Two Brothers : The REAL Grimm's Fairy Tales

追加: 2026-05-25

[00:00:04]What if I told you that you had a twin that you never knew about, separated at birth, but they know you? Oh, they know you.

[00:00:18]They've been watching you your whole life, quietly, cheering you on. In fact, they're the reason you clicked this video today. They wanted to hear the story I'm going to tell you now. This, my friends, is one of the oldest stories ever told. Reaches back into the deep time. Your ancestors would have told this story crowded around the fire.

[00:00:53]Some of them are crowding in now, standing behind you, looking over your shoulder, and some of them are not human.

[00:01:07]Let's go.

[00:01:19]Long ago.

[00:01:21]Long long ago, there were two brothers.

[00:01:30]One of these brothers, the elder brother, he was a gold smmith. He made pretty things away, sequestered in his cellar, and it made him a little bit mean. But he was clever with long fingers and pale skin.

[00:01:50]The other brother, the younger brother, he was a wood cutter. He made broomsticks. He would walk through the forest looking for saplings to make the broom handles. And he would lop them off. Loling head, lolling head, lolling head. And he was a little naive. He did not know the true value of things like his elder brother.

[00:02:18]But it was this younger brother, the broom maker, that sired twin boys from his leathery loins. And it is these two boys that our story is about. They were identical. You could not tell them apart. Twins born a minute apart, like two peas from a pod, like two feathers from a crow's wing. So these two boys grew up and they would often go around to their rich uncle's house to be fed. Now one day the wood cutter, the broomstick maker, he was moving through the forest as he often did. And he saw something he had never seen before. He was in another part of the forest, a new part of the forest. It was a streak of gold moving through the trees. Now, unlike his brother, the goldsmith, the only gold this man ever knew was the sunlight on the trees. It was the honey of the bees, the pollen in the spring flowers, just like this time of year. But this streak of gold he saw, it was the real thing, brighter gold than any he had seen. And it was a bird, a golden bird, sat in a tree.

[00:03:45]Now this man, he moved quietly through the forest. But he trod on a twig snap.

[00:03:51]And the bird heard this sound and ascended into the sky. But falling through the forest through the canopy was a little sliver of gold falling like this. And there al lighting on the forest path was a single gold feather just there amongst the blue bells in the shade of an oak tree. Well, when was the last time you found a golden feather on a forest path? What did you do with it? Well, this simple wood cutter, he took that golden feather back to his brother who knew the value of things. And his brother gave him a certain amount of money for it. Maybe not the true value of the feather, but he gave him enough money. And this was very, very good. And he said, "My brother, my brother, my brother, this is true gold. Find another another. Bring me more of these golden feathers or perhaps even the bird itself." So the wood cutter went on his way, on his way, on his way. And sometime later, he was climbing a tall tree in the forest, looking for branches for his broomsticks. And there another flash of gold. It was a nest, and in it were golden eggs. And he stole one of the golden eggs from the nest. And he took it to his brother, the goldsmith. And his brother said, "It is gold indeed.

[00:05:19]Here, have some money, my brother. But next time, bring the bird itself, and you shall never go wanting. No more broomsticks for you, my brother. Bring me the bird. Time went on, and time went on, and time went on. And this wood cutter was searching the forest one day.

[00:05:39]And this time he saw the bird close up in all its glory sat there on a low branch.

[00:05:49]And without thinking, by instinct, he picked up a smooth stone and lobbed it at that bird and it struck it on the head and the bird fell down dead. He had the golden bird and he took it to his brother. the goldsmith and his brother the goldsmith paid him handsomely for it but not as much as the bird was worth because my friends the golden bird as all of you know is priceless. Now, this goldsmith, he didn't just make fine jewelry. He was an alchemist. He spent a lot of time in the cellar trying to turn lead into gold.

[00:06:31]And he had many books, old books. And he had read about the golden bird that lays golden eggs. And he knew the secret. If you eat the heart and the liver of the golden bird, you yourself will [ __ ] gold.

[00:06:53]You will produce gold. It'll come out of your nostrils.

[00:06:56]You'll find it in the cuffs of your jackets and your trousers. You will exude it in the night. You will find it under your pillow in the morning.

[00:07:06]So the goldsmith, he instructed his wife to cook the bird and he wanted to eat the whole thing because that's what you have to do. Eat the whole thing, heart and liver and all. So the bird was roasting. The golden bird was roasting on the spit. And then the goldsmith two nephews came by and they saw the bird roasting on the spit and their auntie and uncle weren't in the room and they saw two little bits of meat just drop from the bird and fall into the roasting tray and sizzle and they picked them up and ate them.

[00:07:41]Meanwhile, the goldsmith's wife came back into the kitchen and she saw blood smeared on the young boy's faces and they knew they had eaten something and she said, "What have you eaten?" And they said, "Nothing, auntie. Just two little bits dropped out of the bird, that's all. So, he ate them." And the wife, she looked at the bird, opened it up, and she knew exactly what had happened. They had eaten the heart and the liver of the bird. No matter, she thought. She went outside and uh killed a cocker, a chicken, and took its heart and liver out and cooked it and inserted it in the golden bird. And her husband would be none the wiser.

[00:08:24]So her husband emerged out of his cellar and he ate that whole thing. He ate the whole bird. Every single morsel. He didn't share any.

[00:08:35]And the next morning under his pillow was nothing. Not a single nugget of gold, not a gold coin, not even a little flick of gold leaf. Nothing.

[00:08:50]Perhaps the old books were wrong. After all, those two boys, meanwhile, the sons of the wood cutter, they woke up the next morning and something was different.

[00:09:06]One of them called their mother into the latrine and said, "Look, mother."

[00:09:10]Pointing at the chamber pot, and it was filled with gold mixed in with the scat and under their pillow was gold. Coming out of their ears was gold. Dropping out of their mouths was gold. They were crying gold. When they were smacked, they shat gold. They exuded gold.

[00:09:31]This was a miraculous thing. And their poor mother and father gathered up all these nuggets, all these ingots, all these little pieces of shiny yellow metal that meant money. And they took it all to his brother, the goldsmith, and said, "My boys, my boys, they're uh producing gold from their every orifice.

[00:09:54]I don't know what has happened."

[00:09:57]And that goldsmith, he knew exactly what had happened. His two young nephews had eaten the heart and liver of the magic golden bird. But you know what he said in his meanness, in his hatred, and his envy? He said to his brother, the wood cutter, "Those boys are cursed children.

[00:10:18]The devil has got into them. And that's why they are producing gold in this way.

[00:10:26]You need to take them away, my brother.

