Ethiopian Folktales

Narrator Unknown

A long time ago there was a man called Egal Sheeda. One day, his bull went to the field of a neighbour and ate his crops. The neighbour came and protested to Egal Sheeda. Egal Sheeda promised that it wouldn’t happen again. But the next day the bull went again and ate from the neighbour’s field.

So the neighbour was very angry and came charging to Egal Sheeda and said, “You promised that your bull would not eat my crops. But today he has done it again.”

So Egal Sheeda said, “As you can see I cannot control the bull. So the only thing I can suggest is that you have to slaughter it.”

So they slaughtered the bull and brought the meat to Egal Sheeda. Egal Sheeda took the beef and went to the market and sold it. And when he returned, he told his neighbours he had sold the beef from the bull and got a lot of money.

So the neighbours were amazed and thought to themselves, “If we could slaughter our bulls and sell their meat, we can get money like Egal Sheeda.”

So they slaughtered all their bulls and went to the market. But that day nobody could sell their beef.

So the neighbours said to themselves, “Egal Sheeda has cheated us, so what shall we do about him?”

They decided to put him in a sack and throw him in the river so that he will die.

They went to Egal Sheeda’s house and grabbed him and put him in a sack. But before throwing him in the river, it was time for them to pray to God. So all the neighbours went to pray.

At this time, a farmer was passing by and he saw this sack sitting by the side of the river. And when he looked at it closely, he found out that a man was in that sack.

So he said, “What are you doing in that sack?”

Egal Sheeda said, “I’m going to be thrown into the river, so that I can bring gold to the town.”

The farmer said, “Let me be the one to bring the gold from the river,” because he wants to get rich.

So Egal Sheeda said, “All right.”

So he came out of the sack and put the farmer inside the sack and went away, taking the farmer’s many sheep and cattle.

Then the neighbours, after their prayer, came to the river and, thinking that Egal Sheeda was still in the sack, they threw it into the river. When they went home, they found Egal Sheeda with so many cattle and sheep, sitting at his home. They were surprised.

They said, “How did you manage to get out of the river? Where did you come from? And where do all these sheep and cattle come from?”

Egal Sheeda said, “You threw me into the river and I found so much gold lying on the river bed. I brought it out and sold it and bought all these sheep and cattle.”

So they said, “If that’s the case, let us all be put in sacks and thrown into the river so that we can get rich like you.”

So he put them in sacks and threw them into the river and they all died and he inherited all their property.

End of the story.