01 A quiet winter morning

Hiya! Sounds. They’re all around us. And by listening, you can tell where various sounds come from. But what are the names of these different sounds? In this series, we’ll be answering that question.

Check out this picture here. This is a stream. And, of course, it makes some kind of noise, right? How could you describe it? It’s the babbling of a stream. Yep, streams babble.

However, you can’t hear it as clearly from a distance. Imagine a bigger, faster stream. When you are far away from it, the sound is pretty quiet and indistinct, but you can just about make it out: it’s a stream. Now, how would you describe this sound? It is the murmur of a stream. Streams murmur too.

When you walk in the forest on a cold autumn or winter morning, there happens to be a high wind. As the wind moves amongst the trees, it produces a very distinct sound. It is the howling of the wind. When the wind howls kids often get scared.

The babble of a stream and the murmur of a stream are beautiful, romantic sounds for most of us. However, there is a sound that makes most people go mad—except a plumber, of course.

What is this sound? Yeah, you’re right: it’s the dripping of water! Bummer! When you hear it, you immediately think about your wallet, right?

Let’s put these expressions into context now.

The Story: A quiet winter morning

It was a cold, wet winter morning. Paul was sleeping soundly in bed. The sound of dripping water got louder and louder until… until Paul’s eyes shot open. He was wide awake.

‘What the heck?’ he thought. ‘Oh, no, no, no! Not again!’, he moaned. He got out of bed—not at all cheerfully, I can tell you—and went into the bathroom.

It was Saturday you see, and—regardless of the weather—Paul always goes hiking in the mountains. So, he didn’t care much about the dripping tap; he just packed his bag and set out.

The forest was quiet. Only the howling of the wind could be heard. How peaceful! Then he heard something in the distance. He smiled.

‘There must be a stream somewhere near here,’ he thought. ‘I can hear its murmur.’

As he got closer, he could hear the stream more and more clearly. Soon, he could hear the babbling too. He ran towards it but then he froze. He just heard something frightening. He listened. And then he heard it again: the howling of a pack of wolves!

Now go, practise. See you soon!