The Grieving Woman and Death

There was a woman grieving because her husband was going to die. She wept and wailed. "Death, O Death," she prayed, "spare his life, please! You can take me instead of him!"
Imagine her surprise when Death appeared.
"Let's go, my good lady," he said.
The woman grew pale and then curtsied politely. "You must have misunderstood," she explained. "The person you're looking for is my husband, over there. He's the one stretched out in the bed. You don't want me; you want him!"
It's one thing to talk of Death; it's another thing to see him face to face.

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Inspired by: Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists by Roger L'Estrange, 310.
Notes: This fable is not part of the classical Aesop tradition; find out more here.

Here is an illustration from an edition of Desbillons: