Tobbya, by Afawerk Gabre Yesus

Translation by Tadesse Tamrat of Ethiopia's first novel which first appeared in Amharic in 1900

Much is due to him who is kind to others.
Much is lost to him who does evil unto others.
A kind man never gives; he lends!

At the beginning of the Christian era, when the new religion was still in the process of being preached, the Christians were very few compared with the pagans. The pagans, moreover, counting on their superiority of numbers and greater power persecuted the Christians, invaded their land, plundered and devastated their possessions.

After every battle the pagans would massacre as many as they pleased and reduce to slavery all those who were captured alive. Very few as they were, the Christians were also strongly militant in defending their honor and the frontiers of their land. Victory was not the monopoly of any one side, the Christians and the pagans won the struggle at different times, neither wanting peace and reconciliation, each aiming at exterminating the other. Every year, every month, each side would fight and massacre the other.

Once upon a time the pagans came as usual to plunder the land of the Christians, to castrate, to kill or to enslave them. When the news of this pagan attack reached the ears of the Christian king he at once mobilized his forces, organized them under four Dejazmaches, or generals, and sent them to fight the enemy and defend their faith. The pagan army was, however, ten times as large as that of the Christians. The battle was therefore won by the pagans. Three of the Christian generals were killed in action; the fourth was captured alive by the enemy. Countless people lost their lives in the confusion that followed. Very few were captured alive. None of the Christian soldiers could escape from the hands of the enemy; no one returned home alive. After the victory the pagan army invaded the country of the Christians and took away as much spoils as they could.

The news of the Christian defeat reached every corner of the country. Everyone began to mourn the loss of bis relative on the battle field. The king himself was so overcome by the sudden news of this complete pagan victory and the loss of his army and his generals that he soon died of grief and shock. The Christians lost their king. They had no ruler. Their country soon became a wilderness.

The Christian general who was captured alive was sold into slavery by the soldier who captured him. The latter never knew that the man he was selling as a slave was actually one of the leading generals of the Christian army.

The man who bought him, however, was much pleased with his stature and strong build. He felt happy that he had bought such a strong slave. Counting on his strong appearance he always assigned to him the most difficult jobs in the household. He ordered him to cut the grass for his animals, to split wood for fire, to load the asses with big camping tents, and to carry the pole and pegs. All these occupations were, however, quite new to the unfortunate ex-general. When he tried to mow the grass his tender hands were cut by the blades of grass and bled. His fingers, used only to holding glass bottles (Birille) in his glorious days, developed hard scales as a result of daily work with the axe and similar implements. Nevertheless he tried his best to do everything for fear of provoking his master, and lest his master apply his cruel whips on his tender body. Finally, however, his swollen hands were sore with wounds, his shoulders on which he carried many things were also wounded, he could stand it no more. His master first thought that his new slave was beginning to be unwilling to work and began to scold him and even wanted to flog him for his negligence. But the ex-general could bear it no more. Whatever his master might do to him he determined to be frank with him. He showed his master his ailing body adding, "I have tried my best to obey, but there is nothing I can do."

His pagan master saw how the hard, manual work had done much injury to his new slave and began to suspect that this slave might be of noble origin. He asked the soldier who sold him the slave in what kind of clothes the slave had been captured. The soldier answered that the prisoner had worn many decorations which when sold had fetched much gold. The master was happy at this news. He concluded that his new slave was no ordinary man and must have been a big man in his country. Since he was useless for hard work, the master decided to make money out of him.

One day the master called the ex-general in private and said to him : "You Kafir (infidel) I bought you with much money from the man who captured you. I am now at complete liberty to do anything I like with you. But I feel guilty towards you. Now, send to your relatives at home. Ask them to send you 100,000 waqets, or ounces, of gold as ransom. On the receipt of that sum I shall let you go home safe and free!"

The ex-general however knew that the land of the Christians had been plundered. The king had died and the cattle were all taken by the enemy. Moreover, even if these sad events had not occurred neither the ex-general nor his family could raise so fantastic a sum. The general had lived a generous life. He had decorated and rewarded the valiant, he had given alms to the poor, and had never thought of hoarding money. All this he knew very well and said to his master: "I have no money to pay my ransom, I am poor. You can do anything you want with me."

His personal servants had all been killed in action. The king had died. He had no one on whom he could count at home. He only had his wife and his twin children, a boy and a girl, both only sixteen years of age. Each was a perfect image of the other. No one could distinguish one from the other except by their dress.

His wife and children were first told that he had lost his life in the war. Some time later, however they heard that actually he had been sold into slavery and that his master had asked 100,000 waqets of gold as ransom for him. This was a great relief to them. But to think of his sufferings and hardship as a slave of the enemy was very saddening and their inability to raise ransom to free him added much to their sorrow. They wept at their misfortunes. The king of the Christians had died and their country had been irrevocably devastated. Where could they possibly raise that amount of ransom for their dear one? Where? How could they liberate him? They could only weep every day, but their tears could hardly help them.

The boy, Wahid, decided to go to his father's master and offer himself as a slave in his place. His mother, however, would not let him go. She feared the pagans would deprive her of both her husband and her son. Finally the children Wahid and Tobbya, and their mother pondered over the matter and decided as follows: Wahid would hire his services to whomever might need them and save his earnings. Tobbya would collect wood for the fire, draw water, and prepare the family's food. Their mother would spin and thus earn something for her labor and help with the sowing. Lastly, they agreed to dismiss all their servants and other members of the household since they had nothing with which to pay them, and, still worse nothing with which to feed them. It was of course fantastic to think of raising 100,000 waqets of gold by saving the money they could thus earn, but what else could they do? That was the only thing left to them.

Their mother began spinning as much as she could. Wahid began looking for a master whom he could serve in return for a humble wage. Tobbya went out to collect sticks for the fire. Singing with childish innocence, she made herself entirely responsible for their food which consisted almost wholly of different leaves and various types of grass, and roots. She would collect these every day and prepare food for the small family. The three would then come together from their various duties, discuss their problems and eat what Tobbya could prepare for them. The next day each would return to his or her routine work.

One day Wahid, who was still looking for a job, came to a big town on the outskirts of which, in one of the green fields, he saw the camp of a big merchant. He approached it to inquire for work. He asked the keeper of the animals who the merchant was and whither he was going. The man told him: " This camp belongs to a big merchant. He deals in ivory, coffee, and civet. He is now going to Egypt."

" Thank you very much. Do you know if this merchant needs any servants?" asked Wahid. "Oh! yes," the man replied, " most of his servants are now laid up because of a fever that has broken out in the camp. The merchant has been much delayed because of this event and is looking for capable men. He has said he would pay double the normal wage for such servants!"

Wahid thought he was in luck at last, and happy at the news, ran to the camp without even saying goodbye to his kind informant. He approached the biggest tent which, he thought, must belong to the merchant. There he presented himself to the chief guard saying: " I have heard the news that his lordship wants servants. I have come to be one of them."

The guard could not believe his ears. It was unimaginable to him that a young boy in such noble dress and with such pleasant manners could offer himself as a caravan servant! But he was only a guard, he knew that his master was in desperate need of servants. He went into the tent, therefore, and said to his master, " Sir, a fine healthy young man is standing outside offering to be one of your servants." The merchant was irritated by the words, " a healthy young man."¹

"Eh! A healthy young man indeed?" he railed at his chief guard. As if I needed the contrary! As for sick men I already have them in hundreds, you fool!"

" But I said a fine young man, Sir," replied the guard, implying that he hardly looks suitable for caravan service."

The merchant did not wait to listen to this rejoinder. He hurried out of his tent to see the applicant, and the guard silently followed his master. When he reached the gate of the tent the latter looked here and there. There was nobody there except for the young, tender boy, Wahid. He turned to his guard with bewilderment and asked, " Where is the man you told me about?"

" It is I, Sir," began Wahid without giving the guard time to answer his master's question. " If you are willing, Sir, I have come to offer my services to you. Please accept them kindly." The merchant fixed the young boy with his eyes and With no little surprise. "Eh!" he began, "That is just the type of servant I really wanted for my caravan!" he added sarcastically, with a grunt.

" Sir," Wahid began his supplication, seeing that the merchant thought him a good-for-nothing, " It is said that a thin but obedient ox is much better at the plough than a fat and lazy one. Please do not judge me by my tender looks. I am capable of serving the caravan."

When he heard these wise words the merchant began to like the young boy.

" But why on earth," he began addressing his young friend, " why on earth should a fine and well-bred boy like you wish to work for a caravan? Your language is refined, your habits elegant, and your manners those of a man of noble birth. How then could love of money make you desire to be a servant of a merchant?"

Wahid did not interrupt the man. He let him speak out his heart. "Oh! Sir," he began at last, "it is not love of money really. Had you known my sad story, and the misfortunes that befell me and my family you would not have judged me so lightly."

" Excuse me," said the merchant regretting his hasty judgment. " Come and tell me your whole story. You know a man can at first sight only judge from appearances." Saying this he asked Wahid to saddle his mule for him. " We shall go out together and talk about everything," he added. Wahid immediately saddled the mule for the good merchant and they went out together. A few paces from the big tent the merchant said to Wahid, " Now, my friend, tell me all your problems."

The merchant had mounted on the mule and Wahid was walking by its side with his left arm on the saddle. The mule was trotting gracefully.

" Sir, you were right in thinking that I am of noble birth. I am the son of a Dejazmach. I used to live a life of ease and comfort. But as you know when the pagans invaded our country, the king mobilized his forces under his four generals and sent them to fight the enemy. One of these generals was my father. In the ensuing war, God was not willing to help the Christians and so the victory went to the pagans. Thousands of people died on the field; many others were captured alive and sold into slavery. Three of the generals lost their lives in action. My father was captured and sold as a slave. Recently, however, we heard that the pagan who bought him, suspecting from his looks that he was a rich man, has offered to free him provided he pays a ransom of 100,000 waqets of gold.

" At this news my mother, my sister and myself were saddened. We knew we could not raise that much ransom to free him. Moreover, my father never hoarded money; he only delighted in giving what he had to those in need. Where could we get that much money? Had the king been alive he would have paid it; but he died of shock as a result of his defeat. The land is devastated; the people have been massacred, the cattle have been plundered, and the harvests have been burnt down by the enemy. Where could one get money?

" After long and useless deliberation we decided that my sister be responsible for preparing our food. My mother earns some money by spinning and I have been assigned to seek service. My mother and I will save our earnings to help raise the ransom for my father. That is why I came to you. I would have liked to go and offer to be a slave in my father's place. My father has taken special care in raising me with much comfort and luxury. I would have liked to pay back what I owe him. My mother, however, would not allow me to do that. She thought she would lose both of us at the same time. She forced me to pledge myself before a priest that I would not try to do that!

"This is the reason why I want to be hired as a servant. Please Sir, do not judge me badly!"

The merchant listened carefully, with much feeling and sympathy, to Wahid's story. When Wahid finished his tale the man said to him: "I have some business in my tent. I shall go there. Return whence you came. May God help you in your plans!" All merchants carry a certain amount of money with them wherever they go. On this occasion the good merchant gave Wahid all the money he had with him in a bag. Before he parted with Wahid, however, he carefully asked him the name of his father and the name and address of his master. Wahid was very much excited at this generosity of a man he had never known. The boy carried the bag full of gold to his house trembling with emotion and unable to say a word. He was so happy that he did not even say goodbye to his benefactor! Neither did he ask the name and address of that good merchant. He simply ran off home with the money he had acquired.

Before he reached home, he hid himself in a bush, opened the bag the merchant had given him, poured the contents thereof onto his shamma and counted how much he had got. He found that the merchant had given him 40 waqets of gold. He was greatly pleased with that. He ran to his house, and surprised both his mother and his sister with his acquisition of the day. He told them the story of his meeting with the merchant, and how the latter had given him the money.

His mother and Tobbya were astounded at the generosity of the man, and when they thought of the possibility of their beloved one coming back to rejoin them their hearts beat with excitement. It was evident that the merchant had asked Wahid to saddle his mule for him and follow him out of the camp just because he wanted to create a favorable atmosphere for helping the boy if necessary. He thought it would be much easier for the boy to accept a gift as a return of some service, however small.

However generous the gift, it was for less than the amount asked as ransom. Therefore all three resumed their efforts to raise the required amount. Each drearily spent the day trying to earn as much as possible and when the day was done met together in the evening for supper.

One day they had gathered together as usual in the evening and Tobbya had prepared their food. She had cooked the vegetables she had collected for the day. She had laid the table and they were all having supper. They were speaking about the generosity of the good merchant. "When will be the day when we can save as much? When are we going to send the ransom? When is he going to be freed? When are we going to see his eyes again? It is going to take many, many years still", they were saying this, longing to see their father and regretting that they could not ransom him as soon as they wanted.

Just at that moment the door opened very gently. Someone entered slowly and stood in front of them. All three were taken by surprise. They looked at the strange man. It was their beloved father himself! They could not believe their eyes, thinking they were merely day-dreaming.

