What does an elephant sound like on the piano? What about a swan on the cello? Camille Saint-Saens answered these questions with music. Born on October 9, 1835, in Paris, France, Saint-Saens was a child prodigy who began playing piano at age two and gave his first public concert at age ten. He grew up to become one of France's greatest composers. His most beloved work is The Carnival of the Animals, written in 1886. It is a suite of fourteen short pieces. Each piece uses instruments to imitate a different animal. The "Elephant" section uses a double bass to create heavy, stomping sounds. "The Swan" uses a solo cello to produce a smooth, gliding melody. "Fossils" playfully quotes other composers' music, as if old tunes were ancient bones. Saint-Saens considered The Carnival of the Animals too silly for his reputation. He refused to let it be performed publicly during his lifetime. Only "The Swan" was allowed. After his death in 1921, the complete work was finally performed. It became one of the most popular pieces of classical music ever written, loved especially by young listeners discovering classical music for the first time.