Summary
Highlights
A desperate couple with 13 children struggles to feed their family. The father wanders into the forest, looking for a godfather for his newborn. He rejects God and the Devil, who he believes judge human life. He then encounters Death, who promises prosperity for his son later in life. The father accepts, believing all are equal before Death.
Years later, Death visits the ambitious young man, now a doctor, and gives him a powerful potion as a cure for all human ailments. The potion comes with a strict rule: if Death is at the patient's head, the doctor can cure them; if Death is at the patient's feet, the doctor cannot intervene as the patient is already under Death's power.
The doctor becomes famous and wealthy. When the king falls ill, the doctor is summoned. Upon seeing Death at the foot of the king's bed, the doctor, driven by a desire for glory, cunningly rotates the bed, placing Death at the head, and administers the antidote. Death, furious, warns the doctor against future deception, threatening his own life.
Sometime later, the princess falls gravely ill. The doctor, lured by the promise of riches, rushes to her side. However, captivated by her beauty, he disregards Death at the foot of her bed and cures her. Before the princess can thank him, Death takes the doctor. He finds himself in a cave of flickering candles, each representing a life. As punishment, Death extinguishes the doctor's candle to a mere wick.
Terrified, the doctor pleads with Death to transfer his dying light to a new candle. Though Death considers his plea, the doctor's betrayal is too great. Death drops the doctor's candle, extinguishing it. All that remains of the doctor are wisps of smoke.