The Lion's Whiskers: An Ethiopian Folktale

**Lisa Bueno** (0:00)
Okay, our friends. So again, we will be journeying through the world to see if we can find some stories that we understand, right? And stories that we can compare to other stories.
This one is probably one of my favorite ones that we have found. It's also coming to us from Ethiopia. Do you know where that's at?

**SPEAKER_2** (0:27)
In Africa?

**Lisa Bueno** (0:28)
No. Ethiopia is a country in Africa. So we're going to read The Lion's Whiskers.
And this story has been told to us by Nancy Rainsday, and it's illustrated by Anne Griffalconi.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:44)
And it is read today by Mommy and...

**Philip** (0:49)
Philip.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:51)
Philip and Mommy in the house. Are you ready? Let's do it. Once there was a woman named Faneye who lived high in Ethiopia's mountains. Her home was a rugged place with few other people. Faneye longed for a family of her own, but a husband had never come her way and she had grown too old to have children. Who would want me as a wife now? She thought.
One day when Faneye was fetching water at the spring, a caravan of mules stopped. A merchant named Tesva owned the caravan. He talked to Faneye.
Is that right? Faneye. He talked to Faneye as his animals drank. He spoke of his loneliness since his wife had died of a fever. She spoke of her loneliness without a family in her tiny mountain village. Before long, the two agreed to marry. Faneye could scarcely believe her good fortune. She packed her few belongings and journeyed with Tesva to his home in the Flatlands. I have a surprise for you, said Tesva, ushering Faneye into the fine stone house. This is my son, Abebe.
He is the child I have always wanted, Faneye cried. Thank you, God, for sending me a son. She knelt to kiss the small boy, but Abebe backed away. Leave me alone, he said, scowling. You are not my real mother. That must have really hurt her feelings, huh?
But it also probably made him feel really sad at the same time.
He is still sad that his mother is dead, Tesva explained. I will love him all the same. Faneye answered. How would you feel in that situation?

**Philip** (3:22)
I would be so glad that even though my mother had died, now I have a new mother. I'd be happy like that.
Yeah.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:35)
For days at a time, Tesva would travel with the mules buying and selling goods in far off lands. He left a baby home to tend their sheep, goats and oxen. Faneye stayed with a baby trying to be a true mother. She cooked the thick spicy stew called Wacht with goats meat, her stepson's favorite. On her serving of the flat spongy injera, she piled the tougher meat, saving the tenders chunks for a baby. And injera is like a spongy kind of bread.
I don't want any, a baby said, pushing his portion away.
Your cooking isn't as good as my mother's.
And so it went. As soon as Faneye mended his torn shamath, a baby would run through the thorns and tear them again. His clothes, right? As soon as she patched his handmade leather shoes, he would wade into the river and ruin them.
Come, sit by me, and I'll read you a story, Faneye offered one morning. A baby, who loved stories, sat down. But when she put her arm around him, he jumped up. Don't try to act like my mother! He shouted, and he ran into the forest.
Faneye searched and called all day, but a baby never answered. That evening, Teshva returned, and only then did a baby come out of hiding. Faneye cried all night long. The next day, she set off for the cave of a medicine man, known far and wide for his wisdom. Faneye waited patiently among many women who had come for cures and advice. Please, she begged him, when her turn had come, make a magic potion that will cause my stepson to love me as much as I love him. First, the wise old man told her, you must bring me the ingredients I require. Anything, Faneye promised. I need three whiskers from the chin of an fierce old lion, the one that drinks from the river and prowls in the black rock desert beyond.
Faneye gasped, but the lion will kill me. Perhaps you can find a way, the wise man replied. Faneye longed to ease the ache in her heart. I will, she vowed. The woman spent a long night tossing, turning, and worrying. In the morning, she sat off, telling no one of her quest. Once across the river, she was scorched by the desert's dry heat. She trembled when she spotted the black-maned lion far in the distance. The ferocious beast picked up her scent on the wind and roared. Faneye ran home so fast, she could have won a race with a cheetah. The next day, Faneye took along some fresh meat. She saw the lion 100 yards off. When she knew that he had seen her, she plunked the meat on the black rock and walked away. Over her shoulder, she saw the lion claim his meal. The following day, Faneye returned to the black rock. This time, the lion was 50 yards away.