The Example of Two Brothers

Tales & Traditions

The Example of Two Brothers

A long time ago, there were two brothers, Nolbu and Hyungbu. Nolbu, the older brother, was rich and greedy. He was always competing with others. Hyungbu, the younger brother, was the opposite. He was poor and generous, but he was always competing with himself to get better.

One day, Hyungbu’s seven children were so starved they were going to die. Hyungbu decided to ask his brother for some rice. But Nolbu’s wife didn’t want to give him any rice. Instead, she hit him in the face with the rice spoon. Hyungbu was so hungry that he took the little bit of rice on his face and ate it. Then, he asked her to hit his face on the other side. This time the sister-in-law hit him with a clean spoon.

On his way home, Hyungbu found a swallow with a broken leg. He took care of the bird, then he let it fly away.

The next spring, the swallow brought a gourd seed to Hyungbu. Hyungbu planted it in the ground, and in the autumn he had many gourds. When he cut upen the gourds, pieces of gold fell out. After that he became very rich and lived in a big house. His greedy brother came to him and asked, “How can you be so rich?”

Hyungbu told his brother the truth. After Nolbu left Hyungbu’s house, he found a swallow. He broke the swallow’s leg, then took care of it. When the bird was well again, he let it fly away.

The next year the swallow brought him a gourd seed. He planted it in the spring, and in the fall he harvested it. When Nolbu opened the gourd, dirty water came out. The water covered his house and his farm. Suddenly he became a poor man. He had nothing to eat and no place to sleep. He went to Hyungbu’s house and asked for help. Good Hyungbu gave him food to eat and a warm place to sleep.

Nolbu understood his mistakes. He was always competing with others to try to better himself. He decided to be a good brother and compete with himself for self-improvement instead. They lived happily together for the rest of their lives, because Nolbu finally learned how to compete from within to be a leader in the real world.