The narrator tells the story of his mother, who is so thin that her baby looks like "a little meatball" . She is a stay-at-home mom, and her baby is always like this, even though she has changed his diaper. She asks the children if they would like to play with their brother, but they are too shy to do so, and she becomes an "alien" to them. One day, she tells the children, they will welcome them on stage. She tells them that she met the girl who sings, and that one day, her brother will be able to sing just as well as her. The narrator says that he wants to be a good friend to the girl, and he tells her that he will take piano lessons from her. She says that she is a fast learner and that she often plays with the girl during the week of art school. She reminds him that his father likes him to learn music, too, and says that if she can sing so well, she will be a great painter too. He says that after this promise, his heart begins to beat faster for the beautiful notes that she sings. He remembers that his mother had planned to take him to a show, but that night, he fell asleep and woke up to find his mother crying. He feels so excited that he can finally learn to play the piano with her.