was welcomed as the young king in the town, but put a sword in the bed between himself and the princess. Hearing what his younger brother had been doing, he set out to the same woods and found the same witch, but refused to strike his animals. When he shot his gun at her, she was invulnerable to lead, but he tore off three silver buttons and shot her again. He made her restore his brother, his brother's animals, and many others. The brothers went home, telling their tales. On hearing that his older brother had been accepted as him and slept in his bed, the young king cut off his head, but repented of it. The hare brought the root again, and the brother was restored. They returned to the town, and the princess could recognize her husband by the necklace on his animals, and asked him why he had put the sword in the bed that night, revealing to him that his brother had been true. Analysis Folktale collectors noted that the tale is of fragmentary origin, pieced together to shape its current form. The beginning of the tale fits tale type ATU 567, "The Magical Bird-Heart", wherein a bird with magical body parts promises a great destiny for all who eat of him. The tale belongs to a "European version" of the tale type where two brothers eat the bird and go their separate ways, lacking the theft of magical items by an antagonist and their transformation through the use of a herb. Adaptations A version of the tale was given by French author Alexandre Dumas with the name Les Deux Frères, greatly resembling Grimm's tale. In this version, the brothers are named Gottlieb and Wilfrid and each of them recruit a lion, a bear, a hare, a wolf and a fox. See also Donkey Cabbages Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful Pwyll Shortshanks The Enchanted Doe The Gold-Children The Knights of the Fish The Queen Bee The Three Dogs The Three Princes and their Beasts The Twins (Albanian tale) References External links SurLaLune Fairy Tale site "The Two Brothers" Fratricide in fiction German fairy tales Grimms' Fairy Tales Witchcraft in fairy tales ATU 300-399 ATU 500-559 False hero