The Two Brothers

¹Once 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, and so he took his little brother 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 plowing; he harvested the corn; there was not his equal in the whole land. Behold, the spirit of a god was within him!

          ²Every 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 with him which he had baked and laid it before his elder brother; and he tookwith him his bread and he drove the cattle into the field.

³Because Anpu loved his younger 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 home to get some. The younger brother found the wife combing her hair and said to her, “Get up and give me some corn that I may run to the field for my elder brother is in a hurry. Do not delay.”

⁴At 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 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 that she was very sick.

⁵And 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 the god 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.

 ⁶And 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? 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.”

⁷Anpu answered, “Why did you beat up my wife and almost kill her?”

⁸Bata answered, “I did no such thing. Have I not told you that I have always looked upon her as my mother?”

⁹So, 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.

¹⁰Bata reached the Valley of the 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.

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.