The Rich Brother And The Poor Brother
: The Lilac Fairy BookThere was once a rich old man who had two sons, and as his wife
was dead, the elder lived with him, and helped him to look after
his property. For a long time all went well; the young man got up
very early in the morning, and worked hard all day, and at the
end of every week his father counted up the money they had made,
and rubbed his hands with delight, as he saw how big the pile of
gold in the strong iron chest was
now, and I shall have to buy a larger one,' he said to himself,
and so busy was he with the thought of his money, that he did not
notice how bright his son's face had grown, nor how he sometimes
started when he was spoken to, as if his mind was far away.
One day, however, the old man went to the city on business, which
he had not done for three years at least. It was market day, and
he met with many people he knew, and it was getting quite late
when he turned into the inn yard, and bade an ostler saddle his
horse, and bring it round directly. While he was waiting in the
hall, the landlady came up for a gossip, and after a few remarks
about the weather and the vineyards she asked him how he liked
his new daughter-in-law, and whether he had been surprised at the
marriage.
The old man stared as he listened to her. 'Daughter-in-law?
Marriage?' said he. 'I don't know what you are talking about!
I've got no daughter-in-law, and nobody has been married lately,
that I ever heard of.'
Now this was exactly what the landlady, who was very curious,
wanted to find out; but she put on a look of great alarm, and
exclaimed:
'Oh, dear! I hope I have not made mischief. I had no idea--or, of
course, I would not have spoken--but'--and here she stopped and
fumbled with her apron, as if she was greatly embarrassed.
'As you have said so much you will have to say a little more,'
retorted the old man, a suspicion of what she meant darting
across him; and the woman, nothing loth, answered as before.
'Ah, it was not all for buying or selling that your handsome son
has been coming to town every week these many months past. And
not by the shortest way, either! No, it was over the river he
rode, and across the hill and past the cottage of Miguel the
vine-keeper, whose daughter, they say, is the prettiest girl in
the whole country side, though she is too white for my taste,'
and then the landlady paused again, and glanced up at the farmer,
to see how he was taking it. She did not learn much. He was
looking straight before him, his teeth set. But as she ceased to
talk, he said quietly, 'Go on.'
'There is not much more to tell,' replied the landlady, for she
suddenly remembered that she must prepare supper for the hungry
men who always stopped at the inn on market days, before starting
for home, 'but one fine morning they both went to the little
church on top of the hill, and were married. My cousin is servant
to the priest, and she found out about it and told me. But good-
day to you, sir; here is your horse, and I must hurry off to the
kitchen.'
It was lucky that the horse was sure-footed and knew the road,
for his bridle hung loose on his neck, and his master took no
heed of the way he was going. When the farm-house was reached,
the man led the animal to the stable, and then went to look for
his son.
'I know everything--you have deceived me. Get out of my sight at
once--I have done with you,' he stammered, choking with passion
as he came up to the young man, who was cutting a stick in front
of the door, whistling gaily the while.
'But, father--'
'You are no son of mine; I have only one now. Begone, or it will
be the worse for you,' and as he spoke he lifted up his whip.
The young man shrank back. He feared lest his father should fall
down in a fit, his face was so red and his eyes seemed bursting
from his head. But it was no use staying: perhaps next morning
the old man might listen to reason, though in his heart the son
felt that he would never take back his words. So he turned slowly
away, and walked heavily along a path which ended in a cave on
the side of his hill, and there he sat through the night,
thinking of what had happened.
Yes, he had been wrong, there was no doubt of that, and he did
not quite know how it had come about. He had meant to have told
his father all about it, and he was sure, quite sure, that if
once the old man had seen his wife, he would have forgiven her
poverty on account of her great beauty and goodness. But he had
put it off from day to day, hoping always for a better
opportunity, and now this was the end!
If the son had no sleep that night, no more had the father, and
as soon as the sun rose, he sent a messenger into the great city
with orders to bring back the younger brother. When he arrived
the farmer did not waste words, but informed him that he was now
his only heir, and would inherit all his lands and money, and
that he was to come and live at home, and to help manage the
property.
Though very pleased at the thought of becoming such a rich man--
for the brothers had never cared much for each other--the younger
would rather have stayed where he was, for he soon got tired of
the country, and longed for a town life. However, this he kept to
himself, and made the best of things, working hard like his
brother before him.
In this way the years went on, but the crops were not so good as
they had been, and the old man gave orders that some fine houses
he was building in the city should be left unfinished, for it
would take all the savings to complete them. As to the elder son,
he would never even hear his name mentioned, and died at last
without ever seeing his face, leaving to the younger, as he had
promised, all his lands, as well as his money.
Meanwhile, the son whom he had disinherited had grown poorer and
poorer. He and his wife were always looking out for something to
do, and never spent a penny that they could help, but luck was
against them, and at the time of his father's death they had
hardly bread to eat or clothes to cover them. If there had been
only himself, he would have managed to get on somehow, but he
could not bear to watch his children becoming weaker day by day,
and swallowing his pride, at length he crossed the mountains to
his old home where his brother was living.
It was the first time for long that the two men had come face to
face, and they looked at each other in silence. Then tears rose
in the eyes of the elder, but winking them hastily away, he said:
'Brother, it is not needful that I should tell you how poor I am;
you can see that for yourself. I have not come to beg for money,
but only to ask if you will give me those unfinished houses of
yours in the city, and I will make them watertight, so that my
wife and children can live in them, and that will save our rent.
For as they are, they profit you nothing.'
And the younger brother listened and pitied him, and gave him the
houses that he asked for, and the elder went away happy.
For some years things went on as they were, and then the rich
brother began to feel lonely, and thought to himself that he was
getting older, and it was time for him to be married. The wife he
chose was very wealthy, but she was also very greedy, and however
much she had, she always wanted more. She was, besides, one of
those unfortunate people who invariably fancy that the
possessions of other people must be better than their own. Many a
time her poor husband regretted the day that he had first seen
her, and often her meanness and shabby ways put him to shame. But
he had not the courage to rule her, and she only got worse and
worse.
After she had been married a few months the bride wanted to go
into the city and buy herself some new dresses. She had never
been there before, and when she had finished her shopping, she
thought she would pay a visit to her unknown sister-in-law, and
rest for a bit. The house she was seeking was in a broad street,
and ought to have been very magnificent, but the carved stone
portico enclosed a mean little door of rough wood, while a row of
beautiful pillars led to nothing. The dwelling on each side were
in the same unfinished condition, and water trickled down the
walls. Most people would have considered it a wretched place, and
turned their backs on it as soon as they could, but this lady saw
that by spending some money the houses could be made as splendid
as they were originally intended to be, and she instantly
resolved to get them for herself.
Full of this idea she walked up the marble staircase, and entered
the little room where her sister-in-law sat, making clothes for
her children. The bride seemed full of interest in the houses,
and asked a great many questions about them, so that her new
relations liked her much better than they expected, and hoped
they might be good friends. However, as soon as she reached home,
she went straight to her husband, and told him that he must get
back those houses from his brother, as they would exactly suit
her, and she could easily make them into a palace as fine as the
king's. But her husband only told her that she might buy houses
in some other part of the town, for she could not have those, as
he had long since made a gift of them to his brother, who had
lived there for many years past.
At this answer the wife grew very angry. She began to cry, and
made such a noise that all the neighbours heard her and put their
heads out of the windows, to see what was the matter. 'It was
absurd,' she sobbed out, 'quite unjust. Indeed, if you came to
think of it, the gift was worth nothing, as when her husband made
it he was a bachelor, and since then he had been married, and she
had never given her consent to any such thing.' And so she
lamented all day and all night, till the poor man was nearly
worried to death; and at last he did what she wished, and
summoned his brother in a court of law to give up the houses
which, he said, had only been lent to him. But when the evidence
on both sides had been heard, the judge decided in favour of the
poor man, which made the rich lady more furious than ever, and
she determined not to rest until she had gained the day. If one
judge would not give her the houses another should, and so time
after time the case was tried over again, till at last it came
before the highest judge of all, in the city of Evora. Her
husband was heartily tired and ashamed of the whole affair, but
his weakness in not putting a stop to it in the beginning had got
him into this difficulty, and now he was forced to go on.
On the same day the two brothers set out on their journey to the
city, the rich one on horseback, with plenty of food in his
knapsack, the poor one on foot with nothing but a piece of bread
and four onions to eat on the way. The road was hilly and neither
could go very fast, and when night fell, they were both glad to
see some lights in a window a little distance in front of them.
The lights turned out to have been placed there by a farmer, who
had planned to have a particularly good supper as it was his
wife's birthday, and bade the rich man enter and sit down, while
he himself took the horse to the stable. The poor man asked
timidly if he might spend the night in a corner, adding that he
had brought his own supper with him. Another time permission
might have been refused him, for the farmer was no lover of
humble folk, but now he gave the elder brother leave to come in,
pointing out a wooden chair where he could sit.
Supper was soon served, and very glad the younger brother was to
eat it, for his long ride had made him very hungry. The farmer's
wife, however, would touch nothing, and at last declared that the
only supper she wanted was one of the onions the poor man was
cooking at the fire. Of course he gave it to her, though he would
gladly have eaten it himself, as three onions are not much at the
end of a long day's walk, and soon after they all went to sleep,
the poor man making himself as comfortable as he could in his
corner.
A few hours later the farmer was aroused by the cries and groans
of his wife.
'Oh, I feel so ill, I'm sure I'm going to die,' wept she. 'It was
that onion, I know it was. I wish I had never eaten it. It must
have been poisoned.'
'If the man has poisoned you he shall pay for it,' said her
husband, and seizing a thick stick he ran downstairs and began to
beat the poor man, who had been sound asleep, and had nothing to
defend himself with. Luckily, the noise aroused the younger
brother, who jumped up and snatched the stick from the farmer's
hand, saying:
'We are both going to Evora to try a law-suit. Come too, and
accuse him there if he has attempted to rob you or murder you,
but don't kill him now, or you will get yourself into trouble.'
'Well, perhaps you are right,' answered the farmer, 'but the
sooner that fellow has his deserts, the better I shall be
pleased,' and without more words he went to the stables and
brought out a horse for himself and also the black Andalusian
mare ridden by the rich man, while the poor brother, fearing more
ill-treatment, started at once on foot.
Now all that night it had rained heavily, and did not seem likely
to stop, and in some places the road was so thick with mud that
it was almost impossible to get across it. In one spot it was so
very bad that a mule laden with baggage had got stuck in it, and
tug as he might, his master was quite unable to pull him out. The
muleteer in despair appealed to the two horseman, who were
carefully skirting the swamp at some distance off, but they paid
no heed to his cries, and he began to talk cheerfully to his
mule, hoping to keep up his spirits, declaring that if the poor
beast would only have a little patience help was sure to come.
And so it did, for very soon the poor brother reached the place,
bespattered with mud from head to foot, but ready to do all he
could to help with the mule and his master. First they set about
finding some stout logs of wood to lay down on the marsh so that
they could reach the mule, for by this time his frantic struggles
had broken his bridle, and he was deeper in than ever. Stepping
cautiously along the wood, the poor man contrived to lay hold of
the animal's tale, and with a desperate effort the mule managed
to regain his footing on dry ground, but at the cost of leaving
his tail in the poor man's hand. When he saw this the muleteer's
anger knew no bounds, and forgetting that without the help given
him he would have lost his mule altogether, he began to abuse the
poor man, declaring that he had ruined his beast, and the law
would make him pay for it. Then, jumping on the back of the mule,
which was so glad to be out of the choking mud that he did not
seem to mind the loss of his tail, the ungrateful wretch rode on,
and that evening reached the inn at Evora, where the rich man and
the farmer had already arrived for the night.
Meanwhile the poor brother walked wearily along, wondering what
other dreadful adventures were in store for him.
'I shall certainly be condemned for one or other of them,'
thought he sadly; 'and after all, if I have to die, I would
rather choose my own death than leave it to my enemies,' and as
soon as he entered Evora he looked about for a place suitable for
carrying out the plan he had made. At length he found what he
sought, but as it was too late and too dark for him to make sure
of success, he curled himself up under a doorway, and slept till
morning.
Although it was winter, the sun rose in a clear sky, and its rays
felt almost warm when the poor man got up and shook himself. He
intended it to be the day of his death, but in spite of that, and
of the fact that he was leaving his wife and children behind him,
he felt almost cheerful. He had struggled so long, and was so
very, very tired; but he would not have minded that if he could
have proved his innocence, and triumphed over his enemies.
However, they had all been too clever for him, and he had no
strength to fight any more. So he mounted the stone steps that
led to the battlements of the city, and stopped for a moment to
gaze about him.
It happened that an old sick man who lived near by had begged to
be carried out and to be laid at the foot of the wall so that the
beams of the rising sun might fall upon him, and he would be able
to talk with his friends as they passed by to their work. Little
did he guess that on top of the battlements, exactly over his
head, stood a man who was taking his last look at the same sun,
before going to his death that awaited him. But so it was; and as
the steeple opposite was touched by the golden light, the poor
man shut his eyes and sprang forward. The wall was high, and he
flew rapidly through the air, but it was not the ground he
touched, only the body of the sick man, who rolled over and died
without a groan. As for the other, he was quite unhurt, and was
slowly rising to his feet when his arms were suddenly seized and
held.
'You have killed our father, do you see? do you see?' cried two
young men, 'and you will come with us this instant before the
judge, and answer for it.'
'Your father? but I don't know him. What do you mean?' asked the
poor man, who was quite bewildered with his sudden rush through
the air, and could not think why he should be accused of this
fresh crime. But he got no reply, and was only hurried through
the streets to the court-house, where his brother, the muleteer,
and the farmer had just arrived, all as angry as ever, all
talking at once, till the judge entered and ordered them to be
silent.
'I will hear you one by one,' he said, and motioned the younger
brother to begin.
He did not take long to state his case. The unfinished houses
were his, left him with the rest of the property by his father,
and his brother refused to give them up. In answer, the poor man
told, in a few words, how he had begged the houses from his
brother, and produced the deed of gift which made him their
owner.
The judge listened quietly and asked a few questions; then he
gave his verdict.
'The houses shall remain the property of the man to whom they
were given, and to whom they belong. And as you,' he added,
turning to the younger brother, 'brought this accusation knowing
full well it was wicked and unjust, I order you, besides losing
the houses, to pay a thousand pounds damages to your brother.'
The rich man heard the judge with rage in his heart, the poor man
with surprise and gratitude. But he was not safe yet, for now it
was the turn of the farmer. The judge could hardly conceal a
smile at the story, and inquired if the wife was dead before the
farmer left the house, and received for answer that he was in
such a hurry for justice to be done that he had not waited to
see. Then the poor man told his tale, and once more judgment was
given in his favour, while twelve hundred pounds was ordered to
be paid him. As for the muleteer, he was informed very plainly
that he had proved himself mean and ungrateful for the help that
had been given him, and as a punishment he must pay to the poor
man a fine of fifty pounds, and hand him over the mule till his
tail had grown again.
Lastly, there came the two sons of the sick man.
'This is the wretch who killed our father,' they said, 'and we
demand that he should die also.'
'How did you kill him?' asked the judge, turning to the accused,
and the poor man told how he had leaped from the wall, not
knowing that anyone was beneath.
'Well, this is my judgment,' replied the judge, when they had all
spoken: 'Let the accused sit under the wall, and let the sons of
the dead man jump from the top and fall on him and kill him, and
if they will not to this, then they are condemned to pay eight
hundred pounds for their false accusation.'
The young men looked at each other, and slowly shook their heads.
'We will pay the fine,' said they, and the judge nodded.
So the poor man rode the mule home, and brought back to his
family enough money to keep them in comfort to the end of their
days.
Adapted from the Portuguese.
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The palaces of the mermaids were all aglow with lights as they approached them, and Trot was amazed at the sight. "Where do the lamps come from?" she asked their guide wonderingly. "They are not lamps, my dear," replied Merla, much amused at t... A Blessing For The Blessed
BY LAURENCE ALMA-TADEMA When the sun has left the hilltop, And the daisy-fringe is furled, When the birds from wood and meadow In their hidden nests are curled, Then I think of all the babies That are sleepin... A Boy's Mother
BY JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY My mother she's so good to me, Ef I was good as I could be, I couldn't be as good--no, sir!-- Can't any boy be good as her. She loves me when I'm glad er sad; She loves me when I'm good er... A Brave And Honest Boy Oliver Twist
LITTLE Oliver Twist was an orphan. He never saw his mother or his father. He was born at the workhouse, the home for paupers, where his poor heart-broken mother had been taken just a short time before baby Oliver came; and, the very night he was b... A Brave Girl
BY JAMES JOHONNOT (ADAPTED) In the year 1781 the war was chiefly carried on in the South, but the North was constantly troubled by bands of Tories and Indians, who would swoop down on small settlements and make off with whatever they could ... A Brave Queen
Long ago, when this country was a wild land, there lived a beautiful and brave queen named Boadicea. Her husband, the king, was dead, but she had two daughters whom she loved very much. Boadicea was queen of a part of Britain. There were no l... A Burrowing Game
See the little mousie, creeping up the stair, Looking for a warm nest--there, oh, there! (Mother's fingers creep up the body, and finally fumble in baby's neck.) ... A Child's Calendar
"January first is cold, February winds are bold, March runs whistling round the hill, April laughs and cries at will. Lovely are the woods in May, Happy June is our time to play;... A Child's Dream Of A Star
BY CHARLES DICKENS There was once a child, and he strolled about a good deal, and thought of a number of things. He had a sister, who was a child, too, and his constant companion. These two used to wonder all day long. They wondered at the beauty... A Dash For Liberty
Trot dreamed that she was at home in her own bed, but the night seemed chilly and she wanted to draw the coverlet up to her chin. She was not wide awake, but realized that she was cold and unable to move her arms to cover herself up. She tried, bu... A Domestic Tragedy
BY LUCY FITCH PERKINS My doll, my doll, my Annabel, She's really feeling far from well! Her wig is gone, her eyes are out, Her legs are left somewhere about, Her arms were stolen by the pup, The hens ate all her sa... A Dozen At A Blow
A little tailor was sitting cross-legged at his bench and was stitching away as busy as could be when a woman came up the street calling out: "Home-made jam, home-made jam!" So the tailor called out to her: "Come here, my good woman, and give m... A Drinking Custom
A pie sat on a pear tree, A pie sat on a pear tree, A pie sat on a pear tree, Heigh ho! heigh ho! heigh ho! These lines are sung by a person at the table after dinner. His next neighbour then sings "Once so merrily hopped... A Dutch Treat
BY AMY B. JOHNSON "I've been crying again, father." "Have you, sweetheart? I'm sorry." "Father." "Yes, darling." "I don't like Holland at all. I wish we had stayed in New York. And I would much rather stay in Amsterdam with you to-day t... A Fairy Enchantment
