The Two Brothers an 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
to live with him and treated him like a son. When the little brother grew into a young man, he
was an excellent worker. He did the plowing and harvested the corn; there was not an equal
in the land. Behold the spirit of a god was with him.
How did the author begin the story?
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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 at dawn, he took the bread with him which he had baked and laid
it before his elder brother; and he took with him his bread and drove the cattle into the field.
Because Anpu loved his brother very much, his wife became jealous and 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, "Get
up and give me some corn so that I may run to the field for my elder brother is in a hurry. Do
not delay."
What is the main problem in the story?
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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 she had painted black and blue, and accused Bata of having beaten her. She
pretended to be in great pain. She didn't give him water to wash his hands with, she didn't light
the fire for him, and she pretended that she was very sick. And 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. And
as he entered the door, he saw the feet of his brother and the sharp knife hanging by his side.
The brother sprang at him and Bata fled praying to Ra, "My good lord! Save me from death,
thou who divines the evil from the good." And Ra heard his cry; he made a river flow between
one brother and the other and filled it with crocodiles. And Bata said to 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?
What challenges did the two characters encounter in the story?
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And has not your wife been as a 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 no such thing. Have I not 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 the Acacia. There was no one with him; he slew wild beasts
for food and built himself a house under the acacia tree, which is sacred to the gods.
One day as he walked out of his house, he 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. And 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.
How did the story end?
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Source: “The Ancient Egyptian Tale of Two Brothers,” Accessed August 18, 2020.
https://www.perankhgroup.com/brothers.htm.