Hear my words:--

"A young antelope loved a lily, standing under the shade of a sycamore,
by the side of a cool stream. Dally he came to watch it as it grew
whiter and more beautiful. He loved it very much, till one day a large
bull came and picked up the lily. Was it good? No! The poor antelope
fled towards the mountains, never wishing to return any more under the
cool shade of the sycamore. One day he met the bull down, and about to
be killed by a big bear. He saved him. He heard only the whisper of his
heart. He saved the bull, although the bull had taken away the pretty
lily from where it stood, by the cool stream. It was good, it was well!
The bull said to the antelope, 'We shall be brothers, in joy and in
sorrow!' and the antelope said there could be no joy for him since the
lily was gone. The bull considered. He thought that a brother ought to
make great sacrifices for a brother, and he said to the antelope,
'Behold, there is the lily, take it before it droops away. Wear it in
thy bosom and be happy.' Chiefs, sages, and warriors, I am the bull:
behold my brother the antelope. I have given unto him the flower of the
magnolia. She is the lily that grew by the side of the stream, and under
the sycamore. I have done well, I have done much, yet not enough for a
great chief, not enough for a brother, not enough for justice! Sages,
warriors, hear me all. The Flower of the Magnolia can lie but upon the
bosom of a chief. My brother must become a chief. He is a chief, for I
divide with him the power I possess: my wealth, my lodge, are his own;
my horses, my mules, my furs, and all! A chief has but one life, and it
is a great gift that cannot be paid too highly. You have heard my words.
I have said!"

This sounds very much like a romance, but it is an Apache story, related
of one of their great chiefs, during one of their evening encampments.