Fiddlers Three by Edna Worthley Underwood
Three tramp fiddlers—fat Zahrada, goat-bearded Safranyik, and tall Zajczek—are traveling from Altsol when a thick fog and darkness overtake them in the Lopata Forest near Crizsnócz. Unable to find the highway or any light, they decide to unhitch their horses (pull off their boots), make pillows of their packs, lay their fiddles beside them, and sleep on a freshly mown field. Before they can close their eyes, they spot a row of thirteen lighted windows nearby and, hungry and thirsty, hurry toward what appears to be a large, splendid castle. Inside, they find a lavish feast in progress: twenty cooks at work in the kitchen, and noblemen and women in festal dress drinking, laughing, and toasting in resplendent marble drawing rooms. The guests greet the fiddlers with delight, led by a pock-marked, red-haired man in a silver-buttoned dolman who calls for music. The three strike up tune after tune, and the company dances wildly—including a round, red-cheeked young woman in 18th-century dress and a jeweled butterfly cap who dances the Czarda, a bald priest who is coaxed into the folk dance "Podza bucski" (which Zajczek happens to know well), and two very old men who join the young dancers. A blond girl loses a shoe lappet and calls for the shoemaker Prakovsky, said to be playing cards (durak) with Father Krudz and a lawyer. A pale young man with a wart proposes an elaborate toast to "the distinguished, nobly born Martin Folkinházy" and his descendants, wishing the Almighty would let them die "sooner or later," which Zahrada privately finds absurd. An old man leads an old woman, both of whom Safranyik notices "smell of the grave," to the fiddlers for a stately minuet; during it she drops her golden fan, which Zahrada retrieves, and she tells him to keep it a while. The woman in the butterfly cap places her cap on Zajczek's head, to general laughter. Someone notices the fiddlers haven't been fed, and peasant girls bring them a table loaded with potted hare, roast suckling pig, cakes, tarts, and brandy. As they eat, the candles burn low and dawn's pale wind makes them flicker. A bespectacled little man circulates with a snuff box, thanking the company oddly for being "here." Zahrada admires a slender lady; Safranyik eyes a mischievous brunette who returns his glances until he trembles; Zajczek tries to pinch a peasant girl and is mysteriously hurt, then drinks to recover. Safranyik drinks most of all, still clutching the old lady's jeweled fan. Eventually exhaustion overtakes the three, and they fall into a deep sleep amid the continuing revelry. They wake at sunrise to find themselves in the old, forgotten graveyard of Crizsnócz, their fiddles hanging on gravestones. Beside Safranyik's head lies a human skull where the jeweled cap had been, and Zahrada is holding a human arm bone. Terrified, they run to the village and tell their story, and the villagers recognize the descriptions as their own long-dead ancestors, down to burial clothing—so despite the strangeness, the tale is believed because three honest men told it. The fiddlers are feasted all winter, traveling from banquet to banquet retelling the story of their ancestors' revels, embellishing it further each time. Eventually the tale reaches the honorable Samuel Szirotka, ancestor of the present pastor, who publicly rebukes the community for letting the fiddlers preach about the afterlife in his place and drives them away—though the story itself lives on, still growing.
By Edna Worthley Underwood · First published 1919 · Genre: Magical Realism, Folklore, Comedy · 2,784 words
First lines
KOLOMAN MIKSZÁTH
Three Bohemian fiddlers were traveling through the country; fat Zahrada, goat-bearded Safranyik, and tall Zajczek. They had a quite remarkable adventure.
Similar titles
- The Wolves Of Cernogratz by Saki
- A Fruitless Assignment by Ambrose Bierce
- Uncoloneled by Ambrose Bierce
- The Piute by Ambrose Bierce
- The Woful Tale Of Mr Peters by Ambrose Bierce
- An Exile by Ambrose Bierce
Genres
- Magical Realism — The narrative seamlessly blends the mundane reality of traveling musicians with supernatural elements—an enchanted castle that transforms into a graveyard—creating a fantastical world within a realistic framework.
- Folklore — The story functions as a traditional folk narrative with legendary quality, including magical events, ancestral spirits, and a tale that grows with each retelling, embodying classic folkloric structure and transmission.
- Comedy — Pervasive use of humor throughout—absurdist situations, comedic characterizations of the nobles, satirical commentary on human folly, and the ridiculous revelation that the elegant banquet was attended by corpses.
- Adventure — The central narrative follows three wanderers encountering an extraordinary, dangerous, and transformative experience during their travels, meeting the structural requirements of adventure fiction.
Tags
supernatural · folklore · Hungarian · Eastern European · ghost story · magical realism · short story · translation · fog · graveyard · musicians · tavern tale
What this Textopian page supports
Fiddlers Three is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edna Worthley Underwood, dated 1919 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edna Worthley Underwood
- Date: 1919 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Magical Realism, Folklore, Comedy, Adventure, Supernatural Fiction
- Length: 2,784 words
- Structure: 1 section, 51 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Fiddlers Three by Edna Worthley Underwood
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph