Russian Fairy Tales :: Two Brothers

Two Brothers

Two brothers decided one day to go walking together. After walking for a long time or a short time, they lay down to rest in a forest in the midday heat. When they woke they found a stone lying beside them with something written on it. They tried to read the writing and this is what they saw:
”Whoever finds this stone must go through the forest towards the east. There he’ll find a river which he must swim. Then he’ll see a mother-bear with her cubs and he must steal the cubs and run as fast he can to the hills. On the hill there will be a house and in this house he will find happiness.”
When the brothers had read what was written, the younger one said:
”Let us go together. Perhaps we can both swim across the river, carry the bear cubs to the house, and both find happiness there.”
Then the elder one said:
”I don’t want to go to the forest for the bear cubs and I don’t advise you to do it either. First: no one knows whether what is written on this stone is the truth-perhaps it has only been written for a joke. Or perhaps we haven’t understood it properly. Secondly: even if what is written is true, we’ll go into the forest and night will fall; we mightn’t find the river and we shall lose our way. And even if we do find the river, how do we know we’ll be able to swim across it? It may be too broad and the stream too fast. Thirdly: even if we do swim across-is it so easy to steal the young from a mother-bear? She will attack us, and instead of finding happiness we’ll find out death. Fourthly: even if we succeed in stealing the bear cubs, the hill may be too much for us. But most important of all: what is this happiness we’ll find there in the house? It may be something we do not need at all.”
The young one said:
”I think you’re wrong. Nobody would write all this on the stone without a reason. It is there for a purpose. First: I say there’s no harm in trying. Secondly: if we do not go, somebody else will read what is written on the stone and find the happiness, and we will be the poorer fir it. Thirdly: you’ve got to have some courage in life and try. Fourthly: I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I was frightened.”
Then the elder one said:
”There is a proverb: “Look before you leap”, or: “A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush”.
And the younger said:
”And there are other proverbs too: “Don’t go to the forest if you’re afraid of wolves, and “Water doesn’t flow under a lying stone”. It’s my opinion we should go.”
So the younger brother went and the elder one stayed behind.
As soon as the younger one got into the forest, he found the river, swam across, and soon he saw the mother-bear, who was asleep. He seized her cubs and rushed as fast as he could up the hill. As soon as he’d reached the top, a crowd came out to welcome him, a grand carriage was brought out, and he was driven to the town and crowned king.
He reigned for five years. In the sixth year his country was attacked by another king, stronger than he was who seized power and threw him out. The younger brother went once again roaming about the world and came to hid elder brother’s house.
The elder brother was living in a village, and was neither rich nor poor. The brothers were glad to meet again and told each other all that had happened since the day they had rested together in the forest
The elder brother said:
”You see, I was right: I have lived a quiet and a simple life, and you, although you were a king, have seen much sorrow.”
The younger said:
”I don’t regret a moment of it. I’ve fallen on bad times, I know, but I have got something to remember-but what have you?”
And if you want to know which brother was right-well, I think they were both right-don’t you?