Ethiopian Folktales

Narrator Unknown

Once upon a time there was a king. He usually sees a boy coming to his home to play.

And the King takes him to a wizard and the King asked the wizard, “What will the fate of the boy be when he grows up?”

The wizard answered, “He will take over your throne.”

The King put the boy in a big box and threw him into the sea.

A husband and a wife found the boy and took him home and named him “Zeyta Hasebe” (which means “unexpected”).

One day the King, to settle the security problem of the area, goes to where the boy lives. The King settles in the house where the boy lives. When the family of the King eats food the boy washes the hands of the King and his foster parents. The King loves the boy for his hard work and asks the owners of the house whether he is their son or not.

They said, “No, but we have adopted him,” and they told him the story of how they found him.

The King was so surprised and asked them to permit him to send the boy to his palace. They agreed. The King gave him a written paper which orders the soldiers to kill him when he arrives in his palace and to bury him in front of the palace.

On his way to the palace an eagle came to the boy and asked him to give him the paper. The boy accepted and the eagle gave him another written paper which says, “When the boy comes to you, marry him with my daughter.”

So he reached the palace, and gave the paper to the relatives of the girl; they arranged the marriage and he started living with the girl. The King came home while the ceremonies were still going and saw a big tent.

“What is this for?”

“Didn’t you send us a boy with a paper saying, ‘Give my daughter to him?’ This is the wedding tent.”

He fell off his horse and fainted and his sword entered his side and he died. The boy took his throne.