The Singing Bone

I'm going to try posting a few more posts with the original tale instead of a summery. Please vote on the poll on the side to tell me what you prefer!

The Tale

Once upon a time in a certain country there was great concern about a wild boar that was destroying the peasants' fields, killing the cattle, and ripping people apart with its tusks. 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 crafty 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 dwarf 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 slashed 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 decided to drink himself some real courage. When he saw his younger brother coming out of the woods with his booty, his envious 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 forth together. After dark they came to a bridge over a brook, 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 remains hidden from God, this black deed was also to come to light.

After many long years a shepherd was driving his herd 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 astonishment the bone began to sing by itself:

“Ah, my 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 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.

Discussion Points

This tale has only two brothers rather than the typical three, probably in order to make a stronger comparison between the two characters.

The older brother is described as crafty and shrewd. He goes off to defeat the boar out of pride.

He needs to “drink himself some real courage” and when he sees that his younger brother succeeded his “envious and evil heart” gives him no peace until he fills his brother with drink and later kills him from behind. After that he lies about his brother's death in order to win his brother's prize.

The younger brother couldn't be more different. He is described as innocent and simple and he goes after the boar because of his kind heart. The little man gives him the spear for no reason other than that his heart is pure and good. He meets the boar fearlessly. He suspects nothing from his brother until he is killed.

This stark comparison between two archetypes is the heart of the story. To me it seems to lament the brutal realities of a world where innocence, simplicity and a kind heart are unable to survive. In most tales, the youngest brother is given aid because of a specific kind deed he does- sharing his food with a stranger or aiding someone. Here, the boy receives aid to kill the boar because he is killing the boar for selfless reasons. He is risking his life not for pride, like his older brother, and not for a prize at the end but because of his kind heart. The boar is a menace to the kingdom so he is willing to get rid of it. One may wonder that if that is the case, why didn't the boy wait for the king to offer his daughter for a wife before heading out? The answer may be two things. For one, the prize of the king's one and only daughter for marriage proves how dire the situation is. The boy might not have realized just how much the kingdom needed that boar dead until the prize was offered. Another explanation might be that the boy was worried about going alone. The two brothers accept the task at the same time. The younger brother needed the princess as a prize in order to convince his brother to come with him.

The tale states clearly that a kind, trusting heart does not mean brains. The older brother is the one that is shrewd, the younger one is simple. We see this in two instances. The younger brother is fearless while the older one needs alcohol in order to be brave enough to face the boar. Frankly, the older brother has this one right. The boar is a dangerous creature, and even though the younger brother has the spear that is meant to protect him, only a fool would put his trust completely in a black spear handed to him randomly at the side of the road by a complete stranger. While this lack of caution doesn't harm him, later on the boy is killed for exactly the same reason- too much trust. The older brother, on the other hand, has too much brains and not enough heart. He coldly plans to kill his brother by intoxicating him and abusing his trust in order to kill his from behind.

A few posts ago I differentiated between “smart” tales and “good” tales. Each of the brothers seem to represent one of these. The older brother uses his brains in order to trample everyone around him and get his prize. The younger brother receives magical aid thanks to his good heart in order to succeed on his mission. While it's hard to say which one this tale thinks it better, we can easily tell what philosophy is preferred. The thing is, both brothers end up dead. Neither receives a “happily ever after”. From the story it is clear, however, which character is “good” and which is

“bad”. The younger brother is shown in a very positive light while the older one comes off more evil than the destructive, rampaging boar. So the story might be showing that both philosophies have their faults and problems that keep them from reaching their end goal, but there is a better way to live, and that is by trying to be good. The story does end with the older brother being thrown in the water and the younger one being buried in a nice cemetery. So in a way, there is more of a reward for the kind people- other people reward them and appreciate them. But smart people can only look after themselves, and if they keep on treading on others to help themselves through, society (or God, as in the story) will pay them back.

What do you think? Can a balance be found between both the brothers?

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