In a certain country, a wild boar terrorized the land, destroying fields, killing cattle, and attacking people. The King offered a great reward, and finally his daughter's hand in marriage, to anyone who could slay the beast. Two brothers, sons of a poor man, volunteered. The elder was cunning and proud; the younger was innocent and kind-hearted.
The King suggested they enter the forest from opposite sides to increase their chances. As the younger brother ventured in, a little man gifted him a black spear, saying, "Take this, for your heart is pure. With it, you may boldly attack the boar without harm."
Thanking him, the youth pressed on fearlessly. Soon, the boar charged. He held out the spear, and the beast impaled itself, its heart split in two. The young man hoisted the carcass and began his journey back to the King.
Exiting the forest, he saw a house where people were reveling. His elder brother was there, drinking to muster courage. Seeing his younger brother with the prize, envy consumed the elder. He called out, inviting him to rest and share some wine.
Suspecting nothing, the younger brother entered and recounted his tale. The elder kept him there until evening. As they later crossed a bridge over a brook in the dark, the elder let his brother go first. Midway, he struck him from behind, killing him. He buried the body under the bridge, took the boar to the King, claimed the credit, and married the princess. When his brother failed to return, he claimed the boar must have killed him, and all believed it.
But no deed remains hidden forever. Years later, a shepherd found a small, snow-white bone beneath the bridge. He fashioned it into a mouthpiece for his horn. When he blew it, to his astonishment, the bone sang:
"Ah, friend, thou blowest upon my bone!\
Long have I lain beside the water;\
My brother slew me for the boar,\
And took for his wife the King's young daughter."
Amazed, the shepherd took the horn to the King. It sang its song again. The King understood, ordered the ground beneath the bridge dug up, and the skeleton was revealed. The wicked brother could not deny his crime. He was sewn into a sack and drowned. The bones of the murdered youth were laid to rest in a beautiful tomb.