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  • The Five Chinese Brothers

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    The Five Chinese Brothers tells the story of five brothers who all have unique abilities. The first brother can swallow the sea, the second has an iron neck, the third can stretch his legs, the fourth cannot be burned, and the fifth can hold his breath for a long time. When the first brother is imprisoned for accidentally drowning a boy while fishing, his brothers take his place using their abilities to survive various executions, until the village realizes they must be innocent.

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    The Five Chinese Brothers tells the story of five brothers who all have unique abilities. The first brother can swallow the sea, the second has an iron neck, the third can stretch his legs, the fourth cannot be burned, and the fifth can hold his breath for a long time. When the first brother is imprisoned for accidentally drowning a boy while fishing, his brothers take his place using their abilities to survive various executions, until the village realizes they must be innocent.

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    2K views2 pages

    The Five Chinese Brothers

    Uploaded by

    12345678910
    The Five Chinese Brothers tells the story of five brothers who all have unique abilities. The first brother can swallow the sea, the second has an iron neck, the third can stretch his legs, the fourth cannot be burned, and the fifth can hold his breath for a long time. When the first brother is imprisoned for accidentally drowning a boy while fishing, his brothers take his place using their abilities to survive various executions, until the village realizes they must be innocent.

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    The Five Chinese Brothers

    -Condensed from an original Chinese tale


    Once upon a time, there were Five Chinese Brothers who looked exactly like
    each other. They lived with their mother in a small house near the sea. The First
    Chinese Brother could swallow the sea. The second Chinese Brother had an iron neck.
    The third Chinese Brother could stretch and stretch and stretch his legs. The fourth
    Chinese Brother could not be burned. And the fifth Chinese Brother could hold his
    breath for a long, long time.
    Every morning. The First Chinese Brother would go fishing. He would always go
    fishing. He always came back with beautiful and rare fish to sell at the market. One day,
    a little boy wanted to go fishing with him. The little boy begged and begged, until the
    First Chinese Brother said, “Alright. But you must promise to obey me promptly. When I
    make a sign, you must come back at once!”
    The, the First Chinese Brother swallowed the sea, uncovering all kinds of fish
    and treasures. The little boy happily stuffed his pockets with all sorts of strange pebbles
    and shells while the First Chinese Brother collected the day’s catch.
    After a while, the First Chinese Brother grew tired of holding the sea in his mouth.
    He made signs with his hands for the boy to come back. But the boy just ignored him
    completely. When the First Chinese Brother could no longer hold back the sea, it burst
    out the First Chinese Brother’s mouth, and… the boy drowned.
    The First Chinese Brother returned to the village, alone. He was put in prison and
    condemned to have his head cut off. On the morning of the execution, he requested to
    for permission to go home and bid his mother goodbye.
    The second Chinese Brother came back in his place. The people gathered to
    watch his head cut off. The man took his sword and struck mightily. To the people’s
    surprise and anger, the second Chinese Brother simply got up and smiled. He had an
    iron neck, remember.
    “He should be drowned”! the people decided. On the morning of the execution,
    the Second Chinese Brother asked to go home and bid his mother goodbye.
    And the third Chinese Brother came back in his place. Brought out to the open
    sea, he was thrown overboard. But he could not be drowned! He stretched and
    stretched his legs to the bottom of the sea, keeping his smiling face above the waves.
    The people got angrier! They decided, “He should be burned!”
    On the morning of the execution, the third Chinese Brother again requested the
    judge to let him go home to bid his mother goodbye…
    And the fourth Chinese Brother came back in his place. He was tied up to a stake
    and set on fire as the people stood around, watching. But, he could not be burned. They
    added firewood to let the fire rise higher… still, nothing happened! The people, angrier
    than ever, decided, “He must be choked to death!”
    On the morning of the execution, the fourth Chinese Brother made the same
    request. He went home…
    And who came back in his place? The fifth Chinese Brother! He was shoveled
    into a big brick oven filled with whipped cream. The people stood guard all night to
    make sure they would not be tricked. At dawn, they opened the door…
    Much to their surprise, he shook himself and said, “My! That was a good sleep!”
    Now, the judge stepped forward and spoke, “We have tried to get rid of you in
    every possible way! Somehow, it could not be done. You must be innocent!”
    “Yes! Yes!” the people agreed. They let him go and he went home ... for good,
    And for many, many years, the five Chinese Brothers and their mother lived happily
    together in their home by the sea.
    The story of the Five Chinese Brother teaches us that innocence will always be
    proven in the end.

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