Long time back, ours was a happy and prosperous family.

We were three brothers who loved each other very much. In due time, our old father became very
ill.

He left for heaven and willed each of us a thousand gold dinars.

We were clever so we invested in various shops and soon became well-to-do merchants.

One day my eldest brother had the idea of expanding his trade connections in other kingdoms. He
decided to travel to other lands across the sea for this purpose.

He then sold all his shops, luxury items and the house to get some money. For buying a variety of
goods, he set sail in a beautiful trade ship. Nearly a year went by, but we heard nothing from him.

One afternoon, as I sat fanning myself at the shop, a beggar approached me. He was looking very
weak. He was barely covered in tattered clothes. I picked a silver coin from my pocket and gave it to
him. Seeing this, the poor beggar burst out in tears.

"Oh! What fate!" he cried bitterly. "A brother is giving another alms in pity."

I gave him a second look. Suddenly I recognised him to be my eldest brother. I consoled him and took
him home. After a warm bath and some delicious hot lunch, my brother told me his sad tale. He said
that he could not earn as much as he had invested in his new ventures.

The heavy losses had made him poor and he had reached back home with great difficulty. I had by
then earned two thousand gold dinars in my business so I gave one thousand gold dinars to my
eldest brother. I encouraged him to start a new business.

Some months later, my second brother decided to seek foreign lands to expand his business. I
narrated our eldest brother's example to him but he insisted on going for trading overseas. He soon
joined a caravan that was ready to leave for a foreign land. He, too, went with many hopes and a lot
of goods.

For a year, I heard no news of his business ventures. When a year went by, one fine morning he
arrived at my doorstep much in the same state as my elder brother. He told me that his caravan had
been looted by bandits and he lost everything.

Once again I lent my thousand dinars to my other brother too. He was happy to begin his business
again. Soon both my brothers did well in their ventures and prospered. We lived happily and
together again.