Salem and Akbar were two brothers. Their mother died when they were young and now their father also was dead. They had divided his things between them. Their father was a poor man and he had left to his sons only a cow and a date palm tree.

Salem, the elder brother, was greedy and cunning, but Akbar, his younger brother, was honest and trusting. Salem told Akbar the each of them would have one half of the cow.

He said to Akbar, ``I shall give you the front part of the cow, because that is the better part. I shall have the other part’’.

Every day Salem milked from his part of the cow, but he never gave Akbar any milk. He praised little Akbar and told him feed the front part of the cow. Little Akbar liked being praised. He gave the cow more grass and, of course, the cow gave more milk.

Akbar the cow and Salem took the milk. But one day, a wise man of the village saw what was happening.

The wise man said, ``Akbar, why do you feed the cow everyday?’’

``Because the front part of it belongs to me,’’ answered Akbar.

``And do you like the cow’s milk?’’ asked the wise man.

``Oh, the milk belongs to my brother, Salem,’’ said Akbar. ``He never gives me any milk’.

The wise man bent down and said something in Akbar’s ear.

Nest morning as usual, Salem came to milk the cow’’.

As Salem began to milk the cow, Akbar hit the cow on its head with a stick, so she moved this way and that.

``Stop doing that,’’ said Salem. ``I can’t milk the cow if you hit her’’.

``You do what you like with your half, I will do what I like with my half,’’ said Akbar.

It became clear to Salem that he could not make a fool of Akbar. So he said, ``I will give you half the milk if you stop beating the cow’’.

Salem had to agree to this.

The next thing that the brothers had to share was the date palm tree. Farmers make holes in the bark of the date palm trees and collect the sweet juice which flows out. From the juice they make sugar and other things.

``If we cut the tree in two, it will die. So we must share it,’’ Salem said. ``You may choose the half that you want. Then you can be sure that I am not cheating you’’.

Akbar said, ``I will have the lower part’’.

``Very well,’’ Salem.

Akbar worked hard and looked after his part of the tree. He watered the tree everyday to make it grow big and strong. But his clever brother, Salem, fixed a pot on the upper part of the tree. Every day he collected the sweet juice from which he made sugar and other tasty food but never gave anything to Akbar.

One day, the wise man again came there. ``Again you are doing al the work and your brother is taking all the juice’’.

``Oh dear!’ said Akbar. ``I can do nothing, I my self chose the lower part of the tree’’.

The wise man bent down and said something in Akbar ear again.

That evening while Salem was up tree collecting the juice, he saw is younger brother cutting the root of the tree with an axe.

``What are you doing?’’ Salem shouted.

``This is my part of the tree. I can do with it what I like,’’ said Akbar and went on cutting.

``I shall give you half the juice everyday if you stop cutting the tree,’’ called Salem, and he added, ``I shall never try trick you again, Brother Akbar’.

Akbar stopped cutting the tree. After that, each brother had half the cow’s milk and half the juice from the date palm tree. They also shared the work of cutting the grass for the cow and watering the date palm tree.