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1     Kebede and his wife lived in a small village in Ethiopia. He worked hard on his farm. He was wealthy and had a servant to take care of his cattle. They lived with strong love and joy. They were nice to everybody in the village. After three years of marriage, his wife got pregnant. She became very sick and exhausted. Kebede started to worry and prayed for her. Sadly, she died while giving birth to a baby boy. After that, Kebede could not manage anything because of the loss his lovely wife. He cried and blamed himself. He did not want go to out to his fields as usual.  He could not take care of his baby, so he hired a babysitter. After a few years, the elders of his village decided to talk to Kebede and give him advice.

2     They had great sympathy for him, but they told him, “Your son Abel is growing up fast. He needs a mother to give him love and care. You should marry someone in this village.’’ At first Kebede said no, but the elders pushed him to get married.

3     Kebede married a woman who had a good reputation in that village. She was very nice to Abel. She took care of them both and helped with everything. She always cooked delicious food and provided the Ethiopian coffee ceremony after they ate lunch. She cleaned the house well. When Kebede saw Abel’s happiness, he became a happy and strong worker again.

4     Abel was a handsome and smart student, and he wanted to know everything. Sometimes he went to the farm with his father to see how they planted and watered the crops. When the fall came, he was on school break, so he always went to the fields in the morning to work the land. The people in his village used oxen, hoes, sickles, and other traditional tools instead of a tractor to prepare the fields and harvest the crops. After farming, he and a servant would walk to the pond and pasture where the cattle were kept sot that he could learn how to take care of them. After five months, he knew everything about the fields and the cattle.

5     Abel’s stepmother had the desire to give birth to Kebede’s child and obtain part of the wealth. She was not able to do so, and began to feel jealous of Abel. She did not like how he was always finding an excuse to be home. When he asked her to go with them to his father’s fields, she became very upset. She yelled at him, and she told him he could not go either because he was not strong enough.

6     After that, he always sat at home when he came back from school. She gave him chores such as washing dishes and cleaning the house. He never said no. She was not happy about that, and she gradually changed her behavior. She wanted to do something worse to Abel. She offered to pay a lot of money to the servant if he would leave the house. The servant was very happy and left. She wanted to give more responsibility to Abel. Now Abel had to take care of the cattle after school in addition to all the other chores. It was such a big job that he stopped going to school after he graduated from high school. His father did not notice her behavior change because the stepmother pretended to be so nice to him whenever they were together.

7     When he took the cattle to the pasture to graze, he always passed an old man whose face was full of grace. The old man sat under the shade of a big tree and watched the people of the village pass by. When Abel walked past the old man, he always bowed to greet him, and he gave the old man a smile. The old man liked Abel because he respected and cared for everybody.

8     After many weeks seeing and greeting each other, they became friends. They sat under the shade of the big tree together, and Abel told him about his family, how he had started to work, and how he had left school. The old man also shared his life experiences. One day Abel was very angry and nervous about his stepmother because she hissed at him in front of his friends. He left the house and went to the old man to tell him everything. His face was red, and he was crying.

9     Then the old man said, “Listen carefully. I will give you two pieces of advice for living your life. My first advice is to never say any words when you are angry, and the second advice is to never touch somebody’s possessions without their permission. You will become more patient and honest.”

10    “Thank you so much. I will do these things in my life,” Abel replied full of hope and joy.

11    His stepmother became even more jealous and upset because of Abel’s success. She made plans to kill him and separate him from his father. She knew he liked porridge. So, one day he went to the field in the early morning to cultivate the land. In the fall, the weather would get rainy and cold in Ethiopia. When he came back back to the house, he was very tired, hungry, and cold. He smelled some delicious porridge in the living room. It made him excited, and he wanted to eat. Suddenly, he remembered the old man’s advice, and he did not touch it. He had not gotten permission to eat the food.

12    But the porridge was spoiled. His stepmother had done that purposely. She did not want to offer it to him because she did not want to suffer the consequences of the evil deed, but she secretly hoped he would eat it. She tried other ways to get him in trouble, but he never said a word. He decided to keep it to himself and live by the old man’s advice.

13    One day the king of the village wanted to find someone to marry his young daughter. He was very a wealthy man. The princess was beautiful, and every man wanted to marry her. The king wanted a man that had three qualities: honesty, handsomeness, and intelligence. The king called his guards, and sent them to find the man that had those characteristics. The guards roamed the village and the countryside and asked people “Who wants to marry the princess?” Many young men came to the king’s house to marry her, but he did not accept them. Finally, they asked the old man who sat in the shade of a big tree.

14    The old man said, “Abel is perfect.”

15    “Who is Abel?” asked the guards.

16    “The king of honest, handsome, and smart young men,” the old man said confidently.

17    They went to the king and told him about the old man and Abel. The king said “We need to see Abel now!”

18    The guards rushed to Abel’s house, and brought him to the king. When the king saw Abel, he immediately liked him. They had an open conversation, and the king realized how smart and honest he was. The king wanted Abel to be his daughter’s husband. The princess agreed to marry him. The king hosted the ceremony, and they got married.

19    On the wedding day, Abel gave a generous gift of cattle to the old man. He also thanked him for his kindness and advice. His father was filled with gratitude as well. Even his stepmother became happy because she had the job of managing all of their wealth.  Abel and princess lived together full of joy and prosperity.

20    I got this folktale from my mother. She told me a long time ago, but I created some details and finishing touches to make strong visual images for the reader. I chose this folktale because it has a strong message.