On a rainy day at Liberty School, Peter tells his teach Miss McManaman that they should practice their singing lesson because Mr. Harmon, the music director, will visit the next day to hear the students sing. Despite being the teacher, Miss McManaman cannot sing as she has a “disappearing voice” that only lets her sing a few good notes before vanishing. Because of this ailment and much to Miss McManaman’s dismay, Peter teaches the music class for her.  In the woodbox in the school, the children find animals taking shelter from the storm, including a ground owl that appears to be dead. The children plead to keep the owl in hopes that it may actually be alive, and Miss McManaman agrees, letting the children warm the refugee animals.  Peter then begins the singing lesson for the day, but as Miss McManaman plays a tune on the piano, a man’s voice suddenly comments that the tune is “sour as catpiss.” A small man stands in the doorway and introduces himself as Wilbur Smiley; he explains that he is here to tune the piano, whose tone is absolutely sour. Mr. Smiley comes across the children’s woodbox with all the animals and picks up the owl, sadly commenting that its life cycle is complete, unless a surprise is in the works.  Mr. Smiley then begins to tune the piano and asks what he interrupted, and Peter explains that he was leading a singing lesson. Mr. Smiley begins to sing, and Miss McManaman thinks to herself that his song sounds like a beginning. She thinks back to her first day as a teacher, meeting the children, and feeling determined to teach them to read. Mr. Smiley finishes his song and begins to draw on the blackboard: tears flowing from a heart that he says is his own and under a foot, which he says belongs to Agnes. Miss McManaman wonders who Agnes is. She thinks back to another day at the school where she went to the girls’ outhouse and felt that she was imprisoned. After leaving the outhouse, she exclaimed to the children that they are all free, to remind them. Listening to Mr. Smiley sing another song, she finds herself again wanting to remind the children that they are free.  Mr. Smiley soon finishes tuning the piano, and Miss McManaman thanks him profusely, telling him how moved she was by his voice. She tells him how she has a disappearing voice herself, which makes her feel ashamed. Mr. Smiley assures her that she has music in her eyes and hands, so she has nothing to worry about. After Mr. Smiley leaves, Peter says that he wants to teach the class Mr. Smiley’s songs, and as Miss McManaman warms up by the fire, she realizes that the owl has come back to life.