Anpu and Bata.
Once there were two brethren, of one mother and one
father; Anpu was the name of the elder, and Bata was
the name of the younger. Now, as for Anpu he
had a house, and he had a wife. But his little
brother was to him as it were a son; he it was who
made for him his clothes; he it was who followed behind
his oxen to the fields; he it was who did the ploughing;
he it was who harvested the corn; he it was who did
for him all the matters that were in the field.
Behold, his younger brother grew to be an excellent
worker, there was not his equal in the whole land;
behold, the spirit of a god was in him.
Now after this the younger brother followed his oxen
in his daily manner; and every evening he turned again
to the house, laden with all the herbs of the field,
with milk and with wood, and with all things of the
field. And he put them down before his elder brother,
who was sitting with his wife; and he drank and ate,
and he lay down in his stable with the cattle.
And at the dawn of day he took bread which he had
baked, and laid it before his elder brother; and he
took with him his bread to the field, and he drave
his cattle to pasture in the fields. And as he
walked behind his cattle, they said to him, “Good
is the herbage which is in that place;” and
he listened to all that they said, and he took them
to the good place which they desired. And the
cattle which were before him became exceeding excellent,
and they multiplied greatly.
Now at the time of ploughing his elder brother said
unto him, “Let us make ready for ourselves a
goodly yoke of oxen for ploughing, for the land has
come out from the water, it is fit for ploughing.
Moreover, do thou come to the field with corn, for
we will begin the ploughing in the morrow morning.”
Thus said he to him; and his younger brother did all
things as his elder brother had spoken unto him to
do them.
And when the morn was come, they went to the fields
with their things; and their hearts were pleased exceedingly
with their task in the beginning of their work.
And it came to pass after this that as they were in
the field they stopped for corn, and he sent his younger
brother, saying, “Haste thou, bring to us corn
from the farm.” And the younger brother
found the wife of his elder brother, as she was sitting
tiring her hair. He said to her, “Get up,
and give to me corn, that I may run to the field,
for my elder brother hastened me; do not delay.”
She said to him, “Go, open the bin, and thou
shalt take to thyself according to thy will, that
I may not drop my locks of hair while I dress them.”