[00:10:28]Take them away. Abandon them in the forest. That is the only good thing to do."

[00:10:35]Now the simple brother, he believed his brother's advice. So he took his two young sons, his poor dear sons that he loved very much far away into the forest, deep, deep into the forest and covered his trail up with some kind of hedge magic.

[00:10:58]So there they are, these two boys. And the first night was awful. Cold things in the night, the sun going down. The next morning, when finally the long dark night was over, and rosy fingered dawn was peeking its way through the trees, who should come this way but a hunter.

[00:11:25]a huntsman, shaggedy and old, the old kind of hunter. He knew the pathways, the ways of the forest. He did not know the ways of the city and civilization. And he took these two boys in. And he had no children of his own. So he decided he would be foster father to these two young boys.

[00:11:48]And he taught them the ways of the forest. Now, this hunter, he asked these two young cubs what they were doing out here. And they said that they had to be cast out of the village because they shat gold. And gold is evil. Everyone knows.

[00:12:14]And this hunter who had no need of gold said, "No, no, no, no, no.

[00:12:20]Gold is not evil as long as you remain upright and kind-hearted and it does not make you lazy. So this hunter, he taught these two young lads everything he knew.

[00:12:34]He taught them how to hunt, how to move quietly through the forest, how to make fire from friction.

[00:12:43]He taught them how to speak the language of the birds, language of the trees.

[00:12:52]He taught them how to trap animals. He taught them how to swim through dark water with a knife between their teeth.

[00:13:02]He taught them how to sit quietly for a long, long time and listen.

[00:13:14]They learned many things with that hunter, with that ancient initiation into the old ways until they came to the cusp of manhood and there was no more the hunter could teach them. And then the two young boys said to their foster father, "We want to go and explore the world."

[00:13:42]And their foster father said, "This is the day I have been waiting for, my lads. Here is the gold you have produced through all your youth. You see, all these long years, the hunter had been gathering all the gold they had produced out of their nostrils and ear holes and mouths and tear ducts and other places.

[00:14:04]and he had been gathering it into a great pile. And now he split it into two pouches and gave it to the two young boys. He would have no need of it. And he gave them a strong pair of sturdy boots, all the equipment they needed for the hunt. He also gave them a dagger, a knife with two edges to it.

[00:14:26]And he gave them a piece of advice. My two young boys, you will make your own way in the world now, and you will not see me again.

[00:14:38]But if the time should come that you two need to part ways, stick this knife into the trunk of a tree at a crossroads and part ways there. If you ever need to return to that point, you will see that whichever brother has left in whichever direction, be it east or west, the edge facing the direction he's gone, will indicate how he is fairing. So if it is clean and gleaming, your brother is fine. If it is beginning to discolor and rust, then your brother may be in mortal peril.

[00:15:18]bit of old hunting magic he gave them.

[00:15:24]So with that and some provisions, off the brothers went into the scrub, across the wilderness, across open country. And before long they came to a great vast primeval forest, even more vast and primeval than the one they were left in as two little boys.

[00:15:47]And they had their first night in this forest, and they made a fire, and they ate their provisions that had been given to them by their foster father. And the next day they set off again, but they still did not reach the end of this great forest. And the next evening they were hungry, and they had no more food left. And the next day, they set off again. And still no end in sight of this forest. So they decided they would have to try and catch some game. They were hunters after all. So they set their traps and they found a hair, quickfooted hair, springing through the bush. And they caught this little hair and they were just about to put it on the fire to cook it. And the hair spoke and said, "Do not eat me. Do not eat me, hunters. If you do not eat me, I will give you two like me. Two of my own."

[00:16:45]These two hunters had stepped into an anient piece of hunting magic.

[00:16:53]Never the first prey that presents itself. All the hunter gatherers know this. It's always the second or the third even. So the brothers agreed and that hair bounded off into the woods and they were left in silence just waiting, waiting, waiting.

[00:17:13]had they been made fools of.

[00:17:17]It's like when you're a stranger in a strange land and you give some man some money to go and get a thing and he wanders off and you don't know whether he's going to come back with the thing and then suddenly the realization that you've been very very foolish indeed. But just there and then there was a rustle in the bush and two young hairs.

[00:17:41]What are young hairs called? If you know what young hairs are called, let me know in the comments.

[00:17:51]>> Leettes.

[00:17:52]>> Leets.

[00:17:56]>> Two baby hairs left out of the bush. Two levers. So the hunters went on their way and they had two little baby hairs to be animal familiars. And they laid traps again. And this time they found a fox, a mangy fox. And the fox said, "Do not eat me. Do not eat me. Do not kill me. If you spare my life, I will give you two of me. Two of my young, two of my kits."

[00:18:22]And the fox [ __ ] off into the bush.

[00:18:25]And there emerged two little young fox cubs. Then there were two. The next day they caught a wolf, a great gray wolf.

[00:18:36]And the same thing happened again. And they came with two wolf cubs. The next day, what did they find? A [ __ ] BEAR.

[00:18:45]A GREAT forest bear. And the same thing happened again. They were left with two bear cubs. And the next day, my friends, finally, what can top a bear?

[00:18:59]A lion. An ancient lion. A European lion. A cave lion. oldest of the old. So there were now 10 animals. Two hairs, two foxes, two wolves, two bears, two lions, all little cubs, all little balls of fur squabbbling in a great sack of those hunters, not knowing who their natural foe was. But these two hunters, they were still very, very, very hungry.

[00:19:29]And they had nothing to eat. But Fox piped up and he said, "I know a way through the forest. There's a farm I used to visit and there are chickens.

[00:19:38]Let me take you there. So they followed the crafty fox on his secret ways and finally they left the forest and they came to a farm. They didn't steal any chickens though. They had gold and they paid handsomely for provisions. They fed all their new animal companions and themselves and set off on their way through open country, through civilization.

[00:20:05]But you see, these two scruffy hunters and their retinue, their parliament of strange beasts were not welcome anywhere. There was too many of them.

[00:20:14]They were too wild, too uncouthed. They could not find work. They could not find somewhere to lay their heads.

[00:20:22]And it began to get pretty desperate. So those two brothers decided to part ways. They came to a crossroads and a great old tree and they stuffed a knife into the trunk of that tree. And one brother went west and one went east.

[00:20:48]They would not see each other again for a very long time.

[00:20:59]Well, my friends, we have reached a crossroads.

[00:21:04]A crossroads you and I have come to many times before. Our story now follows the western brother, the one who made the journey west, the younger brother.

[00:21:23]He journeyied with his animal ensemble, his ancient companions, and he journeyed through the forest and out the other side. And he came to civilization.

