# The Magic Fiddle explained — Indian Fairy Tales > Chapter companion for Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. ## What happens A sister is drowned due to the ill-will of her brothers' wives, who conspire with a Bonga. She is transformed into a bamboo, which a Jogi makes into a fiddle. The fiddle's music moves her brothers to tears. The Jogi is tricked out of the fiddle by a village chief, whose son discovers the Bonga girl emerging from it. She cooks for him, and he catches her; they marry. Later, her impoverished brothers visit, and she reveals her identity, upbraiding them for their neglect. ## Themes in this chapter ### Transformation and Metamorphosis The sister is transformed into a bamboo and later into a Bonga, and the bamboo becomes a magic fiddle. ### Justice and Karma The sister's revenge is limited to verbal upbraiding, yet her brothers suffer poverty, suggesting a karmic consequence. ## Character check-ins ### The Jogi Finds the bamboo and makes it into a magic fiddle; later loses it to the village chief's family. ### Bonga A spirit who assists the brothers' wives and transforms the drowned sister into a Bonga-like being. ## Key lines > Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my ankles, Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip. She cries out that the water is at her ankles but the pitcher won't submerge. _Repeated refrain as the water rises, emphasizing her helplessness._ > Do not cut at the root, cut higher up. The bamboo tells the Jogi to cut higher on the stem. _The bamboo's contradictory instructions confuse the Jogi._ > Fie! Fie! you may be a Dom, or you may be a Hadi of some other caste with whom I cannot marry. She protests that he might be of a low caste unsuitable for marriage. _Reflects caste concerns in traditional Indian society._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters/the-magic-fiddle - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters