The Violin Player

Once upon a time:
there was a violin-player.

He lives in a magic land, where the sun never sets and where an eternal rainbow connects heaven and earth. He plays the violin so movingly, that people can not help feeling his music deep inside them. His music can make them laugh or cry and everyone adores him.

It is not only children who can not resist the playing, but also animals, birds, trees and flowers become really enchanted. The fairies always come out to hear him play. Especially one fairy the beautiful Rosa, who lives in a flawless pink rose, adores his playing so much that finally she finds herself helplessly in love with the violinist. Yet flower-fairies clearly are not meant to fall in love with mortals and the Fairy Queen herself is very seriously cross with Rosa. Rosa is much loved among the fairy community and they just can not bear to see her so sad and they do not want to see her crying any longer. All but really all the millions of fairies sign a petition to the Queen, which not even she can ignore. In the end the Fairy Queen decrees to make an exception, this once only. She will allow Rosa to marry the violinist and live with him on earth for three years only. This is her final word.

Three years seem an endless time to a little fairy and Rosa is overjoyed and thanks the Queen gratefully. The violinist is so happy because he has long been in love with Rosa and has anyway always played only for her. The beauty of the wedding is unimaginable. The whole world is lined with a carpet of flowers and all the fairies are dressed in their utmost best - a wedding with millions of beautiful bridesmaids! They are only a tiny little bit jealous of their lucky sister, but they love Rosa, who is as beautiful as never before and everyone wishes her only happiness.

Three years of utter bliss pass very quickly and Rosa has two lovely daughters. - Yet her time is running out and there is nothing to do but keep her promise - she has to return to her fairy-world. That day the violinist's heart breaks for ever. From now on he lives only for his daughters and his music. As the girls grow older the three of them begin to travel through the land, playing music for their living. The music of the three of them becomes ever more heartrending and every day, every moment they hope that their mother will hear them play and find the sound so irresistible, that she will return to them. Yet fairy-laws are irrefutable and even though Rosa never misses one note of their music she will never again be allowed to return to the mortal world.

They travel through the country like this for many years and the Trio has become famous for their heavenly music in the whole world. They are invited to play in all kinds of different countries and have given joy to millions of people.

One day a very special invitation arrives. It is not written on paper, but on a sparkling piece of glass, which is indeed a gigantic clear diamond. The writing is in precious gold letters and can only be read when the sun shines on it. They are rather intrigued and their curiosity becomes even greater when a dwarf in huge black boots and the funniest three-cornered hat ever, appears and tells them that a golden barge will convey them across the lake to the concert venue. As the evening approaches the barge indeed appears. The ferry-man is dressed in black from head to toe, with a huge hood covering his face and he will not speak one word or give them any indication of where they are going. He just rows them silently across the lake and it seems a very long journey indeed. As the girls are beginning to feel rather chilly, cloaks of the finest gold and silver thread just appear on their laps and they feel that they must be on their way to a magical land indeed.

When they finally arrive they see such a stage as they have never seen before. It is built of millions of flowers and set in a most beautiful landscape. Page-boys rush down to the landing place, tripping each other up in their eagerness to carry their instruments. One respectfully and prettily bows and asks them if they would consider playing one quartet with an unusually gifted Viola-player, who regularly gives concerts there. The Trio has never played with anyone else and they are quite reluctant to agree, but the request is so gracefully put that they do not want to offend by refusing.

They are already on stage, when the Viola-player appears. "Rosa!" they all call out together laughing and crying at the same time. The Viola-player is no other than their long-lost dearest darling mother. As the Queen and millions of fairies are waiting eagerly for the concert to begin, they commence their playing.When they join their music it blends into one voice of such heavenly and fairy-like quality that even the Fairy Queen, who obviously normally never cries, reluctantly and impatiently calls for a handkerchief. They have indeed been invited to the country of the elves and fairies. No fairy law has been broken. Rosa is never allowed to see her loved ones again on earth but she will give them the gift of her music to take away with them. They will never, while they live, see her again yet she will laugh and cry with them for ever through their instruments.

As the ferry-man rows them back across the lake the enchanted water erases all memory of the fairy-land from their minds. Mortals and even half-mortals are not allowed to know where this magical land lies or remember that they have been there. Only their music and their instruments and their hearts will remember for ever. The Trio's playing will be true magic from now on, a magic that no-one who ever hears this sound will ever be able to resist or forget.