Once upon a time there were three brothers living all alone in a faraway land. Their names were Strong-Arm, Wise-Head and Good-Heart. Strong-Arm spent all his time very happily running, jumping, throwing spears and swimming in the river.
Wise-Head too was very happy. He spent all his time reading, writing, learning and making things with his hands.
Good-Heart was the happiest of all. He spent all his time helping his brothers and cooking their food.
But as they grew older, the three brothers began to wonder whether they were really completely happy. So one day the Queen of the Good Spirits decided to teach them something. She changed herself into a little girl, and sat on the top branch of a great tree that no-one could ever climb, calling “Help! Help!”
Good-Heart was always ready to help anyone in trouble, and he looked up, and saw the little girl. But how could he get her down? He didn’t know. So he asked his two brothers for help.
Wise-Head thought about the problem. He worked out the height of the tree, made a long piece of thin string, and tied a stone to one end of it. Then he told Strong-Arm to throw the stone over the highest branch. Then Wise-Head tied a long thick rope to the string, and pulled the other end of the string until the rope too went right over the branch and down again. But Wise-Head couldn’t climb the rope himself. He had to get Strong-Arm’s help again. So Strong-Arm climbed up the rope, and brought the little girl safely to the ground.
The three brothers all felt wonderfully happy because they had saved the little girl. They laughed and danced and sang. And just at that moment, the little girl became the Queen of the Good Spirits once again, and this is what she said: “Now you have learnt that being only strong or only wise or only good is not the best thing. The best thing is to be strong and wise and good.”
So the three brothers lived happily all their life, doing things together, and joining goodness with wisdom and strength. And their names became mixed up, and they became known by everyone as Wise-Arm, Good-Head, and Strong-Heart.
