The Five Brothers

Five little boys were as alike as five drops of water. They had the same face, the same laugh and the same short, toddling walk. The villagers looked and looked, yet no one could tell which was the eldest and which the youngest. And yet each boy hid something strange inside him, and no two of those strange things were alike.

The old tale says that their mother, as a young girl, once met a god who gave her a strange flower with five petals. She held it tenderly, and then she swallowed it. Not long after, she gave birth to five sons at once, identical, strong and whole. The family rejoiced and set five cradles side by side.

The brothers grew up, and the strange gift in each of them slowly came to light.

The eldest was stronger than anyone. He could carry a whole mountain on his shoulders without even changing expression. The second had a body of bronze and skin of iron. Thorns could not pierce him, knives could not cut him, and a fall from a great height did him no harm. The third had remarkable eyes. He only had to sit still and draw back the clouds in the sky, and he could see everything happening everywhere, even what was still to come. The fourth could stay under water as long as he liked. He could lie at the bottom of the river all day and all night and still breathe as evenly as if he were in bed. As for the youngest, he was a friend of fire. He could walk into the middle of a great blaze. The flames would lick around him, yet his skin never grew hot and his hair was never singed.

Each of these odd talents, on its own, seemed good for nothing. What use was a man who could sit under water all day? What good was a man who could walk through fire? In the village, some people laughed and said each boy in that family had his own strange quirk. The brothers only smiled gently and never answered back. They loved one another and stayed close, sharing every simple meal of rice and greens.

Then one day, the eldest carried firewood all the way to the capital to sell to the king. With his strength, each load was as much as about ten ordinary men could carry together. The firewood filled the royal storehouse until it spilled into the courtyard. The king was both amazed and uneasy. He thought that a man with such strength might cause trouble if left alone too long. Better to test him and learn the truth.

At home, the third brother drew back the clouds and saw everything the king had in mind. He called his brothers together and spoke quietly. From now on, he said, the king would set one trial after another. But they should not be afraid. The king believed only one man had come to the capital, while their family had five brothers who looked exactly alike. Each trial would go to the brother whose talent fit it. The king would never know he was testing five different men.

For the first trial, the king ordered the young man with the firewood to go down into the river and stay under the water for one full day and one full night. The king was sure no one could bear it. But the one who went to the capital this time was the fourth brother, the friend of water. He waded calmly into the river and sat cross-legged on the bottom, listening to the fish swim past his ears. When the sun rose again, he stepped up onto the bank. His clothes were wet, but his face was bright, as if he had just come back from a cool swim. The king stared and could not understand it.

The second time, the king thought up a harder trial. He had a huge pile of firewood heaped in the middle of the courtyard and set ablaze. Then he ordered the young man to stand in that ring of fire until it burned out. But this time it was the youngest who went, the friend of fire. He strolled into the flames without a care. The fire crackled around him and even caught the hem of his shirt, yet did him no harm. He even sat down and warmed his hands, as if beside the kitchen hearth on a winter afternoon. When the fire died down, he brushed off the ashes and walked out smiling. The whole royal courtyard fell silent.

The third time, the king was astonished, but still not willing to give in. He called out all his soldiers with spears and swords, and they closed in around the young man. This time, the one who stepped into the ring was the second brother, with his body of bronze and skin of iron. When the spears struck him, their points bent. When the swords came down, their blades were chipped. Yet there was not a scratch on his skin. He stood straight, arms loose at his sides, and looked at the king with gentle eyes.

At that, the king gave up. He sank onto his throne and sighed. A man who could stay under water all day, walk through fire and stand unharmed by swords and spears could not exist anywhere in the world. The king sent people to the young man's village, and the truth came out. There lived five brothers, born at the same time and as alike as could be, each with his own talent. One could carry a mountain. One had a body of bronze and skin of iron. One could draw back the clouds and see everything before it happened. One could live under water, and one could live in fire. Each time the king set a trial, a different brother had come to bear it.

The king thought it over and was startled. Each talent, taken alone, was strange, and people had sometimes even mocked it as useless. A man who sits under water, a man who stands in fire, who would know what to do with them? Yet those five odd talents, put together, fitted perfectly. They were just enough for the family to shelter one another. When one brother met danger, another brother's talent was there to catch him. Not a single brother was one too many. Not a single talent was wasted.

The king not only gave up his suspicions, he grew fond of the five brothers. He invited the whole family to the capital. He liked the third brother best, the one who saw everything ahead, wise and calm. The king gave him his daughter in marriage and handed him the throne to rule. Then the old king withdrew to live out his days at ease, as light as a man who has set down a heavy load carried for a long time.

The five brothers stayed together as before, as alike as five drops of water, each keeping his own talent. Every evening they gathered around a tray of rice and greens, five identical faces and five identical laughs. People looking in still could not tell which was the eldest and which the youngest. Only now, no one laughed and said each boy had his own strange quirk. For when those five hands come together, they can hold up a whole roof.