Brothers Grimm
Synopsis
There were once two brothers. One rich and one poor.
One day the poor brother was walking through the woods when her came upon a mountain. Twelve men went up to the mountain and cried “Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, open”. The men entered and stayed for some time. The then left carrying large heavy sacks saying “Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, shut thyself,” and the mountain closed up.
Once the men had left, the poor brother used the phrase to open the mountain. Inside he found a treasure of gold, silver, pearls and jewels. He decided to fill his pockets with gold but left everything else. Before leaving the area he closed the mountain with the appropriate phrase.
He now had enough money to buy food for his family and give to the poor. However, the money eventually ran out so he borrowed a basket from his brother so he could collect more gold. However, he always made sure to leave the most valuable treasure. After watching his brother amass money the rich brother began to be suspicious. He decided to set a trap by covering the baskets bottom with a sticky substance. When the brother returned the basket a coin was stuck to it.
The rich brother confronted the poor brother asking what he had been moving in the basket. The poor brother told him it was corn and grain to which the rich brother showed him the coin and threatened to turn him into the authorities.
The poor brother broke down and told his brother the whole story of finding the mountain treasure. Immediately, the rich brother summoned a carriage to take him to the mountain. However, he forgot the name of the mountain instead referring to it as Simeli. Therefore, the passphrase would not work and he could not exit.
Later that night, the twelve men arrived at the mountain and found the rich brother among their treasure. The men laughed as they had known that someone had been taking treasure from them. The brother met his fate and was beheaded.
The End
Lessons & Takeaways
Do Not Covet What Other People Have
The rich brother had a good life. He was rich, could feed his family and take care of whatever costs he had in his life. He did not need treasure to survive as his brother did.
He clearly liked being superior to his brother as he would not help him in his time of need. The rich brother could not let his brother have something that he didn’t have. A good brother would have listened to the story and discouraged the other from ever going back there. The situation was clearly very dangerous and the poor brother only did it as a means of surviving.
The rich brother had no need to steal and gave up his life for something that he wanted.
Having Good Intentions Can Still Lead to Your Down Fall
As mentioned above, the situation the poor brother put himself in was very dangerous. He could have easily been discovered by the men and killed. He had the best intentions for the money. He needed to feed his family and he made sure to give money to other people in need. Due to this desperate situation he was willing to take a risk. He was very lucky that he never ran into the men in the few times he visited the mountain.
You could argue that the reason he wasn’t caught was because he chose to not be greedy but it was complete luck.
Pay Attention to Details
Had the rich brother listened or taken notes he would have gotten the name of the mountain correct and been on his way just as his brother had times before. He didn’t stop to make a plan but instead ran into a dangerous situation because he could not wait to take the treasure for himself.
He should have taken the situation more serious and prepared for the heist more.
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