Week 15 Reading B: The Fiddler in Hell

• Moujik with three sons had enough money to fill two pots
• Buried one in his corn-kiln
• Buried other under his farmyard's gate
• Moujik died without telling anyone about the money
• Fiddler was headed to a festival in the village when he sank into the earth and into hell
• Fiddler met the moujik, who confesses that he is in hell because he had much money and gave none to the poor
• Moujik tells Fiddler that if he sits on the stove behind the chimney-pipe and eats nothing for 3 years, he will be safe from torture
• Fiends come and beat up the moujik
• After fiends leave, the moujik tells the fiddler to tell his children where the pots are and to distribute them among the poor
• More fiends arrive and notice a 'Russian smell'
• Moujik tries to mislead them, but they go and find the Fiddler
• Fiddler is forced to fiddle for 3 years
• Fiddler talks about his fiddle-strings usually snapping, and they snap when he says "May the Lord grant us his blessing"
• The Lord is granting his blessing by snapping the strings and allowing Fiddler a chance to escape
• Fiends try to replace strings, but Fiddler repeats the phrase and the strings snap again
• Fiddler asks to go get his strings from home, but fiends are wary of him trying to escape
• Fiddler allows them to send a fiend with them
• Fiddler and fiend return to the village, where the fiddler finds the moujik's children and tells them about the pots of gold
• The children distribute the money, but it increases as they give it away
• Emperor ordered a bridge to be built to make a much shorter path to a town, which finally empties the pots of gold
• A child was born who didn't eat or drink for 3 years and had an angel with him
• When the child came to the bridge, he said "God grant the kingdom of heaven to him at whose cost it was built!"
• The Lord heard the prayer and ordered his angels to release the moujik

Bibliography: The Fiddler in Hell from Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston. Web Source.

Image: Pot of Gold from Pixabay by TeroVesalainen. Web Source.