Ethiopian Folktales

Narrator Unknown

The hyena, the fox and the monkey lived together in one house. One day they went hunting and they stole four cows from a farmer in the village.

“There is one cow for each of us,” the hyena said. “But who will have the fourth?”

“The oldest one of us can have it,” the fox said.

The monkey and the hyena agreed.

“When were you born?” the fox asked the hyena.

“It wasn’t last year,” the hyena said. “Or the year before that. I was born many, many years ago.”

“And when were you born?” the fox asked the monkey.

“Oh,” said the monkey, “I was born on the first day. It was the day God made the earth and the sky.”

“You are right,” said the fox. “I remember it well. On the seventh day after your birth there was a celebration. I was the guest of honour.”

“Then you are the oldest,” the hyena and the monkey said, and they gave the fox the fourth cow.