[00:21:40]At last he saw smoke rising and he came to a town. But it was a desolate place.

[00:21:51]Something had happened here. Wasn't quite right. The whole town was draped in black for starters. Boarded up windows.

[00:22:04]betting shops on the high street, local youth skullking around on street corners, that kind of thing.

[00:22:14]Now, the western brother came to a tavern expecting to see light and jolly and music spilling out onto the street. But there was none of that, no boozy portal to another realm. It was empty. So the young hunter went into the tavern and the landlord, the inkeeper was there behind the bar, but the place was dead.

[00:22:42]It was empty. And the hunter said, "What's happened? Has somebody died?"

[00:22:48]And the inkeeper said, "Well, yes, yes, rather a few people have died.

[00:22:56]Is that why the whole place is decked in black?" said the hunter. Indeed, indeed, indeed, said the affable inkeeper.

[00:23:06]As it so happened, the particular town the hunter had arrived in was having a problem with dragons.

[00:23:14]It had ellighted on the hill just outside the town some time ago, and had proceeded to demand all the young women of the town. Standard dragon behavior.

[00:23:28]and had it proceeded to devour each and every young maiden that would be brought up in chains and left on top of the hill. And now there was only one maiden left. It was the king's own daughter.

[00:23:45]And the dragon would accept nothing else. Now the king, it must be said, had done everything in his power to sort out this dragon problem. He had promised any passing knight or hero or warrior, all the usual terms. His daughter's hand in marriage, half the kingdom, brooms filled with gold and jewels, and many brave knight and warrior had answered the call, but none had survived. And the mountain up there outside the town was littered with bones. All had lost their life to the fearsome dragon. Now it was the turn of the king's own and only daughter.

[00:24:31]Well, our young hunter, he finished his drink, booked a room for the night and a stable for his animals, and the very next day he ascended the mountain. He would face the dragon. he would win the king's daughter's hand in marriage. Now, an act of bravery like this, you know, it develops a bit of commotion. He didn't really sing and dance about it, but he had a little he had a little gaggle of of street urchins following him through the empty town, faces peering from behind windows and doorways, fearful.

[00:25:13]"Oh, there goes another one," they muttered. another one to lose his life on Dragon Hill.

[00:25:21]So he ascended that mountain with a whole throng of people behind him, including the king's marshall. You see, the king's marshall was given instructions to keep an eye on anyone attempting to uh slay the dragon just so the king could, you know, properly know who he uh owed his allegiance and thanks to and so he could kind of keep an eye on things.

[00:25:47]So the marshall was there, all the village, all the town had turned out, but they stayed at the bottom. No one dare climb the mountain because those that climb the mountain never return again.

[00:26:03]So our young hunter, her western brother, he ascended that hill and he had the place to himself and he was passing the littered bones, the littered remains of many a brave warrior that had fallen before him. And nearly at the top of the hill, there was a little chapel just cut into the hillside. And he entered it to pray. And there there were three cups, three goblets. And with the three goblets there was a note. And the note said, "Whosoever drinks of these three cups, they will have the strength to lift the mighty sword that lays in the threshold of this very chapel."

[00:26:49]Well, our young hunter, he left the cubs there and went to lift up the stone in the threshold of the church door. And sure enough, there was a great mighty sword there, and he could not, for all his might, lift it. So he went and he drained the three cups, that one, that one, then that one.

[00:27:09]And he felt vigor flowing through him.

[00:27:12]And he went and he lifted the sword. And sure enough, he could wield it.

[00:27:18]So he ascended to the very, very mountain peak. And no sooner had he got there than the princess, the king's daughter, was brought up in chains by some attendants who very swiftly made their way back down the hill again.

[00:27:33]They looked into each other's eyes, and there was something there, a glimmer of recognition. And our young hunter, rooster, proud and full of the presumption of youth, said, "I'm here to rescue you. I will slay the dragon." And no sooner had those words left his lips than the sky darkened and a great shape blocked out the sun. There was a great screech and a vast worm descended on the hill.

[00:28:04]The hunter ushered the princess into the chapel for safety. And the dragon raised its arms and said, "Who the hell are you?" And the hunter said, "I've come to kill you." And the dragon said, "I'd like to see you try." And breathe fire from its seven heads, igniting the dry ground. And the huntsman was about to be consumed with fire. But then his animal companions, lion, bear, wolf, fox, and hair, they rushed over and started putting out the fire with their little paws, little paws, little paws. And the hunter, he was ready. He had the sword.

[00:28:47]He didn't know how to fight, but he had had his entire youth lopping saplings with his father in the wood. And something of that forest training came to bear. And also, he had drunk of the three cups.

[00:29:03]This was his destiny. Something about the right sword in the right hand at the right time. He was dancing. He locked off one head, locked off another, locked off another, locked off another. He couldn't have done it without his animals. They cause distractions. Little hair would run up the dragon's tail and it would turn around to bite it. And then wolf would come and bite the dragon in the front and then bear would barrel in and bash the dragon. And just when he was about to burn the bear alive, lion would leap on his back and rake his claws down. And while this was happening, the hunter managed to sever every single dragon's head. And then the dragon collapsed and the animals leapt in to tear the carcass to pieces. He was successful and he was there panting in the sweat and the blood and the mer. And he did a very important thing. My friends, if ever you slay a dragon, you must remember to cut out the dragon's tongues. So he cut out all seven of the dragon's tongues, rolled them carefully up, and placed them in his pouch.

[00:30:10]proof that he had slayed the dragon.

[00:30:15]So it was carnage, burnt grass, smoke, blood, and guts everywhere. And the hunter turned around, and there was the princess, and there was something in her eyes. They didn't say a word. They just got to business. Down and dirty in the mud and the blood and the smut.

[00:30:36]Well, she was promised to whoever slew the dragon, but there was something else there, some alchemy. They were meant to be together. And they were lying there full of joy.

[00:30:52]And in that moment, they promised Oh, bit of dragon fluff in my eye.

[00:30:58]And in that and in that moment they promised to spend their entire lives together as husband and wife. And as a little uh token of their union, the princess broke off her coral necklace, her brighty orange coral necklace, and placed a single piece of coral around the necks of each of the huntsman's animals as a thanks. And they sort of, you know, nuzzled up to her and the bear kind of went and the hair kind of rested in her lap. And then the hunter and the princess and all the animals, they fell asleep there in the feast of battle.

[00:31:41]Now the hunter, he said, "Uh, for the lion, you stay awake while I rest and keep watch." Then the hunter and the princess fell asleep. And the lion was a little tired, so turned to the bear and said, "You stay awake. Keep watch. I need to rest my eyes." And then the lion fell asleep. And then the bear grew a little tired and turned to the wolf and said, "You keep watch. I need to sleep."

