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.