Now holding the sea in your mouth is a very tiring job, so when the brother’s cheeks began to ache he signalled to the boy to return to the shore. The boy was too busy searching for unusual shells to take any notice.
The brother waved his arms in the air, but still the boy didn’t come.
By that time the brother felt the sea swelling inside him. He couldn’t hold it much longer. Desperately, he waved madly to the boy. But the lad was too far out to see the gestures. The sea began to dribble out of the brother’s mouth. Then, in a huge wave, the sea flooded out. In an instant the boy had disappeared. When the first returned home without the boy, the villagers didn’t believe the story. He was condemned to have his head cut off.
The next day, just before the execution, the brother asked the judge if he could say goodbye to his mother before he died. The judge agreed.
When he went home he changed places with the second brother, who had the iron neck.
The villagers gathered round to watch the executioner lift his sword. As it fell, there was a clang and the sword bounced off the second brother’s neck. Again and again the executioner tried to cut off the head, but in vain.
The villagers were angry. The brother must die for his crime, so they decided he must drown instead.
As before, the second the brother asked the judge if he could say goodbye to his mother before he died. The judge agreed.
Off he went and in his place returned the third brother, who could stretch his legs for miles.
This third brother was rowed far out to the middle of the ocean and thrown overboard. For a moment he sank deep down under the waves. Then his legs began to stretch and stretch until finally his feet stood on the seabed and his head was just above the water.
The villagers were now very angry. How could they punish the Tamil brother? Perhaps he might be burned. So next morning, they made a stake on which to burn him.
For a third time the Tamil brother asked the judge if he could say goodbye to his mother before he died. The judge agreed. Off went the third brother and in his place returned the fourth brother, the one who could not be burned.
The villagers tied this brother to the stake, making sure he could not escape. The fire was lit and everyone waited. The flames completely covered the fourth brother. But there he stood, in the centre of this blazing bonfire, smiling and calling out for more wood to be added. The villagers couldn’t believe it. There must be a way to punish him!
“Let’s smother him!” called a man from the crowd. “If this doesn’t work then he must be innocent.” Said the same man.
The fourth brother asked the judge if he could say goodbye to his mother for one last time.
Off went the fourth brother and in his place returned the fifth brother, the one who could hold his breath forever.
This time the villagers weren’t taking any chances. They filled a brick oven with thick cream. The brother was pushed right into the middle of the oven and all the air holes were sealed.
“Surely no one can survive this,” thought the villagers.
All night they watched round the oven. At dawn the oven was opened. The door was pulled aside and out stepped the fifth brother!
“Ahhh,” yawned the fifth brother, “what a wonderful sleep!”
Well the villagers had had enough! They’d tried everything to punish the brother but nothing had worked.
“We’ve decided you must be innocent, if you can survive all our punishments,” said the judge. “We are going to release you.”
The brother and his family were off course overjoyed. The five brothers were proved to be innocent of the first one’s crime.
