Ethiopian Folktales

Narrated by Ariet Peta

Once upon a time, a man and his wife set out upon a journey and, as was the custom, he walked ahead of his wife, carrying his rifle and shooting ahead, and she followed behind. When they reached a dense part of the forest, suddenly some shiftas^Bandits. emerged from the forest. He was terrified and began running back trying to escape. However the woman stopped him and grabbed the rifle and opened fire on the shiftas. They were so frightened they dropped their guns and ran off into the forest.

Then she made her husband pick up all the rifles and she told him to follow her. And she walked ahead with him following behind carrying the rifles. Then they reached the big yard of a certain lord, and she found a big drum, and she started crying out and singing songs of victory.

And when everybody came around including his relatives, she said, “You should be ashamed of this man. He is not a man if he can’t even protect his wife.”

And his relatives were so ashamed of him that they killed him. Then one of his brave relatives married her and they lived happily ever after.