How to find out a True Friend is an Indian fairy tale collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen.
[1] A childless king and queen pledged to St. James that if they had a son, he would make a pilgrimage on his eighteenth birthday.
When his eighteenth birthday grew near, the queen grieved over the thought of not seeing him for a year; she tried to put her son off, but when his consolations for her pretended causes did not work, she had to reveal the truth.
He met three young men, each of whom also claimed to be going on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, but the first two wanted the larger part, and the prince feigned illness to be rid of them.
The king offered his daughter, but the prince went on, and brought his friend's body with him.