Ethiopian Folktales
Alequa and the Hen
Alequa was a peaceful man with his neighbors; he always told them not to go in to his territory and he would not go into theirs. But one day he caught a neighbor's hen in his backyard, eating the seeds from his pumpkins. Instead of returning it to the owners he took it to his wife, mazengiash, and she cooked it. When they were about to eat their dinner the neighbor who lost the hen came and asked them if they had seen her hen.
Alequa asked her what kind of a hen it was and she said 
"oh! It was golden, healthy and lively". Then alequa said "oh, mazengiash, show her ours" and turning towards the neighbor he said "you see, you said yours is healthy and lively but ours is dead and cooked so I suggest you go around the village and look for your hen somewhere else"
Hyena and the Donkey
One day, long time ago, it was heard that Mr. Hyena had lost his children and was at his cave, mourning. Of all the animals that went to comfort him, Mrs. Donkey was the last one because she was afraid of Mr. Hyena. She went there and sat at the entrance of the cave to be able to flee if anything happened. But Mr. Hyena told her that because he couldn't see very far and asked Mrs. Donkey to go to near so that he could see who it was. And when she did, he said "oh! It's you my friend! Let me kiss you", and he leaned over and bit off her lips. Then he said "oh! Here I am mourning and you came here to laugh at my loss? You should be punished" and he jumped and ate her up.
The Fox Who Pretended to be Dead
Once upon a time, we are told, three friends, Mr Fox, Mr Wolf, and Mrs Rabbit, lived in the same village. On the day in question Mr fox proposed to Mr Wolf that they should gobble up Mrs rabbit. With this end in view Mr Fox told his friend that he would lie on his bed, and pretend to be ill. He asked Mr Wolf to go to Mrs Rabbit, and report that the patient had died.
Mr Wolf did as he was told. Mrs Rabbit, hearing the news, burst into tears for the loss of her friend, and immediately set forth to pay her condolences. She was, however, a wise old lady. Instead of entering Mr Fox’s house she remained outside. Looking through the window, she saw her supposedly dead friend lying on his bed. Speaking in a loud voice she declared: ”Dead foxes always open their mouths. Since Mr Fox’s mouth is closed he can not be dead!’’
On hearing these words Mr Fox opened his mouth to show that he was dead. This was, however, too late, for by then the wise Mrs Rabbit had disappeared into the forest.
Mr. Hyena and the Monkey
One day at dusk a hyena was going back to the forest from its hunting in the village at night and came face to face with a monkey who was just leaving the forest to collect her food from a nearby farm. The hyena jumped and grabbed the monkey. At first the monkey was afraid, and then quickly thinking of a way to escape, said to the hyena, "My lord, you look exhausted you must be very hungry". "Yes, I am!" replied the hyena. Then the monkey said "well, if you are, it will be better for you if you throw me up in the air and hold your mouth open so I'll come back and go straight into your stomach without much ado. Thinking it was a good idea; the hyena threw the monkey up in the air and waited for it to com back. But the monkey caught a nearby tree branch and fled.
Three Thieves and a Sheep
Another Ethiopian fable tells the story of a rich man who owned a very large and fat sheep.
One night, we are told, three thieves planned to steal the animal. Knowing the rich man’s house is strong, and guarded by a stout door,they determined to dig a hole under the hole near where the sheep was kept .Before long the rich man heard the noise of digging and wondered what to do. At last, seeing a large knife on his table, he took it and,sitting by the wall , waited for the thieves.
The three thieves meanwhile took it in turns to dig. One of them , while digging,eventually put his hand through the hole he had dug. When the rich man saw this he struck with the knife and cut off the thief’s hand. The man, however, refused to admit what had happened. Instead he pulled back his arm, and said to his companions: I have touched the sheep. It feels good. Don't you want to feel it also?’’
The Scholar and the Monkey
An even better known, but no less gruesome, folk tales centers on the scholar who, while writing, was constantly pestered by a monkey.
The scholar, we are told, was writing in a solitary place. He wrote in ink with a pen on parchment and whenever he made a mistake he would erase it with a knife . While working he watched by a mischievous monkey after sometime the scholar left his work , where up on the monkey, wishing to imitate the scribe , picked up the pen , and scrawled all over the page. The scholar on returning found all his work spoiled. This happened whenever he left his work for any reason.
Eventually, exasperated, the scholar caught sight of his enemy, the monkey, and said: " copy me, do what ever I do!" He then took the knife, sharpened it well and, while the monkey was watching, rubbed the blunt edge on his throat. He then put the knife back in its place and went away as before.
No sooner had he left than than the monkey jumped forward, picked up the knife and, wishing to emulate the scholar, rubbed it against its throat. Unfortunately for the animal he used the sharp edge, not the blunt. He thus killed himself, leaving the story-teller to comment that one should never unthinkingly imitate others.
Aleqa Gabre Hanna and the Donkey-Driver
Some of Ethiopia's most popular folk-tales tell of the exploits of the folk-hero Aleqa Gabre Hanna, who features in dozens of stories.
In one such tale it is said that the Aleqa, a well-known nobleman, was walking in the countryside when he met a donkey-driver and a group of donkeys. Feeling in a mischievous mood, he greeted the donkey-driver most effusively, bowed to him deeply and, speaking in the politest of Amharic, said to him: "Endet adderachew", that is to say "How are ye?"
