Once upon a time in a country there was a great lamentation about a wild boar that was ravaging the farmers' fields, killing the cattle and tearing people's bodies open with its tusks. The king promised a great reward to anyone who would rid the land of this plague. But the beast was so big and strong that no one dared to go near the forest where it lived. Finally, the king made it known that whoever caught or killed the boar would have his only daughter as his wife.

Now there were two brothers living in the country, sons of a poor man, who came forward and wanted to take the risk. The eldest, who was cunning and clever, did it out of pride, the youngest, who was innocent and stupid, did it out of a good heart. The king said, "In order that you may certainly find the beast, you shall go into the forest from opposite sides." So the oldest went in from the sunset side and the youngest from the sunrise side. And when the youngest had gone a little while, a little man came to him. He held a black spear in his hand and said: "I give you this spear because your heart is innocent and good. With it you can safely go after the wild pig, it will not harm you." He thanked the little man, took the spear on his shoulder and went on without fear. Not long after, he caught sight of the animal running at him. But he held out the spear to him, and in his blind rage he ran into it so violently that his heart was cut in two. Then he took the impetuous beast on his shoulder, went home and wanted to bring it to the king.

When he came out on the other side of the forest, there was a house at the entrance where people were having fun with dancing and wine. His eldest brother had entered and thought that the pig would not run away from him. First he wanted to drink himself a right courage. When he saw the youngest coming out of the forest with his booty, his envious and spiteful heart gave him no peace. He called out to him, "come in, dear brother, rest and strengthen yourself with a cup of wine." The youngest, not suspecting anything bad behind it, went in and told him about the good little man who had given him a spit with which he would have killed the pig. The eldest held him back until evening, then they went away together. But when they came in the darkness to the bridge over a brook, the eldest let the youngest go ahead, and when he was in the middle of the water, he gave him a blow from behind, so that he fell down dead. He buried him under the bridge, then took the pig and brought it to the king, pretending that he had killed it - whereupon he received the king's daughter as his wife. When the youngest brother did not come back, he said: "the pig will have torn open his body", and everyone believed that.

But because nothing remains hidden from God, this black deed should also come to light. After long years a shepherd once drove his herd over the bridge and saw a snow-white knuckle lying in the sand below and thought it would make a good mouthpiece. So he climbed down, picked it up and carved a mouthpiece out of it for his horn. When he had blown on it for the first time, to the shepherd's great amazement, the little bone began to sing of its own accord:

"Oh, you dear little shepherd,
you blow on my little knob.
My brother beat me to death,
buried under the bridge,
around the wild pig,
for the king's little daughter."

"What a strange little horn," said the shepherd, "that sings by itself, I must bring it to the king. When he came before the king, the little horn began to sing again. The king understood it well and had the earth dug up under the bridge. The whole skeleton of the slain man was revealed. The evil brother could not deny the deed, was sewn into a sack and drowned alive. The bones of the murdered man were laid to rest in a beautiful grave in the churchyard.