Ethiopian Folktales

Narrated buy Rhamsey Schwoll

From the creation, God was very near to the people. He used to talk with them all the time. So many different people, having different ideas, having different wishes, were always complaining.

Usually, when the sun rises, someone says, “Please, God, the morning sleep is very, very nice. Let the sun wait a little bit. Let it not arise now.”

God would say, “Yes, you are right. I will delay it a little bit.”

In another way, someone who needed the sun in one way or another, said, “Please, why did you delay the sun? Why doesn’t the sun rise?”

So then God would bring the sun up.

During the day, someone might be walking during the hot sun, and she would say, “Please, God, I’m very, very tired because of the heat. The sun is too hot. Let is set.”

God would let it set right away.

Another one, on a journey, going to a far distance, before he could reach his destination, he would complain also, “Dear God, why do you let the sun set? Raise it up a little bit until I reach my destination.”

The sun will rise up once more until that person reaches there.

So God was very much disturbed because of these many complaints. One says one thing, God listens to him. Another says another thing, God listens to him. So God was confused because of many complaints brought to him by different men.

And then the fox, being very clever, said, “God, if you are near to the people, you will always be disturbed because you are listening to them all the time. Stay away. Never listen. Only give them indirectly every time. You are not a human being. You are God in your place. Never listen to these people’s different complaints. Stay far away from us, and only give us some blessing one way or another. So your creation is your creation and you should not be disturbed.”

So the sun remains as it is.

Setting and rising.