The donkey-driver, who was reputedly none too bright, felt extremely honored and, on reaching the next drinking house, was soon proudly telling his audience how the great Aleqa Gabre Hanna had honored him. It was not long, however, before they explained the true meaning of Aleqa's Amharic. The wit, they explained, had not used the polite form of greeting, but the identical plural form of the word. He had, in effect, included the donkey-driver with his herd and thus treated him as in the same class as them!
Aleqa Plays a Joke on Emperor Menilek
Another Aleqa story also depends on a play of words. The wit, we are told, was once invited to the palace by the great Emperor Menilek, who asked him to tell him some jokes. "No, Your Majesty" he replied, "You will be cross with me! I will only do so if you promise not to be angry".
Menilek duly agreed, whereupon Aleqa said, "Yalem tam Menileknaw," literally "Menilek is world's sweetness", a phrase which by a play of words could, however, also be taken to mean 'Menelik is that leper' - reference to the fact that the monarch had a very visible skin disease on his lip.
No one, we are told, laughed except the Emperor!
The Quick – Minded Tortoise
Once upon a time all the beasts of the jungle assembled for a party. They ate and drank until there were no drinks left. They decided to send the tortoise to buy more drinks. She was given the money and went on her way. After waiting for many hours the animals began to complain. They were all saying how slow the tortoise was, when the door opened and the tortoise poked in her head. "Well," she said, "since you have insulted me like this, ' I am not going to go anywhere”.
Aleqa’s Lunch
One afternoon the legendary Aleqa Gabrehanna was waiting for his wife, Woyzoro Mazengiash, to give him lunch. But instead his wife kept tasting the wat (sauce) with her stirring stick. After waiting some time, Aleqa said, "Mazengiash, if that's how lunch is going to be served today, let me get my cane."
The Crazy Men and the Wise Man
A long time ago in a small village lived two crazy men who always contradicted each other. One day as they were walking together one asked the other, "Do you see the sun? Isn't it beautiful?" But, as usual, the other one said, "Are you blind? That's the moon, not the Sun." So they called a passing man and asked him to judge. Seeing that they were crazy, the man politely replied, "I am sorry, gentlemen, but I'm not from this village." I couldn't tell you what it is."
The Goose & the Golden Eggs
A man had the good fortune to own a remarkable goose. Every day it laid an egg of pure gold. The man grew rich, but the richer he grew the greedier he got. A gold egg a day was not enough for him-he wanted immense treasure in a hurry. He killed the goose. However, when he cut her open, instead of finding a horde of golden eggs, he found she was just like any other goose.
The Fox and the Crow
A crowed had stolen a large piece of cheese and had flown into a tall tree. A fox who had seen it happen said to himself, with a little cunningness, ‘I should be able to get that cheese for my supper.' He thought for a moment and then addressed the bird, 'Good afternoon Miss Crow: he began, 'You look really beautiful today. I've never seen your feathers so radiant. Your neck is as graceful as a swan, and your wings are as mighty as an eagle. As for your voice, everyone knows it is as sweet as a nightingale's. Won't you do me a favor and sing me something?' Pleased with such praise, the gullible crow started to caw. As soon as she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell out and the fox snapped it up.
Trotting off with the food; the fox made things worse by calling back the crow, ‘I may have overestimated your voice and your beauty, but I said nothing about your brains.'
The Ant and the Grasshopper
One day in winter an ant dragged out some grains of food' she had gathered during the summer. Seeing the seeds drying in the sun, a grasshopper asked the ant to give him some. 'Why do you come to me to be fed?' Asked the ant, 'what did you do during the summer?' 'Oh,’ answered the grasshopper, 'during the summer I sang.' 'Well, ‘said the ant, 'since you sang during the summer, during the winter you can dance.'
The Elephant, the Leopard, and the Goats
Once upon a time a leopard left its son in a certain place.
An elephant then came there, trod on the young leopard,
and killed it.
When this was reported to the father leopard,
.it asked who had killed its son. They told him,"It was an elephant that killed your son".
The leopard, however, replied, "No, it was not an,
elephant that killed my son; it was the goats who
did it! It was the goats who did this!"
The leopard thereupon slaughtered the goats. He knew
that it was the elephant that had killed his son, but
he took the goats because he was not as strong as
the elephant.
So is it to the present: if a man is wronged by ,
someone stronger than he; he attacks someone
who is weaker. And so they say, "The goats do
this, said the leopard".
The Chicken and the Knife
Once upon a time a family with a chicken had guests. They wanted to kill
it as a meal for their guests, but could not find a knife with which to
kill it. So they set the chicken free. The chicken there upon scratched
the ground with its feet, and uncovered the knife. When the family saw
the knife, they killed the chicken with the knife it had unearthed, and
gave it as a meal to their guests.
So it is said, "The chicken scraped out the instrument that killed it"
The Boar and the Elephants
Once upon a time, a boar who had got itself in the midst of a herd of elephants,
dug in the ground and found some food that it ate. There then came a hunter, who
pointed his gun at one of the male elephants, but missed and hit the boar.
In its death throes, the boar asked the elephants: "If it was an accident,
why, among all of you, should the bullet have hit me?"
The elephants then fled, leaving the boar to die alone. This is why today,
when many companions encounter some danger, they often say: "It is an accident,
said the boar; he alone was struck in the
midst of a herd of elephants".