GFTC - The Four Skillful Brothers

Once upon a time, there was a land which lay cursed under a cruel and seemingly endless drought. Crops died, fields turned to dust, and many farmers were forced to take drastic measures in order to survive. One of these was a poor old widower who lived with his four sons. I had hoped the day would never arrive when I'd have to say this, but my sons, this farm can no longer support the five of us. These four copper coins came from the sale of your mother's wedding ring after she died. I know it's not much, but I want each of you to take one and then go out and try to make your own way in the world. But what will happen to you if we abandon you? Why, with only one mouth to feed, I'll manage fine. You're not abandoning me. I expect you all to return one year from now and show me how well you've done. Though sad at leaving their father alone, the four brothers, like all young men, couldn't help being thrilled at the prospect of going out into the wide, wonderful world. And so it was, with eager steps and high hopes, that they at last set out on their journey. Look, brothers, up ahead lies the crossroads. What do you say we each take a different road and then meet back here at this very spot in one year's time? It's fine with me. It'll be a contest to see which of us is most successful. Watch it! I'm gonna put you big lunks to shame. Ha ha ha ha! Goodbye, Peter. Hope you grow a little in the meantime. And let's hope George loses some weight. Goodbye, Wilhelm. Goodbye, Franz. We'll meet a year from now. Not many nights later, Franz, the eldest, found himself sitting alone and penniless in a dark alley, frequented by thieves and pickpockets. The crooked finger, the sign of the brotherhood of thieves, was Franz's entree into a glittering new world. In no time at all, he became apprenticed to a great jewel thief, learning the tricks of incredible quickness and dexterity that are vital to success in that dubious profession. Meanwhile, Wilhelm, the second-eldest brother, was wandering hungrily through the forest one night when he chanced to make a stranger's acquaintance in a rather abrupt way. It so happened that the stranger was a great scientist and astronomer, and he too opened the young man's eyes to a wonderful new world. Amazing! Hmm. In another part of the kingdom, George had apprenticed himself to the gamekeeper of a rich nobleman's estate, and was already considered one of the finest marksmen in that part of the country. Meanwhile, young Peter took himself to a far-off city, where he learned how to make and repair clothes from an old tailor with some very unusual skills. I've never seen anything like it. I shouldn't think so, because there isn't another needle like this anywhere in the world. In this way, days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and months into seasons, and so in what hardly seemed like any time at all, a year had passed. Hello! Hello, you two! How are you? My brothers! George! Look! I brought enough food for the banquet! Peter, it doesn't look like you've grown an inch! And George hasn't lost a pound! My boys! How I've missed you! Now you just sit yourself down and take it easy, Father. You won't believe some of the things we brought for you. Like this solid silver dinner service! It came from the palace of a duke! And my delicious duck stew ought to be ready any moment now! I hope you're hungry! It's high time you had some new shirts, so I made you some. Oh, my boys, I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have all five of us under the same roof once again. I'm eager for you to show me all the new skills you've learned in the past twelve months. Right after supper, Father. There, you all saw that bird fly into the tree. Now I'm certain that bird must have a nest up there somewhere, but for the life of me, I can't find it. Can you? It's impossible with so many branches. I'll find a nest. It'll be easy. With this! Aha! I've found her nest all right. But wait a moment. Wait a moment. I can see something more. At the bottom of it are five eggs! Wilhelm, that's remarkable! We'd better double check to make sure he's not just making it up, Father. With my newly acquired quickness and nimble fingers, I can snatch those eggs without the bird ever knowing about it. Well, it looks like Wilhelm was right after all. I can barely believe my eyes! The time's come to demonstrate some of the tricks I picked up while I was away. Now watch carefully. I'll shoot a hole through all five of them. Using only one bullet. Bravo, George. And now putting them back together again's up to me. Using a little trick that Taylor taught me. Oh! You've done what all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't do. You've each acquired a wonderful new skill. You must use them to do great things. You might begin by returning those eggs to their nest. That's my job. Leave it to me, Father. After a good night's sleep in their old beds, the four brothers prepared to set off once again. Well, Father, the time's come for each of us to take our special gifts to town and see if we can't make a living out of them. And don't worry. I'll soon have enough money so that you can come stay with me, Father. Not on your life. He'll stay with me. I'm going to be the most successful. And I say he's going to stay with me. We'll make it a contest to see who does best. My boys, don't fight among yourselves. You're brothers, not rivals. Use your skills to work together and help one another. You'll do that for me, won't you, boys? Yes. Don't worry, Father. We'd better be on our way now. Goodbye, Father. Goodbye. Take care, Father. Goodbye. Huh? The four brothers set out for the city where the king's castle stood. But they weren't the only ones headed there. For that very night, the city had an unexpected and quite unwelcome visitor. He's after the princess! The demon monster! Stop! Put her... I wonder what's going on. The whole city seems deserted. Did you see that? The dragon has stolen away our princess. We're off to rescue her. If any of you young lads has courage enough to come