Gongming Yi loved music more than anything. He had a special instrument called a zither, which was a bit like a small harp, and oh, the tunes he could play! His music could make birds stop their chirping just to listen.

One sunny afternoon, Gongming Yi was walking in a field. The sky was blue, the flowers were blooming, and he saw a big, brown cow happily munching on yummy grass. It looked so peaceful.

"What a perfect audience!" Gongming Yi thought with a smile. He sat down on a smooth rock, carefully placed his zither on his lap, and began to play his most beautiful song. It was a tune full of twinkly high notes, like stars appearing in the night sky, and smooth, flowing melodies, like a gentle river. It was the kind of song that would make people sigh with happiness.

But the cow? It just kept munching. Munch, munch, munch. It swished its tail to shoo away a fly. It didn't even lift its head. Its big, gentle eyes were focused only on the tasty green grass.

Gongming Yi was a little puzzled. "Hmm," he thought. "Such a lovely song, and the cow isn't even listening!" He was a famous musician, and usually, everyone loved his music.

He tried again, playing another wonderful piece, even more grand and special than the first. He poured all his skill into the music. Still, the cow just chewed its grass. Munch, munch, munch. It seemed the beautiful music was just a gentle breeze to the cow, nothing more.

Then, Gongming Yi had an idea. A little smile played on his lips. "Maybe," he thought, "this cow doesn't understand my kind of fancy human music. What kind of sounds does a cow like or understand?"

So, he changed his tune completely. He plucked the strings of his zither to make a buzzing sound, like a big, annoying fly buzzing around. Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz!

Suddenly, the cow’s ears twitched! It stopped chewing for a second and looked around.

Encouraged, Gongming Yi then made his zither sound like a little calf calling for its mother. A soft, gentle "moooooo" sound, then a slightly louder "Moooo-oo-oo" came from the strings.

This time, the cow lifted its head! It turned towards Gongming Yi. It flicked its tail back and forth, not just to shoo flies, but almost like it was tapping its foot to a beat. Its big, brown eyes seemed to be listening very carefully now. It even took a step closer!

Gongming Yi chuckled. He realized that to get someone’s attention, or for them to appreciate what you offer, you sometimes have to speak their language, or play the kind of "music" they understand!

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