A long time ago, there was such a mean man that he just fed his wife with soup so clear that it had really no nutritional value at all. If someone came to visit him , he always told his wife to say that he was not at home so they did not have to offer the bread and honey bereber usually have for their guests as a welcoming food.
The truth was that he was not poor at all, but his greediness made him to keep all the money and richness he had into a hole he had dug under his bed so that he never would spend any of it.
One day, his brothers-in- law decided to visit their sister to know about her married life. When they met, she complained bitterly about how her husband was treating her till the point of denying everyday food to her.
Hearing this, her two brothers got so furious that the mean husband was offending their sister and their whole family that they agreed to give the man a good scolding.
The two brothers went to the market and bought a good amount of opium.After that, they invited their brother-in-law to a feast with all the tasty food they bought in the market: coscous, roasted lamb, sweet almonds and so on. While the two brothers hardy eat anything , the mean man did not stop eating all these things thinking that he was so lucky he could eat such wonderful food without paying for anything.
Finally, when he had finished eating everything, they took him home and said goodbye.
The mean man began feeling sleepy due to the big amount of opium hidden in the food and fell into a deep sleep. At night, his two brothers-in-law came back to his house again, undressed him and wrapped him into a large white sheet ,only leaving his head out of it.
Then, they took him to the cemetery, dug a deep hole into the ground and put there the body, in the way it is done with the corpses.
With all the cold and the noise caused by the moving of the body, the mean man began awakening from his deep sleep and he returned to conscience again. Meanwhile, the two brothers disguised themselves: one put on the fur of a hyena and the other put on the fur of panther. They both took a stick in their hands and began to hit him with all their strength.
The mean man realised then the situation: he was dead and the two beings who were hitting him were Munquir and Naquir, the two angels of death.
The mean man began crying and begged them to stop. They stopped their beating to ask him:
- “ When did you give the poor the alms that you are meant to give them? Speak up, old mean man, when?”.
And the other went on asking him: “ When did you buy decent clothes to your wife or give her a proper meal?”.
One after another, the two brothers went on and on asking him these type of questions until he broke up with tears:
- “ I never did. I never did”- he answered.
They became so furious with him that he cried his regret out so loud and bitter that his yellings and cries could be heard from everywhere.
After seeing that he was truly repent from his sins, the two brothers hit him again with their sticks till he became unconscious again, they took their furs off and took him home.
When they saw their sister, they told her: “ Sister, do not worry more; this time your terrible and miserable life is over. You wait and see.”
The following morning, when he felt recovered from his wounds, he went to the market and bought the best flour, honey, almonds, meet and vegetables; in one word: all the things every family should have in their kitchens. On his way back home from the market, he was also giving alms to the poor he found on his way.
When his wife saw him entering into the kitchen with all the food , she was shocked to see how much he had changed in his character and habits and she felt so happy for this new attitude.
She never had a reason to complain about him anymore and he ended his life being generous and kind to everyone.
