First, to find a lone mountain, and then to climb it.” By referring to climbing a mountain, the author is symbolizing how learning how to play the fiddle can be a difficult but rewarding journey because it takes time and effort to climb a mountain and to reach the top. Furthermore, you have to work hard to achieve the goal of reaching the top of the mountain or in this case learning how to play the fiddle. In addition, learning how to play the fiddle includes isolation where you have to learn to play the fiddle yourself with no outside aid. In the other part of the metaphor “Then, to sit upon it and watch the manner in which the various clouds that pass in conversation debate points and make their tiny coups and failures” represents how there is going to be failure in your journey to play the fiddle. Yet once you learn to play the fiddle it is going to be a satisfying achievement because all of your hard work has lead you to the moment where you are able to create beautiful sounds/music and allow others to get lost in the music that you have