The BFG on Music and Dreams

From one of my favorite books of all time, a passage about the musical language of dreams. 

"But can you really and truly tell what sort of a dream it's going to be, simply by listening to it?" Sophie asked. 

"I can," the BFG said, not looking up. 

"But how? Is it the way it hums and buzzes?" 

"You is more or less right," the BFG said. "Every dream in the world is making a different sort of buzzy-hum music. And these grand swashboggling ears of mine is able to read that music."

"By music, do you mean tunes?"

"I is not meaning tunes."

"Then what do you mean?" 

"Human beans is having their own music, right or left?"

"Right," Sophie said. "Lots of music."

"And sometimes human beans is very overcome when they is hearing wonderous music. They is getting shivers down their spindels. Right or left?"

"Right," Sophie said. 

"So the music is saying something to them. It is sending a message. I do not think the human beans is knowing what that message is, but they is loving it just the same." 

"That's about right," Sophie said. 

"But because of these jumpsquiffling ears of mine," the BFG said, "I is not only able to hear the music that dreams is making I is understanding it, also." 

"What do you mean, understanding it?" Sophie said. 

"I can read it," the BFG said. "It talks to me. It is like a langwitch." 

"I find that just a little bit hard to believe," Sophie said. 

"I'll bet you is also finding it hard to believe in quogwinkles," the BFG said, "and how they is visiting us from the stars."

"Of course I don't believe that," Sophie said. 

The BFG regarded her gravely with those huge eyes of his. "I hope you will forgive me," he said, "if I tell you that human beans is thinking that they is very clever, but they is not. They is nearly all of them notmuchers and squeakypips." 

"I beg your pardon," Sophie said. 

"The matter with human beans," the BFG went on, "Is that they is absolutely refusing to believe in anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles." 

The BFG by Roald Dahl, pages 98-100, first American edition

~~

Thumbnail image lovingly appropriated from Quentin Blake's illustrations for the BFG