The Brothers' Tale: Sacred Salt and the Ghoul's Defeat - A Middle Eastern Folktale

Once upon a time, in a far-off land, there lived two brothers who were both married. Times were hard, and neither family had any bread to eat. Their cupboards were bare, and their wives were worried.

One day, the older brother said to his family, "I will set out to find bread for us all." And so he did, walking far from their village in search of food.

As he traveled along the dusty road, he came upon a blind man sitting by the wayside. The blind man turned his head toward the sound of approaching footsteps and asked, "Where are you going, traveler?"

"I am searching for food to feed my family," replied the brother honestly.

The blind man nodded wisely and said, "Listen carefully to what I tell you. There is a house that belongs to a ghoul not far from here. When the ghoul is away, go to this house and take the riches within. Then hurry home and show your wife and family what you have found."

The older brother followed the blind man's instructions. He waited until the ghoul was gone, entered the house, and found great treasures inside. He quickly gathered what he could carry and returned home to share his good fortune with his wife and brother's family.

When the younger brother saw the riches, his eyes grew wide with greed. "Tell me where you found these treasures," he demanded. "I shall go there myself and bring back even more!"

Though the older brother warned him to be careful, the younger brother wouldn't listen. He rushed to the ghoul's house and began gathering treasures. But while he was still inside, the ghoul returned home. In his anger at finding an intruder, the ghoul killed the younger brother and ate him, leaving only his head behind.

When the older brother discovered what had happened, he found his brother's head and gave it a proper burial. As he stood by the grave making a sorrowful lamentation for his lost brother, he did not know that the ghoul had noticed the missing head.

The chief of all ghouls heard about what had happened and gathered his followers. "Come," he commanded them, "we shall go to where they mourn. We will find them at the lamentation, kill them all, and feast on their flesh."

And so the ghouls came to sit among the mourners, waiting for their chance to strike.

But the blind man who had helped the older brother appeared once again. He walked into the gathering and sat down beside the grieving brother. Though his eyes could not see, he sensed the evil presence of the ghouls. He quietly whispered to the older brother, "Take this handful of sacred salt. When I give the signal, throw it into the air."

The older brother clutched the salt in his hand, his heart pounding. Suddenly, the blind man stood up and struck his walking stick against the ground three times. The sound rang out like a bell, and in that moment, the older brother scattered the salt through the air.

The salt sparkled like stars in the sunlight, and wherever it touched the ghouls, they howled in pain and vanished in puffs of smoke. The chief of the ghouls tried to flee, but the blind man's walking stick transformed into a sword of light that banished him forever from the land.

With the ghouls gone, peace returned to the village. The older brother shared his wealth with all the poor families in the community, and none ever went hungry again. He kept his brother's memory alive by telling stories of his bravery, and he made sure his brother's wife and children were always cared for.

The blind man remained a trusted friend and advisor, teaching the villagers how to protect themselves from evil creatures. And from that day forward, everyone in the village kept a pouch of sacred salt by their door, though they never needed to use it again.

And so they all lived happily ever after, safe in the knowledge that good will always triumph over evil, as long as there are kind hearts willing to help one another.