The Two Brothers

The Two Brothers

Once there were two brothers who looked very much alike, though their natures could not have been more different. The elder counted everything he owned—coins, apples, loaves of bread, even the stack of firewood beside the cottage. The younger shared gladly and often said, “When two travel together, the road is shorter and supper tastes better.” One morning they decided to go and seek their fortune. Each packed ten loaves of bread, and together they set off into the mountains. When they grew hungry, the elder said, “Let us eat your loaves first. Mine can wait until later.” The younger brother agreed. For several days they shared his food equally. But when the last loaf was gone, the elder tied up his own sack and said, “From now on, each of us must look after himself.” “But we agreed to share,” said the younger, astonished. “I never said that,” replied the elder, and he took a different path. The younger brother was left without food, though not without hope. At dusk he came upon an old mill deep in the woods. The miller was just closing the door. “Sir, may I stay the night?” the young man asked. “I do not stay here after dark,” said the miller. “They say forest animals come to the mill when the sun has set.” But the traveller was so tired that he begged for only a roof over his head. The miller let him hide in the loft, then went home. At midnight the mill door creaked open. A great bear came in, followed by a wolf and then a jackal. They sat in a circle like old friends. “Let each of us tell one secret,” said the bear. The younger brother lay still and listened. The bear said, “On a hill nearby lives a mouse. Beside her little hole lies an old treasure. For years she has been unable to move the heavy stone that covers it. Whoever helps her will be richly rewarded.” The wolf said, “I know a town where people carry water from far away. They do not know that a clear spring rises beneath a great stone in their own market square.” The jackal added, “And in a distant kingdom the king’s daughter has been ill for many years. A warm bath steeped with young beech leaves would make her well.” At dawn the animals went away. The young man first found the mouse’s hole. The mouse really was pushing in vain at a flat stone. “May I help?” he asked. Together they moved the stone aside. Beneath it stood a small jar filled with old coins. “This was my ancestors’ treasure,” said the mouse. “Take some for helping me.” The young man took only as much as he could carry easily. Then he reached the town that had no water. He asked the townspeople to roll away the stone in the square. At first they did not believe him, but when a spring burst from the ground, the whole town rejoiced. “Ask for a reward!” said the town elder. “Plant trees beside the spring and set out cups for travellers,” the young man answered. “For myself, give me only food for the road.” At last he came to the kingdom where the princess was ill. The royal healers had tried everything they knew. The young man told them about the beech leaves. They gathered the tender, fragrant leaves, prepared a warm bath, and within a few days the princess was much better. The king was overjoyed. “You have saved the person dearest to me,” he said. “Stay at my court.” The young man agreed, but asked not for gold. He asked for the chance to learn. He became the king’s adviser, and in time he married the princess, when they both wished it. News of his good fortune reached the elder brother. “So he found some clever trick,” he thought. “I shall do the very same and gain even more.” He sought out his younger brother and made him tell the whole story. “Do not go to the mill at night,” warned the younger. “I heard the animals by chance. A second time, they may be more careful.” But the elder would not listen. He hid in the same loft and waited. That night the bear, the wolf, and the jackal came again. “Strange things have happened,” grumbled the bear. “Someone seems to know about the mouse’s treasure.” “And the spring has been uncovered,” said the wolf. “And the princess has recovered,” added the jackal. The animals raised their heads. “Someone has been listening to us.” The elder brother was so frightened that he sneezed. “Ah-choo!” The animals found him at once. But instead of hurting him, the bear asked sternly, “Why are you here?” “I want treasure, rewards, and a place at the king’s court,” the elder answered honestly. The wolf shook his head. “Your brother helped the mouse.” “He helped a whole town,” said the jackal. “And he helped a sick girl,” said the bear. “He did not chase after rewards. They found him because of the good he did.” The animals led the elder out of the mill and said, “Come back only when you have learned to give before you ask.” The elder walked through the forest for a long time. For the first time in his life, he did not count his steps or the pieces of bread left in his bag. On the road he met an old woman carrying a heavy basket and helped her take it to the village. Then he saw a shepherd searching for a lost lamb and helped him find it. He even shared his last loaf with a boy travelling alone. And a strange thing happened: the more he gave away, the lighter his heart became. A few months later he returned to his brother. “I have not come for secrets,” he said. “I have come to ask forgiveness for those loaves of bread on the road.” The younger brother smiled. “Then sit down. Supper is ready.” He broke a loaf in two. The elder looked at his half, and for the first time he did not wonder whether it was larger than his brother’s. So the two became true brothers again. And in the old mill, people said, the bear, the wolf, and the jackal still gathered once a year to share their secrets. But only someone who did not seek easy riches—and was willing to do good even when no reward was promised—could ever hope to hear them.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