from his door. Ever afterwards, though, the people show and tell travellers the tale of the two black stones in the Golden River, known as The Black Brothers. Characters Schwartz – (his name means "black" in German), one of the two "Black Brothers". He and his brother Hans are described as very ugly men with overhanging eyebrows and small, "dull" eyes, which they kept half closed. Hans – (his name is the common "John" in German), the other of the two "Black Brothers". Both are cruel to both animals and people, and they enjoy nothing better than drinking out their last penny at the neighbouring alehouse. Gluck – (should be Glück; his name means "luck" or "happiness" in German; the name is a wish of "good luck": "G' Luck!"), the twelve-year-old kid brother of the "Black Brothers". In striking contrast to his elder brothers, he is blond-haired and blue-eyed and kindly disposed to all living things. Southwest Wind, Esquire – a personified wind, who visits the three brothers in the Treasure Valley. He stands about four feet, six inches, has a brass coloured nose and red cheeks that look like he had been blowing a refractory fire for 48 hours, silky eyelashes, and a moustache that curls twice around on each side of his face. He wears a conical hat that is almost as tall as he is, and a cloak that stretches about four times his height when blown by the wind. After his ill treatment by Hans & Schwartz, he—and the other winds—avoid Treasure Valley and cause it to become barren. The King of the Golden River – a golden dwarf entrapped by "a stronger king" as a golden heirloom mug in Gluck's possession, freed through the melting of the mug, king of the river that cascades from the cataracts surrounding the Treasure Valley. Structure and forces This fairy tale also has the character of an aetiological myth—a story devised to explain why things are as they are in the world. It is structured like an epic saga with each of the chapters closing on one solitary curiosity: Chapter One, the card identifying Southwest Wind, Esquire; Chapter Two, the mug becoming a released King of the Golden River; Chapter Three, Hans becoming a black stone; Chapter Four, Schwartz becoming a companion black stone; and Chapter Five, the black stones being known as the "Black Brothers". Another view is