Once upon a time in a certain country there was great concern about a wild boar that was destroying the peasants' fields, killing¹ the cattle, and ripping people apart with its tusks². The king promised a large reward to anyone who could free the land from this plague, but the beast was so large and strong that no one dared to go near the woods where it lived. Finally the king proclaimed that whoever could capture or kill the wild boar should have his only daughter in marriage.

　　Now in this country there lived two brothers, sons of a poor man. They declared that they dared to attempt the task. The older one, who was crafty³ and shrewd, did so out of pride. The younger one, who was innocent and simple, did so because of his kind heart.

　　The king said, "In order to be more sure of finding the beast, you should enter the woods from opposite sides."

　　Thus the older one entered the woods from the west, and the younger one from the east.

　　After the younger one had walked a little while, a little dwarf⁴ stepped up to him. He held a black spear in his hand and said, "I am giving you this spear because your heart is innocent and good. With it you can confidently attack the wild boar. It will do you no harm."

　　He thanked the dwarf, put the spear on his shoulder, and walked on fearlessly.

　　Before long he saw the beast. It attacked him, but he held the spear toward it, and in its blind fury it ran into the spear with such force that its heart was slashed⁵ in two.

　　Then he put the monster on his back and turned towards home, intending to take it to the king.

　　Emerging from the other side of the woods, he came to a house where people were making merry drinking wine and dancing. His older brother was there too. Thinking that the boar would not run away from him any time soon, he had decided⁶ to drink himself some real courage. When he saw his younger brother coming out of the woods with his booty, his envious⁷ and evil heart gave him no peace.

　　He called out to him, "Come in, dear brother. Rest and refresh yourself with a beaker of wine."

　　The younger brother, suspecting no evil, went in and told him about the good dwarf who had given him the spear with which he had killed the boar.

　　The older brother kept him there until evening, and then they set forth⁸ together. After dark they came to a bridge over a brook⁹, and the older brother let the younger one go first. When the younger brother reached the middle above the water, the older one gave him such a blow from behind that he fell down dead.

　　He buried him beneath the bridge, took the boar, and delivered it to the king, pretending that he had killed it. With this he received the king's daughter in marriage.

　　When his younger brother did not return he said, "The boar must have ripped him apart," and every one believed it.

　　But as nothing remains¹⁰ hidden from God, this black deed was also to come to light.

　　After many long years a shepherd was driving his herd¹¹ across the bridge and saw a little snow-white bone lying in the sand below. Thinking that it would make a good mouthpiece, he climbed down, picked it up, and then carved out of it a mouthpiece for his horn. When he blew into it for the first time, to his great astonishment¹² the bone began to sing by itself:

　　Oh, my dear shepherd, You are blowing on my little bone. My brother killed me, And buried me beneath the bridge, To get the wild boor¹³ For the daughter of the king.

　　"What a wonderful horn," said the shepherd. "It sings by itself. I must take it to the king."

　　When he brought it before the king, the horn again began to sing its little song. The king understood it well, and had the earth beneath the bridge dug up. Then the whole skeleton of the murdered man came to light.

　　The wicked brother could not deny the deed. He was sewn into a sack and drowned alive. The murdered man's bones were laid to rest in a beautiful grave in the churchyard.

       　从前有个国家来了一头野猪。它践踏耕地、咬杀牲畜，还用尖利的獠牙咬人，人们为此痛苦不堪。国王宣佈只要有人能将王国从这一灾难中拯救出来，他就会大大地赏赐他。可是野猪太大了，而且强不可敌，因此谁也不敢接近它藏身的那片森林。最后国王宣佈：谁若能捕获或者杀死那头野猪，他就能娶国王的独生女为妻。

　　在乡下住着两兄弟，是穷人家的孩子。老大狡猾精明却缺乏勇气；弟弟单纯而心地善良。两兄弟说他们愿意接受这个危及生命的使命。国王对他们说：「为了让你们能确实找到那头野兽，你们两人必须分头从两个方向进森林。」於是，哥哥从西头走，弟弟从东边进。

　　弟弟走了没多远就遇到一个小个子男人。他手里握着一支黑色长矛，对弟弟说：「我把这支长矛给你，因为你心地纯洁善良；你拿着这长矛，只管大胆去斗那野猪，长矛会帮你的。」

　　弟弟谢过那小个男子，扛起长矛，毫不畏惧地继续赶路。

　　不久，他看到了那头野猪，便用长矛对准了朝他扑来的野兽。野猪气疯了，它沖得太快太猛，结果长矛把它的心脏划成了两半。弟弟扛起巨兽往回走。

　　森林另一端的入口处有座房子，人们在那里饮酒、跳舞作乐。弟弟来到那儿时，哥哥早已坐在里面了，他以为野猪反正逃不出他的手心，於是先喝点酒壮胆。当他看到弟弟带着战利品从森林里返回时，邪恶的心里充满了嫉妒，无法平息。他对弟弟喊道：「进来吧，亲爱的弟弟，喝杯酒歇歇。」

　　从无戒心的弟弟走了进去，把好心男人给他长矛、自己又如何用长矛制服野猪的经过告诉了哥哥。

　　哥哥留弟弟一起喝酒直到天色将晚，然后一道离开了小屋，在黑暗中赶路。他们来到小河上的一座桥跟前，哥哥让弟弟走在前面，走到桥心时，哥哥对准弟弟的后脑勺狠狠一击，弟弟倒下死了。哥哥将弟弟埋在桥下，自己扛起野猪去向国王领赏，似乎野猪是他猎杀的。他娶了国王的独生女为妻。当有人问他为甚么弟弟没有回来时，他说：「准是野猪把他给吃了。」人们也就信以为真了。

　　可是甚么都瞒不过上帝的眼睛，这罪孽总有一天要真相大白的。

　　几年以后，有个牧羊人赶着羊群过桥，一眼看到沙子下面有根雪白的骨头。他觉得这是做口吹乐器的好材料，於是爬下桥，将骨头捡了起来。他用骨头给自己的号角做了个吹口。可他第一次用它吹响号角时大吃了一惊，因为骨头吹口自顾自唱起了小调：

　　「啊，朋友，你在用我的骨头吹奏，我在这河边沉睡已久。

　　哥哥杀我夺走了野猪，娶的妻子是国王之女。」

　　「多好的号角呀！」牧羊人说，「竟然自己会唱小调！我一定要把它献给国王陛下。」於是他将号角献给国王，号角又唱起了同一支小调。

　　国王一听就明白了，於是派人到桥下挖出了被害人的屍骨。罪孽深重的哥哥无法抵赖他的所作所为，因此被缝进一个麻袋，沉到河里去了。被害人的屍骨则被安葬在教堂墓地里一座漂亮的墓塚里了。