The man was also exhausted by his emotions at seeing all his dear ones together and at the same time. He just stood there motionless and with tears flowing down his face. He could not utter a word. Neither could they say anything. They could not even stand up and greet the man they had been longing to see! Some minutes passed in this way but they soon came to their senses; they began to realize that it was their father himself, the man they had so much desired to see, the man they had so much missed. All stood up at once and ran to him throwing themselves on him one after the other. None could wait until the other had greeted him. No. They embraced him all at the same time : one of them hung on his neck, the other clung to his waist and third fell on his knees. It was a scene full of emotion. Anyone who saw these poor souls at that moment would verify it.

Neither could the father control his emotions. His eyes were wet with tears and his voice was choked as he spoke: "How are you my dear ones? How are you? How could you raise so much ransom for me," he asked them tenderly crying like a small child. "Where could you get that much to liberate me from slavery? I never tried to save money for such an unfortunate emergency. Where could you get it?"

They did not know what to answer. They knew very well that they had as yet sent no money to free him. They were only trying their very best to save as much as they could and to raise the required amount. They were nonplussed. They merely looked at each other. When he saw that no one was answering his question the father turned his face toward Wahid and asked: "Wahid, you, my son? But where could you get so much money?" Wahid had no answer. He was sure he had not sent a cent! After a lapse of some minutes, however, Wahid remembered the good merchant who had before so generously given him some waqets of gold. "Ah!" he cried. "Now I know who sent the money to liberate you. Father, do not think it was me. No." He then told his father the story of the good merchant, how he had given him forty waqets of gold and how he had finally asked him the names of his father and that of his pagan master and the latter's whereabouts.

When he heard the story, the father was greatly amazed at God's mercy. He began to thank Christ and bless the good merchant who had liberated him from slavery. "My son," said the Dejazmatch, "that good merchant who never knew me and whom I never knew, who is not related to me at all, that man sent so much money to pay for my freedom? Not only that. He sent me a good horse and sufficient provisions for my return journey. Thus did he enable me to be amongst you once again, to mix with my children and my beloved wife, to come back to my sweet home and be happy again! I must therefore go and meet my unknown benefactor. Of course, I cannot pay back what he has done for me. But I can at least thank him for his kindness and bless him in the name of God. My son, please take me to his camp if he is still around."

But Wahid knew only the merchant's face. He did not even know his name or whence he came. He had forgotten to inquire of such matters in the excitement of his sudden acquisition of the 40 waqets of gold! He was ashamed of himself. " Where can I now find that good man?" he began to worry. " Where can I find that wonderful man who has been so generous to us, who has brought back our father to us. What can I do to find him?" Finally he decided that he would not rest until he found the merchant and told him of the happiness he had restored to him and his family. He would not stay at home until he had done that. He would travel around the world, even until his death, to find that good merchant. With this decision Wahid prepared his provisions for the long journey, seized his traveling stick, took leave of his family with much difficulty and set out on his long journey.

At first Wahid traveled fast. He went in the direction of the town at the outskirts of which he had just met the merchant camping with his large caravan. As soon as he approached the gates of the town Wahid turned his eyes to the field, where the merchant's tents had been pitched. He spent quite a long time just looking at the area where the man had camped, thinking about the merchant. He began to cry, and sat down until his eyes were clear of the tears that filled them. Some time later he stood up and resumed his journey toward the town, always looking towards the place where the camp used to be. He looked at nothing else. As a result his neck was strained and his feet were repeatedly struck by obstacles on his way. Careless of all these Wahid continued his way and finally entered the walls of the town. But what could he do there? He did not know the merchant's name; he did not know where he lived. He could therefore neither ask anybody about the man nor go to his house. He found his ideas were silly. He was confused. He just stood at the center of one of the cross-roads like a simple fool who did not know what to do or where to go. Wahid was a young boy who was always used to a comfortable life; it was only during the short absence of his father that he had had a little taste of the hard life. Now, in that town where he knew nobody he began to feel thirsty. Hunger was added to that. He began to yawn repeatedly, and his eyes became heavy with fear. All this while, however, Wahid never regretted his decision to look for the man to the end. He was determined, once and for all, that he would search for the man even until his death if necessary. Nothing would persuade him to change his mind!

When hunger and thirst got hold of him he approached a nearby spring, ate sparingly of his provisions, and drank a good deal of water. He then thanked God for His generous gifts of nature and got up to resume his search. He began to go round the town. He went to all the squares and public centers, to the various streets, to the churches and to many other places. All was in vain. He could not find his man. Wahid began to despair. It was now fifteen days since he came to the town. All this while, Wahid wandered around the town during the day and spent his nights in the porches of the churches taking shelter from wild beasts. He realized that the rich merchant he was looking for was no longer in the town. " Where then can I look for him?'" he began to ask himself. After a long time he decided to go to all caravan camps to join in the journeys of such caravans, and to look for the merchant in this way. That became his final decision.

On the morrow Wahid left the town and set out in one direction at random in search of caravans and caravan camps. Every time he came to a hill he would climb it and try to look from the top to see if there were any caravans or camps around. Whenever he met passers by he inquired whether they had seen caravans on their way. If they told him the direction whither they saw caravans heading, or the place where they had seen caravan camps, Wahid would immediately run in that direction, catch up the party and search for the good merchant among the traders. The only way he could know this man was, of course, by seeing his face. He could not ask for the man by his name as he did not know it. Thus did Wahid continue his fruitless search for his benefactor. He spent the day running now in this direction, now in that, wherever he heard caravans were to be found, and spent the night wherever he was caught by the sudden approach of nightfall.

One day, after the usual long and tedious search Wahid came to a place where no sign of human habitation was to be found. Far away beyond the wilderness he saw a big caravan camp. He thought it looked liked the one in which he had met the good merchant and at once felt happy. He wanted to reach that camp before dark and began to run. But he had to cross many rivers and wide plains. The more he ran towards it the more did the camp seem to retreat from him. The sun was setting and night began to fall. Gradually it became difficult to see. There was no moonlight to help him.

The sweet songs of birds heard in the daytime were now replaced by the ugly voices of insects and wild animals. On either side of the poor boy walking in the darkness wolves and foxes began to howl; hyenas, leopards and lions made frightening noises all around him. Nevertheless Wahid continued his way alone in the midst of the wilderness, and shivered with fear and uncertainty.

Before sunset the songs of the birds had been a source of consolation to him, but now he was surrounded by the cries of wild beasts. He was very worried. He wanted to rest and spend the night there, but there was no shelter. If he slept where he was the wild beasts would soon devour him. Wahid was at a loss what to do. He decided to defend himself from the wild beasts rather than be eaten by them in his sleep. Furthermore he decided that he would not rest until he came to the caravan camp he had seen from afar early in the afternoon.

In the meantime it was getting darker and darker. He could no longer see his way, and began to be very frightened. He thought he saw wild animals everywhere, a hyena, a leopard or a lion, laying in ambush for him! "The hyena will soon eat me up," he began to think. " The leopard will tear me to death with its cruel claws ,and the lion will break my bones into pieces! Oh! Woe unto me tonight! If I escape the one I shall certainly be the prey of the other!"

What else could he do? Wahid's fear was justified. He was only a young boy. Regardless of his fears and the darkness that had engulfed him he continued his way in the direction of the camp he had seen. At one juncture of this nocturnal journey he saw what he thought was a lion. He was startled to death. His strength began to fail him. The more he looked at the terrible object the more his fears seemed to be confirmed; he thought the lion, thus created by his own fears, would suddenly jump onto him and devour him mercilessly. Wahid wanted to scare the object of his fears. He wanted to give the lion the impression that he was surrounded by many people. He then shouted with different voices to produce the effect of many persons running after it: " Courage! Courage!"" he shouted. " Surround it. Don't let it go."

It was, however, simply his own imagination. There was nobody there except himself, except his own shadow which added to the darkness that confused his thinking. The object that he thought a Hon was simply a bush. It would not move an inch whatever his endeavors to scare it! Wahid then thought he must change his course to avoid the terrible beast. Nevertheless when he looked back in the direction of the bush he still thought that the lion was following him. Wahid gradually became almost too weak to move, his fears enormously reduced his strength. There was no shelter in which to spend the night and protect himself from wild beasts. He thought of climbing a tree and thus avoid any dangers, but by a strange coincidence there was no tree to be found there. Wahid began to worry greatly. His fears increased with every minute that elapsed. Everything around him seemed to him some wild beast ready to devour him on the spot. He changed his course every time he thought he saw a wild beast in front of him. While thus changing directions every now and then he came to a small cave which suddenly appeared on his way. He was taken aback. He was frightened to death. A cold sweat broke out over his face and body. "I just escaped one lion," he thought with complete despair, "and here I am again in front of another! I shall not be able to escape this time!" His whole body was shivering like a reed in an evening breeze. He tried to use his former stratagem of scaring the object by shouting with different voices. He shouted and shouted until his throat cracked with thirst. But all was in vain. The object would not move an inch! Wahid thought he had not shouted enough and so he began to shout with more strength and intensity until he could shout no more. But all was of no effect. At last Wahid began to doubt the reality of his fears. He began to suspect that the object of his fears might just be a dark inanimate thing! He knelt down in front of the small cave and began to stare hard at it. He wanted to see if the object moved. After some minutes of close observation he thought that the object did move a little. He still stared at it, and now he thought it was even making some advance towards him! He stared so hard that his eyes were strained and filled with tears. He was, however, too frightened to make any movement himself or to clean his eyes. His tears confused his sight all the more and gave him the impression that the terrible object was heading towards him with more rapidity. Later, however, Wahid succeeded in mustering enough courage to throw some pebbles into the cave from where he was kneeling. A small bird which had been sheltering in the cave, as if by providential coincidence made a sudden noise and, slapping the leaves with its wigs, took off and flew away in the darkness. At first this confirmed Wahid's fears. He thought that the terrible wild beast was finally about to jump on him and devour him. With this desperate idea in his head Wahid held his breath and lay flat on the ground like a dead body. He waited and waited, but nothing happened. "Am I still alive?" he asked himself. Then he began to make slight movements to see if he had been bitten by the wild beast or not. He found nothing. At first he had closed his eyes, now he reopened them with much hesitation and found out, to his surprise, that let alone a lion, not even a rabbit was in sight. He even began to breathe deeply and rose to his feet. He looked into the cave once again. It was still there. It did not move. He looked hard at it with a strange mixture of fear and wonder. "Did I not hear the terrible beast fly away, or was there no beast at all?" he thought. "I am sure I have seen it with my own eyes. Did it not bite me without my knowing?" He tried to inspect his body. There was no sign of any attack. "What could it be?" he began to ask himself. "What could it be that frightened me so much? Could it be just my own troubled imagination? Anyway it is good that nobody saw me in this frantic state! How can a man be so much deceived by his own fears?" Wahid laughed at himself and resumed his journey.

Wahid now gained some strength. His spirits revived again. He wanted to reach the camp beyond before daybreak. It was, however, too late. It was past midnight. Even the constellation of the six stars whose twinkling light had given some consolation had now disappeared. It became darker than before. Wahid kept losing his way but always found it again. At last he could see the fire of the camp beyond. Now his strength revived with renewed hope and he continued his way in the direction of the camp fire. At this point he reached a river. He went down into the valley to cross it. In the meantime he lost sight of the campfire.

There was no moonlight. The morning star had not yet appeared. Though the night was half over the darkness had not yet given way to light. Moreover the walls of the deep valley and the shadows therein added to the darkness that prevailed. Wahid hastened his steps down the slopes of the walls of the valley. But he lost his sense of direction and lost his way. What could he do? He had made up his mind to reach the merchant's camp he had seen and wanted to do that at any cost! He literally crawled down to the bed of the river regardless of the darkness, the thorny bushes that covered the ground, and the difficulty of knowing the direction he had to follow.

No one knows whether the water of an unknown river is good to drink or not. Wahid did not care to know. He had been parched with thirst for the last few hours. His throat was cracking for want of water, and he had lost practically all his voice. As soon as he reached the river he knelt down and drank the water as if it were Tej (honey wine) or Telia (beer). He never cared to examine its cleanliness. He only tried to free it from the jelly-like green that covered it at the surface by blowing on the stagnant water. After he had his fill he thanked God for that, sat down on one of the rocks and began seriously to consider how to cross the river. At first he thought the river was too deep for him. He could not assess how deep it was. Neither could he know which was the best ford. He could not swim and therefore feared to start crossing the river at any point. The river had no falls at that point, and Wahid had heard people say that a gently-flowing river with no falls was generally deep. He did not know what to do.

