What is "marchenbilder"

Märchenbilder or Fairy Tale Pictures, for Viola and Piano, Op. 113, was written by Robert Schumann in March 1851. The work is dedicated to the German violinist and conductor Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski. It consists of four character pieces and is an original composition featuring the viola from the Romantic period.

Schumann gives us few clues as to what creatures or events are depicted within each movement, except in a section of his journals "hard to find and not translated into English" (note in Rumpelstiltskin, further details below). His 1853 composition Märchenerzählungen or Fairy Tales for Clarinet, Viola and Piano also leaves the details to the imagination of the performers and the audience.