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GordonWay2
Since: Jun, 2012
2019-09-13 20:53:24
It is indeed a folk tale, though it has had many adaptations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Brothers

10 brothers each having a different, highly situational power. One brother is sentenced to death, but every time the method of execution is such that one of the brothers' powers makes him immune: when sentenced to death by drowning, they send the one who can stretch his neck, when sentenced to be burned to death they send the one who's fireproof, when Buried Alive they send the one who can eat rocks, etc. The authorities always think they're dealing with the same man and eventually give up.
It read like a folk tale, but it might have been recent.