Long ago, there were two brothers who lost their parents at a young age. They lived together in the same house, shared everything, and worked side by side. Life was simple and peaceful, and their bond was very strong.
As time went by, the older brother got married, and slowly, his personality changed. He became selfish and focused on getting rich for himself, while he treated his younger brother coldly. When it came time to divide the family property, the older brother took all the fertile land for himself and gave the younger brother only small, poor plots at the far end of the hill. The younger brother had to build a small hut on the hillside and live there. Over time, the older brother grew wealthy, and the younger brother became poorer.
The older brother avoided his brother whenever he could. He only socialized with rich friends, inviting them to share meals and hunting spoils, and he never invited his younger brother. However, when there was hard work or urgent tasks to be done, the younger brother always helped gladly, even though he was poor. The older brother’s wife noticed this and urged her husband to treat his brother kindly, but the older brother refused to listen, believing that only wealth and social status mattered.
One day, the older brother went hunting and killed a huge deer. He wanted to invite his rich friend to help carry it home. Following his wife’s suggestion, he decided to test his friend’s character. He pretended to be in trouble and said, “I accidentally shot someone while hunting. What should I do?” The friend refused to help, saying, “Everyone must take care of their own matters.”
Next, the older brother went to his younger brother and repeated the same story. This time, the younger brother thought carefully and replied kindly, “Since it happened, we should take care of it together. Let’s help the family and make amends.” The older brother realized at that moment who was truly loyal and kind-hearted.
He confessed the truth to his brother and asked him to help carry the deer home. On the way, they deliberately let the deer’s legs scrape the fence at the rich friend’s house. Hearing the noise, the friend came outside and was surprised by the size of the deer. The older brother calmly said, “We are just taking care of family matters together.”
From that day on, the two brothers reconciled. They lived together in love and harmony once more, sharing life and work, and valuing each other’s loyalty and kindness above all else.