“Stay a bit. Where do you want to go now? Spend the night here with me.”
“No, brother! don’t ask me; it cannot be. I’ve business to do to-morrow, so I must get home as early as possible.”
“Well, good-bye! but why should you walk? Better get on my horse; it will carry you home quickly.”
“Thanks! let’s have it.”
He got on its back, and was carried off—just as a whirlwind flies! All of a sudden a cock crew. It was awful! All around were graves, and the rider found he had a gravestone under him!
Of a somewhat similar nature is the story of—
The Two Friends.[402]
In the days of old there lived in a certain village two young men. They were great friends, went to besyedas[403] together, in fact, regarded each other as brothers. And they made this mutual agreement. Whichever of the two should marry first was to invite his comrade to his wedding. And it was not to make any difference whether he was alive or dead.
About a year after this one of the young men fell ill and died. A few months later his comrade took it into his head to get married. So he collected all his kinsmen, and set off to fetch his bride. Now it happened that they drove past the graveyard, and the bridegroom recalled his friend to mind, and remembered his old agreement. So he had the horses stopped, saying:
“I’m going to my comrade’s grave. I shall ask him to come and enjoy himself at my wedding. A right trusty friend was he to me.”