Disclaimer: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts characters
are the creations of Charles Schulz and copyrighted by the United Feature
Syndicate, INC.
The idea for this story came from a conversation I had with some friends a while back. We were discussing if the Peanuts gang were to be in marching band, what instruments would they play. Enjoy!
You're in the Marching Band, Charlie Brown – Chapter I
Charlie Brown slumped in is desk chair as his teacher went on and on during another endless hour of math class. He looked out the window and wished he was outside playing baseball with his team. Out of boredom he looked at the clock for the hundredth time that day.
"Good grief," He said. "Only 2:00! This day will never end."
As he looked down from the clock his eyes fell on the Little Red Haired girl. Again he sighed and thought, "That Little Red Haired girl is the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I wish she would notice me. I wonder what I could do to get the Little Red Haired girl to notice me. What am I talking about? I'll never have a chance with the Little Red Haired girl. Never. A pretty girl like her would ever notice a dull, wishy-washy blockhead like me."
Charlie Brown would have this same series of thoughts every day. And he still had not even brought himself to introduce himself to her. He paused for a moment to look at the clock.
"Good grief. It's only 2:03. Even the clock is against me."
Just then, Charlie Brown realized that his teacher was not in front of the class anymore. Instead, there was a man whom he had never seen before. He leaned forward to ask his best friend Linus about the visitor to their classroom.
"Linus," He whispered, "Who is that man?"
"That's Mr. Dunlap, Charlie Brown. He's the new band director at our school. He wants us all to join the marching band."
Charlie Brown pondered for a moment. He never thought about playing an instrument before. He had always spent most of his time playing baseball or with his dog Snoopy. But then he thought, "Maybe if I join the band, I'll get to play a really neat instrument, and I'll impress the Little Red Haired girl! And then maybe she'll come up and talk to me! And then maybe I'll invite her to get a root beer float! And then maybe she'll say yes! And then...and then maybe....maybe I'll just sit in the corner of the band room banging my head against the wall."
"Are you going to join the band, Charlie Brown?" Linus asked.
"I don't know," Charlie Brown said reluctantly. "With my luck, I'll probably trip on a drumstick and end up falling into a pile of music stands."
"Well if you're going to join," Linus continued, "You have to go to the band room after school and talk to Mr. Dunlap, and tell him what instrument you want to play. He says you have to get their early or else they may run out of the instrument that you want."
"Good grief!" Thought Charlie Brown. Learning an instrument and joining the band seemed like a good initial idea. But Charlie Brown was never very sure about these things. Things had a way of going incredibly wrong for Charlie Brown. But, he thought, if joining the band would give him a chance to impress the Little Red Haired girl, then maybe it was worth a try after all.
"Yes, I think I will." he thought to himself. "Now, what instrument should I play? It has to be something cool, so I can impress the Little Red Haired girl. How about a trombone? Or what about a drum? Or a saxophone, everybody likes saxophones. Or what about a clarinet? No, no one can ever hear those in the stands anyway. How about a trumpet? That's it! I'll play the trumpet!"
By this time, the bell rang signaling that school was over for the day. Charlie Brown got up from his desk and walked out of the room smiling. He was proud that he was able to make such a big decision on his own.
Upon entering the hallway, Charlie Brown could see a mob of kids heading towards the direction of the band room.
"I'd better hurry up," he said to himself, "Or else I may not get the trumpet that I want."
As he walked down the hallway, he passed the school cafeteria, and the vending machines caught his eye.
"I could really go for a root beer right now." He thought, "But I am in a hurry, maybe I should wait until after I talk to Mr. Dunlap. On the other hand, I really want a root beer, and it will only take two seconds."
So Charlie Brown went to the pop machine and put in some change. He pushed the button and out came an ice cold can of root beer. He reached into the slot in the machine to retrieve his drink. Unfortunately, as he did this, his hand became stuck in the pop machine and he could not get it out. He stood there for several minutes struggling but to no avail.
"Good grief!" He said, "Why does this sort of thing always happen to me?"
Just then he saw Linus passing by in the hallway. "Linus!" He shouted "Come help me get my hand out of the pop machine!"