[00:32:06]And then the wolf said the same to the fox. And then the fox said the same to the hair. And then the hair turned to Well, there was no one else for the hair to ask, to keep watch. And the hair's eyes drooped.

[00:32:21]drooped, drooped, and then hair too fell asleep.

[00:32:31]And that is exactly how the marshall found them. Coiled up this rough peasant and his circus animals with the princess who by all rights I should marry. I'm the steward. I'm the marshall, he said to himself. This by all rights is my inheritance. This won't do at all. It won't do for the kingdom. How can such a person as this? He had to keep his voice down cuz they were asleep. How can such a person as this rule the kingdom? I won't have it. And with that, the marshall quietly drew out his blade and cut off the huntsman's head.

[00:33:22]Ink, ink, ink, ink.

[00:33:27]None of the animals woke up, but the princess did with a gasp.

[00:33:33]And she turned and saw her beloved dead, decapitated, but she had no time to weep because the marshall had a blade against her neck and swore her to an oath of silence. This always happens in the old stories. In the Irish tales, it's called being put under geish. You cannot break your word. And the marshall made the princess swear that she would not tell a soul who had really killed the sevenheaded dragon. She would have to go along with the marshall story that it was him.

[00:34:13]And we will be happily married. And I will inherit half the kingdom. And after your father dies, I will rule. and you will be by my side. That's how it's going to be. And if you ever speak a word of any of this to anyone, I will kill you.

[00:34:34]Well, her savior was dead. She had no choice.

[00:34:42]The marshall and the princess left the desolation up there on Dragon Hill and descended back down into town, back to the palace, back to feasting and celebration.

[00:34:58]Well, the king was rather surprised. He didn't think his marshall had it in him.

[00:35:02]But a promise is a promise. and he promised the marshall half the kingdom a room full of gold and his daughter's hand in marriage.

[00:35:14]Remember to collect the dragon tongues next time you're in this position.

[00:35:18]Meanwhile, back on Dragon Mountain, just visible out of one of the windows of the cozy palace, there at top the hill, covered by the shadows of the scutting clouds overhead, the animals snoozed on next to their decapitated chief.

[00:35:47]Then a bee, a buzzy buzzy bumblebee buzzed along and just landed on the nose of our little hairy speedster, the hair, smallest of the animals. And hair wrinkled his little nose and blew the bee away and it went and came back and landed on the hair's nose again. and hair just brushed it away with a paw, landed again. And he brushed it away again.

[00:36:28]And Bumblebee came back and then stung hair on the nose. And he awoke with a shock and saw the horror, the bloodshed all around with his master with his head lying some feet from his body and blood everywhere. And in a hurry, hair woke the fox, who in shock woke the wolf, who woke the bear, who woke the lion.

[00:36:54]And all of them then awoke and witnessed the horror around them, saw what had happened.

[00:37:02]And then lion turned to bear and said, "Why didn't you wake me?" And then bear turned to wolf and said, "Why didn't you wake me?" And then wolf turned to fox and said, "Why didn't you wake me?" And then wolf turned to hair and said, "Why didn't you wake me?" and a hair tend to nobody. And then all of the animals rounded on hair and said, "This is all your fault and we will tear you to pieces." And hair said, "Please, no, not me." I know where a herb lies, a magic herb at the ends of the earth. A year and a day's journey from here. And this herb has the power to revive anyone, even someone that's had their head cut off.

[00:37:46]And Wolf said, "You have 24 hours." And hair sped away at the speed of light.

[00:37:56]And my friends, the hair warren and groves and the hair people are still mad with the tale of how hair won the herb.

[00:38:05]But this, my friends, is another story.

[00:38:08]But let it be known that Herb went to the great mountain at the ends of the earth and came back with the magic herb.

[00:38:16]Don't even ask him how he did it. I don't know. But that little herb was placed under the tongue of their decapitated chief. And sure enough, he sprang back into life. and lion stuck the hunter's head back on his body and he was revived. And all of the animals were full of joy and oh they clapped hair on the back and lion too and wolf and fox and bear.

[00:38:45]But the hunter, he was out of sorts. You see, lion had stuck his head on backwards, and he was wandering in a confused slump for most of the rest of the day, dimly, dimly aware that some great opportunity had passed him by. He did not go back to the palace. He did not seek his bride.

[00:39:20]He did not seek his destiny.

[00:39:25]He journeyied on. And then at about noon or maybe evening the next day, he realized something was wrong because he tried to eat some food and it just hit the back of his head which was at the front of his body and the food fell on the ground. And then he realized his head was on backwards. And he said, "Guys, what's going on?"

[00:39:48]And then Lion realized in shame what he had done wrong. And then in an instant he ripped off his master head, turned it on the other way and stuck it back on again. So at least his master could see in the right direction, but he was still discombobulated.

[00:40:03]He was still lost. He was still in a wasteland. He still didn't really know which way was forwards and backwards.

[00:40:13]So our young hunter, his head at least back on the right way now, journeyied through many, many realms with his animals in tow behind him. But this was not a great few days, weeks, months, years, lifetimes for him.

[00:40:36]With the animals dancing in street corners and circuses for small change, he was not living his best life. None of them were. In the end, after many dead ends, he eventually eventually came back to that place again, back to that same town.

[00:41:01]It was no longer decked in black anymore. In fact, he barely recognized it.

[00:41:09]It was draped in red, bright red, and the streets were thronging with celebration.

[00:41:19]Someone was to be wed.

[00:41:25]So my friends, as all stories pad gently back to the place of their beginning, so our hunter found himself in a familiar town again. Back in that very same town that was once decked in black, but now it was decked in red.

[00:41:50]and he didn't quite recognize the place, but he found himself in the same inn, the same tavern again, just inside the walls of that town of that city. And the barkeeper was there again, and he was in a bit more of a jovial mood this time.

[00:42:11]And the huntsman, he asked the inkeeper, you know, what's what's going on? What's with all the sort of red drapes everywhere? What's with all the celebration, all the balloons, all the all the music? Is it festival time, carnival time of year? And the inkeeper said, "No, no, no. You see, a year ago, to the very day, the marshall, the king's marshall, saved our princess, the king's only daughter, and now, as promised, is his wedding day."

[00:42:46]This caused something to click in our hunter and suddenly everything came flooding back. He remembered this same tavern, the same inkeeper, his battle with the dragon.

[00:43:00]But he walked away, away from his destiny. But here, by chance, by fate, here he was again a year to the day later.

