Some years ago, there lived a group of young men who led wicked lives. One Sunday, they sat in a tavern instead of attending church. They heard that a man had been killed by a thief named Death. Unafraid, they vowed that if one of them were killed, the other two would slay the murderer.
One day, they met a poor old man who told them they could find Death under an oak tree. The three men hurried down a crooked path toward the tree. Upon finding the oak, they discovered a huge pile of new gold coins and immediately forgot all about Death.
The leader declared they must devise a plan: they must take the gold to his house as soon as possible, but secretly, under cover of night. Therefore, the youngest man was sent to town to fetch bread and wine for them. Once dark, they would carry the gold to one of their houses.
After the youngest had left, the leader told the other man that he planned to kill their companion. The other agreed. Meanwhile, the youngest, also consumed by greed, decided to poison his two companions. He put poison into two bottles of wine, leaving the third untouched, and returned to the tree.
The tale concludes with the youngest man stabbed to death and the other two poisoned.