Two Akha Brothers Divided a Turtle

Translated and Compiled by BaiBibo

Long ago, two Akha brothers went up into a forest to hunt game for making their living. The two had shot a turtle. But because the two of them could not cut open the turtle, nor could they divide it between them, they quarreled with each other without stopping. The two could not think of a way to deal with this issue. At that very moment, they bumped into a man there. Therefore they let him be their go-between. The man was supposed to divide the turtle for them.

But the two Akha brothers were not going to stop their quarreling yet. The elder brother said that he wanted the head. The younger one argued that he wanted the tail.

Since the elder brother wanted the head of the turtle, the go-between cut it off and gave it to him. Since the younger brother wanted the tail, the go-between cut off the tail and gave it to him. The go-between himself took the remainder of the turtle, and as quickly as possible, he ran away and disappeared in the forest.

It is said that the two Akha brothers stood there and staredat each other blankly.

Two Akha Brothers Divided a Turtle

Text Explicit Questions (also known as Literal Questions): Questions directly from the text

  1. When did the Akha brothers go into the forest and what did they do for a living?
  2. What were the main problems the two brothers were having about the turtle?
  3. Who arrived to help the brothers with their problem?
  4. Which brother wanted the head and which brother wanted the tail?
  5. Who took most of the turtle?

Text Implicit (also know as Inferential Questions): Usually questions about the unknown based on the known expressed in the text. Sometimes these questions will also involve the student’s background information.

  1. Did the brothers have a knife and what specific information is provided in the story to allow you to infer this information?
  2. What can you infer about the go-between’s sense of fairness from the information provided in the story? How do you feel about the go-between? Why
  3. Why do you think the go-between ran away “as quickly as possible” and why do you think the brothers “stared at each other blankly”? Can you provide any information from the story to support your answer.

Some Additional Questions Relating the Story to the Students Lives

  1. What is another term for “go-between” (or more than one if you know)?
  2. Have you or any of your friends or family members ever had a similar experience with a go-between as expressed in the story? If so, please describe this? If not, what would you do or what do you do to prevent something like this episode with the turtle from happening to you?
  3. How is this episode with the Akha brothers and the turtle related to the terms retail and wholesale? Please look up the term retail and wholesale in the dictionary.