[00:43:12]And our hunter sort of perked up at this and he ordered a pint of tea from the barman and then said to the barman, the inkeeper, "So, what do you think the chances are of a of me, a hunter, eating some bread from the king's table, from the wedding table here in this tavern at the edge of town? Breaking bread with you, my dear friend." And the inkeeper said, "That is impossible. In fact, I would bet a shiny gold coin on it. And the hunter, quickest thinking, brought out a matching gold coin. Well, go on then, said the inkeeper. I'd like to see you try. And Hunter sent little hair to get some bread from the king's table in the palace. Now, hair was the weakest of the animals and was very afraid. You know, what if the butcher's dogs chase me? And sure enough, just as he had imagined it manifesting, when he went past the butchers, there was barking. And then the dogs chased the little hair, and he went up the high street, through the legs of the crowd, towards the great gates of the palace, right through the legs of the century, who then chased away the barking dogs, and beat them with the butt of his rifle. Cover your ears, Nero.

[00:44:32]And that hair whisked straight through the palace courtyard, up the great stairs, and straight to the princess's bed chamber. Hair knew by some hairlike instinct where to go, and hair scratched at the door. Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch. And a maid opened the door, and the hair darted in straight into the lap of the princess, who was given quite a fright. But then she saw her coral necklace around the neck of this hair. And suddenly she thought of her beloved who she had not seen in a long time and who she thought was dead.

[00:45:07]Hair said to the princess, "My master is alive and he requests a fine piece of bread from your wedding table. The finest bread from the king's table." Well, the princess gave orders straight away to the king's baker, the master baker, to bake a very fine piece of sourdough. And the baker was told to carry it all the way to the inn. But for the very last few steps, the hair carried it on his little hind legs, tottering, holding this artisan baked loaf a loft, and the baker knocked on the door, and the door opened, and the inkeeper was a ghast at the sight of a little hair tottering in and placing this fresh, warm, delicious bread on his table. Well, the inkeeper lost the bet, but he wouldn't lose the next one. This bread really calls for a nice piece of cheese, said the hunter. Fox, you've got a fine nose for cheese. You get me some cheese to go with this bread. And off Fox went. Now Fox didn't have the speed of hair, but he was sly and knew the secret ways and managed to sneak his way into the palace without alerting the dogs all the way to the princess's chamber. Scratch, scratch, scratch. And the princess recognized the fox instantly, not least by the coral necklace still around his neck. And Fox was sent down to the cheese munger and got all the finest cheese. A nice piece of cheddar. Real cheddar by American viewers. West Country farmhouse cheddar that's been matured in a cave for a thousand years. That was brought out.

[00:46:45]and some grew air and some bree that stank to high heaven and a nice bit of nutty manego and maybe even some boufala mozzarella. All of this was bought on a platter to the tavern door and for the last few steps Fox himself carried it in to the inn. Well, the inkeeper lost another bet, another coin, but he would not lose the next bet. This was the turn of wolf. Bread and cheese is all very well, said the hunter. But I need some meat, and so do my animals. So Wolf went straight up to the gates of the palace.

[00:47:22]No sly ways like Fox. One of the guards hesitated, but Wolf growled, and the guard backed away. Wolf went straight up to the princess's bed chamber and asked for all the finest meats available to humanity.

[00:47:39]So, a roast was prepared from the wedding feast. There was a nice piece of roast beef, so pink in the middle. There were lamb chops. There was pulled pork.

[00:47:49]There was everything. And vegetables on the side. Never forget your greens. And the cook brought them right to the tavern door. And Wolf himself carried the roasting dish in for the last few steps and placed it before the hunter and the inkeeper.

[00:48:05]They were getting quite a spread now.

[00:48:07]But Hunter said, "This meal won't do at all. I need something sweet."

[00:48:13]The inkeeper at this point didn't want to bet anymore. He didn't want to lose any more money.

[00:48:19]Bear, you have a nose for honey and sweet things. You and get me a fine pudding, a dessert to go with this feast. And off Bear went like wolf right down the high street. But the guards at the palace gate were ready now and they were just closing the gates. But Bear barreled into them and pushed them over, knocking guards left, right, and center.

[00:48:43]Some of the guards came with pole arms, but Bear just swatted them away like they were ragdolls. Didn't hurt them.

[00:48:50]Mind.

[00:48:52]No one tried to mess with Bear after that. And Bear plotted, ambled slowly, taking his time up to the princess's chamber. scratched on the door and the princess herself opened. "Bear, dear bear, dear bear, dear bear," said the princess, recognizing him, of course, from the coral necklace around his neck.

[00:49:14]So the princess sent word down to the confectioner, down to the the kitchens, the pastry makers, the chocoliers of which the king was very very fond, and ordered bare to be loaded up with the finest bon bonss and trifles and pastries and spotted dick and custard and all your favorite sweet dishes to eat. And bear carried them along. And the cook, the the chocolate deer and the confectioner was carrying them along. And every time a sweet bon bon rolled off a tray, Bear would just eat it off the ground. And then Bear, carrying all these trays of dessert, came into the inn and laid it down before the inkeeper, who was a go and the hunter, who pretended that this was just absolutely normal. But no meal is complete, said the hunter. As you well know, my good landlord, without wine and mead, and ale.

[00:50:09]Lion, this is a job for you. And Lion trotted proudly through the main street.

[00:50:17]The gates were barred now. There were centuries above, but Lion just roared.

[00:50:22]And the gates fell like the walls of Jericho. And all the guards, well, let's just say it was lucky they were wearing brown trousers. And Lion, he ambled right up to the princess's chamber in full sight of everyone. and the marshall, the king, and all the courtiers, and demanded to drink a taste of the finest wines saved for the wedding. And the princess, recognizing the lion from his coral collar that she had given him, sent word to the cupbearer, the king's cup bearer, to take the lion down to the wine cellar.

[00:50:58]Now, this cup bearer, he was a bit begrudging of this task. He had to give wine to a dumb beast, but he obliged. It was the princess's wedding day after all, and her whimsies must be met, of course. So this rather stiff and pompous cup bearer went down with the lion padding behind him and he went to the, you know, the the cheap plunk first of all, the stuff for the guests on, you know, the far tables and poured it in a cup for the lion who drank it and then went and spat it all over the cup bearer with lion spit and wine dripping down his face. What is this piss? said the lion. How dare you insult my master and me? Show me the real stuff, not this box wine from Aldi. So the cup bearer went into a um special room at the back of the cellar. And there he got out the barrels for the very special guests.

