Ethiopian Folktales

Narrated by Zarke Goite

The donkey lived with the cattle once upon a time. They ate and slept together. The donkey envied the cattle’s horns.

“I could fight hyenas if I had horns,” she thought. “I’ll go to the country or to other villages to look for a means of getting horns.”

She went on a long journey and she met a merchant who was carrying a big bundle on his back.

“Oh, God is very thoughtful to send me this donkey, because this load is so heavy,” he thought.

He put the load on the donkey’s back and it was very heavy for her. They went a long distance. She wanted to rest. She walked very slowly. The man beat her with the stick he was carrying, again and again. Still the burden was very heavy for her. She couldn’t carry on. At last she fell on her knees and wouldn’t move. He beat her, but still she wouldn’t stand up and walk. So he cut one of her ears. Still she was so tired she didn’t move. So he took the load off her and went on his way leaving her on the ground. The donkey, after being relieved of the load, went back to the cattle, to her old place. They asked her why she hadn’t got the horns she had looked for.

“Oh, you are talking about getting horns? The worst thing is, I have lost my ear. And I have learned my lesson.”

From that day on, ambitious people were told, “Know your place. Don’t be like the donkey who wanted horns and lost her ear.”