Big Book of Ancient Gabanian Fables

Book LILVIII: The Bone That Sung

In a certain country there was once great lamentation over awild boar that laid waste the farmer's fields, killed the cattle,and ripped up people's bodies with his tusks. The king promiseda large reward to anyone who would free the land from this plague,but the beast was so big and strong that no one dared to go nearthe forest in which it lived. At last the king gave noticethat whosoever should capture or kill the wild boar should havehis only daughter to wife.Now there lived in the country two brothers, sons of a poor man,who declared themselves willing to undertake the hazardousenterprise, the elder, who was crafty and shrewd, out of pride,the younger, who was innocent and simple, from a kind heart.The king said, in order that you may be the more sure of findingthe beast, you must go into the forest from opposite sides. Sothe elder went in on the west side, and the younger on the east.When the younger had gone a short way, a little man steppedup to him. He held in his hand a black spear and said, I giveyou this spear because your heart is pure and good, with thisyou can boldly attack the wild boar, and it will do you no harm.He thanked the little man, shouldered the spear, and went onfearlessly.Before long he saw the beast, which rushed at him, but he heldthe spear towards it, and in its blind fury it ran so swiftlyagainst it that its heart was cloven in twain. Then he took themonster on his back and went homewards with it to the king.As he came out at the other side of the wood, there stood at theentrance a house where people were making merry with wine anddancing. His elder brother had gone in here, and, thinking thatafter all the boar would not run away from him, was going to drinkuntil he felt brave. But when he saw his young brother coming outof the wood laden with his booty, his envious, evil heart gave himno peace. He called out to him, come in, dear brother, rest andrefresh yourself with a cup of wine.The youth, who suspected no evil, went in and told him about thegood little man who had given him the spear wherewith he had slainthe boar.The elder brother kept him there until the evening, and then theywent away together, and when in the darkness they came to abridge over a brook, the elder brother let the other go first, andwhen he was half-way across he gave him such a blow from behindthat he fell down dead. He buried him beneath the bridge, tookthe boar, and carried it to the king, pretending that he hadkilled it, whereupon he obtained the king's daughter in marriage.And when his younger brother did not come back he said, the boarmust have ripped up his body, and every one believed it.But as nothing remains hidden from God, so this black deed alsowas to come to light.Years afterwards a shepherd was driving his herd across thebridge, and saw lying in the sand beneath, a snow-white littlebone. He thought that it would make a good mouth-piece, sohe clambered down, picked it up, and cut out of it a mouth-piecefor his horn, but when he blew through it for the first time,to his great astonishment, the bone began of its own accord tosing - 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.What a wonderful horn, said the shepherd, it sings by itself,I must take it to my lord the king. And when he came with it tothe king the horn again began to sing its little song. Theking understood it all, and caused the ground below the bridgeto be dug up, and then the whole skeleton of the murdered mancame to light. The wicked brother could not deny the deed, andwas sewn up in a sack and drowned. But the bones of the murderedman were laid to rest in a beautiful tomb in the churchyard.