The Tale of the Three Brothers

The Tale of the Three Brothers is a fairy tale that wizard parents tell to their children. It is published as part of a series of works that collectively are called The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

The Story
The story begins with three brothers who were travelling together at night, and were forced to try to cross a river that was dangerously wide and deep. After conjuring a bridge with their wands, death appeared and confronted them. He made them think that he was impressed with this bit of magic, and offered to give each a prize for their ingenuity.

The oldest brother asked for a wand that could never be defeated in a duel. So Death created a wand from the branch of a nearby tree and presented it to him. The middle brother asked for the power to raise people from the dead. So Death gave him a stone that would allow him to harness this power. The youngest brother, not trusting Death, requested the ability to leave without being followed by Death. Death then begrudgingly gave the youngest brother his own Invisibility cloak.

After this, the brothers continued on their travels. The first brother came to a village and challenged and old foe to a duel. After defeating the wizard, he went on to tell the others in the village of the amazing wand he had that was given to him by Death himself. After the brother went to sleep that evening, one of the wizards who had heard the tale slit his throat and stole the wand. Thus, Death secured his first victim.

The second brother went home and used his new stone to resurrect the woman he had loved. However, after bringing her back to life, he realized that she was still distant from him, as she no longer belonged to the living. After learning that this stone would never truly bring her back, he killed himself instead so that he could join her. Thus, Death secured his second victim.

The third brother lived a long and happy life, hiding from Death for many years under his new cloak. After becoming old, he finally took off the cloak, gave it to his son, and went with Death. Thus, Death finally secured his third victim, but only after many years, and on the youngest brother's terms instead of his own.

The Deathly Hallows
The three objects mentioned during the tale are meant to be the Deathly Hallows, some of the most powerful magical objects in existence. The Elder Wand is the unbeatable wand of the oldest brother, the Resurrection Stone is the stone given to the second brother, and the Cloak of Invisibility is the cloak given to the third brother that could hide the wearer even from Death.

The Peverell Brothers
The story is believed to refer to three actual brothers. These three men are Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus. Antioch was the oldest brother and possessed the Elder Wand, Cadmus was the middle brother and possessed the Resurrection stone, and Ignotus was the youngest and possessed the Cloak of Invisibility. This cloak was passed down through his family, and was eventually given to James Potter. Before James died, Albus Dumbledore had asked to see the cloak, and still had possession until he passed it to Harry Potter on Christmas Day during Harry's first year at Hogwarts.