," the Doctor said. "So this is where you hide yourself in the
evenings."
"Hello, Scott," Klausner said
"I happened to be passing," the doctor told him, "so I dropped in to see how you
were. There was no one in the house, so I came on down here. How's that throat
of yours been behaving?"
"It's alright. It's fine." Klausner replied, his voice distracted.

After a brief conversation, the doctor noticed the black box and asked about it.
Klausner explained that it was an experimental project related to sound.
"What is it?" the doctor asked. "It's rather a frightening- looking thing, isn't it?"
"It's just an idea, it has to do with sound, that's all. I like sound. I'll tell you, if
you're interested." Klausner was having trouble about how to begin.

Klausner was becoming more animated every moment. He was a small, frail
man, nervous and twitchy, with always moving hands. His large head inclined
towards his left shoulder as though his neck were not quite strong enough to
support it rigidly. His face was smooth and pale, almost white and the pale-gray
eyes that blinked and peered from behind a pair of steel spectacles were
bewildered, unfocused, and remote.
1
The doctor waited for him to go on. Klausner sighed and clasped his hands
tightly together. "I believe," he said, speaking more slowly now, "that there is a
whole world of sound about us all the time that we cannot hear.” Klausner
pointed out a fly sitting on a small roll of copper wire on the workbench. "You
see that fly? What sort of noise is that fly making now? No one can hear. But for
all we know the creature may be whistling like mad, or barking or croaking or
singing a song. It’s got a mouth, hasn't it? It's got a throat!" The doctor looked
at the fly and he smiled. He was still standing by the door with his hands on the
doorknob. "Well, so you're going to check up on that? And that machine on the
table there, is that going to allow you to hear these noises?" the doctor said. "It
may. Who knows? So far, I've had no luck. But I've made some changes in it and
tonight I'm ready for another trial" Klausner replied.

The doctor expressed curiosity about Klausner's project but eventually left.
Klausner continued to work on the box, adjusting wires and preparing for
another trial outside in the garden. He set up the box on a table, put on
earphones, and began to tune the machine, hoping to pick up high-pitched
sounds that are normally inaudible to humans. He was excited and breathed
loudly and quickly through his mouth. He kept on talking to himself with little
words of comfort and encouragement, as though he were afraid that the
machine might not work and afraid also of what might happen if it did.

As Klausner focused on his experiment, he suddenly heard a piercing shriek

coming from somewhere nearby, a throatless, inhuman shriek, sharp and short,
very clear and cold. The note itself possessed a minor, metallic quality that he
had never heard before. Startled, he looked around but saw no one except his
neighbor, Mrs. Saunders, cutting roses in her garden. The shriek coincided with
the moment she cut a rose stem. Excitedly, Klausner called to her in a voice so
high and loud that she became alarmed. "Mrs Saunders!" Klausner shouted, his
voice shrill with excitement.

Klausner, urgently asks Mrs. Saunders, “Cut another one! Please cut another
one quickly!”. Confused, she cuts another one, thinking he's harmless. But each
time she snips a rose, Klausner hears a disturbing, high-pitched scream through
his earphones. He reveals to Mrs. Saunders that every rose she cuts emits this
scream, though she couldn't hear it. Shocked, Mrs. Saunders listens
2
skeptically as Klausner explains that while roses lack nervous systems or throats,
he hears their cries of pain when they're cut.

Mr. Klausner confronts Mrs. Saunders with a chilling question about whether
roses feel pain when cut, likening it to human suffering. Mrs. Saunders hastily
bids him goodnight and leaves feeling uneasy. Meanwhile, Klausner, intrigued,
experiments with a daisy and hears a faint, emotionless cry when he breaks its
stem. He realizes his mistake in labeling it as pain and concludes that flowers may
experience something unknown to humans, like "toin" or "spurl." Klausner then
packs up his equipment, reflecting on the mysteries of nature, and heads home as
it is getting dark.

