The Twins

Look at these mangrove trees. They're definitely not children.

Hello, reader. This week, we're looking at a tale from somewhere in Africa because the place I found it didn't give a country of origin. The Twins is a tale of several people being rude. Often for no reason. Enjoy!

When the mother was trying to kill her twins, I felt sorry for them at first. They knew they weren't supposed to kill a one-eyed antelope, but nothing actually happened to them afterward except for their mother's actions, so it doesn't seem like it was that bad. I do have to wonder what their reaction would have been if they found out that instead of a one-eyed antelope, they were born from several limes. In any case, it seems like a self-fulfilling prophesy to tell them not to do something, since the twins were so ornery. However, after the twins escaped from their mother, I stopped feeling sorry for them. I'm really glad they weren't able to do anything to the little girl who was having a wound cleaned. These kids literally had no limits.

Their awfulness makes me wonder about the structure of the story. Were they awful so we wouldn't feel bad when they were turned into mangrove trees? If the twins had a better moral code and were still being chased for some reason, we would probably be quite upset when they were turned into trees for the rest of their lives. This idea makes sense with the lack of depth to their character. They are nasty, disobedient children who only care about each other. I suppose at least they care for someone, but that is also a necessity for the story. They can't both be turned into mangrove trees if they're trying to kill each other, or if they split up.

For this week, I suppose the moral is that if your kids kill a one-eyed antelope, wait and see what happens before you try to kill them.