The English work for VASE Erasmus+ project

1. The Kings greedy
brothers

2. There was once a king
who was just and kind
and honest. He ruled
his land fairly. The
kingdom was peaceful,
prosperous and happy.

3. The king had just one problem: his brothers. These two
men were cruel, selfish, and mean, but above all, greedy.
At royal parties, they would push, poke and barge their
way to the front of the queue for the buffet. Then they
would gorge themselves, eating and drinking until they
could hardly move.

4. One day, the king decided to do something about these two
awful brothers of his. In the middle of the night, the royal
guards woke the brothers and marched them downstairs
into a small dark room they had never seen before.

5. Inside the room was a table. On the table was every kind
of food you could imagine. There were pies and puddings,
cake and crumbles, buns and breads, roasts and rolls,
tarts and trifles, and dish upon dish of tasty things.

6. Standing next to this table heaving with goodies was the
king, looking very stern. The king commanded his
brothers that they must eat the food that the royal
kitchens had prepared for them, but they must follow
two important rules when doing so. The brothers looked
at each other, then at the king, then at the food, their
mouth’s watering.

7. “Rule number one,” the king went on. “You must only eat
the food using the spoons I give you. Rule number two.
You must only hold the spoon by the very end of its
handle. Break either of these rules and you will be thrown
into the dungeon.” The king then walked out of the room,
locking the door behind him. The two greedy brothers
rushed forward to grab the spoons, pushing each other
out of the way.

8. You have a go!

9. However much they pushed, shoved and
criticised each other, the two brothers were
unable to eat even one crumb of the delicious
food. It was only after three days of trying,
when they were weak with hunger and half-
mad with frustration, that they came up with
the idea of helping each other. Only by co-
operating, taking turns and carefully feeding
each other, were they able to get any food at
all.

10. The next day, the king opened the doors of the brothers’
room and found two very different men inside. They had
learned how to think of others, how not to be selfish and
how to work as a team.

11. Listen carefully so that you understand what
people are saying.
Share your things with others.
Take turns when more than one person wants to
do the same thing.
Compromise when you have a serious conflict.
Do your best.
Encourage people to do their best.
Make people feel that what they are doing is
important. Working together is a lot more fun
that way.
Thank people for the part they are playing.
How to be Co-operative