In a brand-new little town, where the fences smelled of fresh paint and the roads were as smooth as glass, the most beautiful playroom in the world was built. The walls shone with the colours of the rainbow, a soft carpet lay on the floor, and in every corner waited toys that the little animals could only have imagined. There was a big wooden train, a dollhouse, and building blocks with thousands of pieces.
Everyone couldn't wait for the doors to open. Zippy the Squirrel was the first to run in, followed by Rumbly the Bear who tumbled in right behind her, and right after them came a little rabbit, Twitch. “Yippee! This is fantastic!” squeaked Zippy, her tiny voice flying across the room. But then, something strange happened. Her “Yippee!” suddenly echoed again and again. “YIPPEE... yippee... ippee... ee...” The animals stopped in confusion. “What... what was that?” whispered Rumbly, and his deep voice immediately began to echo too. “WHAT-WAS-THAT... at-was-that... that...” The voices bounced off the smooth, shiny walls and mixed together. They created such a muddle that the animals couldn't understand a single word. When Zippy wanted to suggest building a tower, all Rumbly heard was a jumble of sounds, “BUILDING A TOWER-OWER-ER.” When Twitch asked where the crayons were, it sounded like “WHERE-ARE-THE-CRAY-AY-ONS.”
The laughter quickly vanished. The animals sat down on the floor and looked around sadly. Such a beautiful playroom, and they couldn't even play in it. The noise was so unpleasant that it made their ears and heads ache.
Watching all of this quietly was Muffy. She was a small, soft, grey tile in the corner of the room, right by the door. No one noticed her. She wasn't shiny like the colourful walls, nor cheerful like the toys. She felt completely ordinary and useless. She saw the disappointed faces of the little animals and felt very sorry for them. Why did this beautiful playroom make such an ugly noise?
Just then, the door opened and in walked Master Hedgehog. He was the wise builder who had designed the playroom. He had glasses on the tip of his nose and held a measuring tape in his paw. When he saw the sad little animals, he knew right away that something was wrong. “Well, now, what's going on? Why aren't you playing?” he asked kindly. “We can't, Master Hedgehog,” Rumbly complained, and his voice once again bounced unpleasantly off the walls. “Everything just repeats itself in here!” Master Hedgehog stroked the quills on his chin and thought for a moment. He stood in the middle of the room and clapped his hands loudly. CLAP! And immediately, the sound echoed: “...clap... clap... clap...” “Hmm, I see now,” he said, looking at the animals. “You see, sound is like an invisible little ball. When you throw it against a hard, smooth wall, what happens?” “It bounces and comes back!” Zippy blurted out. “Exactly! And sound does the same thing. It hits these hard walls and comes back to our ears. That’s called an echo. And when there are many echoes at once, it creates this unpleasant muddle.”
The animals listened with their mouths open. So it was the hard walls that were to blame! But what could be done about it? Surely they weren't going to tear them down now?
Muffy listened too. Hard wall. Reflection. Sound like a ball. Suddenly, she realised something important. She ran a hand over her own surface. It wasn't smooth or hard. It was soft and sort of... perforated. Full of tiny, little pits that could barely be seen. She remembered how she was made. Her job wasn't to shine, but to be a quiet helper. She gathered all her courage and spoke up very softly: “Master Hedgehog...” Her voice was so quiet that almost no one heard it. But Master Hedgehog had ears like a lynx. He turned to her. “Did you say something, little one?” “Yes,” Muffy whispered. “What if... what if you tried to throw that ball at me?” Master Hedgehog smiled at her idea. He took a small foam ball from a box. First, he threw it against the colourful wall. The ball made a BINK! and bounced right back. Then he walked over to Muffy and gently threw the ball at her. But something completely different happened. The ball landed on the soft surface with a quiet thump and stayed there. It didn't bounce back. Not even a little.
The animals held their breath. “Aha!” exclaimed Master Hedgehog, hopping with joy. “I know! Muffy, you're amazing! You don't reflect sound, you catch it! Your little holes absorb it and don't let it out!” Muffy trembled with joy. So she wasn't useless after all! She had a very important job! “We need more like you!” Master Hedgehog decided and ran to the storeroom. A moment later, he returned with a large box. And inside, lying side by side, were Muffy's sisters and brothers—dozens of other soft, sound-absorbing tiles.
The animals didn't hesitate. They eagerly got to work. Rumbly carried the tiles, Zippy handed them to Master Hedgehog, and Twitch showed where they should be stuck. They glued them to the walls at regular intervals. It looked as if they were assembling a giant grey mosaic on the colourful background. It was fun, and everyone worked together as one team.
When about half the walls were covered with the new tiles, Master Hedgehog said, “Alright, let’s try it now.” Everyone fell silent. Zippy took a deep breath and squeaked: “Peep!” The sound was clear and crisp. No repetition. No muddle. Just one short, cheerful “Peep!”. Rumbly let out a deep laugh of joy: “Hahaha!” And his laugh sounded warm and pleasant, just as it was supposed to. “We can hear each other!” cried Twitch, and they all started laughing and talking over one another. And now it didn't matter at all, because every word could be heard beautifully.
The playroom was transformed into the best place in the world. It was not only beautiful but also pleasant to the ears. And Muffy, once an inconspicuous grey tile, was the hero of the day. Together with her siblings, she quietly and modestly watched over the playroom to make sure the sounds behaved themselves. She realised she didn't have to be the most colourful or the loudest to be important. Her quiet strength brought joy to everyone.
And what about you? Try clapping your hands in an empty bathroom and then in a room full of carpets, curtains, and soft pillows. Can you hear the difference? That’s because you also have quiet heroes like Muffy at home.