While he was thus worrying, there came, by a strange coincidence, a mule who had escaped from the merchant's camp on the other side of the river. It had been very thirsty, like Wahid himself, and had come there to get some water. The young man's former fears of beholding a wild beast and of being devoured by one returned to him when he saw the mule advancing towards him. However he realized by the sound it made that it was a mule. When it reached him it immediately entered into the water and began drinking to its fill. Wahid could now see that the river was not very deep. He immediately thought of getting hold of the mule and of riding it to the camp which he was resolved to reach that night. Therefore he had to catch it before it had finished drinking. He slowly but surely advanced through the water in the direction of the mule, always feeling its depth with his long stick. Thus he crossed the river. In the meantime the mule shook its head and ears and looked back at the wafer as if hesitating as to whether to drink more or not. At that time Wahid approached the animal and caught it by the collar. He first feared that it might kick him and began stroking its body gently to make sure. The mule submitted to his entreaties as though it had realized how much the young boy had suffered before, as though it sympathized with him and wanted to give him rest by letting him ride on its back. After confirming that the mule was quite tame, he led it to a rock, and climbed on its back. He turned it in the direction it had come from and addressing it directly said, " Now you take me to your camp." The mule followed the road to the camp and proceeded as though it understood every word he said. At times, however, when it came to a place along the road it would suddenly stop, graze a little, and resume its journey to the camp at its own convenience. And Wahid never urged it to go faster. He only clung tightly to its mane to avoid falling. He did not spur the animal. He just allowed it to trot as it wished. This he did because he felt it would show ingratitude if he tried to tire the animal when it, of its own free will, had allowed him to catch and ride it. " A guest never acts as the master of his host's house!" he thought.

The mule moved slowly and leisurely to join its fellow-animals at the camp. As it approached the camp the mule-keepers heard its footsteps and came running in that direction. They had just discovered it was missing and were looking for it everywhere. When he saw this Wahid was afraid of being caught riding a mule that belonged to others. So he immediately dismounted and thought of hiding in the bushes around. But the keepers of the night surrounded the mule and were trying to catch it with the help of ropes. Wahid was thus discovered and caught. He could not run away to escape his captors; he was too tired because of his long journey. His feet could hardly move!

When they found the boy with the mule, the guards naturally thought that Wahid had unfastened it from camp and had been caught while taking it away. " Damn you, thief," they shouted at him and beat him cruelly. All his supplications and entreaties passed unheard. Please listen to me, I &m not a thief!" shouted Wahid weakly. It was all in vain. " You thief, you liar, we have caught you red-handed and now you are saying that you are no thief!" they shouted back at him and continued beating him. When they reached the camp some of them fastened the mule in the stable while the rest tied Wahid's hands and legs very tightly and left him helplessly lying on the ground face downwards.

The cruel guards had tied Wahid so tightly that he could not move; he could hardly even breathe. He was almost like a goat about to be slain. Compared to the poor boy the mules and the other beasts of burden were in much better condition. They only had one of their legs tied to a pole and plenty of fodder was spread before them. Wahid envied these creatures! "Oh if they had tied only my legs!" he exclaimed. " If only I could breathe with ease like those fortunate animals!" Breathing was now almost out of the question for him. He almost burst his lungs. He turned his big bright eyes to left and right. There was nobody to come to his help. Nobody would stand by him or try to loosen his thongs. The suffering and affliction he was subjected to was comparable to that of the martyrs we read of in religious books. Each of the guards slapped him in the face, struck him with his fist, and kicked him. Wahid passed the night under such cruel conditions.

At daybreak almost all the members of the caravan who heard the story of Wahid's capture stood around the ailing young boy; they saw his body sore with every kind of wound everywhere. These wounds were inflicted on Wahid as a result of his long journey in the darkness. His captors thought, however, that this confirmed their suspicion that Wahid was a thief. They believed that, even before his capture he had been caught stealing at some other place, whipped and beaten. This explained, they thought, the wounds that could be seen on almost every part of his body. Some of the merchants thought of giving the young culprit over to the local chiefs for appropriate judgment. Others said that they should keep him tied up and carry him with them.

Wahid's condition in the meantime became worse and worse. He could not breathe normally and became very weak—let alone traveling a long journey with the caravan he did not even have the strength to open his eyes. Some of the merchants around him kept on kicking Mm and asking him whence he came. He could not answer. He was too weak to do anything! He was almost at the point of death.

They pulled and pushed him around but he was almost dead. At this point the majority of his captors thought that the boy would soon die and that they would be held responsible for his death. It was now very late in the morning and they had to get started on their journey. They had no time to go to the local chief and pass Wahid over to him. They simply untied him and left him lying on the dusty camp-ground.

Wahid had nothing to eat, nothing to drink and there were no relatives to come to his aid. In the previous night he had been out-of-doors and had been subjected to the bitter cold; now he was left lying there in the burning sun. He had no strength to rise up or crawl to the shade. In the last few days he had been exhausted by continuously traveling day and night. Besides, his captors the previous night had subjected him to the cruelest treatment. Moreover the pain of having been tied up hands and feet had almost broken his tender bones. It was now two days since he had had anything to eat. Where could he get the strength to move an inch? Though still alive, Wahid could do nothing to help himself. He lay flat in the sun waiting for the last moment when he would pass away. He was sure that he would die.

A man does not die except on the day Christ has put aside for him. Wahid was not destined to die at that moment. An elderly woman came by the deserted camp ground to collect the rubbish for fuel. She saw the body lying there. At first she thought that it was something forgotten by the merchants. As she approached the body however, she saw it was human. She walked on the tips of her toes and examined the body from a distance. She thought it was dead. She was much frightened and would not approach nearer. Nevertheless she aid not like to return without making sure whether the man was actually dead or not. At this point she held her breath and approached the body on tip-toe. She stared at the body. It showed no sign of life. She decided that it was in fact a dead body which had lain there for days. She covered her nose to avoid any smell that might come from what she thought was a rotting body. She came within a few steps of the body: "What man are you?" she began to ask. "What happened to you?" There was no answer. She kept on looking at the motionless body. She tried to make sure whether she knew the person. In the meantime she saw Wahid's eyes. They were half opened. They moved a little and looked at her as if imploringly. From the look in his eyes it seemed that he was saying to the lady, "Courage! Courage, good lady. I am not yet dead. Come nearer and see my ailing body, and if you can, please help me." She felt pity towards the boy. "What happened to you, my brother?" she asked with much feeling. The poor boy could not reply. The woman wept and struck her chest with her fists. ²In the meantime she ran to her house and came back with a qwancha³ of milk in one hand and water in the other. She put down the quancha of milk, raised Wahid's head with one hand, and gave him the water to drink. " Your throat must be cracking with thirst" she said to him kindly. "Drink a little water at first to moisten it." Wahid felt the cool water on his lips. He had no strength to draw in any drops at all. Now that she saw that his cracking lips were moist the good old lady applied the qwancha of milk to his mouth. Wahid swallowed two mouthfuls with much difficulty. This seemed to do him much good. He could now open his eyes and he began to breathe normally. The good old lady was much gratified at the success of her efforts and put her inquib⁴ under his head to serve him as a pillow. She ran to a small hill nearby and called her husband who was ploughing beyond. "Come here, come" she called to him. "I need your help." Her husband left his plough and his oxen in the field and came running. The lady gave him no time to ask questions. "Please help me," she said immediately. "Let us carry this fine young man to our house and care for him until he recovers." These kind people carried the boy to their house and laid him on their bed and cared for him like a good mother and father until he had completely recovered. Wahid was astonished by this couple and wondered at the diversity of this world. He contrasted their kindness with the cruelty of the caravan guards and began to philosophize. "Oh! This world is full of both evil and good. It is full of both the kind and the cruel."

Finally he decided to take leave of these kind people. "May God reward you for whatever you have done for me," he said to them. "I have nothing to give you in return, except my thanks. I have become strong again, thanks for your kind care. I must now continue my journey." His hosts prepared him provisions for the journey and showed him the way. At last they warned him. "Do not forget what you have suffered before. The people of this world are bad and cruel. Be careful in the future and do not travel alone. We had only one son. A group of Moslems found him alone on one of the highways, caught him, and sold him into slavery. Here we are, robbed of our only son, our only heir and hope, with nobody to care for us when we become old. You must beware of similar possibilities. You are still very young. Be careful not to be captured and sold by such heartless people!" With these last words they said goodbye to Wahid and returned home .

This time Wahid asked the names and addresses of his two benefactors and their lost son before taking leave of them. He did not want to commit the same mistake which had led to all these troubles. He then resumed his journey. He went very far but he never knew where in the Dega (highlands) or Qolla (lowlands) he was heading or what was his destination. He only followed the tracks of every caravan he heard of. When somebody told him that a group of merchants were going one way he would follow that direction until he had ascertained that his man was not there. In the course of this useless search, Wahid crossed unawares the frontiers of the country of the pagans. However he still did not find the good merchant for whom he was looking.

The languages of the people, their customs, and their manners became unintelligible to him. He was now in the country of a strange new people. Wahid was now seriously worried. He could not go back because he had resolved to travel until he found his man. Moreover he did not know which way he had come and had completely lost his sense of direction. West and East became almost the same thing to him. While thus worrying night suddenly fell on him. "1 shall ask for shelter in one of these houses," he said to himself. "It is better than just being devoured alive by hungry wild beasts." With this in mind he went to one of the nearest houses and asked for shelter for the night.

The villagers surrounded him. They looked very happy at seeing the strange boy. They did not understand his language. But from his gestures they understood that he asked to be allowed to spend the night in one of their houses. He was more than welcome to them. They were exceptionally happy. Some of them went to his left, some to his right and ceremoniously took him to one of the houses. For a man who did not know their motives the welcome these people accorded Wahid would certainly seem one of genuine hospitality and of the type accorded to a gallant soldier coming back victorious from a battle field. They offered him a wonderful supper. Wahid began blessing these kind people who, he thought, just wanted to be hospitable to him. Their true motives was, however, to treat the young boy with all kindness and to feed him so that he would become quite presentable at the slave market on the morrow. In the meantime they inspected his whole body and saw the wounds that had been inflicted upon him by the caravan keepers but which had now been cured. They pressed hard on to his body to see if he still felt pain. They were worried that this might actually depreciate his value in the slave market. But Wahid never suspected that his fate was being decided by these people. He thought that they acted out of genuine concern for him and the suffering he had undergone. He felt they were sympathizing with him. "These wounds have now been cured," he said to them. "I am well now!" But none of them understood, nor cared to understand him. They were only concerned about the amount of money they would get for him on the morrow. They put him in a very safe place and watched him throughout the night to make sure that he did not escape. The next morning they awoke him very early and gave him some porridge to eat. Then they began anointing his whole body with marrow! This looked very strange to Wahid. He was only accustomed to being anointed, whenever necessary for health reasons, with butter very carefully boiled with sendel and other perfumes. He never knew that human beings could be smeared with marrow like cowhide or ropes made out of animal skin. He therefore reacted against the application of the marrow on to his body. "Please do not touch me with that," he cried. "I do not want it at all." Though they did not understand his language the men could tell from his looks and gestures that Wahid resented the marrow. His supplications, of course, made no difference to them for the only thing they wanted was a handsome amount of money for Wahid. With his belly filled with porridge and his body abundantly anointed with marrow this hope was more than possible. Wahid resigned himself and allowed his stubborn hosts to do what they wanted. It still had not dawned on him that they had any motives other than helping him recover from his wounds. "Oh God!" he exclaimed full of wonder, "How kind and hospitable are the people of this country."

On the morrow, around 10 o'clock in the morning his hosts beckoned him to follow them. he thought that those kind people wanted to take him out for a walk and followed them immediately. They surrounded him and he walked in their midst. Soon afterwards they reached a fair-sized village. It was surrounded by a wide moat as if it were the fortified castle of some lord! It was then encircled by a big stone wall at the top of which were placed small branches of acacia and other thorny trees so that no one could succeed in jumping over the wall. Within that wall were many big rectangular houses and two round ones. There were only two gates to the village, a very narrow one on one side and on the other a much bigger one. The latter was specially made for mounted persons to enter the village with ease.

At the main gate was stationed a man as black as Satan himself. His chest was very wide; his stature very short, his eyes as red as burning fire, and his nose as flat as if a roller had been intentionally applied. He had diligently decorated his normally massive arms which were as thick as the feet of an elephant with large rings made of copper and tin. Around his naked belly he wore a large belt on which hung a curious sword with four blades. This strange man stood at the gate with a deadly stick in his right hand ready to strike anybody who would trespass into the compound without permission.

Wahid thought that the fortress belonged to the local governor. The men who brought him there had sent a message announcing their arrival to the owner of the house. They were soon given permission to enter. With his hosts on either side Wahid passed the gate, and immediately observed a group of wretched human beings coming in from every direction. Some were crying; others looked deeply pensive and worried about their fate. Wahid began to suspect that all was not well. He realized that all the kindness shown to him the previous night was not without some ulterior motive after all. He patiently waited to see the end of the strange drama. What else could he do? Wahid was now in a very unfortunate situation. He did not understand the language of the people around him. He could only look around, and guess what they meant! The dreadful place belonged to one of the big slave dealers. The strong walls around, the thorns on top, and all the fortifications were there simply to ensure that no slave escaped his unpleasant lot.

The chief slave-dealer came out of his house and began inspecting the human merchandise brought to him for sale. He began making inquiries about their price. At length he came to Wahid. He inspected the arms, the legs and the general stature of the boy. After a short amount of bargaining Wahid witnessed his own sale into slavery. He saw his new master handing a number of dollars to the men who had brought him there. Those "kind and goodly" people returned home with the money which they had so easily acquired for Wahids" youthful head and left the boy behind them.

Fortunately his new master was not too hard on Wahid. He did not seek to make money on this young boy. Indeed he even did not want him to work like a slave. He liked the tender looks, the manners and personality of Wahid and let ham grow in his house as a playmate of his own children.

