Godfather Death

As you who have been reading my posts probably already know, I am quite fond of fairy tales, especially those from the collection of the Brothers Grimm. When I read this one, it instantly became one of my all-time favorite stories. Perhaps that's because I've always had a fascination with Death and its relationship to the cycle of life. Or, perhaps it's because the story doesn't end the way one would expect a fairy tale to end (unless, of course, you too are a fairy tale aficionado). Either way, it's an awesome story.

It starts out in the way that most fairy tales start out--with a peasant and his children. He had twelve, and he was already hard-pressed to find enough money to feed them, but then a thirteenth came along, and being one to adhere to tradition (as most peasants did), he had to find a godfather for this one. He resolved that he would wait by the road, and the first person he should meet would have that honor.

Well, it so happened that the first one he met was Death (things rarely work out as anticipated, you see), and true to his word, the peasant named Death the godfather of his youngest son. And Death promised, "I will make your child rich and famous; he who has me for a friend can need naught."

When the boy came of age, Death came to meet him. He took the young man into a forest and showed him an herb, proceeding to explain the nature of his christening gift to the boy: Death would make the boy a physician to be rivaled by no other. When the boy came to heal a sick person, if he saw Death standing beside the person's head, it was a sure sign that they would live, and the boy need only give the patient some of the magical herb. If Death stood at the person's feet, however, there was no hope for them, and they would surely die. Because of this foolproof technique, the young man became the most renowned and respected physician in the land. People traveled for miles just to have themselves or their loved ones diagnosed and healed by him, and so he became a very wealthy man.

It came to pass that the King fell very ill. Well aware of the physician's reputation, the King called for him to see if he was to recover from his malady. Unfortunately, when the physician entered the chamber, he saw death standing at the foot of the bed. It grieved the physician to even think of informing those present that the King was to die. An idea began to form in the physician's mind, that idea being to go against Death's wishes and cure the King, in the hope that Death would forgive his godson just this once. Being so resolved, the physician turned the King around in the bed so that his head was where his feet had been. Then, he administered his miracle cure, and the King rose from the bed almost immediately, in good health once again.

Death, of course, was not happy. You wouldn't be, either, if you'd been cheated. He went to the physician and told him that he would pardon him just this once, because the physician was his godson, but if he ever got it in his head to defy Death again, he would be the one to die.

Well, shortly after, the King's daughter, his only child, fell gravely ill. The King wept and wept, and in fatherly desperation promised her hand in marriage to the one who could heal her. When the physician came to examine her, he noted in despair that Death was standing at her feet. He knew that, unless he were to give up his own life, she must die, but he couldn't help the thought of how beautiful she was, and remembered the King's promise of the Crown and his eternal gratitude to the one who could restore her to health. He came to the realization that he alone had that power, and casting Death's warning from his mind, turned the Princess around so that her feet were where her head had been, and gave her the herb. Right away, her cheeks colored again, and she sat up, refreshed.

Death was livid. He strode up to the physician and struck him, ordering him to follow Death into the Underworld. He showed his godson rows upon rows of lamps, some ablaze, the flame reaching high into the air; others with smaller flames; and still others nearly extinguished. "These are the lamps of men's lives," Death informed the physician. "Those with many years left burn the brightest; the smallest flames belong to those who are about to die."

The physician asked to see his own lamp, and Death led him to one that had gone dark, save for a tiny ember. This was the price the physician must pay for defying his godfather. Stricken with remorse and sadness at the thought that he would never marry the King's daughter, or inherit the Crown, or walk the world of the living ever again. He begged Death to light him a new lamp, but Death simply shook his head and said, "I cannot. One lamp must be extinguished before I can light another."

The young physician then suggested that Death use the old one to light the new, whereby the old ember would die in the process. Death agreed that it would work, and went to do it, but he took his time, and the old lamp went cold before the new one could be lighted. The physician fell to the ground, the life leaving his body.


Source:
The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales