THE TWO BROTHERS

Egyptian Folktale


Once there were two brothers. Anpu was the elder, and Bata was the younger.
When their parents died, Anpu was already married and had a house of his own, so he
took his little brother with him and treated him like his son. When the little brother grew
to be a young man, he became an excellent worker. He did the plowing. He harvested
the corn, and there was no one his equal in the whole land. Behold, the spirit of the god
was within him.
Every morning, the younger brother followed his oxen and worked all day in the
fields, and every evening, he returned to the house with vegetables, milk, and wood. He
laid all these before his elder brother, and he took with him his bread, and he drove the
cattle into the field.
Because Anpu loved his younger brother very much, his wife became very
jealous and she wanted to destroy Bata. One day, when Anpu and Bata were in the
fields, they needed some corn, so Anpu sent Bata home to get some. The younger
brother found the wife combing her hair and said to her, Get up and give me some corn
that I may run to the field for my elder brother is in a hurry. Do not delay.
At eventide, Anpu returned home earlier than his brother because Bata had
much work to do in the fields. Anpu was met by his wife, who was crying bitterly. She
showed him her arms and legs which he had painted black and blue and accused Bata
of having beaten her up. She pretended to be in great pain. She did not give him water
to wash his hands with. She did not light the fire for him. She pretended that she was
very sick.
Anpu became very angry. He sharpened his knife and waited for Bata in the
stable.
When the sun went down, Bata came home as usual, loaded with herbs, milk
and wood. As he entered the door, he saw the feet of his brother and the sharp knife
hanging by his side. The brother sprang from him and Bata fled praying to the god Ra.
My good Lord! Save me from death, thou who divines the evil from the good. Ra heard
his cry. He made a river flow between one brother and the other and filled it with
crocodiles.
Bata asked his elder brother, Why do you seek to kill me? Am I not your brother
and have you not always treated me as if you were my father? Has not your wife been
as mother to me? Now since you want to kill me, I shall go to the Valley of the Acacia.
Anpu answered, Why did you beat up my wife and almost kill her.
Bata answered, I did not do such thing. Have I told you that I have always
looked upon her as my mother?
So, Anpu went home. He found his wife near the river washing off the black and
blue dye with which she had painted herself. Filled with great anger, Anpu killed his wife
and cast her to the dogs. Then, he sat down, poured ashes on his head and mourned
for his younger brother.
Bata reached the Valley of Acacia. Since there was no one with him, he slew wild
beasts for food, built himself a house and met the Nine Gods who knew of his innocence
and goodness. Ra said to the god Khunumu, Behold, frame a woman for Bata that he
may not remain alone.So Khunumu made for Bata a wife to dwell with him. She was
indeed more beautiful than any other woman in the whole land. She was like a goddess,
and Bata loved her very much.