Even under these conditions Wahid never forgot the object of the journey. "How can God" he thought, "Jet me stay in the hands of these pagans?" How can he deny me the opportunity to meet that good merchant and rejoin my beloved family?" Gradually Wahid came to know many Christians like himself who had been sold into slavery and were serving the same master. He began to make friends with them. He asked these men the place of their origin, their names, and those of their relatives. He did this with much precaution for fear of being discovered toy his master and punished.

Among these slaves was the son of those kind people who found Wahid lying in the deserted camp of the merchants who had beaten him almost to death. Those people had told Wahid the name of their son before he had left them. This fortunate discovery pleased Wahid greatly. Wahid told the boy that his parents had been very kind to him. He also told him that they were weeping day and night over the loss of their son. Wahid and his new friend began to lake each other. They became almost one. They shared their secrets and had common hopes of one day returning to their respective homes.

It was one year now since Wahid set out on his unfortunate journey. His family still did not know his whereabouts and were convinced that he had lost his way. They waited and waited, always weeping and mourning for the return of Wahid. It was all in vain. At last Wahid's father resolved to look for his son, he saddled the horse that the good merchant had sent him for his return home and set out on his search for Wahid. There was nobody who could accompany him. He had lost his servants and followers as a result of "the war: some had fallen in the battlefield, some had like himself been captured and sold into slavery by the enemy, and when he returned home he had himself fallen into poverty with the whole country desolate and the king dead. When she saw her father set out on a long journey without any companion, Tobbya feared that her father would also lose his way. She began to cry and would not let him leave alone. "Father" she implored him, "how can you go alone on such a long journey? You have never been used to traveling alone, nor to the hardships that accompany such journeys. Who will bring fodder for your horse? Who will draw water for you when you feel thirsty? Please, father, let me follow you on this journey. Do not leave me behind, father. I can at least break the monotony of the long journey by conversing with you. I can also graze the horse for you. Please do not leave me behind!" Tears were flowing down her beautiful cheeks as she spoke. Her father understood her worries, he felt her love for him, and began himself to cry.

"No, my child, no. You cannot do that, my dear. You are still a young girl. You have never been exposed to extreme cold and heat. How can you stand such a long journey with the thirst and hunger that accompany it? How? Oh, no, my beloved, you cannot come with me."

"I shall not let you leave alone. No. I am coming with you, Father, I can." Tobbya implored her father to let her go with him. But her father was still adamant. He saw the difficulties they would have to face if he took a young girl, still in tender years, on such a dangerous journey.

"You cannot help me in anything. On the contrary you will be a hindrance to me. You will delay my success in finding Wahid. No, Tobbya, you are not going with me." He told her very clearly the problems they would face if they went together. "Look here, Tobbya," he tried to convince her, "You are still very young. You have been brought up with much comfort and luxury, with tej for your daily beverage. How can you stand the thirst and hunger and the fierce heat of the sun? How can your feet which are used to the softness of Persian carpets, stand the thorns and gravels of the road? No, Tobbya. You must stay at home with your mother." With this final resolution he embraced her and kissed her cheeks. Tobbya was still not convinced. She did not give up her insistence on traveling with her beloved father. "Father, do not worry about me," she told him. "I am still young and can get used to new conditions of life. Indeed it is only the licentious and the corrupted type of rich fortune: a disciplined, intelligent person can easily get used to poverty and hard life, if need be. This will not be difficult for me. On the other hand, if you leave me behind my worries about you and Wahid will almost kill me. It is much better for me to go along with you and participate in your search for my brother."

"Why do you not understand, Tobbya?'" reproved her father. "What about your mother? What will people say if I take you with me? How can we leave your mother alone with nobody to console her if the worst comes?"

"Oh! forget what people will say," remarked his wife. "Do not worry about me. I can easily get an elderly woman who can live with me. The only thing that worries me is that Tobbya might be tired on the way, and then she would be another problem for you. However, if she feels she can do it, you do not have to worry about me." With this the lady turned to Tobbya and asked her. "My dear child, do you really think you can make it?"

"Yes, Mother, Yes. If you do not mind being left alone and if you permit me to go with Father, Mother, I am sure I'll make it. Only help me to get his consent."

Before her father gave bis consent, an idea occurred to Tobbya. But she was afraid to tell it to her parents. "The only problem, Father, is . . ." she began. Courage prevented her completing her sentence. Her father understood that something was running in her mind, something she was afraid to express. "Come, my child. Tell me, what are you thinking about?"

She plucked up her courage and decided to break the news. She had her own plan about the journey but she was too shy to explain it directly. "You know, Father, two persons look much stronger than just one." Tobbya began digressing, still afraid to come to the actual point. "Even a lion, our deadliest enemy, will think twice before he attacks two people. But," continued the young girl coming to the point, "but, it is only when the two persons are men that they look stronger. Nobody is afraid of the fair sex. I must therefore leave my woman's garb when I travel with you, and be dressed like a b . . . b . . . " She was too shy to say the last word of the sentence. Her father, however, understood her plan and said, "you mean, dressed like a boy. Don't you?" Tobbya did not dare to look at her father's face. She covered her eyes with both hands and said in a voice choked with fear and emotion, "Yes, Father. That is what I mean. Well, I could not think of anything better, Father." It was now clear to her father that his daughter was really resolved to go with him. He did not want to detain her any longer. "Fine," he said at last. "Come now. Get ready, and let us go. Quick." Tobbya was very happy. She immediately had her beautiful long curly hair cut in the fashion of a boy. She put on a boy's garb and took leave of her mother. Father and daughter then set out on their long journey.

After many days of traveling Tobbya and her father reached the town which Wahid had told them would be his first destination. But they did not know anybody there. They could ask no one about Wahid. They only wandered around the squares and the market places looking for him; but it was all in vain. At last they thought that Wahid might have met the merchant. That merchant, Wahid had told them, carried many items of trade to and from Egypt. They decided therefore to wait for the merchant at the main halt at which caravans to Egypt left the country. If Wahid had met the good man, they believed, they would find him with the caravan on its trip to or from Egypt. They asked people to show them the direction of the place. But the road they followed took them elsewhere; it led them to a place they had never dreamed of. The path would now take them to the area of Weyna Dega or land of middle elevation, now to a Qolla or lowland etc. Finally they came to a very rich Dega or highland. Their hearts palpitated with happiness as they saw the rich, beautiful scenery from beyond. It was harvest time. They could see hundreds of bundles of grain all stacked in piles. Many laborers could also be seen in the fields reaping and collecting the crops. Moreover, there were fields tilled with young crops, and others just being sown with various kinds of seed. It was a splendid sight that would make one's hunger fade away even without tasting food.

Tobbya's strength revived at the sight of this wonderful scene. Her father was very happy to see his daughter so strong. She had of course put on an A'jet'e Bbab (a narrow-sleeved, knee-long, shirt) and a shannna (a cotton sheet worn by both men and women over their tight-tailored habits) on which she had slung a piece of sheep skin, elaborately worked and embroidered at its edges. In this way she looked like a fine young boy. Her father who was always surprised at her unfailing strength said: "Oh! my child, not only your dress but also your strength would convince one that you are a boy!" Tobbya was indeed very strong: she never complained of the long journey.

Tobbya and her father had already climbed the heights of the Dega and had just left the low regions of the Qolla. At the edge of the Dega highlands the felt the cooling effect of a breeze blowing from the high table-land beyond. They sat down on the ground and began to admire the fertility and beauty of the place. While thus contemplating night began to fall upon them. They got up and went to look for shelter in one of the villages nearby. They intended to inquire about the road that would take them to the trade station through which merchants to and from Egypt passed. They planned to follow that road on the morrow and look for Wahid. With this in mind, they went to one of the houses in the village nearby and asked to be allowed to spend the night there.

A woman immediately came out of the house to meet them. She had evidently been crying before they came and was drying her eyes as she came out of the house. "Where are you coming from?" she asked them. "What news have you brought for us?" There was obviously something troubling the lady very much. She was the owner of the house. "We have not heard any news arid we came that way," replied Tobbya's father pointing in the direction they had been journeying.

"Please come in and have a rest," answered the good lady. "Your horse will be kept with ours, and you will spend the night here with us. As long as we have control of our house God's guests can freely accommodate themselves in it. In two or three days' time, however, we may not have shelter ourselves. Who knows? The pagans who are forcing their way into our land might either burn it down or take it for themselves as if they had built it themselves! Oh! My house, my property! Oh, my beloved house, I have seen much happiness and comfort in you. Oh! Oh . . ." Her voice was choked with emotion, and she again began to cry very bitterly. After some minutes, however, she realized that she was crying in front of guests who knew nothing about the cause of her distress. "Do not be afraid, my friends," she said in a voice full of regret, and drying her eyes. "You shall know all about it after you have had something to eat. Besides, it is not good to hasten to hear bad news." With this she returned to her work.

Tobbya was much frightened at this. She tried to persuade her father to leave the house and seek shelter somewhere else. In the meantime, at some distance from them, they saw a man who looked very pensive. He looked so much immersed in his thoughts that he seemed to have almost forgotten everything around him. Sitting on a stool, his head buried between his knees, he was pensively beating the ground with a small stick. He did not at first notice the arrival of Tobbya and her father. Later, however, he raised his head, breathed very deeply and seeing that there were guests at his house, got up and went to meet them. "I was very much lost in my thoughts! By the way, where are you coming from, and where are you going?" They explained the object of their journey. "Oh! my friends. How can you do that?" he began. "The pagans are coming to invade our land. How can you travel towards them instead of escaping to your country? Would that not mean plunging into the burning fire?"

"We do not know anything about what you are saying. What is the matter? Please tell us the story, sir."

"Oh! You have not heard about it yet! Well, I shall tell you. You know it is already a year and a half since our country was defeated by the pagans. Our land has since been destroyed, and our king died of much grief. We thus lost our king, our leader. We have no leaders now. With no leaders the soldiers disappear from the scene like a swarm of bees that has lost its Queen. This news of complete disorganization has reached the ears of the pagan king. He has therefore mobilized his forces once again and is coming to invade our country with thousands of camels carrying his banners. His plan is to convert all the Christians to his religion and to massacre those who refuse to accept it. It is said that his men will reach here in two or three days time. He knows that there is no organized army to defend the country. He is confident that he can seize the country without difficulty. His people will simply take possession of our houses and property as if they were theirs! This is the story, my friends. That is why my wife has been crying; that is why I was pensive as you saw me."

Tobbya and her father were shocked at the terrible story. Her father especially began to cry when he thought that Tobbya, his beloved daughter who left her mother to accompany him, would fall in the hands of the pagans. He could not speak a word. He wanted to tell their host of the part he played in the last war, and of the suffering he had undergone as a result. But his voice was choked with emotion and he could not prevent his tears from flowing down his face.

Their hostess called her husband and asked him to bring the guests in for supper. She had laid the table beautifully for them with an abundance of Enjera, or bread, and different dishes of Wet. With skilled waiters on either side of the table, and lanterns hanging at every corner, the inside of the house looked like a bride's house.

It was a large family. There were many servants each doing his respective task. Some were responsible for the Telia, some for meat, some for the Wet, and there were others who brought water for washing the hands and those who carried the lanterns. Tobbya and her father were very much surprised at this display of wealth. They could not believe that the lady who was crying only a moment ago and the man who had told them the terrible story were the owners of that magnificent household. They were especially surprised at the number and the orderly activities of the servants serving supper. It is of course usual for well-to-do peasants in the country side to look very poor when you see them out of their houses, at home, however, they become unexpectedly impressive. For Tobbya and her father however, the case of their hosts seemed quite extraordinary. Moreover their hosts were of the type of people who could make guests feel at ease. Tobbya and her father, who were very much frightened at the sad news only a moment ago, forgot their worries for the moment at least and ate and drank happily.

Tobbya and her father were, nonetheless, greatly worried. They were all the time thinking about the pagan invasion which was expected on the morrow. Very tired by the long journey as they were, they could not sleep at all. They spent almost the whole night planning how to escape from the hands of the enemy.

They woke up very early the next morning and saddled their horse to set out for the day's journey. Their hosts gave them enough provisions for the day, a basket full of Enjera and biscuits, and a horn full of Tej were prepared for them. They took these with much gratitude, blessed their hosts, and took leave. But they still did not know which road to take to escape the enemy. When they came to the main road they hesitated whither to go on now. They thought of going back to the Qolla region to avoid being captured by the enemy; now they thought of another thing. They were thus undecided when ail of a sudden the horizon became dark with heavy smoke in all the four corners. The enemy was entering the country, massacring all those who resisted his advance, capturing women and children, burning houses and churches, destroying the crops on his way, and cutting down the trees for fuel and for the construction of temporary huts.