Story-teller--MICHAEL HART Recorder--W. B. YEATS In the times when we used to travel by canal I was coming down from Dublin. When we came to Mullingar the canal ended, and I began to walk, and stiff and fatigued I was after the slowness. I ha... A Fairy Story
Some fairies once lived in a dark glen in a pine forest. They were real fairies, many of them not higher than a pin. Their greatest treasure was a magic cap which had been in the fairy family for many generations. The most wonderful thing a... A Fairy's Blunder
Once upon a time there lived a fairy whose name was Dindonette. She was the best creature in the world, with the kindest heart; but she had not much sense, and was always doing things, to benefit people, which generally ended in causing pain and... A Fairy-tale
About Ivan the Fool and His Two Brothers, Semen the Warrior and Taras the Paunch, and His Dumb Sister Malanya, and About the Old Devil and the Three Young Devils I. In a certain kingdom, in a certain realm, there lived a rich p... A Famous Case
BY THEODORE C. WILLIAMS Two honey-bees half came to blows About the lily and the rose, Which might the sweeter be; And as the elephant passed by, The bees decided to apply To this wise referee. The elephant,... A Farmer Went Trotting
A farmer went trotting upon his gray mare; Bumpety, bumpety, bump! With his daughter behind him, so rosy and fair; Lumpety, lumpety, lump! A raven cried croak! and they all tumbled down; Bumpety, bumpety, bump... A Finger Test
You strike three times on the top, you see, And strike three times on the bottom for me, Then top and bottom you strike very fast, And open a door in the middle at last. ... A Fish Story
Perhaps you think that fishes were always fishes, and never lived anywhere except in the water, but if you went to Australia and talked to the black people in the sandy desert in the centre of the country, you would learn something quite diffe... A Flag Incident
BY M. M. THOMAS (ADAPTED) When marching to Chattanooga the corps had reached a little wooded valley between the mountains. The colonel, with others, rode ahead, and, striking into a bypath, suddenly came upon a secluded little cabin surrounded by... A Flower Book
<style type="text/css"> <!-- .caption {font-weight: bold; color: #6B8E23} .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em;} --> </style> <p>When the snow lies thick on the ground and all the streams that ba... A Foot Play
Up, down--up, down. One foot up and one foot down, All the way to London town. Tra la la la la la. ... A French Puck
Among the mountain pastures and valleys that lie in the centre of France there dwelt a mischievous kind of spirit, whose delight it was to play tricks on everybody, and particularly on the shepherds and the cowboys. They never knew when they w... A Funny Family
There was a little lady she was'nt very big She had a spotted cow ... Also a spotted pig ... Her dress had dots ... Her dog had lots ... it was a funny family but oh so very trig ... A Girl's Valentine Charm
AS TOLD BY HERSELF (FROM THE CONNOISSEUR, 1775) Last Friday was Valentine's Day, and I'll tell you what I did the night before. I got five bay leaves, and pinned four of them to the four corners of my pillow, and the fifth to the middle; and th... A Great Fight
Tom, Uncle John told me last night that he was going to make a hard fight. I thought he was going to war. He could not tell me all about this fight then, because some one came for him, to go to see a sick child. When I went to bed, I dreamed Un... A Gunpowder Story
BY JOHN ESTEN COOKE (ADAPTED) In the autumn of 1777 the English decided to attack Fort Henry, at Wheeling, in northwestern Virginia. This was an important border fort named in honor of Patrick Henry, and around which had grown up a small vi... A Happy Day In Birdland
"The birds," said daddy, "found a new room for breakfast. It was in a row of bushes--and the bushes were berry bushes. "One day as they were having the best sort of a time eating, who should look down at them but the king of the clouds. He looke... A Hunter's Lamp
<div> <img src="/images/i208.png" alt="A Hunter's Lamp" title="A Hunter's Lamp" height="356" width="283" /> A Hunter's Lamp </div> <p>In the old pioneer days, every hunter used to make himself a lamp, for it was much easier to make than a candle. It i...