with us, we're taking volunteers. Franz, what do you say? Well, personally, I've always wanted to rescue a princess. Hooray! The rescue mission would not prove an easy one. For within minutes, the dragon had flown out to sea, leaving his mounted pursuers high and dry. But the brothers had already thought of this, and so together, they set sail into uncharted waters and unknown dangers. You brave lads are our only hope. Good luck and good hunting. For weeks, they sailed on and on. Their hopes fell as day after day passed without any sign of the monster. We've just about run out of supplies. How can we even be sure the monster came this way? He might have changed direction somewhere. All we can do is cross our fingers and keep going as long as we can. That's a woman's scream. And I'll bet anything it's the princess. Land ho! Yes, there's an island off the starboard side. Now, everybody, that way. She's got to be here somewhere. Can't you find her, Wilhelm? I found her. She's in a big cave. But unfortunately, she's not alone. It'd be easy to hit the beast from here, but I'm afraid he might start thrashing about and harm the princess. Yes, you might be right about that, George. Let me try to steal the princess out of there before you take care of him. Agreed? Can you see him? Is he there yet? Not yet. Just get the sails rigged, Peter. We've got to be ready to get out of here at a moment's notice. You'll only have time for one shot. Then, George, hurry up. One more shot. Where's George? We've got to get out of here. He's coming. All right, Peter. Strike the sails before they catch fire. Got him, George. You got him. Finally finished him. And luckily, that last wave put the fire out. I see him. He's still alive, my brothers. He's out there somewhere. I know it. Why doesn't he show himself and be done with it? We made it. Our boat isn't quite in one piece, but at least we are. And so we are. We're alive and kicking. Yes, but what about the princess? There's the princess over there. It's a miracle. Maybe we should try to make ourselves a life raft. Ha-ha! We can do better than a life raft. You boys gather up the rest of the crew, and leave the rest to yours truly. Whatever you say, Peter. And so the brothers collected as many pieces of their shattered vessel as they could find. Thanks to Peter's extraordinary talents, it wasn't long before they were once again ship-shape and water-tight. Here we go. Yeah! We should be home in no time, thanks to Peter. Princess? Is there something I can do for you? I can't begin to thank you for saving me. To which of you brave young men do I owe my life? Well, you see, it really happened... The wind and sea were kind to our four heroes, and they soon arrived safely back on land, where a great triumphal welcome awaited them at the castle of the king. Welcome back, my four loyal subjects. My daughter has told me of your noble efforts on her behalf. Any reward that is in my power to give, you shall have. Furthermore, I shall grant my daughter's hand in marriage to whichever one of you is responsible for saving her life. I don't mean to boast, but I think I was most responsible. I'm the one to thank for saving the princess. We wouldn't have even been able to find her if it hadn't been for me, after all. Hang on, you're forgetting something! I was the one who killed the monster, and if it weren't for my marksmanship, he would have eaten us all, including the princess. What are you babbling about? If it wasn't for me sewing the boat together, the whole lot of us would be sleeping with our fishes at the bottom of the sea right now. My boys, please, get a hold of yourselves. No, Shrug, that's the stupidest thing I've ever... Gentlemen, gentlemen, what's the meaning of this? Control yourselves! Stop at this instant, you barbarians! When I'd heard that my boys had returned, I came hurrying here to welcome you back, but I never expected this. Look at you, fighting amongst yourselves like a pack of jackals. Have you forgotten everything I told you? Now Father's mad. You see what you've done? But Shrug, weren't you in charge of all this? Your Majesty, please forgive this unseemly intrusion, but unfortunately, I'm the father of these ungrateful young pups. Sir, I'm glad you have come. Perhaps I am partially to blame for this. I offered my daughter in marriage to whomever saved her life, and that seemed to send them into a tizzy. These boys of mine are unworthy of such an honor, Your Majesty. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am to find them squabbling amongst themselves after I begged them not to. Those wretches! I'm only thankful their mother's not alive to see it. Oh, it's so sad. Just a short while ago, they risked their lives for me and for each other. And now they're fighting for the credit when they know that none of them could have done it without the help of all the others. Their behavior has been inexcusable, Your Highness. And as I said before, they're unworthy of any sort of reward. In fact, a punishment would be more appropriate. The fact remains that because of them, my daughter is still alive. I may be old-fashioned, but I feel that deserves something. Father, I have an idea. Hmm. Yes, that's what we'll do. You are all responsible for saving my daughter, but obviously, I can't divide her among the four of you. Hmm. But it is within my power to divide my kingdom. Hmm? That is what I shall do. I hereby grant you half my kingdom, which I expect the four of you to govern jointly and govern wisely. You'll do this by working together. If I hear that you've been squabbling amongst yourselves, you'll have me to deal with. And next to me, that dragon was a pussycat. Your Majesty is too kind. And indeed, many thought the king had been too kind, even unwise in his generosity. But the four brothers determined to prove them wrong. And so it came to pass that by working together, the brothers saw their lands flourish and prosper. They swore never again to quarrel with each other and always to heed the wise advice of their father, thereby ensuring that they all lived happily ever after.