Ethiopian Folktales

Narrated by Oesha Tushklo

The lion, the hyena and the mongoose were living together. The lion was treating them very badly. So the mongoose made a plan to attack him. The mongoose was the lion’s niece, but even so she wanted to attack and take revenge on him.

The lion one day ordered the mongoose and the hyena to choose the best bull and slaughter it for him. They did so.

After they slaughtered the bull, the hyena said to the mongoose, “You go and feed your uncle. I’ll go out to the field to look after the cattle.”

And he went.

The mongoose then got a big, round pebble and put it into the fire till it was very hot. Then she wrapped around it meat from the bull. The lion was asleep.

“Oh uncle, uncle, please wake up. I have good food for you,” the mongoose said.

The lion woke up.

She said, “Open your mouth,” and thrust that hot stone into his mouth and he died.

She laid him down on the floor, straightened him and made him look as if he was asleep.

When the hyena came in she said, “Where were you? Your master was looking for you and he’s very angry and is going to punish you.”

He went back to his cattle, fearing the lion would attack him.

The mongoose had pretended the lion was alive and she was saying to the hyena, “Look, he’s watching whatever you’re doing, you must obey his orders or he will really punish you. Take his orders and look after the cattle as before. The lion’s looking at you out of one eye, he is keeping a good watch over you.”

The hyena was a great coward.

In the meantime the mongoose was feeding on the slaughtered bull. But then she gave all the bones to the hyena.

She told him, “My uncle wants to start a good relationship with your family. Call your people. He’s going to invite them.”

The hyena came with dozens of friends for the feast. She told the hyena’s friends to sit down and enjoy themselves and she gave them the bones.

The mongoose said to the hyena, “My uncle has ordered a fat bull to be slaughtered for all of you, so bring one now.”

So the hyena went and came back with a fat bull. She gave some meat to the friends and a big piece to the original hyena. The mongoose had skinned the lion and it was dried. It tied the foot of the lion skin to the foot of the hyena with a rope.

Then she pretended, saying to the skin, “Uncle, why are you angry with these hyenas? Watch out, hyenas, my uncle is charging to attack you!”

And she banged the lion skin like a drum. When they heard that, they all fled in terror. By so doing the mongoose became victorious in driving away the hyenas and they never returned to that country again. She became rich and took all the cows and cattle.