Ethiopian Folktales

Narrated by�Sambo Likasa Haya

Once there was a bush rat who looked at this very beautiful woman and he was very fond of her but he didn�t know how to approach her. So one day, on a very rainy day, he sat outside her house.

But he became cold and wet and he was shivering and he said, �Please, kind lady, it�s so cold out here. Can I just come inside your door? Under the eaves?�

So she said, �Yes, do come in.�

So he went and sat just inside the door.

He kept shivering and shivering and then he said, �Please, dear lady, could I move and sit close to your fire? It will be much warmer there.�

So she said, �Yes, please do. Come closer to the fire.�

So he went closer to the fire.

Then after some time he dried out, but he still pretended to be cold and he said, �Please, dear lady, I�m still cold. Do you mind if I come and sleep near your mat?�

So he slept near the cowhide.

Then he said, �I�m still very cold. Do you mind if I sleep on the cowhide?�

And she said, �All right. You can sleep on the cowhide.�

So he rolled on to the cowhide, and after a few minutes he said, �Oh, I�m feeling so sleepy, do you mind if I sleep in your arms?�

�All right. You can.�

Then the two of them got married and lived happily ever after.

And the moral of this story is, �If there�s the will there�s the way.