Three Brothers

Once upon time there were three brothers. The oldest brother was hot tempered and impulsive, but never swayed once he made a decision. The middle brother was cold and unemotional, never giving into a fight and examining everything at all angles, though he rarely stood up for himself. The youngest brother was neither hot or cold, but somewhere in between.

One day, the three brothers were travelling in the forest, and they passed by the house of a witch who lived nearby. They couldn't see her because of her enchantments she had put over the place, but she saw them and decided to have some fun.

They were going along when they noticed something in the distance sitting in the middle of the path. As they approached nearer, the saw it was a big stone box, marked with a series of strange symbols.
"What's that?" the youngest asked to no one in particular
"I don't know, but it's my problem. I'm the oldest, I'll take care of this." the oldest brother said, and stepped forward to examine the box more closely. All three brothers looked in silence, when suddenly the second brother realized he'd seen some of those symbols before.
"Hey, let me take a look at that I think I know -" the second brother said.
"No. I said I'd take care of it. Stand back." the oldest brother said.
He pulled out his sword and jammed it into one of the symbols, hoping to pry the top off the box with brute force alone. A flash of light shot out of the box, and up the sword, and the first brother fell dead to the ground. The other two brothers stood in silence, as the box disappeared into a puff of smoke. Both brothers took a moment to grieve and loaded up their brother's body on his horse and continued down the path.

A few miles later, as they were walking along, the path turned into quicksand beneath their feet, and they began to sink. The second brother set to thinking about the problem, and they sank further still. The youngest brother waited, then said, "I think I can reach this branch. Hand me your belt and though the horses and our brother's body may be lost, I can get the two of us out of here!" The second brother didn't like being rushed, and especially not by his little brother. "I need a moment to think," he said, and so he thought and thought. Meanwhile the youngest brother managed to get his own belt free, but by the time he pulled himself out his brother had sank below the sand, all the while analyzing every facet of his situation.

The third brother continued down the path, until the witch herself stepped out in front of him.
"Give me your heart or I will take it!" she screeched, and conjured a silver knife in her hand.
The brother looked at her and realized it was she who had caused all his brothers' misfortune. He stared her in the eyes and said "I will not give it. You may try and take it if you like, but I will put up a fight."

The witch flew into a rage, waving the knife around in the air and screaming curses. She started to run towards the brother, intent on taking his heart herself. But the moment she tried she was held fast. Two arms had reached up from the ground and held her to the spot. The youngest brothers saw what was happening and knelt to the ground. Before him rose his oldest brother's sword, pushing it's way through the earth. The youngest brother pulled it out of the ground and stabbed the old witch right through the heart. She screamed and vanished in a wisp of smoke. The youngest brother watched as the arms sank below the earth again. He took the sword that his oldest brother had given him and continued down the path, now free of the enchantment that had once bound his family.