The Two Brother
Once there were two brothers. Anpu was the name of the elder, and Bata was the name of the younger, when their parents died, Anpu was already married and had a house of his own and so he took his little brother to live with him and treated him like his son. When the little brother grew to be a young man, he was an excellent worker; he did the land plowing; he harvested the corn. There was not his equal in the whole land. Behold, the spirit of a 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 several vegetables, milk, and wood. He laid all these before his elder brother and at dawn, he took bread with him that he had baked and laid it before his elder brother; and he drove the cattle into the field.
Because Anpu loved his 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 to get some. The younger brother found the wife combing her hair and said to her “Get up and get me some corn that I may run to the field for my elder brother is in a hurry. Do not delay.”
At evening, Anpu returned home earlier than his brother because Bata had much work to do in the field. Anpu was met by his wife who was crying bitterly. She showed her arms and legs, which she 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 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. 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 God, Ra, “My good Lord.” “Save me from death, thou who divines the devil from the good.” And Ra heard his cry; he made a river flow between one brother and the other and filled with crocodiles.
And Bata said to his brother, “Why do you seek to kill me? Am I not your brother and have you not always treated me as if u were my father? 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 Acacia.”
Anpu answered, “Why did you beat up my wife and almost killed her?”
Bata answered,“ I did not do such thing. Have I not told you that I have always looked upon her as a mother?”
So Anpu went home. He found his wife in the river washing off the black and blue dye with which she had painted herself. Filled with anger, Anpu killed his wife and cast her to the dogs. Then he sat down; poured ashes on his head and mourned his younger brother.
Bata reached the Valley of Acacia. There was no one with him; he slew wild beasts for food, he built himself a house under the acacia tree, which is sacred to the gods.