The Singing Bone

Once upon a time, in a certain country, there was great sorrow because a wild boar was destroying the farmers' fields, killing the cattle, and ripping people's bodies with its sharp tusks. The king promised a big reward to anyone who could free the land from this plague. But the beast was so huge and strong that no one dared to go near the forest where it lived. At last the king announced that whoever could capture or kill the wild boar would marry his only daughter.

Now there lived in that country two brothers, sons of a poor man. They said they were willing to try the dangerous task. The elder brother, who was clever and cunning, offered out of pride. The younger brother, who was innocent and simple, offered out of kindness. The king said, "To make sure you find the beast, you must enter the forest from opposite sides." So the elder brother went in from the west side, and the younger from the east.

When the younger brother had gone a little way, a small man stepped up to him. He held a black spear in his hand and said, "I give you this spear because your heart is pure and good. With it you can boldly attack the wild boar, and it will not harm you."

The younger brother thanked the little man, put the spear on his shoulder, and walked on fearlessly. Before long he saw the beast, which rushed at him. But he held the spear toward it, and in its blind fury the boar ran so fast against the spear that its heart was split in two. Then the younger brother lifted the monster onto his back and carried it homeward to the king.

As he came out at the other side of the forest, there stood a house at the entrance where people were having fun with wine and dancing. His elder brother had gone in there, thinking the boar would not run away anyway, and he was drinking until he felt brave. But when he saw his younger brother coming out of the forest carrying the dead boar, his envious, evil heart gave him no peace. He called out, "Come in, dear brother, rest and have a cup of wine!"

The younger brother, who suspected no evil, went in and told him about the good little man who had given him the spear, and how he had killed the boar.

The elder brother kept him there until evening. Then they walked away together, and when in the darkness they came to a bridge over a brook, the elder brother let the other go first. When the younger brother was halfway across, the elder brother hit him so hard from behind that he fell down dead.

He buried him under the bridge, took the boar, and carried it to the king, pretending that he had killed it. So he got the king's daughter as his wife. And when his younger brother did not come back, he said, "The boar must have killed him," and everyone believed it.

But nothing remains hidden from God, and this evil deed was also to come to light. Years later, a shepherd was driving his herd across the bridge. He saw a snow-white little bone lying in the sand below. He thought it would make a good mouthpiece for his horn, so he climbed down, picked it up, and carved it into a mouthpiece. But when he blew through it for the first time, the bone began to sing of its own accord:

"Ah, friend, you blow upon my bone! Long have I lain beside the water. My brother killed me for the boar, and took the king's young daughter for his wife."

"What a wonderful horn!" said the shepherd. "It sings all by itself! I must take it to my lord the king." And when he came to the king, the horn sang its little song again. The king understood everything, and ordered the ground under the bridge to be dug up. Then the whole skeleton of the murdered man was revealed. The wicked brother could not deny the deed, and was sewn into a sack and drowned. But the bones of the murdered man were laid to rest in a beautiful tomb in the churchyard.