Tobbya's father was shocked at the intensity of destruction that the enemy was causing. More than anything else however, it was the sad prospect of his beloved daughter falling into the hands of these cruel unbelievers that troubled his heart. He was at once all tears. He embraced his daughter and said to her, crying: "My dear child, my beloved daughter. You came out of your mother's bosom just to accompany me in this useless journey, and now you are going to fall into the hands of these merciless pagans. Where can I take you? Where can I hide you? I could stand and suffer my capture and subsequent slavery in the last war because I am a man, and eventually my master could change me for money! But . . . Oh! My dear who will change you for thousands of dollars even for the most precious treasures of the world? You are still young and extremely beautiful. The delicacy of your looks and the sweetness of your manners are such as have never before been seen in the world. No one who once gets hold of you, my beloved, will not change you even for all the gold, the diamonds and the riches of the world. Oh! No ..." He cried very bitterly as he spoke. He had two principal reasons to worry. The first was that he had heard people say that the enemy was resolved to kill every man or young boy among the Christians Now since Tobbya was in a boy's fashion her father feared that they would immediately take her for a boy and kill her. Secondly, if the enemy discovered that she was in fact a girl then she would be lost to him forever and would pass over to the hands of the enemy! There was nothing he could now do to avoid one or other of these eventualities. He could only cry like a small child over these sad prospects.

Tobbya could also see the gravity of the problem. Nevertheless, she was trying to console her father with nice words though she was herself weeping at the prospect of losing her father. "Father," she said to him crying, "God has done wonders, almost a miracle in rendering it possible for you to be delivered from slavery. He does not start what he does not intend to accomplish. He will certainly protect us from all evil or dangers through His usual mercy. Do not worry, Father. Do you think that Christ does not do miracles more than once? No, God is never tired. God does not forget. He is always the same. He does not change. God loves once for all, and never hates. No, do not worry, Father. Let us leave everything in the hands of God!" These words which were full of faith consoled her father.

The smoke of the burning houses and crops came nearer and nearer as the enemy advanced on his destructive march into the Christian land. But Tobbya and her father had still not decided where to escape. The people of the village where they spent the night had already begun running away at the sight of the approaching destruction. It was a disturbing sight to observe the exodus of people from that fertile countryside. The young and strong carried away the old and the weak. Children who could run on their own were led in front, and babies were carried by the adults. Everyone ran to some place for protection. Everyone indiscriminately disappeared into caves, bushes, or some other place of shelter.

Tobbya and her father finally decided to try to escape somewhere before the enemy reached them. They readjusted the saddle and galloped off at full speed. When they came to a large, green field they dismounted for a moment and let the horse graze. They seized the opportunity to take some rest for themselves. Soon after, they resumed their flight. Even the horse seemed to understand the danger that would befall them and he galloped with much zeal and good will. Even when Tobbya's father wanted to give the horse some respite by holding the reins tightly and thus reducing its speed the horse hastened on.

There was no place, however, where Tobbya and her father could hide from the destructive forces of the approaching enemy. They were now in the midst of a large, interminable plain. There were no trees there and no place to hide. Some distance further on a hill rose sharply from the midst of the plain. It was small but very high and looked almost like a pillar standing on a wide, leveled floor. At the top of this hill there was nothing but piles of rough and sharp pieces of stone. There were no plants there except one tree whose branches had been whitened by the droppings of the ravens that inhabited it. The trunk of this tree formed part of the wall of a ramshackle little hut. This hill was undoubtedly in sole possession of the black birds that lived on its top.

When she saw this hill, Tobbya said to her father: "Father, look, that hill! You know that the invading army is interested only in places which offer prospects of much spoil. They would therefore hasten to areas which are fertile and highly populated. Only such areas offer "prospects of much food, money and gold. That hill, however, it seems to me, is inhabited only by birds and no one would in any way try to climb or overrun it. Let us, therefore, go there and escape from the enemy and wait until the army passes by." "Oh! yes, my daughter," her father agreed. "God bless you, that is a very good idea. Let us hurry."

They galloped towards the solitary hill. When they reached its foot they did not know what to do with the horse. It was not the loss of the animal as a piece of property that troubled them, but parting with such an understanding animal. But what could they do. It would be foolish to lose one's life for the sake of a horse. They regretted their misfortune, unsaddled the horse, and let it go. "Go wherever you want," they said, "and may God give you a good master!" Tobbya and her father then started to climb the hill. The slopes looked as though no human being had ever got to the top. There was no trace of any path leading there. Anyway, they forced their way up and were tired almost to death when they reached the top. They dried their sweating faces with the ends of their shamma, took some rest and began looking at the vast plain around their place of refuge.

The top of the hill commanded a very wide view. From there, one could see clearly whatever took place in all the four corners of the plain. Tobbya and her father could now see the approaching army advancing from the horizon. They began praying: "Oh! God, deliver us from this destruction." With their hands on their foreheads to protect their eyes from the sun Tobbya and her father looked and looked. The army was approaching toward the hill. Tobbya could see their horse at the foot of the hill. It was waiting for them. It seemed as if it expected Tobbya and her father to come and ride off, she thought. She feared that if the enemy saw the horse they would discover that somebody was hiding at the top of the hill. But she could do nothing at all, and the advanced guard of the invading army had already reached the foot of the hill. Their horse disappeared in the midst of the cavalry of the enemy.

Tobbya and her father were extremely frightened. Their hearts beat in fear, afraid of being seen from below they lay flat on the ground and only occasionally did they raise their heads to look at what was going on below them. Of course, nobody could possibly see them from the plain even if they were standing up. Even a big elephant with its enormous body could not be discerned on the top of that hill. Tobbya and her father, however, were so afraid that they dared not even cough in fear of being overheard by the people in the plain. The former Dejazmach, Tobbya"s father, was only afraid for his daughter. He did not care what happened to him. Indeed, were he alone he would have wished to take some courageous action worthy of his title and upbringing. However, as the proverb goes, "A man who spends most of his time with a woman is almost a woman himself." The ex-Dejazmach could do nothing but cry like a child over his hard lot. There was now no one to defend the country against the enemy with its innumerable hordes. The enemy, on their side took away whatever pleased their eyes: food, money and gold . . . as much as their animals could carry; and Tobbya. "They take away the food of the sons' of Adam and burn it down, thus reducing their own king to eventual starvation. They drive the people out of their homes and burn everything down. Oh! what a cruel world!"

From the top of the hill Tobbya and her father could see whatever destruction the invading hordes effected on the countryside. The enemy marched in a big line consisting of innumerable rows of hundreds of people. When the line reached the foot of the hill it divided into two columns and marched on either side of the hill. When it passed the hill the lines joined up again and marched as before. In the meantime they destroyed all the country through which they passed. They deprived the people of their property, they took them prisoner, and killed mercilessly those who resisted their cruelty. That hill, however, was like an island in the midst of a troubled sea, and no one cared to look at it. Thousands and thousands of soldiers passed by. Later in the evening their number gradually decreased ."I think the army has almost finished passing by," said Tobbya to her father. "You see God has saved us from their cruel hands. We will spend the night here and very early in the morning we'll make good our escape in the opposite direction. It is certain that the army will not march back to the country it has just plundered. Eh? What do you think father?" As soon as she finished her sentence something appeared suddenly on the horizon, something which looked as dark as the clouds of Hamle.⁵ Tobbya and her father could not at first discern what it was. Soon after, however, they realized that it was a cloud of dust rising from the plain as a new group of the invading army advancing towards them. It was obviously the retinue of the enemy king. This divided into two and marched on. Tobbya and her father despaired, and all their hopes went to the winds. They resumed their prayers to God. The king and his retinue in the meantime approached the hill. The drums and the trumpets of the royal band could now be heard. Gradually, even the decorations of silver, gold, and other precious stones and the colorful uniforms of the king's followers could be seen shining under the light of the setting sun. Behind all this splendor came a small group of people consisting evidently of the king and a few dignitaries of his court. The king was riding a mule which was almost crushed under the weight of the gold and the precious stones that formed part of the royal uniform. An enormous canopy elaborately worked of silk and gold was held over the head of the king to protect him from the sun. He was talking to a select group of people around him as he rode by.

It was now late in the afternoon and the sun had already began to set. The king's followers stopped marching. Evidently the king had decided to camp there. The beat of the drum changed its rhythm to announce the king's order. Soon after, a big round white tent was pitched at the center of the king's retinue. Many others were at once also pitched. One of the tents was almost as big as a small hill. It was made of red cloth and had a huge summit made of gold at its top. On the side of this golden summit were attached drapings of gold and silver and small bells alternately placed one after the other. On this tent was hung a flag bearing the arms of the king and his army. Tobbya and her father were now sure that this tent belonged to the king and that the banner on the flag symbolized the idol which the king and his army worshiped

As soon as the king's red tent was pitched his soldiers followed suit and literally filled the vast plain with innumerable tents. The plain was now covered with the king's army. This army was so vast that one could hardly believe that it belonged to only one king. It seemed that no other army could be strong enough to conquer it. Tobbya and her father could do nothing but pray; and indeed, let alone to climb the hill, there was not even one soul who cared to look at the hill. This gave them much hope as the proverb goes: "When death is overdue it seems to have never existed at all." They believed that they would spend the night in peace and resume their flight on the morrow when the army broke its camp and marched on.

It had always been the custom of the kings to survey the area around immediately after they have camped at a place. To do this they usually climb to a high place which gives a wide view of the surrounding area. Soon after the tents were pitched, therefore, the enemy king, together with a select group of high dignitaries rode to the hill where Tobbya and her father were hiding. When he reached the foot of the hill he dismounted and together with his followers began to climb the slopes. He had his field glasses with him, and there is no doubt that his only purpose was to see the surrounding area.

Tobbya and her father were now confused. Where could they escape? What could they do? Evidently there was nothing they could do to save their lives. Both believed they would soon die at the hands of the enemy.

"Tobbya," said her father, "we are now nearing our end. We will soon part company. May God protect you, my child. You have suffered all this for my sake. May God bless you," he cried. But he did not want to be seen by the enemy crying like a child. So he dried his eyes and waited for the worse to come.

The king and his small retinue finished climbing the hill, and appeared at the top on the opposite side. The king was himself the first person to see Tobbya and her father. "Who are those people?" he asked. "What are they doing on this deserted hill top?" With this he went directly towards them.

His followers were extremely angry at the sight of Tobbya and her father. Indeed they all at once drew their swords and ran towards the poor creatures to put an end to their lives on the spot. "Leave them alone, leave them alone," ordered the king. "I saw them before all of you did and I did not try to kill them. Why then do you threaten them? These poor creatures are unarmed and defenseless You do not kill such people. You just capture them. On the other hand, if you see somebody who is armed and who is out to fight and kill, then you fight with him. If you kill defenseless people, like these two, it is no display of valor at all. Even I, young as I am, would not be interested in killing them. It is only when I am faced with a courageous and skillful swordsman that I would fight to the last and kill him. Eh? Perhaps it is only by killing such defenseless people that our soldiers have established their names! Well, we shall make a new proclamation to avoid such cowardly acts. Now, leave these Kafirs alone; they are our personal captives.

The king spoke in a low voice and Tobbya and her father did not hear a word. They did not understand whether the discussion was favorable Her father, however, stood courageously in front of the king and his followers and looked them straight into their eyes like a man worthy of his previous title and background. His whole body, however, shook at the movements of Tobbya who held him tightly with both hands. Now and then he put his hands behind him to encourage and console his child.

When the king observed the fears of Tobbya he began, pagan as he was, to feel sympathy towards the poor child. He approached her father and said, "You infidels, why did you come to this solitary hill?"

"We came here to escape the devastations of the war," answered her father.

At this juncture the king's jester came forward and began to make fun of Tobbya and her father. He was an extremely ugly creature. Very small in stature, he was extremely thin and looked more like a living skeleton than a complete human being. Specially when he tried to laugh he looked much uglier than the monkeys of Chiloda. "You know, these Kaffirs believe," the jester told the king, "that their God lives in the sky. So they have climbed this hill to be nearer to him that he may quickly send his help and save them from our hands!" Then he turned to the captives and said, "Now, where is your God? Why doesn't he come now and save you from our hands?"

Tobbya's father could not stand the jester's impertinence. He was greatly enraged when he heard that ugly little fellow make fun of the name of God! "The God of the Christians," he said courageously "this God at whom you are laughing has no limits to His power. He transcends the heights of the mountains, the vastness of the plains, the infinity of space, the depths of the oceans, heat or cold, light or darkness. All these elements cannot destroy His mercy or His wrath. He is free of the factors of space and time. Everything that is shall exist or cease to exist according to His will. All are almost nothing in front of God. All are equal in front of Him; the strong the weak, the courageous, the cowardly, the rich, the poor, the ruler and his subjects, all are equal for him. In this world those who believe in Him and those who do not shall both live equally; they are born, they grow, they become old and die. In the world to come, however, all shall be judged by Him according to their deeds on earth. And now myself and my little son shall believe in Him until we die. Even if we die now, even if you kill us on the spot, we know it is because of our human weaknesses and not because Christ is incapable of saving us from death!"

It was the custom of the kings in the past to keep a dwarf at their court, and in the midst of the king's followers, therefore, there was an extremely small creature accompanying the jester. He was so small in stature that one could hardly see him except when he spoke. As soon as Tobbya's father finished what he had to say, this little creature took up one of the sentences out of context and began to play on words, "Eh? So you say all are equal? all are almost nothing, then how would you classify me? Logically it means that I do not exist, or that I am equal with this ugly jester. According to this Kafir 1 am either equal to that tree or I do not exist at all!" At this the king and his followers laughed. Even Tobbya, though she was still shivering with fear behind her father, could not help smiling at this funny creature.