[00:52:02]And he poured some for the lion who sipped it. And the lion said, "hm, I'm better than the first, but not really much of a merllo lion myself. It's a bit um it's a bit on the nose, you know, a bit obvious. Have you got a nice uh Argentinian Malbeck, maybe? And the cup bearer rolled his eyes aside and poured some for the lion. Very good, very good.

[00:52:22]Better, better, better. We're getting there.

[00:52:25]What's through that door there? And the cup bearer said, "That, my dear lion, is reserved for the king himself. It is the king's own wine. That is the wine I require, said Lion. And begrudgingly the cup bearer with a golden key around his neck unlocked the door and there was a very small cellar with the finest wines available to humanity. And the lion tasted those.

[00:52:55]That's the stuff, said the lion. Fill me six bottles. The cupbearer brought the bottles to the tavern door, and the lion carried them in and poured with his opposable claws a cup of wine for the inkeeper and his master, the hunter. And then the hunter, who had won the bet quite clearly, shared his king's feast with the inkeeper. He was full of generosity. In fact, he gave the gold he had won back to the inkeeper cuz he was in a bit of a sirly mood. And then he cheered up a little bit and they were eating together the bread and drinking wine and having the finest cheese and meat and giving bits to his animals. And you know the hunter, he was in good spirits because by these signs he knew the princess remembered him and had feelings for him still perhaps.

[00:53:46]And then the hunter said, "What do you suppose the chances are, my dear inkeeper, of me marrying the princess today?" And the inkeeper coughed and spluttered on his wine and uh lamb chops and said, "Well, that of all the things I've seen today, I can tell you that is impossible. And I will bet my entire life's fortune on it. This inn, this roof over our heads and everything I own, even that little house down the street."

[00:54:15]And the hunter said, "Well, what is the value of that?" And the inkeeper gave his figure, slightly inflated, perhaps.

[00:54:21]And the hunter counted out the gold coins and said, "There we are, Mr. Inkeeper. There is your entire life's worth. I accept the bet."

[00:54:32]Just at that moment, there was a knock at the tavern door, and it opened. And it was a finely dressed Jeanandam from the royal palace who announced, "I have an invitation for the master of the animals, who I'm told resides in this shabby tavern at the edge of town."

[00:54:55]The hunter just looked at the inkeeper and gave him a little wink. And the inkeeper went pale. And the hunter said, "Well, you don't expect me to go like this. send for some fine clothes at once and a coach and six white horses and the jeandam a little surprised left and reported the uh hunters the animal master's message to the king who went to his daughter and said what do I do you see the king had noticed everyone had noticed this menagerie of animals going to the princess's door going back and forth to the kitchens and his own wine celler so he had gone and knocked on his daughter's door and gone um excuse me dear he's quite to meek king. Uh, what's the the um what's the issue with all these animals coming in and out of my palace? And the princess had told him that they had a very important wedding guest who should not be uh dishonored and you'd better go and send for him. So the messenger arrived and later a carriage and six white horses and a coachman and some fine clothes arrived at the tavern door and the huntsman got dressed looking like a prince with his animals trottting along behind him down the high street. No butchers dogs in sight this time. The gates opened and there was a great fanfare and the strange dignitary the master of the animals from a foreign land entered the wedding feast. Tam being a stranger from a foreign land and clearly a very important person was sat next to the king and on the other side was the marshall and nearby was the princess.

[00:56:33]Then the feasting commenced and the king stood up and made an announcement and said, "Today is the wedding day of my dear one and only daughter and her savior, our savior, my marshall, who a year ago to the day slew the dragon which has taken so many of our daughters and dear ones lives and terrorized our city for many long years. The marshall here slew the dragon, and here is the proof. And the doors of the feasting hall opened, and in were brought seven heads of the dragons on silk and pillows, and paraded around the banqueting hall. But the hunter at this point stood up uncoufily, walking across the table, putting his foot in the trifle, kicking over the figs. People gasped, "What was this?" And the huntsman began unceremoniously to open the mouths of the seven dragon heads and said, "What is this? Where are the tongues of the dragon?"

[00:57:40]And the whole room went quiet and all eyes fell on the marshall, slayer of the dragon. Surely he would know. The marshall looked from side to side and then said, "Um, dragons don't have tongues. Liar, said the huntsman. Liars should have no tongues. And then he produced from a cloth bag a handkerchief. And in the handkerchief were rolled all the dragon's tongues he had kept this whole time. And they rolled out onto the table. And people gasped at the stench.

[00:58:14]And then he picked them up one by one and slotted them back into the dragon's mouths. And they fit perfectly.

[00:58:21]And then the huntsman standing holding court on the table revealed this handkerchief that the daughter of the king the princess had given him when he killed the dragon. Might not have mentioned that at the beginning of this story.

[00:58:36]Embroidered in it was the princess's name and he held it in front of her and said, "Whose name is this?" And the princess said, "That's my name." "Whose handkerchief?" "It is my handkerchief."

[00:58:47]"And who did you give this handkerchief to?" And the princess stood up and said to the slayer of the dragon, "She had not broken her gish."

[00:59:02]And then all eyes turned on the marshall who stood up and tried to run, but he was caught by the guards and pulled into the center of the room. His tongue was cut out just like those dragons. And then he was tied onto four raging oxmen in the courtyard of the palace who ran in four different directions. and he was pulled into pieces. And that was the end of the marshall. And everyone cheered.

[00:59:24]But hang on, there was a wedding to be had. And the king's daughter, of course, married the huntsman. And the king was happy with this arrangement. And so were all the rest. They looked lovely together, and they had a big snog. And then there was the biggest party you've ever seen. More wedding guests arrived.

[00:59:41]All the king's ale was uncorked. Joanie Mitchell was there. So was Buster Keaton doing his antics. So was I don't know Fat's Domino on the piano and Louie and Ella and Amy Winehouse and there was David Blaine and Darren Brown doing card tricks and Roomie was spinning around and Hafes was propping up the bar drinking wine and Terrence McKenna was there chewing anyone's ear off who would listen and the party went on long into the night. In fact, my friends, if you put your ear to the ground right now, you can still hear the drums and you can still hear the dancer's feet. And that huntsman and that princess, they were happy together for a long time.

[01:00:31]But my friends, that is not the end of our story.

[01:00:45]So my friends, many uh fairy tale ends there with the wedding, the happily ever after, but this is no ordinary fairy tale.

[01:01:00]So there was a great celebration and the princess and the hunter were happy together. The hunter was very generous of spirit. He let that inkeeper off his bet again. And he sent gifts to his father and his uncle and his foster father, the hunter, his guide and mentor.

[01:01:19]And the princess and the hunter, they lived very happily together.

