The Tale of the Younger Brother
Once upon a time, in a small village on the slope of a mountain, there lived a father, his two sons, and a daughter-in-law. When the younger son was born, the father was nearly fifty. They named the boy Er-xiao. He grew up clever, hardworking, and everyone loved him. His father adored him above all else.When Er-xiao turned thirteen, his father fell ill and passed away. After that, Er-xiao lived with his older brother and his sister-in-law. The older brother was lazy, and the sister-in-law was mean and spiteful. They had an old cow, and Er-xiao took care of her from morning till night. The cow grew fat and well-fed. One day, the wicked sister-in-law said to her lazy husband:
"We need to get some poison and kill Er-xiao—then we won’t have to share the property!"
The lazy brother was dozing on the kang at the time. Barely moving his tongue, he replied:
"Alright."
The wicked sister-in-law made dumplings—some from white flour and some from black. She put poison in the white ones, planning to feed them to the younger brother. She kept the black ones for herself and her husband.
Er-xiao was grazing the cow by the riverbank, and it was already noon. The cow had eaten her fill, her belly swollen. Er-xiao had also cut a full basket of grass to take home.
The boy said to the cow:
"Let’s go home, dear cow. It’s noon, and the sun is scorching."
But the cow stood still, tears streaming from her eyes.
The boy was puzzled and asked:
"What’s wrong, dear cow? Haven’t you eaten or drunk enough?"
The cow opened her mouth and spoke in a human voice:
"Good boy! When you return home, eat the black dumplings, not the white ones."
Er-xiao didn’t fully understand, but he obeyed. When he returned home, the wicked sister-in-law smiled sweetly and said:
"Brother, you’ve been herding the cow and cutting grass—you must be tired. I made white dumplings for you. Eat them quickly!"
Er-xiao replied:
"Sister-in-law, keep the white dumplings for yourself and my older brother. I’ll have the black ones!"
With that, he pushed the black dumplings toward himself and began to eat. The sister-in-law stood nearby, wide-eyed. She waited until Er-xiao left, then threw away the white dumplings and plotted something evil again. "Fine!" she thought. "If you want to eat black dumplings, I’ll poison those too." And so she did. The next day, she made black dumplings, laced them with poison, and kept the white ones for herself and her husband.
Er-xiao was grazing the cow on the mountainside when noon arrived. The cow had eaten her fill, her belly swollen, and Er-xiao had cut another full basket of grass to take home.
The boy said to the cow:
"Let’s go home, dear cow! It’s noon, and the sun is scorching."
But the cow stood still, tears streaming from her eyes.
The boy was puzzled and asked:
"What’s wrong, dear cow? Haven’t you eaten or drunk enough?"
The cow opened her mouth and spoke in a human voice:
"Good boy! When you return home, eat the white dumplings, not the black ones."
This time, Er-xiao understood what was happening. When he returned home, the wicked sister-in-law smiled sweetly and said:
"Brother, you’ve been herding the cow—you must be tired. You said yesterday that you liked black dumplings, so I made some for you. Eat them quickly!"
But Er-xiao didn’t bat an eye and replied:
"Sister-in-law, ever since Father died, you and my brother have been eating all the white dumplings. Let me have some today!"
With that, he started eating the white dumplings. The sister-in-law stood nearby, seething with anger. She had tried to kill the boy yesterday, and today her plan had failed again. She then decided to get rid of Er-xiao another way and said to her lazy husband:
"Winter is coming, and the snow will fall. There’ll be nowhere to graze the cow. Why should we keep feeding Er-xiao? Let’s divide the property. We’ll give Er-xiao a small shed and two mu of barren land. We’ll keep the cow for plowing, and he can have the big red dog. We’ll keep the laying hen, and he can have the big rooster. We’ll keep the plow and the sturdy yoke, and he can have the broken plow and the useless yoke."
The lazy older brother yawned and agreed: "Alright, then!"
And so they divided the property without even listening to the younger brother. Winter came. Er-xiao went to the mountains to gather grass and firewood. The rooster helped him by picking up grains, and the dog carried branches. Er-xiao fed the rooster and the dog well. But the lazy older brother didn’t even bother to close the cow’s shed or add hay. The cow grew cold and hungry, becoming as thin as a twig. Whenever Er-xiao looked at her, his heart ached with pity.
Spring arrived, and it was time to plow the fields. Er-xiao was worried. The red dog saw his master’s sadness and barked:
"Woof-woof-woof! Harness me—I’ll be your cow! Woof-woof-woof! Harness me—I’ll be your cow!"
The big rooster saw his master’s sadness and crowed:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo! I can plow! Harness me! Cock-a-doodle-doo! I can plow! Harness me!"
Er-xiao harnessed the red dog and the big rooster and went to plow the field. The rooster flapped his wings, pulling the plow with all his might. The dog wagged his tail, straining to pull the plow. Er-xiao walked behind, holding the plow. And so the plow cut through the damp soil, row by row.
Soon, Er-xiao had plowed the entire field. When the wicked sister-in-law found out, she plotted something evil again and said to her lazy husband:
— Our cow has become completely feeble, she can’t even pull the cart anymore. Go to Er-xiao, borrow his red dog and the big rooster, maybe we’ll use them to pull the cart?
The elder brother was delighted and thought to himself: “If you harness the old cow, you’ll have to push her to get her moving! But if you borrow the red dog and the big rooster, harness them to the cart, they’ll pull it, and I can rest!” The elder brother nearly ran to his younger brother. He arrived and said:
— Our cow has become feeble, she can’t pull the cart anymore. Could you lend me your dog and rooster? Maybe they can pull it?