The king interrupted his followers and said, "Well, God created the world by his own will and he rules the people of the world according to their respective religions. He listens to the prayers of all peoples in their various languages. He judges them according to their faiths and deeds. Man, however, has always believed that his religion was the only possible truth! No, my friends, no, don't make fun of the religion of others. It is only God who knows the truth. Moreover," he added with some hesitation and much thought, "Who among us really knows if Christianity is not a better religion?" Everyone among his followers was greatly surprised at this rather unexpected pronouncement of the king.

Tobbya and her father did not know that it was the king himself who spoke these favorable words. They never suspected that the apparently easy-going and unassuming young man was the king of that big army.

He was the youngest of all his followers. While all the others were in their bright-colored uniforms with glistening decorations he was very modestly dressed like an ordinary person. But all his words were good and calculated: "Oh! If only the king himself were as kind as this young man!" they thought. "It is better for us to be captured by these rather kindly people than by others!" They thought that the king was then in his royal tent. They never suspected it was the king himself who, followed by some of his followers, had climbed the hill on which they had been hiding.

It was beginning to be dark. "Bring my field-glasses," ordered the king. "Night is falling before we survey the country." He began looking around in all directions, and it was clear from his looks he was very much satisfied with the orderly way in which his army had camped in the vast plain below. The plain was extremely wide and one could hardly see its ends even from the hill-top. Except for this hill on which Tobbya and her father had been hiding, the plain was almost level from one end to another. The king's army had occupied almost the whole surface of this endless plain. One could not, for example, see the limits of the camp from the center even with field glasses. It was a large army in a vast field. Moreover when night began to fall, the small white tents of the camp looked like the stars in the blue sky above.

"Oh! It is late my friends, let us go back to our camp," said the king to his followers. Before he set out, however, he approached Tobbya and her father, "You Kafirs, follow us to the camp. Don't be afraid. If you want to live with us we shall make you comfortable. If, on the other hand, you want to remain here in your country we shall let you go when the war is over. If we let you go now our soldiers will find you on the way and destroy you." Tobbya's father was extremely happy to hear that. He now hoped once again that nothing would happen to his daughter. In the meantime, though he could not suspect that the young man who addressed them was the king himself, he began to believe that he was the most important man among the group who had climbed the hill with him. He believed that the young man was at most the son of the king or of another dignitary of the court. With this in mind Tobbya's father said to the young man, "My Lord, you have seen how my son and myself were shivering with fear when we first saw you here. I don't care what happens to me. My only fear and great concern has been for the life of this little child of mine. But now you have yourself been so kind as to encourage us. We are very grateful for this, my lord. Our life will finally depend, however, on the word of the king himself, and we beg you to intercede for us in front of him when we go to the camp." At this the king signaled to his followers not to reveal his identity and replied to Tobbya's father, "Well, that is fine. I shall beg His Majesty to spare your lives and pardon you."

As soon as they reached the camp the king ordered his chief Aide-de-camp to give a tent to Tobbya and her father near the royal tent and to look after them very carefully. This order was executed to the letter; and they were given very good accommodation and all their needs were carefully provided. Tobbya and her father were greatly surprised at this strange happening, "Could the young man be the king himself?" they thought. But he seemed too young for that, he had barely passed his twentieth year. Moreover he was very modestly dressed when they saw him. Otherwise he had all the characteristics of a prince, he had an agreeable character, his words were very pleasant and precise, his manners were . highly refined, and his looks extremely handsome. Though he was a pagan and a very young man, he had all the majestic airs of royalty. Only his uniform belied his high position. It had always been the custom of kings and princes to refrain from the personal use of colorful uniforms and precious decorations. All these things are too much below their dignity. For them their illustrious birth and cultural refinement suffice to indicate their pre-eminence. They only delight in decorating their soldiers for their valor, in building magnificent palaces and furnishing them beautifully, in providing their horses and mules with elaborately worked harnesses, in developing their countries, in rendering justice to their subjects, and in granting pardon to their subjects. They know very well that decorating themselves with silver, gold, diamonds and other precious stones would not bring any difference to their already high positions. Indeed, it is only people of very mean extraction and humble professions like the Azmari or minstrel and the king's jester that need such external embellishments. Besides, even asses or stupid fools can look at least presentable if loaded with shining decorations however unmerited. But, as the saying goes, a lion with his modest and majestic airs looks much smarter than an elephant with his awkward tusks. Therefore, regardless of the modesty of his clothes the other day, regardless of his youth, Tobbya and her father were in due course strongly convinced that the young man who was so kind to them was the king himself. It was a strange coincidence that they had fallen into no other hands but those of the king. This must have been the work of God and they thanked God for his mercy.

On the morrow, before the camp was broken, the king saw Tobbya and her father nearby as he came out of his royal tent. He approached them smiling and said. "Do not fear. Nothing will happen to you. I have told the king about you!" Tobbya and her father were very happy and bowed very low. They pretended that they still did not know that he was the king himself. But the young prince turned around and ordered his Aide-de-camp to provide them with two fine horses and to let them ride together with his personal retinue so that the crowd would not molest them. This order was soon followed and the two captives rode on two very fine horses only some yards behind the king. They were now quite certain that their lives were no more endangered; on the other hand, now that they felt quite secure themselves, they began to think of Wahid.

At about noon the army began to camp. The king's royal tent was pitched as usual in a central position and the area around was immediately covered by numerous tents. The king's warriors were coming from every direction with all their spoils of the day. Chanting their war songs as they took their respective places in the camp. Just in front of the royal tent the king sat majestically on his golden throne. Round him were also seated the most dignified members of his court. To the left and right of the throne stood very tall slaves with drawn swords in their muscular hands. Some yards behind these stood a squad of the royal guards consisting of five thousand soldiers. The soldiers had now stopped chanting their songs. Nothing of the usual hustle and bustle was heard. Silence reigned everywhere. Even the king was silently waiting for his soldiers to display their spoils of the day before him. It was a magnificent sight. Thousands of warriors in orderly ranks silently standing around the throne with all their arms and colorful uniforms and decorations, and in the midst of all this glory the young, dark-complexioned, but very handsome king sitting on his golden throne with all his oriental splendor, the whole setting inspiring a maximum of fear and respect. For Tobbya and her father the scene compared with the Last Judgment of the New Testament.

After everything was in order, thousands of warriors passed by the throne displaying their trophies, dancing and reciting tukkera or war poems. The young king was smiling with much satisfaction. For poor little Tobbya, however, it was an unbearable scene. All this joy and happiness at the court of the enemy meant the destruction of thousands of her fellow Christians. It also meant without doubt that paganism would prosper in the country. This saddened her heart and she wept behind her father's shamma. The King saw Tobbya from his throne and knew that she did not enjoy the scene. He understood her feelings very well. He suddenly left his throne, and entered into the royal tent interrupting the procession without any explanations.

The young king had lost his parents while still a child. Besides, he had no brothers or sisters. It was his uncle who had brought him up with his own daughter who was of exactly the same age as the king. The king loved her like his own sister. His cousin loved him too. Indeed they called each other "Sister" and "Brother". Their love for each other was so great that he would not leave her behind even in time of war, and her tent was always next to his.

The main royal tents were five in number; two of them belonged to the king, the third to his cousin, the fourth to his uncle and guardian, the fifth tent was reserved for royal guests. Between each of these tents there was a fence made of shammas so that the entrance of one tent could not be seen from that of another. Around all this at some distance was a circular fence of qimja or red cloth. Within this fence, and immediately next to the royal tents was a pleasant, small tent assigned to Tobbya and her father. They placed them there so that the ordinary soldiers outside might not molest them. Immediately outside the red shamma fence were located the most important parts of the royal household: the treasury, the storehouse, the kitchen, and the quarters where tej was prepared and stored. All around these important places was stationed a squad of the royal guards consisting of the most able-bodied and strongest soldiers about 5,000 in number, armed to the teeth with brilliant weapons embellished with gold and silver. Next to these was a mounted company of the royal guard consisting of about 100,000 cavalry. Beyond these began the camp of the ordinary soldiers and their commanders arranged in various divisions.

No one was allowed to approach the qimja fence. The guards prevented anyone from speaking or making a noise near it. After sunset, therefore, not a soul would be seen there nor any sound heard except the drapings of the royal tent moving to and fro at every stroke of the wind.

The king, it had been announced, was giving a banquet that evening. The royal household was therefore in the usual hustle and bustle. Numerous servants were running here and there with various assignments for the preparation of the banquet. Some time before the banquet started, the king went out of his tent for a walk. In the meantime, however, he saw Tobbya sitting with her father at the entrance of their tent. She had buried her head on her father's knees with her eyes fixed on the ground. The moment he saw her, the king thought that she was crying again and. he approached their tent to try to console the small child. When they saw him coming toward them, Tobbya and her father stood up from their seats. "Would you like me to present you to the king? Would you like to see his face?" he asked them.

"No. sire. We do not want to see the face of any other king except yours," answered Tobbya's father very quickly. The king understood that they now recognized him, and added directly, "Well, you don't want any other king except me, trust me. I shall not forsake you." With this he went back to his tent.

It was some time since Tobbya and her father had understood that he was himself the king. The young king, however, had not yet realized that Tobbya was a girl and not a handsome little boy as her dress would make everyone believe.

On the morrow, the king ordered that the army should take a rest for a day. He himself spent the whole day contemplating how to make an end to the campaign and how to administer the people as a whole.

He was very much affected by Tobbya's sorrow at the moment when his warriors were displaying their spoils. He decided to bring the whole campaign to an end so that the lives of thousands of innocent people might be saved, and the whole country spared from destruction.

To this effect he decided to make a proclamation. At first the king's Chief Herald went up to higher ground stood on a stone, and made the announcement. The announcement was, as usual, proceeded by the following words:

"Hear! Hear! May God deprive the king's enemy, the enemy of our Lord, and the enemy of our country, of the sense of hearing!" Then followed the actual proclamation:—

"O you Christians! There has always been war between us and you either because of the difference of our religion, or because of border problems. Thousands of our people on both sides have lost their lives in these wars. The reason behind all this destruction has always been, however, the misunderstanding and; the sharp sense of competition that existed between our respective kings. The ordinary people had very little part in initiating these conflicts, but they have always been those who suffered most. Had there been goodwill and mutual understanding between the kings the lives of so many innocent people could have been saved. Our respective peoples could have respected the borders and lived in their own countries according to their religions. I myself have been a victim of this legacy of conflict and warfare. In the last few months I destroyed the lives of thousands and devastated your country. I now regret this senseless manslaughter and general destruction I have caused so far. It has now become clear to me that you have no king or army to defend you. I feel very sorry to have destroyed a defenseless people. From today on, therefore, all hostilities shall be discontinued. Those who have left their homes because of the war, those who have killed or robbed others during the war, may return to their respective places and live in peace. I have hereby granted a general amnesty to all those who have fought against me in the period of hostilities. Let everyone live according to his own religion. We have had enough of the old religious conflicts and all must respect each other's religion. No one will be allowed to laugh at or make fun of, another man's religion. Though I am not a Christian myself, it is my sacred duty to rule everyone equally irrespective of his religion. Therefore all of you must live in peace and resume your old professions: the merchant may now resume his commercial activities, the farmer, his agricultural duties, and the clergy, their religious services.

"May all of you understand that I have come not to destroy but to build a nation. From today on you are all my subjects, and will always be ruled with justice and respect. Everyone must in turn recognize me as their King. Those who have fled away may now return to their previous houses and properties. As compensation for the damage that the war has brought on you no taxes shall be levied on you for two years.

"If there are any members of the Royal Family living, they may return to their old possessions and governorates together with all the Princes, high-ranking, officials, and

other followers. Similarly all the Rases, the Dejazmatches and other dignitaries may return to their respective offices and resume their duties in peace according to the customs and the law of their nation. Should there be anyone after this proclamation, however, who refuses to return home and continues to disturb the peace by molesting my people and my kingdom he shall be outlawed for ever and shall be hunted down as the enemy of the kingdom and the people.

"The peasants and the soldiers must always live in mutual respect. The soldier should not mishandle the peasants. Both of you serve me equally in your respective fields of activity: While the soldier follows me with his arms in times of war, it is the peasant who tills the earth and provides all of us with food. Everyone renders his services equally to the king and to the people at large." As the royal announcer finished reading the proclamation everyone shouted "Well done, well done!" and expressed their satisfaction with prolonged applause.

After the proclamation the campaign was discontinued and the king began building a new capital city at the camp. The king saw Tobbya and her father every day, and gradually came to like her very much. Now that she was living with much comfort at the king's palace and was no more exposed to the difficulties of a long journey, Tobbya was regaining her real self and grew more and more beautiful everyday. Though she politely kept herself at a distance from the king in fear of being discovered, the king liked her more and more everyday and called her to his presence now and then. Her father was himself worried at this growing familiarity. "Courage, my child," he encouraged her, "try to speak, and walk, and act like a boy. Try your best to keep your identity disguised. You can do it." Tobbya was always dressed like a boy and no one suspected her true sex. But everyone who saw her was at once bewitched by her beauty. Everyone at the court liked Tobbya.

