Four Brothers Story – Short Stories for Children

The Four Brother Story is one of the classic short stories for children. The story is about four brothers who were asked by their old father to go out in the world and learn some skills for a living. So, Kids! Are you excited to read the story of the four brothers? Let us read the full story and find out what happens when the four brothers return to their father after learning new skills. 

Story of Four Clever Brothers

In a village, there was a poor fisherman who had four boys. One day, he called all of his sons and decided to have a talk with them. He told them, "Dear children, you all are grown-ups now. I think it is time that you must go out into the world and learn to start earning. I am turning old now and I have nothing to give you. Therefore, each of you must master a skill and build your own path in life." The four brothers obeyed their father's words and decided to go out to learn some skills. The next day, four of the brothers bid goodbye to their father and started their journey for a new living.

After a short distance, they came to four crossroads, each leading to one of four districts. Bidding goodbye to his brothers, the eldest son told them, “We must now go our separate ways, but this day, four years from now, we shall gather here again. Meanwhile, we'll do everything we can to make a lot of money.” Then, each of them went their separate ways.

Four Clever Brothers

As they headed in different directions, the eldest son was stopped by an old man on his way. The old man asked him where he was headed and from where he was coming. To this, the eldest son replied, “I am heading to the city to learn a new trade and earn a living.” Hearing this, the man asked him to come along with him and learn to be a thief. The eldest son denied his offer and said to the old man that he cannot learn to be a thief as that is not an honest trade.

To this, the man laughed and said, “Oh boy! Don’t be afraid as I will teach you ways to steal things in such a manner that no one would be able to find out. I will teach you the smartest way of stealing.” The eldest son wondered for a while and soon agreed to go along with the old man. A few days later, he became an expert thief under the guidance of the old man. He was able to get all the things that he wanted through stealing without letting anyone know about it.

The second brother, on the other hand, met a star-gazer on his way. The man asked him the same question about where he was headed to. When the star-gazer heard about his plans to learn a new skill, he offered the second brother to come along with him and learn the skill of star-gazing. He said, “I will teach you the art of star-gazing and you will become an expert in it. Nothing is more beautiful than looking at those stars in the sky.” The second brother was excited to hear the idea and agreed to go along with him. The man handed him a telescope and taught him all the skills that are required to use it. Soon, the brother became an expert in that field and enjoyed looking at the beautiful stars.

The Star-gazer

Just like his two brothers, the third brother also went his own way. After a while, he came across a huntsman who offered to teach him the skill of hunting. The third brother was excited and soon accepted the offer. The huntsman taught him the art of hunting and soon he became an expert Huntsman. After learning all the skills, the third son decided to go back to his father. The huntsman handed him a gun and told the son that it would help him to hunt everything. 

The youngest brother too met a man on his way. “Where are you going? You look new here”, asked the man. To this, the brother replied that he is heading towards the city to find a way to earn money. 

“Would you like to be a tailor?” asked the man.

“But I do not have any skill for it”, said the youngest brother.

Hearing this, the man added, “Do not worry, my dear. I will teach you all the skills that are required to be a tailor. It is the most peaceful job, maybe not that honourable but you will be able to stitch everything together with just a needle and a thread.” Soon the youngest brother learned all the tailoring skills and was an expert in this job. 

After four years, all four brothers arrived at the same place. They were happy to see each other after such a long time and decided to visit their father soon. When they arrived at their home, they greeted their father. His father embraced all of them and welcomed them happily. They told their father everything that happened in these four years and told him that each of them had mastered a trade.

After listening to their stories, the father said, “I am glad to hear that. Now, I will put you to the test and see what you all have learned in the last four years.”

The Four Brothers and The Father

He asked his second son, “There is a bird’s nest in the topmost branch of this tree. Can you tell me how many eggs are in it?”

The second son, who was a star-gazer, took out his glasses and said, ‘There are five eggs, father.’ 

He then asked the eldest son to bring down all the eggs from the nest without disturbing the bird. The eldest son, who was now a thief, climbed up quickly and took the five eggs from under the bird so cleverly that the bird didn't even notice that the eggs were gone. The father took the eggs and put each of the four eggs at four corners of the table. He kept the fifth egg in the middle and said to the third son, "You must shoot the five eggs through the middle at one shot." The third son took out his gun and divided each egg in half at one shot.

"Now it is your turn," said the father to the fourth son. He asked him to sew the eggs together along with the shells and the young birds inside them. He also told the youngest son that he cannot destroy the eggs while sewing them.

The Tailor Stitching The Five Eggs Carefully

The younger son took his needle and stitched all the eggs carefully. The father was now very proud of his sons and praised them for their skills.

Not long after this, there was a great alarm raised in the country. The King’s only daughter had been carried off by a Dragon. The King sorrowed for her day and night and proclaimed that whoever brought her back should marry her.

The four Brothers said to one another, “This would be an opportunity for us to prove what we can do.” And they decided to go out together to deliver the Princess.

“I shall soon know where she is,” said the Star-gazer, as he looked through his telescope. He said that he can see her already. She is a long way from here and is sitting on a rock in the middle of the sea, and the Dragon is near, watching her.

The Four Brothers Looking for The Princess

Then he went to the King and asked for a ship for himself and his Brothers to cross the sea in search of the rock. They found the Princess still on the rock, but the Dragon was asleep with his head on her lap.

The Sportsman said, “I dare not shoot. I should kill the beautiful maiden.” “Then I will try my luck,” said the Thief, and he stole her away from beneath the Dragon. He did it so gently and skilfully that the monster never discovered it but went snoring. Full of joy, they hurried away with her to the ship and steered for the open sea. But the Dragon soon was awakened and came after them through the air, foaming with rage.

Just as he was hovering over the ship and about to drop on them, the Sportsman took aim with his gun and shot him through the heart. The monster fell down dead, but he was so huge that in falling, he dragged the whole ship down with him. But the Tailor produced his wonderful needle, put some great stitches into the boards, seated himself on them, and collected all the floating bits of the ship. Then, he stitched them all together so cleverly that in a very short time the ship was seaworthy again, and they sailed happily home. The King was overjoyed when he saw his daughter again, and he said to the four Brothers, “One of you shall marry her, but which one that you must decide among yourselves.”

Image - Shows The Four Brothers Debating Over Who Should Marry The Princess

After that, they had a discussion, and each of them made a claim. "Had I not discovered the Princess, all your skills would have been in waste, thus she is mine." replied the Star-gazer. "What good would it have done if I hadn't brought her out from under the Dragon? As a result, she's mine." said the thief.   "You and the Princess would have been destroyed by the monster if my shot hadn't hit him," the Sportsman remarked. "As a result, she's mine." Just then, the youngest brother came forward and said, "And you would all have drowned miserably if I hadn't sewed the ship together with my talent. So, I must get married to the princess as I saved all of your lives." 

After hearing the claims put forward by all the four brothers, the King said, “Each of you has an equal right to marry my daughter, but since all four of you cannot marry her, therefore, none of you will get the chance. As a reward, I shall give each of you half a kingdom.” The Brothers were pleased with the king's decision and they spent the rest of their lives peacefully with their Father.

So, kids! That was the famous story about the four clever brothers. We hope you had a lot of fun reading this story and learned an important lesson. The story taught us that we should always learn our skills obediently and we should also be brave enough to face any challenges in our lives.