Stories 17 through 19 Summary

Story 17: Rothschild's Fiddle

Yakov Ivanov is a coffin maker in a small village. He is bitter that people live to an old age in the village and therefore orders for coffins are not frequent. For extra money, Yakov plays the fiddle in a Jewish orchestra, usually for weddings. Yakov is a bitter and cantankerous man and picks fights with members of the orchestra. He particularly finds contemptible a Jew named Rothschild. Yakov is abusive and threatening to Rothschild. He is not used in the orchestra often due to his abusive behavior. Yakov's wife becomes very ill. She reminds him that they had a young child who died years before, but Yakov does not remember. When Yakov's wife dies, he becomes very remorseful of how cruel he was to his wife, how miserly he was, and how he mistreated others like Rothschild...