The Quietest Student in the Room

A fictional remembrance story set in Austria.

Elisabeth taught piano from her apartment in Vienna. Her dachshund, Fritzi, attended every lesson.

Fritzi seemed to know when a student was nervous. Before difficult pieces, he would sit beside their feet and rest his chin on their shoes. Children who were too frightened to perform often played their first complete song with Fritzi listening beneath the piano.

He never understood the music, but he understood fear.

When Fritzi passed away, the room felt different. The notes were still there, but the courage he gave the children was missing.

Elisabeth chose a FurLunea Pet Memorial Plaque with Fritzi’s portrait and placed it beside the piano.

It was engraved with the words:

Fritzi

You made courage feel possible.

Before each student recital, the children now gently touch Fritzi’s plaque for good luck.

Then they sit at the piano, take a breath and begin to play, remembering the little dog who always believed they could.