Once upon a time, two brothers shared an inheritance when their parents died. The older brother, greedy and stingy, took all the property and left his younger brother and his wife only a dilapidated hut and a carambola tree with juicy but stunted fruit. But these two younger spouses did not complain and were content with this meager asset. They took care of their carambola tree and watered it constantly so that the tree grew strong and bore a lot of fruit. When the carambola started to ripen, a bird of extraordinary size came every morning to eat it. It was impossible for the couple to chase it away no matter what they did.
The distraught wife lamented: “Woe to us. Poor as we are, we rely a lot on what the carambola tree brings us, and now the bird is ravaging everything. We will probably go hungry”. A miracle! The bird heard the lamentations, bent down and replied in a man’s voice: “I eat starfruit, I give gold, take a three-pound bag and follow me to look for it. Frightened, the woman rushed into the cottage to look for her husband. They agreed to sew the bag according to the measurement indicated, waiting for a possible return of the bird.
A few days later, the bird came back, ate all its fill of carambola and then came down from the tree to invite the husband to sit on its back with the bag. Then they disappeared together on the horizon. The youngest child closed his eyes in fright. The bird carried him far away before landing on a deserted island filled with precious stones. Free to take as many as he could. He filled his bag and the bird took him home. From that day on, the couple lived in opulence, in luxurious homes. He often helped the poor.
The elder and his wife were surprised by the opulence and wealth of the younger couple. Curious, the older man skillfully tried to penetrate the mystery. His younger brother, honest and frank, did not hesitate to tell him the story of the giant raven that had taken him to look for gold. The older couple offered to exchange their house for the straw hut and the carambola tree. The younger couple complied. One day, the raven returned to eat the carambola and made the same recommendation: a three-pound bag to fetch gold. The eldest, greedy and curious, took two big bags of six pounds each and once there filled them with gold.
On the way back, overloaded with these two heavy bags, the bird told him to throw some of his treasure into the sea but he refused. When there was a wind, the bird lost its balance, bent over and the elder fell into the sea and drowned.
The elder was the object of much scorn when the story of his greed and covetousness became known. God always helps the good and punishes the bad.
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