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This story is a West African folk tale, retold by mothers to children for generations.
TWO BROTHERS by Inno Sorsy
Once there was a very rich cocoa farmer who had two sons. He loved them very much. When the time came for him to die, he called his sons to him. He gave all his lands and all his riches to his eldest son. "I also give what is most precious to me: your little brother. Look after him as I have looked after you." After these words, the old man went to join his ancestors.
As soon as the funeral and forty days of mourning were over, a great change came over the Elder Brother. He took to ordering Little Brother around, and instead of looking after him, he made him do the housework, the shopping, and the cooking. Was this what the old man, their father, had asked?
Imagine yourself in Little Brother's position. Wouldn't you cry as he did? Wouldn't you think that life wasn't fair? Wouldn't you miss your father very much?
Well, Little Brother was so unhappy that he didn't eat or sleep at all well; and one night, as he lay on his sleeping mat thinking about how his Elder Brother had changed into a monster, he heard a small noise. He lay very still and listened very hard. There it was again, a small scratching noise. He lifted his head quietly. Sitting on a sack of rice at the foot of Elder Brother's bed, was a mouse. As he watched he saw this tiny mouse jump from the sack of rice onto Elder Brother's bed. The mouse lifted its whiskers up toward the ceiling, where a basket of peanuts was hanging. Then, gathering all its forces, and with a mighty effort, the mouse leaped straight upward and landed on the rim of the basket.
Little Brother thought he was dreaming. How could a tiny mouse like that jump so high? He watched the mouse pick up one, two, three peanuts, put them in its mouth, jump back down onto Elder Brother's bed, jump back down onto the sack of rice, onto the floor, and disappear under the bed.
I must tell all the people about this, thought Little Brother. It is a very important lesson for everyone. You don't have to be big or rich or anything to do extraordinary things. All you need is determination.
At the crack of dawn he was up, washed and dressed, and on his way to the market.
Now, the market people were used to seeing Little Brother doing the shopping, and they laughed at him behind his back. "Look at him! He's little more than a beggar. His brother is rich and important, but he is only good for shopping and cleaning."
So, do you think they believed his story about the mouse? Of course not.
"He is jealous of his brother, and he wants some attention. That is why he makes up these stories of the mighty flying mouse." I'm afraid this is the kind of thing people said about Little Brother, and when Elder Brother heard about this, he was very angry indeed.
"You are bringing shame on our family name. Everyone is laughing at us. Please don't make up any more of your ridiculous tales, Little Brother."
Little Brother was very upset and hurt that nobody believed his story.
"MY own brother treats me like a servant, and people laugh at me even though I tell them what is true and important. I will go away to the forest, and I will learn some more from the forest animals. The mouse has taught me a lesson, and maybe other animals have lessons to teach me." He was very sad to leave his village, but determined, just like the mouse.
Not long after Little Brother went to live in the forest, Elder Brother lay awake one night worrying about his cocoa farms when he heard a small noise, a small scratching noise. He raised his head and saw a mouse leaping for the peanuts just as Little Brother had said. Elder Brother couldn't believe his eyes. The next morning, when he met his friends, the rich young men of the village, he told them the story of the mouse.
"Oh!" they said. "This is amazing! How high did this mouse jump? This is a very important discovery. Thank you, Elder Brother, for sharing your great knowledge with us."
Soon, the whole village was talking about Elder Brother and his flying mouse. People came to Elder Brother to ask his advice about all their problems, and everyone agreed that he was a very wise and observant man. Nobody remembered that Little Brother had told the same story. That is why we say, "A poor man's word is nothing, but a rich man's word is gold."
And what about Little Brother? He was still living in the forest with the animals. The animals had taught him a lot. They had taught him their language and other secrets too.
One day, the animals came to Little Brother with some very bad news. They told him that the people of his village were in desperate trouble.
The animals were right. Little Brother's village had been struck by illness. First the children and then the elders got a very high fever. All the medicine priests and priestesses tried to cure the fever, but it was too strong. The market was silent and empty. Even the children had stopped laughing and playing. How do you cure such a high and strong fever?
Little Brother did not waste time. He gathered together some of the special leaves of the forest which the animals had taught him about, and he hurried to help his people. When he got to the village, he boiled the fever leaves and gave them to those who were sick. In a few days, they began to recover and soon they were well again. You could hear the children playing once more and the market people gossiping over their goods: "That Little Brother is something special. He is a great healer. He is a very important man."
Little Brother just smiled when he heard this kind of thing.
"I learned this lesson long ago," he said. "You don't have to be rich to do important things. You need determination like the mouse, and you need to find what you are good at. Each one of us has something special that is useful for everyone."
Do you know what you have that is special? No? Well, what are you waiting for? Find it!
The End
Nighty Night!
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