Tobbya was indeed very beautiful. Her big eyes could compare with the morning star for brightness. Her eyelashes grew abundantly on her eyelids. Her nose was aquiline, and her lips looked like roses in the morning. She had her hair cut in a boy's fashion, but the luxuriant growth thereof looked like that of the wheat fields in Sene.⁶ Since she was no more exposed to heat and cold, nor to hunger and thirst as during her long journey with her father, her sun-burnt face recovered its original color, and her beauty seemed to betray her true sex. Tobbya was of medium stature such as would become a perfect lady. Her fingers were as smooth and tender as Amelmalo.⁷ Her elegance that of a queen. Her legs were of perfect formation. Her snow white teeth and her sweet smile would satisfy any man. In short, her beauty was such as would make one believe that God must have taken special pains in creating her. Indeed, even apart from her physical characteristics Tobbya looked like an angel as regards both her heavenly beauty and her sweet personality.

"Even angels fall in love with the beautiful!" says an old proverb. When the young king saw the perfect beauty that God had bestowed upon Tobbya he liked her very much and decided to make her one of his personal followers in his court. He wanted her to grow in the milieu of high life at the palace. He never suspected, however, that she was actually a girl. His love was only an innocent admiration for the extraordinary qualities of the young boy that Tobbya pretended to be. Moreover the king was about the same age as Tobbya: She was 18 years old, he was hardly 20. This similarity of youth intensified the king's special concern for Tobbya.

The king hesitated at first. Finally he decided to tell Tobbya and her father of his plans for the young boy. One day they were suddenly called to the king's presence. They were specially worried about Tobbya's identity. "Could the king have discovered the true sex of Tobbya?" they thought. For Tobbya the prospect of such a discovery was unbearable. She couldn't even walk normally. Her studied manners of a young boy were all forgotten. But the king did not suspect anything at all. Indeed as soon as they came to his presence he quietly ordered all his servants to leave him alone with Tobbya and her father and spoke to them in strict privacy. He looked at Tobbya at first and said. "Listen young boy. Wouldn't you like to live with me? Wouldn't you like me to make you one of my intimate courtiers, to bring you up in my court, and confer upon you honorable officers and and illustrious decorations?" Tobbya was either afraid or very shy. She said nothing. She left the decision for her father. The king was, however, staring at Tobbya all the time as if expecting the answer from her. The tense situation was however broken by her father who began to reply to the king's question. The king turned his face to Tobbya's father and began to listen attentively .At the opportune moment Tobbya turned her face towards her father and began winking at him and shaking her head to suggest to him that he should refuse the king's offer.

"Your Majesty," began her father, "it is a special honor to be one of your intimate courtiers and to live in your palace. My son and myself are very grateful to you for this kind offer and for having given us this unmerited attention. May your kingdom spread throughout the world. May your kindness to your people remain unchanged. My son, however, is not used to the manners and decorum of royal life. He is from a humble private family. Excuse me your Majesty. I cannot accept this offer.

"Your Majesty has given us your word of honor that you would send us back to our home once the war is finished. Please send us back to our country according to your promise. That is our wish."

The king seemed to regret the fact that he had not fulfilled his promise. "My word of honor shall not be changed," he assured them. "I shall certainly send you back to your home if you want. I would, however, like to ask you something. Why do you hate living with me? Is it because we are not of the same religion? If that is the case you know very well that I have made a proclamation to the effect that every one should live according to his religion. Do you have any other reason? Why are you afraid to stay with me? Tell me everything openly." When Tobbya's father heard these kind words from this young king he decided to tell him everything, every secret he had so far kept between him and his child. ""Your Majesty," he started, "it is only my wife who is staying at home and it is very long since this young boy and myself left home. We first left our place in search of my elder son who set out on a journey last year to look for a man who had been very kind to us. We could find no trace of him at all. In the meantime your Majesty's army came pillaging and destroying the country. We just wanted to turn back and escape to our country, but it was too late. Then we decided to hide on that solitary hill in the hope that none of your soldiers would be climbing it. It was there where by divine coincidence, we were met by Your Majesty and made your captives." Tobbya's father had now decided to tell the young king everything in his heart and even the identity of his child. "This ... This" he started.⁸ At this juncture Tobbya was very angry with him. She looked at him with much anxiety and struck her lips with the tip of her hand indicating that he should not make such a blunder at that moment. Her father understood her worries and immediately changed the subject of his discourse. "This world, Your Majesty, is not becoming to the poor and the helpless. We have been lamenting the loss of my elder son, for a whole year. This small child cannot therefore forget his beloved brother and remain here at Your Majesty's palace for the sake of comfort and the pleasures of court life. No, Your Majesty he cannot remain here," he concluded. Tobbya was relieved when she saw that her father changed the subject and did not reveal her identity to the king. She was very much concerned because she had heard that all pagans had a mania for possessing every woman they happened to come across. She was therefore worried that once the king knew her real sex he would simply take her as his wife. Moreover, she did not see the wisdom of telling one's secrets to a stranger however kind and trustworthy.

When the king heard the story of Wahid he looked very much concerned. He asked Tobbya's father many questions. "When did he leave for his journey? Which direction did he say he would take?

"It is exactly one year ago that he left us. He wanted to go to the commercial center at the border of the country where caravans to Sennar and Egypt passed on their journey to and from our country. He is of the same age of Tobbya. Both are now between 17 and 18 years old." "Then they are twins, aren't they?" asked the king.

"Oh! yes. Indeed one is a perfect copy of the other. They look like each other so much that it was difficult even for myself and my wife to distinguish the one from the other."

"If he left a year ago," said the king, "it is quite impossible that my soldiers have met him. In that case it would have been easy for me to get him. I am afraid that he might have been met by some slave traders and sold into slavery." Then he thought for some time and said. "Anyhow, if the boy is still alive I will get him for you. Do not worry I shall get him for you. But it will take some time. Both of you must stay with me in the meantime. Tobbya shall be one of my intimate courtiers. He shall be one of those very few who have freedom of movement even within my private quarters. And you shall be counted among the members of the nobility. You must always attend all our state and special occasions. You are henceforth to participate at all the banquets given by me every day."

Tobbya and her father could say nothing at that moment. If they refused the king's offer it would almost certainly mean that Wahid would be lost for ever. Even for themselves it was not advisable to quarrel with a king. He could do anything with them if he liked. While they were thus debating within themselves the king got up. "Think it over," he said to them, "and tell me your wish sometime later." With this he left his palace and went for a horse race.

Tobbya and her father were left alone. They could now discuss freely between themselves. "My child," he started, "you know it is much better for us to stay with the king in order to find Wahid. I am only afraid that the king and his followers might discover your identity. Otherwise it is not good to refuse the offers of such a king. After all he is a king of the pagans who are famous for their cruelty and ungodliness. If we do not accept his suggestion we shall never get Wahid, nor do I know what kind of misfortune will happen to us." "Father," said Tobbya, "how long can I live with my false identity? How long can I stay with men and act like a boy? If we stay here for long my identity will be discovered and the danger is still worse. I am worried about that, Father. But what can I do? If it means my brother's return I must try my best. I shall accept the king's offer and live with his intimate courtiers. May Our Lady help me in disguising my identity.

Well, if you are determined to try your best you must always be careful to act exactly like a boy."

As soon as the king returned from the horse race he asked them their decision. They told him that they would humbly accept his offer.

When he saw that Tobbya and her father had confidence in him the king gave them enough property to live on. He gave them a big tent to stay in, a mare and a horse to ride on, many slaves and servants, and much gold and silver. Tobbya and her father had therefore a complete household all at once. Their tent was pitched within the royal living quarters, i.e. within the red-cloth fence. Tobbya was made one of the most intimate followers of the king. Her father was endowed with high honors and illustrious decorations and made one of the most respected courtiers.

On the morrow the king made the following proclamation: "Any one who bought any slaves within the last year shall bring them to me as soon as this proclamation comes to his knowledge. I am looking for a person lost since last year. The man among whose slaves this person may be found shall be compensated with ten times the amount he spent on the purchase thereof and with other special rewards." This proclamation was announced at every corner of the country and in all the squares and other important centers of the cities and towns. Since the kingdom was very large, however, no one came with his slaves for about five or six months. In the meantime Tobbya and her father lived at the king's palace according to his order.

The king's admiration for Tobbya grew every day. Not only her beauty but also her excellent personality and refined manners made her very dear to everybody. The king's uncle and guardian, and his daughter also liked Tobbya very much.

The king's cousin was especially attached to Tobbya the young handsome boy at the king's palace. She always stared at Tobbya wherever she saw him. She spoke of nothing else but Tobbya. The king soon discovered that his cousin was in love with Tobbya. He once tried to find out how much she loved Tobbya, and asked her "Sister, would you like your future husband to be as handsome as Tobbya?" His cousin liked the king very much and there were no secrets they did not share. She was therefore quite free with him and told him frankly that she was in love with Tobbya; she only did not want her old father to know that she loved a Christian. Indeed she used to tell the king that neither in his place nor anywhere else had she seen or heard of such an extraordinarily handsome and cultured young man as Tobbya "Tobbya is a very sweet young man. If only he were not a Kafir]" The king understood his cousin's feelings. He also had the same respect and admiration for Tobbya. His cousin's love to Tobbya, however, intensified every day. Day in and day out she did nothing else but think and dream of Tobbya. In their private conversations she spoke to the king of nothing else but Tobbya. This she did in the hope that he would one day make it possible for her to marry Tobbya! What ignorance! The poor little girl did not know that Tobbya was also a girl disguised in a boy's dress!

The king did not mind his cousin loving Tobbya. Indeed he would have liked her to marry the young boy. He only feared that his uncle and guardian would not give his daughter to a Christian. Neither would Tobbya like to marry anybody but a Christian.

Tobbya did not know all this. She spent the whole day in the presence of the king and returned to her father in the evening.

"My child is everything well?" her father would ask her when she returned to him. "Yes, father. Thank God there is nothing wrong as yet! The king, his uncle and cousin all seem to like me," Tobbya would answer. When she left for the king's tent in the mornings her father would always say "May the God of the Christians protect you, my child," Thus Tobbya and her father lived very well for a long time.

Tobbya and the king's cousin became more and more familiar as time went by. The king's cousin began speaking to Tobbya directly. Tobbya herself was also very willing to talk to the king's cousin. In her disguised state Tobbya considered it a relief to speak with a girl, therefore spoke more freely and willingly with the princess than with the king himself or his courtiers. This surprised the king and gave the impression to the princess that the young boy, Tobbya was beginning to reciprocate her love. Gradually Tobbya's familiarity with both the king and his cousin grew to such an extent that it began to inspire jealousy in the hearts of the other members of the king's court. How can such an upstart, and a Kafir be more influential than us; everybody in the court began to say. They began to complain and grumble everyday and decided finally to ruin Tobbya's name and career in the king's court by creating a false story.

Tobbya's growing familiarity with the king's cousin provided them with a wonderful theme to play upon. The king's jester, whom I had an occasion to describe before, that tiny piece of a human being, played the most notorious part in the nasty game. Immediately after lunch the king had the habit of sleeping for sometime. At that time everything within and around the palace was silent and quiet. Tobbya's enemies decided to use this period for their scandalous purpose. They plotted to send Tobbya to the tent of the king's cousin and in the meantime to inform her father that the young boy was having privacy with the Princess.

One day, soon after the king went to bed for his usual siesta, the king's jester came to Tobbya and told her that the king's cousin was urgently looking for her. Tobbya never suspected that the jester was trying to ruin her name and went immediately to the tent of the king's cousin. No sooner had she entered the tent than the king's uncle himself came in followed by his men. He was almost mad with anger when he saw the young boy, Tobbya, in his daughter's tent at that hour of the day. He had been told by Tobbya's enemies that the young Kafir was having dishonorable relations with the Princess and now he had caught him almost red-handed. He was furious.

The news of Tobbya's "dishonorable conduct" was soon spread in the palace among all the courtiers and the servants of the king. The rumor ran that Tobbya, the king's new favorite, the young Kafir boy, was caught in the Princess' tent having infamous relations with the king's cousin. The news also reached the king himself, but he did not believe it. Soon after, however, his uncle came to his presence, and gave him an ultimatum. "Your Majesty, either you punish this disrespectful young Kafir, or I shall die." The king began to reason with his uncle and said "My Lord, how can Tobbya. that gentle and well-mannered boy, do such a thing? How? His uncle persisted "But your Majesty I have myself caught him in my daughter's tent. He must be severely punished," he insisted. "I shall call Tobbya himself" the king promised, "and examine him to find out if he has really done it. If the story is true I shall send him away with his father to their own place. 1 cannot, however, have them punished because I have first given them my word of honor that nothing bad would befall them if they stayed with me." He asked Tobbya to be brought to his presence and asked her: "Tell me, why did you go to my sister's tent today? Why?" Tobbya knew very well that she was innocent of the guilt she was charged with. But she was afraid that her identity might be revealed during the cross examination. She could not answer the king's question. She was quaking with fear suppressed.