[01:01:26]But after a while, the hunter began to get itchy feet. See, he loved his wife dearly, of course, but he wanted to go out hunting again.

[01:01:39]The ways of the palace weren't really for him, and you can't take the hunter truly out of the forest. So, he would go off on hunts, often for many days, and his wife would be very aminable to this.

[01:01:54]But one day, a rumor floated to the kingdom.

[01:02:00]There was at the edge of the kingdom a certain forest. Maybe it was the same forest at the very beginning of our story that our two brothers journeyied through. Perhaps it was a different one.

[01:02:14]This, my friends, is the forest perilous. It is the place a hunter may go into and never come out of. And many many many hunters had lost their life in this forest searching for the white stag. Well, of course, our hunter had to investigate. So, our young hunter, our prince, he journeyed with a retinue of retainers and hangers on and other hunters to the edge of the great forest.

[01:02:45]And many of his hunters would not go in.

[01:02:48]and he entered by the dark trackways and there in the forest the hunter spied a white stag. How many stories begin or end with a white stag? How many times have we seen a white stag in our lives and follow followed it unthinking into the forest perilous?

[01:03:12]Well, that's exactly what the hunter did. He forgot everything else. He followed this white stag. Left all his other retainers behind. They could not keep up. But his animals kept pace with him just like they always had. And by certain Trixsy ways and a whole labyrinth of leaves and pathways that covered up his way behind, almost like a almost like the forest sealed behind him. And the hunter found himself deep in an unknown part of the forest and did not know how to get out. And to make matters worse, dusk was falling.

[01:03:50]So the hunter, he made himself a little fire just like this to keep himself and his animals warm. And it was getting dark. Maybe fox found a little rabbit or something for them to cook. And as it was getting dark, suddenly Hunter realized that he and his animals were not alone. He was being watched. He heard breathing from a tree up above him.

[01:04:16]And there was an old crone sat in the branches of an oak tree. Let me describe her to you because she was hideous. She was hairy and warty and she had no hair on her head, but the warts growing out of the warts on her face had hair growing out of those. and she had platted them into a long beard. And she had hardly any teeth, just three teeth in her whole face and one eye rolling around in her skull. Her breasts were so droopy they came underneath her skirt.

[01:04:48]In fact, she had six of them. and each one lactated sulfuric acid that went drip drip drip onto the forest floor.

[01:04:57]And her legs were hairy and her pubic hair erupted out of the bottom of her dress and tendrils of it came down like vines all the way down to the forest floor as well. And piss drippled down it and soaked into the hummus. She was hideous and she was of course of course of course a witch.

[01:05:19]But our hunter didn't know this. And this witch chattered in the cold and said, "Oh, I'm so cold. I would love to come down and warm myself by your fire."

[01:05:32]And the hunter said, "Well, come down, old woman, and warm yourself." And she said, "I can't. I'm too frightened of your animals."

[01:05:42]"They won't harm you. They're perfectly tame," said the hunter. would you just strike them with this hazel switch of mine and then I know that they'll be safe? And she threw down the hazel wand and the hunter caught it and without thinking he passed it over each one of his animals like that. Just tapped each one on the shoulder and just like that each one turned to stone. And then, quick as a thought, that witch, like a cougar, dropped down from that tree, snatched the hazel switch back off the hunter, and tapped him on the shoulder.

[01:06:19]And then he too turned TO STONE.

[01:06:24]cackled the old witch, and she hauled those stone statues to a big pit she had nearby, and tipped them in next to the statues of many, many other hunters and their animals, too, perhaps, that had lost their way in this very same forest.

[01:06:44]Many days passed and the poor princess sat alone, wondering what had happened to her dear husband, alone by a window in the palace, gazing in the direction of the forest, wondering if she would ever see her love again.

[01:07:06]Well, now my friends, we journey back to the other brother. Remember him? Seems like a long time ago now. The eastern brother, the one that went east at that fork in the road near the beginning of our story. Well, he had been on quite a journey, too. But all his gold was spent, and he too had been reduced to uh putting his animals through toy displays on village greens and at the edge of town and maybe in circuses. Dancing bears, dancing bears, fox doing trip tricks. wolf giving kids piggybacks on the beach, that kind of thing.

[01:07:46]And eventually the eastern brother came back to the place of our two brothers parting. That same tree with a knife stuck in it, and he examined the knife just like his mentor, the old hunter, had taught them to do, and he noticed that on the western edge, his twin brother's side, the blade was beginning to rust. and go dim. His brother was in danger.

[01:08:16]So the eastern brother set off. He knew the pathways. His animals knew the way.

[01:08:22]And by some instinct, he found himself in that same city, that same town where his brother had been married some time before. And of course, everybody mistook him for his own brother. Even the princess herself gave him a warm welcome, flung her arms about him. But, you know, he didn't say anything. Not yet. Anyway, he thought he'd better just get the vibe of the situation before he said who he really was. I thought you would never come out of that forest again. Your hunters all returned. I thought I would never see you again, said the princess.

[01:09:06]And that night in their bed chamber together, she came in and unroed herself and got into bed expecting uh loving embraces. But instead, the eastern brother took his sword and stuck it in the mattress so she could not come over to him. Did not say a word, turned over and went to sleep.

[01:09:31]Well, the next day he set off with a band of retainers and a hunting jacket and a horn and his animals behind him, following into the forest perilous again. And everyone begged him not to go in again again. But he would not listen.

[01:09:46]And he journeyied in and again, just like has happened to his brother. The leaves blew across the forest path. The retainers turned back, but his animals still went forward. And the forest closed up behind him, and he did not know which way to go. And he found himself in the forest again, having to make a little fire to stay warm.

[01:10:10]Maybe fox went to catch something for their dinner. And it was starting to get dark WHEN and the hunter looked up and there was that same hideous old crone, that hag from a thousand stories up there in the crooked branch of that oak tree with sulfuric acid dribbling from her seven tits down to the forest floor. And she said, "I'm cold. Can I warm myself by your fire?" And the hunter said, "Come down, old woman, and warm yourself. I can't. Your animals will hurt me."

[01:10:50]But if you hit them with this switch, then they'll nah. The hunter wasn't having any of it. As soon as she brought out that switch, he fingered a piece of gold, his last nugget of gold, in his pocket, and just flung it, and it went struck the witch on the head. And she dropped down out of that tree, stunned.

[01:11:10]And then the hunter picked up her switch and held it at her throat and she said, "No, don't turn me to stone. I'll tell you where your brother is."

[01:11:20]With that little deaf movement by instinct, there was something of his father, the wood cutter, and that golden bird at the very beginning of our story.

