THE VOICE IN THE BOX -Paul Villiard

THE VOICE IN THE BOX -Paul Villiard

Introduction:  ‘The Voice in the Box’ written by Paul Villiard was originally published as ‘Information, Please’ in the Reader's Digest magazine. The story is about the lovely friendship that evolves between a little boy and a local telephone operator.

The young boy:  The author lived in the Pacific Northwest as a young boy, and recalls that his family owned one of the first telephones in their neighborhood. He was fascinated with them and loved to watch his mother use it. The telephone was fixed in a polished oak case near the bottom of the stairs. The receiver hung at its side. He was too small to reach the telephone. His mother had to lift him to use it. He felt it was magical to talk to his father who was not at home.

The Voice in the Box:  One day the boy finds out that inside the phone lived an amazing  person. Her name was Information Please.  His mother called her up to find out any information that she needed. Information Please knew everyone's phone number, and even the correct time. So he innocently started believing that there is a voice inside

the box.

The first experience:  Once when the boy was alone, he was playing in the tool bench. He hurts his finger with a hammer. The pain was unbearable but nobody was at home to take care of him. So he drags a stool near the phone and climbs up to use it. He calls up Information Please and the voice tells him what to do. She asks him to take some ice from the icebox to keep on his finger to dull the pain. She also tells him to be careful while using the icepick and to stop crying. From then on, he calls the voice for anything and everything.

Helping Hand:  The boy got help for his homework from the voice. She helped him with his geography and arithmetic. She told him where Philadelphia and Orinoco was. He told her that he wanted to explore Orinoco, the romantic river when he grew up. When he caught a chipmunk in the park, she told that it would eat fruit and nuts.

When his pet canary died, he felt so sad. She tried to comfort him but he remained sad. He miserably asked her why birds sing so beautifully and bring joy to families but still end up dead. She told him a lovely message that there are other worlds for the birds to sing in. This made the boy feel better.

Once he asked her how to spell the word fix. His sister chose that moment to jump down from the stairs and frighten him. He pulls out the cord of the telephone. The boy feels so worried that he might have hurt the voice in the box. A telephone repairman sent by the voice comes to his house to repair it. He opens the box to show a maze of wires.

Moving Away:  Eventually his family moved to Boston. He missed the voice badly. He did not feel like using the new and shiny telephone. As he grew up, he recalled the sense of security and calmness that he used to get when he spoke with the voice. He also thought it was very kind and understanding of his telephone operator to have helped a small boy.

Mutual Benefit:   Later on his way to college, his plane stopped in his hometown. Without thinking, he automatically dialed the operator’s number. He heard the voice he remembered so well. He asked the same question he asked as a child, ‘How to spell the word fix?’  She replies that your finger must have healed by now. It was the same lady. Her name was Sally. They come to know that they had mutually benefitted from their conversations. He told her how much she had helped him as a child, and she said that she never had kids and his calls meant a lot to her. He promised to call the next time when he came through town.

Conclusion:  Three months later he called her number but a different voice answered. He asked for Sally and was told that she had passed away. She had had cancer and had been working part time. But the operator remembered that Sally left a message for him. Even before, he got the message; he knew what it would say. It said,” Remember that there are other worlds to sing in.” Thus ‘The Voice in the Box’ is a heartwarming story of a wonderful relationship.