Ethiopian Folktales

Adurat and her Sistersአዱራትና እህቶቿ

Gambelaጋምቤላ · 1 min readደቂቃ ንባብ

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Narrated by Ajulu Ojwatto

Adurat was very, very small. She tried to copy her sisters, the giraffe, the frog and the python.

As she did this, her children watched her, saying, “When our mother is busy, look out. Mother is trying to copy her sisters, but she can’t because she’s too small.”

When her children ask for stew, she’ll say, “It’s already cooked,” because the giraffe, when she wants to get a stew, she only bites her leg and oil comes out which she eats for stew. But Adurat is not a giraffe and if she copies the giraffe, she’ll suffer.

When the children ask for water, she says the water’s already there because the frog doesn’t fetch water. She just jumps on the pot and urinates water into the pot, so Adurat wants to do the same, but she can’t. If she copies, she will suffer.

“What will she do at bed time?” the children think.

The python is very slow. When the python goes to bed, she fills the whole room and surrounds all her children. Adurat tries to embrace her children but she can only do this by taking off her arm and wing and making herself as long as the python, so she died.

Don’t copy people beyond your capabilities. Stay true to your own nature.

አዱራትና እህቶቿ

በአጁሉ ኦጅዋቶ የተተረከ

አዱራት በጣም በጣም ትንሽ ነበረች፡፡ እህቶቿን ቀጭኔን፣እንቆራሪትንና፣ እባብን ለመምሰል ትሞክር ነበር፡፡ ይህንን ስታደርግ ልጆቿ አይተው እንዲህ አሉ “እናታችን ስትማስን ተመልከቱ፡፡ እናታችን እህቶቿን ለመምሰል ብትሞክርም በጣም ትንሽ ስለሆነች አትችልም፡፡”

ቀጭኔ ልጆቿ “ወጥ ስጭን” ሲሏት “በስሏል” ትላቸዋለች ምክንያቱም ቀጭኔዋ ወጥ ስትፈልግ የራሷን እግር ንክስ አድርጋ የሚወጣውን ዘይት ትጠቀምበታለች፡፡ አዱራት ግን ቀጭኔ ስላልሆነች ይህንን ብታደርግ ስቃይ ይደርስባታል፡፡

እንቁራሪት ልጆቿ “ውሃ ሲጪን” ሲሏት ውሃው እዚያው እንዳለ ትነግራቸዋለች፡፡ ምክንያቱም እንቁራሪት ውሃ አትቀዳም፡፡ እንስራው ላይ ዘላ ወጥታ ሽንቷን ነው የምትሸናው፡፡ እናም አዱራት ይህንን ልታደርግ ብትሞክርም አትችልም፡፡ ብትሞክርም ትሰቃያለች፡፡ በመኝታ ሰዓት ምን ታደርግ ይሆን ብለው ልጆቿ ያስባሉ፡፡

እባቧ በጣም ዘገምተኛ ናት፡፡ ወደ መኝታዋ ስትሄድም ክፍሉን ትሞላውና ልጆቿን ስብስብ አድርጋ ትተኛለች፡፡ አዱራት ግን ልጆቿን ልታቅፍ ብትሞክርም ይህንን ማድረግ የቻለችው እጆቿንና ክንፎቿን በመነቃቀልና እንደ እባቧ ለመርዘም በመሞከር ስለሆነ ሞተች፡፡

ከአቅማችሁ በላይ የሆኑ ሰዎችን ለመምሰል አትሞክሩ፡፡ ራሳችሁን ለመምሰል ሞክሩ፡፡

In the original voice — hear tales from Gambelaጋምቤላ, told in Anuak. Listen ›

Check your understandingግንዛቤዎን ይፈትሹ

  1. How big was Adurat?

  2. What three animals does Adurat try to copy?

  3. How does the giraffe get stew?

  4. How does the frog get water into the pot?

  5. Why can the python surround all her children at bed time?

  6. What happened to Adurat when she tried to make herself as long as the python?

For discussionለውይይት

  • Why do you think Adurat keeps trying to copy her sisters even though she is too small to do what they do?
  • The story ends by saying, 'Don't copy people beyond your capabilities. Stay true to your own nature.' What do you think this lesson means in your own life?
  • Adurat's children watch her and worry about what she will do. How do you think her children feel about their mother?
  • Each animal in the story has its own special way of doing things. What is something special about you that makes you different from others?