Ethiopian Folktales

Narrator Unknown

Once there was an elephant and a little bird and the little bird was living in a tree on her nest, sitting on her eggs. After a while, they hatched.

One day she flew off to fetch some food for her chicks. When she came back the chicks were killed by the elephant. The elephant was going under the tree all the time to drink water, so he touched the tree, the chicks fell out and he trod on them by accident.

When the bird came back, the chicks were killed and the bird realised it was the elephant who killed them because she saw the footprint.

She said, “Why did you kill my chicks?”

The elephant answered, “So what?”

And she replied, “For killing my chicks you should apologise, but you didn’t say sorry.”

He laughs at her.

“I’ll show you,” said the little bird.

“Ha, ha, ha,” says the elephant.

She went to her friends and told them the sad story, and they said, “How can we help you?”

She said, “You can help me by hurting the eyes of the elephant and making him blind. Then he won’t be able to move.”

They all agreed.

When the elephant was going to the water as usual all the birds flew at his eyes and began to peck them and he became blind.

The small birds also went to the water and met a frog and asked the frogs to help.

“Please croak away from the water and the elephant will come, thinking there is water.”

So they did it at the edge of a big ditch. The elephant came, following their croaks and the elephant fell into the ditch.

The elephant moaned and the bird stood on his head and said, “You killed my chicks and I have had my revenge.”