From Indian Folklore

7wo 13rofhers

Once upon a tim.e, a farmer had two sons.

On growing up the two sons stayed together
with their father and worked with him. in the
farm. The older son did not marry but the
younger one fell in love with a beautiful girl
and got married. Years passed and the
younger brother had two children, a son and
a daughter. They all stayed together in one
house. Their amazing family bond was
known in the whole village. And they were
all very happy.
. ~e father became old and one day he
1st
: ~ibuted his fields, cattle and farlll
~uipment equally between his two sons and
s~d, "Always stay united for that alone will
give strength to the family."
26
 It so happened, the following day th~
father died. The elder brother was very sad
and he could not sleep in the night. At
midnight, when the whole family was fast
asleep he remembered his father's last words.
He got out of bed and went to the storehouse.
There he found heaps of grain ready to be
sold in the market. He also observed that the
storehouse had been partitioned in the
middle and the crop was distributed half-and
-half.
Looking at the two large heaps of grain, he
thought, 'I don't have a family but my
younger brother has a wife and two children
to support. Let me give hiin more grain. If. I
talk to him in the morning, he would never
agree,' and so he pushed some grain from his
side to his younger brother's side. Happy in
his heart he went back to sleep.
Shortly after, the younger brother woke
up. He looked at his pretty wife and his two
children. They were fast asleep and he
thought, 'How fortunate I am. I have a wife
and two children. And my poor elder brother
is all alone and looks very sad. I must make

27
him happy.' He too quietly walked ~to the
storehouse, pushed some of the· gram from
his side to his brother's side across the
dividing line, and went back to sleep.
Early next morning, the two brothers filled
their sacks, got ready and went to the market
to sell off the grain. In the market, when the
grain was weighed they were surprised to
find that their shares were equal.
After selling the grain, the two brothers
t~lked and learnt what had happened in the
. mght and the bond between them ew
stronger. gr
The younger brother and his £ .
considered the older brother as the anuly
the. family and loved him d early Sohead of
younger brother's wife found a : on, the
su1tabl b ·ct
forherbrother-in-lawandgothimm e_ n e
The members of both famili arried.
.. es often
small .sacrifices and expressed therr
. 1ovmade
affection for one another. They all 1. e anct
very happy life for a long time. IVect a