Er-xiao remained silent, as if he didn’t even see his elder brother. The elder brother straightened up, stretched his lazy back, and said:
— If you don’t give them to me, I’ll go back home and work the old cow to death.
Er-xiao felt sorry for the cow, so he gave his elder brother the dog and the rooster. The lazy man harnessed them, loaded the cart full of manure, whipped them, and said:
— Come on, put your backs into it, serve your elder brother!
He didn’t push the cart himself, just pretended to, almost tipping over backward. He was annoyed that the rooster and the dog weren’t pulling him along. A short time passed, and the rooster and the dog grew exhausted, then completely worn out, barely dragging themselves along, while the lazy man kept whipping them. The poor creatures got angry, stopped, and refused to go any further. The lazy man beat them and beat them until he beat them to death. He got tired himself, returned home, climbed onto the kang, and fell asleep.
The younger brother came back from the fields, not even thinking about lunch, and went straight to his elder brother’s house.
He saw the mean sister-in-law in the yard and asked:
— Where’s my red dog and the big rooster? I’ll take them home to feed them!
The sister-in-law waved her hand and said:
— Oh, it’s better not to ask. Your elder brother beat the dog and the rooster to death. They’re lying on the road.
When Er-xiao heard this, his heart ached, and he ran to the road. He saw the big red dog lying on the road, and the rooster nearby. Anger and sorrow overwhelmed Er-xiao. He cried and cried, then picked up the rooster and the dog, held them close, and carried them home. He buried them in front of his hut on the threshing floor. Every time he returned from the fields, he would immediately go to their grave to look. A few days passed, and an elm tree grew on the grave, its tender, light-green leaves shining like precious stones. Every day, Er-xiao watered it. In a year, the elm grew taller than Er-xiao himself. Its crown was thick, leaf upon leaf, like a green umbrella. Spring came, and buds appeared on the elm—round coins. The young man looked up, admiring them. Suddenly, he accidentally shook the trunk with his hand. Sha-sha-sha—the tree rustled and rustled, and the buds rained down from the tree. Er-xiao bent down to pick them up, but he couldn’t believe his eyes: they weren’t buds at all—gold and silver coins sparkled and shimmered. Er-xiao gathered them up, bought a brown cow, and from then on worked even harder.
The mean sister-in-law found out about this. One day, when Er-xiao went to the fields, she climbed over the wall into his yard, grabbed the elm trunk, and started shaking it. Hua-la-la—the buds rained down from the tree. Peng-peng-peng—they hit the mean sister-in-law on the head. She let go of the trunk and grabbed her head with both hands.
— Aiyo! — she cried.
She bent down and looked—there were no coins on the ground, no gold, no silver, just round stones lying around. She touched her head—it was covered in bumps. Enraged, she found an axe. Han-ha—she chopped down the elm. Just then, Er-xiao returned from the fields. He saw it and felt both angry and bitter. He asked the mean sister-in-law:
— Why did you chop down my elm?
She rolled her eyes and said resentfully:
— It’s better not to mention your tree—it nearly broke my head.
She said this, waved her hand, and left.
Er-xiao grieved, stroked the tree, then took out a knife, cut some branches, wove a basket, and hung it under the eaves. Birds flew in from the south, birds flew in from the north, and they laid eggs in the basket. Swallows flew in from the south, swallows flew in from the north, and they laid eggs in the basket. By evening, the basket was filled to the brim.
The mean sister-in-law found out about this and said to her lazy husband:
— Seems like you don’t like eating eggs! Look how many your younger brother has in his basket under the eaves!
The elder brother heard this, his eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet.
— I’ll go and ask for a few.
But his wife replied:
— Don’t ask for eggs—ask for the basket. Let the swallows and other birds lay eggs for us themselves. There’ll be so many, they won’t even fit in the yard, let alone the house.
The elder brother went to his younger brother. As he walked, he thought to himself: what if Er-xiao doesn’t give him the magic basket? He entered, his face pitiful, and said, almost crying:
— Brother, lend me your basket, or I’ll starve to death soon. This is the last time, then I’ll work hard myself.
Er-xiao had a kind heart, and when he heard that his elder brother was starving, he lent him the basket. The mean sister-in-law saw this and nearly gaped with joy. She hung the basket under the eaves, sat by the gate, and called out:
— Birds, fly from the east, birds, fly from the west, lay your eggs in my basket quickly! Swallows, fly from the north, swallows, fly from the south, lay your eggs in my basket quickly!
Birds flew in from the south and left droppings in the basket, birds flew in from the north and left droppings in the basket. Swallows flew in from the south, swallows flew in from the north, also left droppings in the basket, and flew away. The mean sister-in-law got angry, grabbed a stick, and struck the basket!
The little birds chirped:
— Chirp-chirp-chirp! Mean sister-in-law, mean heart, mean liver, Chirp-snap! We’ll peck your eyes! We’ll peck your eyes! Chirp-snap!
And the swallows echoed:
— Fweet, fweet, fweet! Mean sister-in-law, mean heart, mean liver. Fweet-snap! We’ll peck your eyes, we’ll peck your eyes!
The little birds and the swallows all attacked the mean sister-in-law at once. She spun around in circles, screaming in pain, while her lazy husband lay on the kang, mumbling in his sleep:
— Why are you yelling? You’re keeping me from sleeping!
The birds pecked out the mean sister-in-law’s eyes, and she died of frustration a few days later. The lazy brother soon starved to death. But the hardworking Er-xiao lived in happiness and contentment.
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