A Wizard's Whistle Is Not A Toy
Poet : Moe Phillips
Narration : Namakula Nasejje Musoke
Audio : Ian Phillips
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A boy found a whistle at the edge of a lake
Thought for sure, it was his to take
He didn’t know it was hexed with a charm
To whistle up trouble and conjure up harm
This old whistle played only one tune
Each side inscribed with a sorcerer’s rune
The boy discovered he could play a new game
When he blew that whistle, a while wind came
Shrieking winds tore up his small town
Toppling the church steeple upside down
He summoned the wind from east and west
Groaning gusts were an unwelcome guest
Held that whistle up to his mouth
Made the winds blow from north and south
His neighbors cried “Throw it back in the lake!
Before these gales leave nothing to take!”
The boy didn’t care who he hurt with his fun
He blew that whistle and made the wind run
But unbeknownst to this selfish boy
A wizard’s lost whistle is not a toy
One day as the boy blew that whistle of tin
The Mother of Winds came barreling in
She howled for the boy across a raging sea
How he wished he’d let that lost whistle be!
Gales swooped him up like a crumpled leaf
And dragged away the young whistle thief
Folks say when wind blows through the trees
You can hear that sad whistle boy’s pleas
Backstory
Reading the mighty father of the ghostly tale - M.R. James, I came to the story “Whistle and I’ll Come to you, My Lad”. Totally one of my all-time favorite horror tales. I had heard of wind magic but not of magic whistles. I looked into the lore and found some ancient peoples of Mexico used them too. They are not wholesome things to play with and best left to wizards. The little boy came to mind after seeing a play “Shock Head Peter” and hearing The Tiger Lillies singing Flying Robert. I think the boy got what he deserved and it is a tale of karma and Mother Nature dishing it out. Namakula’s brought a very stern character to this read. She told it as a cautionary tale lest someone else get into wizard work without the proper credentials.