READING PASSAGE

The Two Brothers

Egyptian Folktale

Once 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, 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 became an excellent worker. He did the plowing. He harvested
the corn, and there was no one his equal in the whole land. Behold, the spirit of the god
was within him.

Every 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 he took with him his bread, and he drove the
cattle into the field.
Because Anpu loved his younger brother very much, his wife be came 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.”
At 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 he 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.

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 from him and Bata fled praying to the god Ra. “My good Lord!
Save me from death, thou who divines the evil from the good.” Ra heard his cry. He made a river flow between one
brother and the other and filled it with crocodiles.
Bata asked 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? Has not your wife been as mother to me? Now since you want to kill me, I shall go to the Valley of
the Acacia.”

Anpu answered, “Why did you beat up my wife and almost kill her.”
Bata answered, “I did not do such thing. Have I told you that I have always looked upon her as my mother?”
So, 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.
Bata reached the Valley of Acacia. Since there was no one with him, he slew wild beasts for food, built himself a house
and 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.” So 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.

TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING!

TEST I. Describe the three characters through the VENN DIAGRAM.

ANPU BATA

TEST II. PROCESS QUESTIONS:

1. Why did the wife get jealous of Bata?
2. What did the wife do to get the attention of Anpu? Do
you agree with what she had done? Why so?
3. If you were Bata, what would you do? Do you agree
with him in leaving the house? Why so?
4. If you were Anpu, would you believe your wife’s
explanation?
5. Enumerate those traditions of Egyptians which are
similar to you as Filipinos.
Test III. What problems are faced by the two brothers? Are these problems happening in today’s world?
Using the problem solution chart below, identify the problems and provide solutions to these based on the
selection you just read.

Problem- Solution Chart

PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS

Test IV. Using the plot organizer, enumerate the events in the story by filling in the rectangles. Explain
your work to the class.

THE TWO BROTHERS

Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Denouement

ELEMENTS OF A STORY

1. Setting: Where and when is the story set? Setting represents both the physical location but also the time (i.e. past, present,
future) and the social and cultural conditions in which the characters exist.

2. Character: A person or animal or anything personified. There can be one main character or many, and often there are
secondary characters.

3. Plot: The events that happen in a story are called the plot. It is often represented as an arc. The parts of a plot are:

 Exposition/Introduction: In the exposition stage of the plot of a story, the setting and characters (especially the
main character, known as the protagonist) are introduced.
 Rising Action: The rising action stage involves an inciting incident. The inciting incident pushes the plot into motion,
events begin to build, the protagonist takes action, and the storyline becomes more complex. During this phase, there
is often a sense of tension.
 Climax: The climax is the turning point in the plot of a story. It involves a “climax” (hence the name) – the central
struggle. The protagonist faces the main challenge which will eventually lead to the outcome or goal of the story.
Typically, this is the most emotional part of the storyline and it often involves the most action.
 Falling Action: During this stage, the action winds down, loose ends get tied up, events are resolved and we learn the
results of the protagonists’ actions.
 Denoument/Conclusion: In the denoument stage, the goal is resolved and the conflict ends (could be positive,
negative or neutral). This is the end of the story.

4. Conflict: Every story must have a conflict, i.e. a challenge or problem around which the story is based. Without conflict, the
story will have no purpose or trajectory.

5. Theme: Idea, belief, moral, lesson or insight. It’s the central argument that the author is trying to make the reader
understand. The theme is the “why” of the story.