But Linus was in too much of a hurry to understand Charlie Brown's problem.
"Hurry up Charlie Brown," he said excitedly. "Or you're going to miss getting a good instrument! All of the kids are joining. Hurry up!" With that, Linus was on his way and Charlie Brown was still stuck in the pop machine.
"Maybe if I stay here long enough, the custodian will come by and help me get out. Maybe he will have to take the whole pop machine apart, and then they'll have to have it sent back to the factory to get it put back together. Then we won't have a pop machine in the cafeteria anymore and all the kids will be mad at me."
Charlie Brown continued with great effort to free himself until Snoopy entered the room.
"Snoopy! What are you doing here?" Charlie Brown said with surprise. "Nevermind that, help me get out of this."
Snoopy looked at the situation. He then got on top of the pop machine and started jumping up and down trying to shake it. Then he got down beside the pop machine and began kicking it. Neither solution worked. Snoopy then put a quarter in the pop machine and pressed the button for another root beer. The new root beer can came out with such force that it knocked the other can, and Charlie Brown's hand loose from the vending machine.
"Thank you Snoopy! You're the greatest!" Charlie Brown exclaimed, hugging the beagle. "I have to leave now, though. I'm in a hurry."
Charlie Brown ran from the cafeteria, and headed towards the band room. Meanwhile Snoopy was left standing in the cafeteria and thought, "Good grief! What does a guy have to do to get a root beer around here?!?!"
Charlie Brown entered the band room and saw a long line of students, and Mr. Dunlap handing out instruments to the students one at a time. Charlie Brown waited, for what seemed like hours. When he finally got to Mr. Dunlap, he realized he was the only student left.
"Yes sir," He said to Mr. Dunlap, "I would like a trumpet. Oh? You're all out of trumpets? Ok then, how about a saxophone? Oh. You're all out of those too. Oh well, I'll take a drum then. What? No drums either? How about a trombone? No? Baritone? Bass? Clarinet? Flute? Cymbal? Triangle? Good grief. Well then, sir, what do you have left?"
The answer both startled and confused Charlie Brown.
"A mellophone?!?!?!"
The idea for this story came from a conversation I had with some friends a while back. We were discussing if the Peanuts gang were to be in marching band, what instruments would they play. Enjoy!
You're in the Marching Band, Charlie Brown – Chapter I
Charlie Brown slumped in is desk chair as his teacher went on and on during another endless hour of math class. He looked out the window and wished he was outside playing baseball with his team. Out of boredom he looked at the clock for the hundredth time that day.
"Good grief," He said. "Only 2:00! This day will never end."
As he looked down from the clock his eyes fell on the Little Red Haired girl. Again he sighed and thought, "That Little Red Haired girl is the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I wish she would notice me. I wonder what I could do to get the Little Red Haired girl to notice me. What am I talking about? I'll never have a chance with the Little Red Haired girl. Never. A pretty girl like her would ever notice a dull, wishy-washy blockhead like me."
Charlie Brown would have this same series of thoughts every day. And he still had not even brought himself to introduce himself to her. He paused for a moment to look at the clock.
"Good grief. It's only 2:03. Even the clock is against me."
Just then, Charlie Brown realized that his teacher was not in front of the class anymore. Instead, there was a man whom he had never seen before. He leaned forward to ask his best friend Linus about the visitor to their classroom.
"Linus," He whispered, "Who is that man?"
"That's Mr. Dunlap, Charlie Brown. He's the new band director at our school. He wants us all to join the marching band."
Charlie Brown pondered for a moment. He never thought about playing an instrument before. He had always spent most of his time playing baseball or with his dog Snoopy. But then he thought, "Maybe if I join the band, I'll get to play a really neat instrument, and I'll impress the Little Red Haired girl! And then maybe she'll come up and talk to me! And then maybe I'll invite her to get a root beer float! And then maybe she'll say yes! And then...and then maybe....maybe I'll just sit in the corner of the band room banging my head against the wall."
"Are you going to join the band, Charlie Brown?" Linus asked.
"I don't know," Charlie Brown said reluctantly. "With my luck, I'll probably trip on a drumstick and end up falling into a pile of music stands."