[01:11:29]Remember that when he threw the stone and knocked that little bird from the tree? So after our hunter threatened to turn the witch to stone or burn her on the fire or tear her to pieces with his animals, she agreed to show him where his brother and all her other victims were in a big pit turned to stone. And the hunter used his hazel switch or the witch's hazel switch and turned them all back into human form. It was like Sonic the Hedgehog. All these little animals bursting out of their stone prisons. And all these hunters were very, very thankful and went on their way. And the two brothers were reunited, overjoyed. And so were all the pairs of little animals. Oh, how they gambled in the forest together. And that witch, of course, she was burned alive on the fire and buried in her own pit.

[01:12:22]So the two brothers journeyed back to the palace and they shared many many stories about their exploits together. The western brother told all about his adventure with the dragon and the marshall and the tongues and how he had lost his head but found his way back by some miracle to his beloved and everything that had happened. And the eastern brother told all about his adventures in the lands of Ind and the spice islands and whatever else have you and all the things he had learned sat at the feet of Sheba. I don't know. And then he got to the part about how he got back to his own brother's kingdom and how his wife thought that you know I was you. It was hilarious really. And then we shared a bed together and we slept together. And then at that moment, just before the eastern brother could say, "But nothing happened." I stuck my sword in the thing, "Of course, dear brother, envy, envy, and meanness and hatred just descended on the western brother, and without thinking, he cut off his brother's head."

[01:13:29]Instantly, regret and shame fell upon him. But it was too late. How can you replace a head? How can you bring back something that is dead? Well, everyone turned to hair. Well, it worked one time and hair turned to his twin, the other hair, and said, I know a place at the ends of the earth where a wild herb grows that can bring the dead to life.

[01:14:00]Show me, said the eastern hair, and two hairs this time set off together. Jung.

[01:14:06]It was a year and a day's journey, but my friends, they made it in 24 hours.

[01:14:11]The hero twin hairs and my friends the hair warren are still burning with their great adventure, but that is another story. So hair, a brace of hairs returned with the herb, and the eastern brother was healed, and his head was fixed on the right way. Well, the two brothers made amends and journeyed back to the city of the western brother where his wife would be waiting. But when they got to the gates, they decided they would do a little trick. One would enter from the western gate, the western brother, and the other would enter from the eastern gate. They were an hour's journey apart, and they would both journey to the palace at the center of the city together. And they both arrived at the same time. And the princess and the king and all the courtiers did not know which one to look at. They were like two identical apple pips together.

[01:15:04]And all the animals too. They were dressed the same. They look the same.

[01:15:10]And the king said, "You know, I really can't tell which one is which. How about you, my daughter?" And the princess looked from one brother to the other. In truth, she couldn't tell the two brothers apart, but she could tell their animals apart.

[01:15:27]Just the little pattern of fur and of course the coral necklace around her true beloveds animals, token of her love.

[01:15:39]That one is my husband.

[01:15:42]Well, my friends, that is nearly the end of our story. And those two brothers were reunited. The eastern brother went away on his next adventure, but that's another story. And then the western brother reunited with his beloved, went into their bed chamber and in the privacy of their secret sanctum. She said, "You know, when you first came back the other night, it was very, very strange. You stuck your sword in the bed and you weren't quite right in the head, I thought. But now you seem back to normal.

[01:16:25]It was then that our hunter realized just how loyal his brother had been.

[01:16:54]So my friends, that was the story of the two brothers. Very old story.

[01:17:03]Now, as usual, if you've made it this far, you've reached the end of the story. Thank you.

[01:17:12]Obviously, something spoke to you from that story if you've made it this far.

[01:17:17]So, why don't you let me know if you're comfortable in the comments what image what image just flashes up in the dark cave of your mind from this story? Like a piece of cave art. Uh this version I told is loosely based on the version in the brothers grim. Two brothers it's called but it's a lot older than the 19th century when the brothers grim gathered the story up. Uh most of these stories we are now pretty sure in folklore studies or many of them are ancient protoindo-uropean wonder tales that could be anywhere between 3 and 5,000 years old at least in their core elements. This one I feel is older still. There's something really primordial in this story. I think elements of it anyway. It's something about that hunter. I think the the initiation figure, the the foster father, there's some there's something initiatory in that that feels well, it feels like it goes back into the Paleolithic, doesn't it? It seems like ancient hunting magic, hunter gatherer magic.

[01:18:30]This idea that you still see in a lot of huntergatherer societies today worldwide in uh in Native American culture, in the sand bushman of the Kalahari, other parts of the world as well. This is probably a fairly universal thing of the ritual of respect between hunter and hunted. Let the first one go.

[01:18:48]And and this idea itself of the of the spirit twin, our twin self in the other world that was born when we were born and is always watching out for us. Ancient idea. You see this innostic thought and you see it in many many old folk tales.

[01:19:09]This story also has a lot of parallels in Celtic mythology as well. That sword in the bed Tristan and Isult also just the idea of well the underworld king or the otherworld twin. We see that in Celtic mythology and Welsh mythology addon lord of Anon lord of the underworld who has his white otherworld hounds. In the story of of Aron, he swaps lives and faces with a prince of Wales, Pu in the story of of Pu. Uh when they have an encounter hunting together and they swap wives as well, just like in the story, but they don't touch, they don't sleep with each other's wives out of respect and loyalty, but they sort out each other's kingdoms. It's normally considered that Aron is actually another face of Puik.

[01:20:05]So I'm pretty sure that's the case in this story too without driving the point home too strongly cuz of course all of the characters in a fairy tale are aspects of our being.

[01:20:17]There's also something in the animals in this story that's ancient, isn't it? I think as well these these feel like shamanic helpers. They feel like spirit guides. I'm immediately thinking when I think of the lion figure of the lion man figure the oldest humanmade object we know of found in a cave in Germany some sort of toemic thing theanthropic uh animal totem objects we see in the historical record that seem like the very earliest forms of religion before the gods animals before gods might be what I end up calling this video. Uh, so if you've been wondering why I've called it that video, if I have, then that is the reason.

[01:20:58]And this idea of our spirit twin, our our twin in the other world that's got our back, guardian angel, if you like, uh, similar to what Jung called the animus or the other.

[01:21:16]I am not I. I am this one that stands beside me that forgives when I hate and that will remain standing when you die.

[01:21:33]Perhaps that twin of yours in the other world was watching this video with you and smiling. They've got your back. They always have. There's much more to talk about this story, but I think you know far better than I could ever explain. Let me know what do you think about this story, and I'll see you next time. Goodbye.

[01:21:59]The animals are with you.