The elder sparrow went out each morning to search for food, bringing home extra feed for his blind brother each evening. Of course, unlike other sparrows, he had no time to play and fool around. To him it was nothing more than the daily routine which he was used to. It never occurred to him that he was in any way unselfish or noble.

This went on for quite a few months. The younger brother who stayed in the nest had more time to think - he dared not fly off in case he could not find his way back to the nest; all he did once a day was t hop down the branch on which the nest rested until he came to the trunk and then hop back to the nest. To him, his elder brother was his life - he was indebted to him and was constantly conscious of the love and concern shown to him by his brother.

All went well until one day when, without warning, a fierce storm blew up. The elder sparrow was out hunting as usual while the blind sparrow waited trembling with fear which nearly developed into panic. He was worried for his brother and as the storm continued his worries slowly turned toward himself - "What would happen to me if something should happen to him?"

As it turned out the storm went as suddenly as it came and all was quiet again. The elder sparrow returned safe and sound with his usual supply of food. All seemed well again except that the blind sparrow, after that experience seemed to have developed a change in his thinking. His devotion and gratitude to his brother became stained with suspicion and doubt. "One day," he thought to himself, "he will leave me alone and I will die of starvation." He decided that he had to plan for this inevitable eventuality.

The next evening when his brother brought home his daily feed, he pretended to eat but when his brother was not looking, he tucked the feed under the nest. The next morning while his brother was out, he hopped down the branch to the trunk where he had discovered a hole. When he found that the hole was suitable for storing dry food, he hopped back to the nest and bit by bit transferred the hidden feed of the previous night down the branch and into the hole. This was his plan to ensure that he would have something put away for his future.

The next morning he departed as usual, but instead of flying off, he circled the tree and settled on the branch above the nest. He waited and watched. After a while, he was surprised to see his twin brother climb out of the nest with some of the previous night¹s feed and hop down the branch and deposit the feed into the hole in the trunk. His surprise slowly turned to anger. For the first time, he questioned his own unselfish motive. "So this is how I am rewarded? - with doubts and mistrust." He was determined to teach his blind brother a lesson for his lack of faith and trust in him.

That evening, he flew back to the nest and announced to his brother, "The forest has been infested by a disease and men from the village have come in and sprayed the whole forest with insecticide. Nothing is safe to eat for a long time!" He paused, planning to put in his final stab: "I am afraid I have no choice but to fly off and I can¹t possibly take you with me!"

But, before he had a chance to say that, his blind brother surprised him with: "Don¹t worry brother! I have food stored away and there should be enough for both of us until the effect of the chemical passes away! You just take a well-deserved rest and leave everything to me!" The elder sparrow felt ashamed of himself and simply had nothing to say but "Good, thank you."

The next morning, the elder sparrow was about to fly off as usual when his blind brother stopped him and reminded him that the forest was dangerous. "Sit where you are and I will fetch you breakfast." He hopped down the branch and returned with food. They both ate together.

After a few days, the elder sparrow noted that his blind brother was cheerful again. What is more he was putting back on some weight and new feathers began to appear. He then realised what he must do.

The following day, he told his brother he was going out to fly around for exercise. In fact, he worked very hard and gathered more food than ever before. Only now, instead of giving the food directly to his brother, he flew quietly around the tree and deposited his find into the hole in the trunk.