Way out in the countryside, where the forests are deep and the mountains are tall, lived two brothers. One brother was quite rich and had everything he wanted. The other brother was poor and had to work very hard just to get by.

One day, the poor brother went into the forest to chop wood. As he walked deeper among the trees, he saw a huge, rocky mountain he had never noticed before. Suddenly, he heard voices! He quickly hid behind a big oak tree and peeked out. A group of twelve rather rough-looking men were walking towards the mountain. They stopped right in front of it, and their leader shouted in a loud voice, "Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, open wide!"

To the poor brother's amazement, a part of the mountain rumbled and slid open like a giant stone door! The men went inside, and the door rumbled shut behind them. The poor brother waited, his heart thumping like a drum. After a while, the stone door rumbled open again, and the men came out, their bags looking much lighter. The leader then shouted, "Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, close up tight!" And the mountain door slid shut, looking just like solid rock again.

Once the men were far away, the poor brother crept out. He was a little scared, but also very curious. He stood in front of the mountain and, taking a deep breath, he called out, "Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, open wide!"

And believe it or not, the mountain rumbled and the stone door slid open for him too! Inside, his eyes popped open. The cave was filled with sparkling jewels, shiny gold coins, and all sorts of wonderful treasures! He knew it belonged to the rough men, so he only took a tiny handful of gold coins, just enough to help his family. Then he said, "Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, close up tight!" The door closed, and he hurried home.

With the little bit of gold, the poor brother bought food and clothes, and his life became much easier. His rich brother noticed this and asked, "Where did you get all these nice things? You were so poor before!"
The poor brother, being kind, told him the secret of Simeli Mountain.

The rich brother’s eyes grew wide with greed. "I must go there!" he thought. He rushed to the forest, found the mountain, and shouted, "Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, open wide!" The door opened, and he gasped at the sight of so much treasure. He started stuffing gold and jewels into every pocket and bag he had, wanting to take as much as possible. He was so busy grabbing treasure that he completely forgot the magic words to close the mountain or to get out!

When his bags were overflowing, he turned to leave and tried to remember. "Umm... Silly Mountain, open? No... Shimmy Mountain, let me go?" Nothing happened. He tried all sorts of words, but the mountain door stayed shut.

Just then, he heard the voices of the twelve men returning! They said the magic words, "Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, open wide!" and the door slid open. There stood the rich brother, surrounded by their treasure!
The men were very, very angry. "What are YOU doing in our secret cave, trying to steal our treasure?" their leader boomed.
The rich brother was so terrified he dropped everything. He couldn't say a word.

The robbers took back all the treasure he had gathered. They were cross, but they weren't going to hurt him. They just wanted him gone. "Never come back here again!" they warned, and then they shouted, "Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, close up tight!" as they pushed him out.

The rich brother ran all the way home, with empty pockets and a very important lesson learned about being too greedy.
And the kind brother, who had been poor? He sometimes visited the mountain, always remembering to take only a very little bit, just what he needed. And so, he and his family lived happily and comfortably, always thankful for the secret of Simeli Mountain.

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