THE FOUR BROTHERS - WALTER DE LA MARE

THE FOUR BROTHERS  - WALTER DE LA MARE

     Walter De La Mare is one of the most famous modern poets and story-teller. ‘The Four Brothers’ is one of the stories in the volume, “Tales Told Again”. These tales are traditional folk and fairy stories retold with De La Mare’s exquisite craftsmanship.

     Once there lived a farmer. He had four sons. All the four were highly disciplined. One day the father asked his sons to go to different places to learn profitable trades. He asked them to return after four years. The first son met a stranger who taught him nimbleness of fingers. The second son became a star gazer and an astronomer. The third son became an archer. The fourth son learnt tailoring. After four years, they returned home. The father was very happy to see them.

      The father wanted to test their skills, so he took them to a tree. There was a nest brooded  by a bird. The father asked the sons to find out the number of eggs in the nest. By using the spy glass the second son answered that, there were five eggs. Then, the father asked his sons to get the eggs without disturbing the bird. The first son with nimble fingers took all the five eggs without disturbing the bird. Now the father asked the sons to shoot all the five eggs with a single arrow. The third son did the job perfectly. Then the father asked the sons to put cracked eggs together. The fourth son sewed all the broken cells together. Then the eggs were placed in the nest once again. The father was happy with the skills of his sons.

     At the time, a dragon snatched away the Princess of the country.  The king proclaimed that the person who save the Princess could marry her. The father asked his four sons to save the Princess from the dragon. With the help of his spy glass, the second son found that the dragon was living on a rock. All the four brothers went to the place in a ship given by the king. The first brother with his nimble fingers carried away the Princess quietly from the dragon. They were returning in their ship. Soon the dragon found out that the Princess was missing. It flew towards the ship. The third brother shoot it dead. But the dragon fell on their ship and the ship was broken into pieces. In no time, the fourth brother saved them by stitching up a raft with his magic needle.

     The king was very happy to see his daughter. He asked the brothers which of the four brothers was to marry his daughter. The four brothers said that the princess must marry a prince only. The king was very much pleased and gave them a lot of valuables. The  father and the brothers lived happily.