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"There were once three brothers...
...who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight.
In time, the brothers reached a river too treacherous to pass.
But being learned in the magical arts...
...the three brothers simply waved their wands and made a bridge.
Before they could cross, however...
...they found their path blocked by a hooded figure.
It was Death, and he felt cheated.
Cheated because travelers would normally drown in the river.
But Death was cunning.
He pretended to congratulate the three brothers on their magic...
and said that each had earned a prize
for having been clever enough to evade him.
The oldest asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence.
So Death fashioned him one from an elder tree that stood nearby.
The second brother decided he wanted to humiliate Death even further...
and asked for the power to recall loved ones from the grave.
So Death plucked a stone from the river and offered it to him.
Finally, Death turned to the third brother.
A humble man...
he asked for something that would allow him to go forth from that place...
...without being followed by Death.
And so it was that Death reluctantly handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.
The first brother traveled to a distant village...
where, with the Elder Wand in hand...
he killed a wizard with whom he had once quarreled.
Drunk with the power that the Elder Wand had given him...
he bragged of his invincibility.
But that night, another wizard stole the wand...
...and slit the brother's throat for good measure.
And so Death took the first brother for his own.
The second brother journeyed to his home...
where he took the stone and turned it thrice in hand.
To his delight, the girl he'd once hoped to marry before her untimely death...
...appeared before him.
Yet, soon she turned sad and cold
for she did not belong in the mortal world.
Driven mad with hopeless longing...
the second brother killed himself so as to join her.
And so Death took the second brother.
As for the third brother...
Death searched for many years but was never able to find him.
Only when he attained a great age did the youngest brother...
shed the Cloak of Invisibility and give it to his son.
He then greeted Death as an old friend and went with him gladly
...departing this life as equals."
would
world
wizard
without
winding
wands
village
turned
treacherous
traveled
throat
thrice
three
their
forth
gladly
where
great
plucked
equals
earned
cheated
handed
twilight
delight
distant
decided
departing
measure
hoped
belong
figure
found
marry
attained
enough
finally
humiliate
recall
allow
existence
cunning
clever
cross
stood
congratulate
third
simply
travelers
first
friend
normally
hopeless
appeared
untimely
before
evade
driven
elder
brother
fashioned
because
another
brothers
cloak
bragged
could
mortal
death
place
blocked
drunk
grave
there
himself
hooded
however
traveling
humble
given
bridge
invincibility
invisibility
along
journeyed
killed
learned
lonely
longing
having
loved
magical
nearby
drown
never
night
followed
offered
waved
greeted
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