The next morning, Klausner takes his machine to a park and places it near a
large beech tree. He then retrieves an axe from his cellar and positions it beside
the tree. After ensuring no one is around, he puts on the earphones, switches on
the machine, and swings the axe at the tree trunk. As the blade strikes, he hears
an unsettling noise unlike anything he's heard before, a long, low-pitched scream
that fades slowly. Horrified, Klausner stares at the tree and then tries to comfort
it, apologizing and reassuring it that the wound will heal. He kept saying, “Tree...
oh, tree... I am sorry ... I am so sorry .. but it will heal .. it will heal .. it will heal
fine ”

Overwhelmed by his experience with the tree, Klausner rushes back home and
immediately calls Dr. Scott, urging him to come quickly. Despite it being early in
the morning, Klausner's urgency alarms Dr. Scott. Klausner explains that he
needs someone to hear what he's experiencing as it's driving him mad.“It’s half-
past six in the morning,” the doctor said, “and you call me but you are not ill.”
“Please come. Come quickly. I want someone to hear it. It’s driving me mad! I
can’t believe it ...”. Hearing the desperation in Klausner's voice, Dr. Scott
reluctantly agrees to come over, recognizing the seriousness of the situation.

As Klausner waits for Dr. Scott, he reflects on the horrifying sound the tree made
when he struck it with the axe. He imagines the potential screams of other living
things like wheat, potatoes, carrots, and cabbages if they were cut. Disturbed by
these thoughts, he ponders the innocence of apples, which naturally fall when
ripe. Hearing Dr. Scott's arrival, Klausner meets him at the gate

3
and explains the situation. “Come with me, doctor. I want you to hear it. I called
you because you're the only one I’ve told. It’s over the road in the park. Will you
come now?”. Dr. Scott, observing Klausner's calm demeanor, agrees to follow him
to the park. There, Klausner shows him the beech tree and explains his actions. He
then instructs Dr. Scott to listen carefully with the earphones while he prepares to
strike the tree again. Dr. Scott, puzzled but compliant, puts on the earphones, and
Klausner prepares to swing the axe, asking if Dr. Scott can hear anything.

As Klausner hesitates to swing the axe, Dr. Scott can only hear a humming noise
through the earphones. Finally, Klausner strikes the tree, feeling a strange
sensation as if the roots are moving beneath the ground. Suddenly, they hear
cracking and swishing sounds as a massive branch begins to fall. Dr. Scott yells for
Klausner to run, and though the doctor flees, Klausner stands fascinated,
narrowly escaping being injured as the branch crashes into the machine.
Afterward, Klausner, still in shock, gently removes the blade from the tree trunk
and asks the doctor if he heard anything through the earphones. Dr. Scott, still
catching his breath, admits he heard nothing unusual amidst the chaos.

Dr. Scott, visibly flustered, struggles to recall what he heard through the
earphones, attributing it to the chaos of the falling branch. Klausner presses him,
demanding to know exactly what he heard. Annoyed, Dr. Scott dismisses the
question, eager to leave. Sensing the doctor's nervousness, Klausner insists on the
importance of his answer. He then abruptly instructs Dr. Scott to tend to the tree's
wound, pointing out the damage made by the axe and insisting it be treated
immediately. “So you can’t stitch through wood?” said Klausner. “No, of course
not,” Dr Scott replied. “Have you got any iodine in your bag?” Klausner
continues. “What if I have?” said the doctor. “Then paint the cut with iodine. It'll
sting, but that can’t be helped.”

The doctor, feeling pressured by Klausner, reluctantly agreed to paint the tree's
cuts with iodine. He fetched the iodine from his bag and carefully applied it while
keeping an eye on Klausner, who was watching intently. After finishing, the
doctor inspected his work and deemed it satisfactory. Klausner also approved and
asked the doctor to check the cuts again the next day, with the possibility of
applying more iodine if needed. Thanking the doctor, Klausner suddenly smiled
excitedly, and they left the park together, heading back home. -THE END-
4