"Well if you're going to join," Linus continued, "You have to go to the band room after school and talk to Mr. Dunlap, and tell him what instrument you want to play. He says you have to get their early or else they may run out of the instrument that you want."
"Good grief!" Thought Charlie Brown. Learning an instrument and joining the band seemed like a good initial idea. But Charlie Brown was never very sure about these things. Things had a way of going incredibly wrong for Charlie Brown. But, he thought, if joining the band would give him a chance to impress the Little Red Haired girl, then maybe it was worth a try after all.
"Yes, I think I will." he thought to himself. "Now, what instrument should I play? It has to be something cool, so I can impress the Little Red Haired girl. How about a trombone? Or what about a drum? Or a saxophone, everybody likes saxophones. Or what about a clarinet? No, no one can ever hear those in the stands anyway. How about a trumpet? That's it! I'll play the trumpet!"
By this time, the bell rang signaling that school was over for the day. Charlie Brown got up from his desk and walked out of the room smiling. He was proud that he was able to make such a big decision on his own.
Upon entering the hallway, Charlie Brown could see a mob of kids heading towards the direction of the band room.
"I'd better hurry up," he said to himself, "Or else I may not get the trumpet that I want."
As he walked down the hallway, he passed the school cafeteria, and the vending machines caught his eye.
"I could really go for a root beer right now." He thought, "But I am in a hurry, maybe I should wait until after I talk to Mr. Dunlap. On the other hand, I really want a root beer, and it will only take two seconds."
So Charlie Brown went to the pop machine and put in some change. He pushed the button and out came an ice cold can of root beer. He reached into the slot in the machine to retrieve his drink. Unfortunately, as he did this, his hand became stuck in the pop machine and he could not get it out. He stood there for several minutes struggling but to no avail.
"Good grief!" He said, "Why does this sort of thing always happen to me?"
Just then he saw Linus passing by in the hallway. "Linus!" He shouted "Come help me get my hand out of the pop machine!"
But Linus was in too much of a hurry to understand Charlie Brown's problem.
"Hurry up Charlie Brown," he said excitedly. "Or you're going to miss getting a good instrument! All of the kids are joining. Hurry up!" With that, Linus was on his way and Charlie Brown was still stuck in the pop machine.
"Maybe if I stay here long enough, the custodian will come by and help me get out. Maybe he will have to take the whole pop machine apart, and then they'll have to have it sent back to the factory to get it put back together. Then we won't have a pop machine in the cafeteria anymore and all the kids will be mad at me."
Charlie Brown continued with great effort to free himself until Snoopy entered the room.
"Snoopy! What are you doing here?" Charlie Brown said with surprise. "Nevermind that, help me get out of this."
Snoopy looked at the situation. He then got on top of the pop machine and started jumping up and down trying to shake it. Then he got down beside the pop machine and began kicking it. Neither solution worked. Snoopy then put a quarter in the pop machine and pressed the button for another root beer. The new root beer can came out with such force that it knocked the other can, and Charlie Brown's hand loose from the vending machine.
"Thank you Snoopy! You're the greatest!" Charlie Brown exclaimed, hugging the beagle. "I have to leave now, though. I'm in a hurry."
Charlie Brown ran from the cafeteria, and headed towards the band room. Meanwhile Snoopy was left standing in the cafeteria and thought, "Good grief! What does a guy have to do to get a root beer around here?!?!"
Charlie Brown entered the band room and saw a long line of students, and Mr. Dunlap handing out instruments to the students one at a time. Charlie Brown waited, for what seemed like hours. When he finally got to Mr. Dunlap, he realized he was the only student left.
"Yes sir," He said to Mr. Dunlap, "I would like a trumpet. Oh? You're all out of trumpets? Ok then, how about a saxophone? Oh. You're all out of those too. Oh well, I'll take a drum then. What? No drums either? How about a trombone? No? Baritone? Bass? Clarinet? Flute? Cymbal? Triangle? Good grief. Well then, sir, what do you have left?"
The answer both startled and confused Charlie Brown.
"A mellophone?!?!?!"