Story of a Man and his wife

Once there was a dwarf, a boastful dwarf. He spent his days fighting, and the nights boasting about it in inns. One night, he was in an inn, and noticed a man in the corner, who was crying. "What is the matter, Master Man? Enjoy yourself!" the dwarf cried, and the man looked at him with tearful eyes. "How can I enjoy myself when I am so far from my wife, and she might be dead, but the journey home is so dangerous." Then a hobbit, tired of the dwarf's boasting stood up and said: "The dwarf is an excellent fighter, let him escort you." The dwarf got nervous, and the whole inn looked at him. "Of course! It is no trouble for a warrior like me!" he laughed, and the man convinced him they should travel at once. That night they sat out, and after two days of travelling they crossed the border. The dwarf was nervous, for they were now in enemy-land. Not long after they went into enemy-land, they encountered a group of Evil Men, for this was in the far east. The man tried to hide behind the dwarf, and relied on him for protection. The dwarf raised his axe, and ran towards the Evil Men, but the dwarf wasn't as good a fighter as he had said, and was easily cut down by the cruel spears and arrows of the Evil Men. The man fled into a cave, and wandered there for two years. Then one night, he heard running water. He ran towards it, and surely enough, there was an exit. He ran out, and in front of him lay a village. The man was so happy, and when he learned the name of the village, he found out his wife lived here. He ran to her house, but there was only her cousin, who said she had set out a year ago to find him. The man was heartbroken, and spent many days drunk and crying in the local inn, before he finally decided to set out to find her. For many days he searched for her, until he found out she had been taken captive by a tribe of Evil Men. They intended to give her to their chieftain. The man was angry, and with this anger came a new strength, and he managed to get into the camp, and into the tent of his wife. Here she sat, full of bruises from all the kicks and hits of the Evil Men. The man ran over to her, and kissed her. He was finally happy again, but he heard footsteps outside, and he did not have the will to leave his wife. The Evil Man came into the tent, and he stood up to him, but he was no match. The man had barely held a sword, but the Evil Man was a veteran warrior. He cut down the man, and the wife was led to the chieftain. The chieftain was furious that the husband had stood up to his soldiers, and stabbed the wife, leaving her to the wolves. But her grief gave her strength to live on a little longer. Long enough to bury her husband, and there she died, over his grave.