The Three Strangers

On one rainy March evening, a crowd of guests gathered at the shepherd Fennel’s house for the christening of his youngest daughter. The celebration was in full swing when everyone’s general fun was unexpectedly interrupted by the visit of three strangers who knocked on the door of the hospitable home one after another. Who were these people, and what brought them to this miserable, God-forsaken secluded dwelling of the “cheerful settler” that day?