But anybody could tell her innocence and reliability from the look of her face. However, she did not know what to say to the king. To reveal the truth that she was called by the Princess would not be good for the name and honor of the king's cousin. She therefore preferred to keep silent. The king was much troubled at this. "Why don't you answer my question?" he asked her with much concern. "How could you do such a thing to my cousin. I have always counted on your gentle manners and refinement, and I had prepared great plans for your future. How could you do such a dishonorable act?"

At this Tobbya's father came suddenly and said. "Your Majesty my son can never do such a childish thing. Never. Believe me, Your Majesty!" When he heard this the king's uncle was very angry. "Your Majesty, I have told you that I myself caught the boy almost red-handed, and here is his father telling me to my face that I was lying to you!" Tobbya was looking at the ground all the time and quaking with fear. When she saw a dangerous scene developing between her father and the king's uncle she raised her head and addressed the king: "Your Majesty, I have never deserved to be one of your courtiers. I have always lived a very humble life and have never been used to the intricacies and pageantry of court life. I had mentioned this to you from the very beginning. But your Majesty has showered upon me all these unmerited honors of attending upon you. My conduct and manners have not changed since. If, however, you are convinced of the guilt I am charged with, punish me, if not, pardon me. But Your Majesty, please do not let my father suffer anything because of my mistakes. Please do not abandon your idea of finding my brother for us. Your Majesty, do not let my brother disappear for ever because of these unfounded suspicions of misconduct on my part."

"Well," answered the king, "that is a different thing now. But tell me, why did you enter my sister's tent?" Tobbya did not wish" to disgrace anybody. She said nothing. The king was much troubled. He could not believe the story because every word that Tobbya pronounced was full of truth. On the other hand, he could not totally disprove the story because Tobbya refused to answer his question. The matter was getting very serious because of Tobbya's unwillingness to cooperate. Her father saw that things were getting out of hand and began to despair. He thought that Tobbya would be punished severely for no fault of hers ; that his son would be lost to him for ever, and that he himself would be disgraced and driven out of the king's palace. The only way out of all this trouble was to show to the king that the allegations against Tobbya were false and totally impossible. This could only be done by revealing to the king the secret of Tobbya's identity. He therefore asked the king for a private audience. Everyone else was ordered out of the king's reception hall. The king, Tobbya, and her father were left alone.

" Your Majesty," Tobbya's father began, " it has always been possible that many innocent souls have been punished for no fault of theirs because of insufficiency of proof. Even you, Your Majesty, merciful, kind, and wise as you are, you are nevertheless a human being. You cannot penetrate into a person's heart and soul to find out whether it is really innocent or not. You are always bound to believe the reports of your courtiers. This scandal cannot be cleared unless I openly tell you the ins and outs of the story. But, Your Majesty, you must first give me your word of honor that the secret will be kept between the three of us." When the king promised that he would keep the secret, Tobbya's father told him their story from the very beginning, including the true identity of his child.

The king was sorry for Tobbya. He was also amazed at the story. He admired her courage at being disguised as a boy to accompany her father in his long search for the lost brother. Her unwillingness to disgrace her enemies even at the risk of her name and honor was also equally marvelous Though he pitied her for the difficulties she had undergone in the past, the king was much pleased to know that she was a girl. So far he liked Tobbya only as a young handsome and well mannered boy. Later however, when he knew her identity his admiration was changed into real love and he began to have high expectations. His heart began to beat fast whenever he thought of Tobbya. His whole body began to tremble at every sight of the beautiful young girl. But he was very careful not to show it to anybody, above all to his uncle and his cousin. He would have liked to punish and disgrace his courtiers who were responsible for the false story, but no formal disproof of the allegations could be made without betraying the the secret he had promised to keep.

Finally the king decided to give a false impression to his uncle and his courtiers that he was convinced by the allegations. He therefore ordered Tobbya to be deprived of all the honors and decorations bestowed upon her, to be dismissed from service, and to live henceforth with her father in the same conditions in which they were living before she entered the king's service. He called Tobbya and her father, however, and told them of his real motives. He gave them much gold and property in private, advised Tobbya to stay in the tent all the time, ordered her father to show up at the palace only once every day, and sent them to live on their own. Their tent was pitched, however, just opposite to that of the king at his own instructions. So that he could at least be able to look at Tobbya through his field glasses every now and then.

The king's uncle and Tobbya's enemies were very happy to see the young boy dismissed from the king's service just as they wanted. His cousin, however, was shocked when she heard that Tobbya was no longer in the king's service. She was extremely sorry at "his" dismissal. She wept and wept all day long and could neither eat nor drink. The king was very sorry for her not only because she could no more see her love every day, but also because he knew that her love was useless. He could not tell her the secret because of the word of honor he had given to Tobbya's father.

Many days passed since Tobbya left the king's service and her enemies were exulted at the success of their plot. But the king knew everything. He only waited silently for the right time to punish his dishonest servants. Tobbya, on the other hand, did not have any grudges against any one. She never cared for honors or for the king's service. She was only looking for the day when her brother Wahid would be found. Her only hope was that her father, Wahid, and herself would one day meet and go back to her mother in happiness.

The king was doing his best to please Tobbya in private. He urged his representatives and the governors in every corner of his kingdom to send all slaves acquired within the previous year to his palace. The king's proclamation was now heard everywhere and people began to come to the king's palace with their newly acquired slaves. The king had proclaimed that he would give to the owner of the man he was looking for ten times the amount of money he had spent on his purchase and some other special gifts besides. This caused everyone to bring their slaves to the presence of the king.

The king was very happy when he saw thousands of his subjects coming to him with their slaves. He called Tobbya's father in private and told him to look for

Wahid among the troop of slaves that would pass by their tent. He then ordered that the people should march with their slaves by the tent of Tobbya and her father. On the morrow, thousands and thousands of slaves marched by the tent. Tobbya and her father watched with patience from dawn to sun-set. Wahid was not among those slaves that passed by all day long. They started to despair when night began to fall. When it was too dark to see the king ordered that the remaining part of the crowd would march on the next day. The king watched Tobbya and her father through his field glasses all day long to see if they had found Wahid. He was greatly disappointed to know that the boy was not found on that day. Tobbya and her father could not sleep. They spent the whole night weeping at their misfortune. It was the same thing on the next day. Wahid was not found at all. They completely despaired now. "Wahid must have lost his life somewhere, or else we would have found him by now," they said to each other.

On the third day, Tobbya and her father were watching the slaves pass by as usual. They waited and waited. It was already noon and Wahid had not been found. They had now almost no hope at all. Indeed they were even tired of looking at the mass of human beings flooding by. Only now and then would they look up and see if it was Wahid there. It had now become almost instinctive for them to do that. Wahid was not there.

At about noon, however, Tobbya saw a young man walking side by side with a clean-shaven Mohammedan merchant. The young man was carrying a stick on his shoulders and was walking slowly and pensively. As soon as she saw him Tobbya thought that his general stature and his movements looked like those of her brother. But the young man whom she was looking at looked much darker than Wahid. The young slave and his Mohammedan master approached the tent. Tobbya knew now beyond any doubt that the young man, who looked a bit darker because of extremities of cold and heat was her own brother, Wahid. She was overwhelmed by her sudden discovery and could not say a word. She did not even tell her father what she saw. She only stretched her hands towards Wahid and fell down flat on her face.

Her father did not see what happened. He only saw his daughter suddenly fall on her face. He did not know what happened to Tobbya. When he saw her fall down he ran forward to pick her up. In the meantime Wahid saw his father suddenly and recognized him at once. "Father! Oh! Father!" he cried running towards him and hurling down his stick from his shoulders. The boy threw himself on his father and kissed him wildly. "How on earth did you come here?" he asked the old man. Wahid, Tobbya and their father were now clasping, hugging, and kissing one another. They were overwhelmed by the suddenness of their reunion and the happiness thereof. All the time, however, none of them could say a word to the other. It was as if they had lost their faculty of speaking, for a moment. Wahid recognized only his father. He could not recognize Tobbya at first. He could not recognize the young boy who was eagerly kissing him with his father. It was only much later that the secret was explained to him.

In the meantime the king saw through his field glasses that Tobbya and her father had at last found the lost boy. He immediately ordered Wahid and his master to be brought to his presence. The king was extremely happy when he saw Wahid for the first time. Wahid was indeed a perfect copy of Tobbya. Everybody who knew Tobbya at the king's court could not tell that it was another boy. Indeed, many thought that it was Tobbya herself who was being recalled to the palace. Tobbya and Wahid were perfectly identical. The only difference between them was to be found in their temperaments. However much she tried to hide it, Tobbya had always the delicacy and sweetness of the woman in her. Wahid on the other hand, had the dashing characteristics of his sex. The king was highly gratified at this. "I have now found a husband for my cousin," he said to himself. "She can never tell that it is anybody else but Tobbya and will continue to love him."

The king ordered the promised gold, money, and special presents to be given to Wahid's former master and sent him back to his country. "Stay with me in the palace," he said to Wahid. "I shall bring you up in my court and I'll make you live in comfort and happiness." Wahid did not know what to say to the king who had been so kind to himself, to Tobbya and their father. At last he made up his mind. "Your Majesty," he told the king. "I first went out of my country to look for a certain merchant who was kind to me and to thank him for his good deeds. While in search of the man I underwent innumerable difficulties, and I was finally sold into slavery. You have just freed me from this bondage. But I have taken it upon myself never to stay at home until I find that kind man. I shall never go back on my word, Your Majesty, I shall look for him until either I succeed in finding him or die. I cannot chose comfort and happiness at Your Majesty's palace and forget my friend. Please excuse me Your Majesty. It is I who will be the loser, you can always find hundreds to serve you happily and willingly."

The king admired Wahid's determination and strong will. "If that is the only reason," answered the king, "I shall find your friend just as I found you. Don't worry about that. Only accept my offer and stay with me here in my palace." "Your Majesty," answered Wahid with much feeling, "if you promise to do that for me, I am more than willing to serve you. Let alone to live in comfort and happiness, as you have said, I am even willing to stay with you as one of the humble slaves in the palace."

The king immediately gave an order for an announcement to be made throughout his kingdom inviting all merchants within his realm to come to his palace. The proclamation read as follows:

"All ye merchants within my kingdom, be sure to come to my palace as soon as you have heard this proclamation for those of you who have been plundered during the war. I shall restore your merchandise to you; and for those who have not lost anything during the war I shall issue passports which will ensure you safe and free movements everywhere."

On the morrow Wahid was made one of the king's courtiers with all the honors and decorations that Tobbya formerly possessed. The king made him a very intimate attendant, and almost all the courtiers of the king began to be jealous of the young boy's status. The king warned Wahid, however, of the possibility that his

courtiers might try to create stories against him, as they had done in the case of Tobbya, to bring about his disgrace. He warned him not to accept any orders except from himself, and not to leave his presence at all: Wahid would therefore spend the whole day in the king's presence and then go to his tent at night to join Tobbya and his father.

The king's cousin did not know of Wahid's coming to the palace. After the scandalous story against Tobbya and herself her father had ordered her not to leave the tent at all and never to go to any of the quarters where the king received his courtiers. But the king knew her feelings towards Tobbya. He knew how much she loved Tobbya, and how much she lamented her dismissal from the court. One day he wanted to console her. "Don't worry, my sister. If you love him I shall take him back to my service." When she heard these words she was extremely happy."My Lord and brother," she said to him, her eyes wet with tears, "if you do that for me, My Lord, I am ready to renounce my royal status and serve you as one of your cooks or as one of your humblest slaves. I know that as your cousin I have all the world at my disposal. But what purpose would all this glory serve if one could not get what one wished? There can be no happiness in this world in such circumstances. It is much better to be happy in poverty than to suffer in richness. If you want to make me happy, my Lord, help me to be married to Tobbya the only boy I have loved so much in my life; and I shall be ready to return your kindness by renouncing all my royal honors and serving you as one of your humble servants." She wept as she spoke. But before the king could reply to her demands her father came suddenly, and the king left them alone. The Princess was left in suspense without knowing what the king's answer would be. The king himself was in love with Tobbya! He could think of nothing but her. Everything else began to slip from his memory. At times he would stop in the middle of sentence and grapple for words trying to remember what he wanted to say. In the evening, after the usual banquets he would send out all his courtiers, go out of his royal tent, and stare at Tobbya's tent beyond for hours in the perfect silence of the night and would only go to bed when he felt too sleepy to remain awake.

This was his first love. Tobbya was the first and only one he loved and wanted to possess. Indeed, before he knew the true identity of Tobbya and wanted to make her his queen no woman ever came to his mind. He was such a disciplined and serious prince. Once he loved Tobbya however, he dreamt of nobody else but her! He would have liked to go and pay her a secret visit every night. But he knew Tobbya very well. He knew her strong will power, her shyness, and the strength of her faith. The only thing he could do was to ask Wahid how Tobbya was when he came early in the morning. "How is Tobbya?" was the first thing the king said to Wahid every morning. Such was his love for Tobbya, a secret he could not share with anybody, not even his beloved cousin. In the meantime, thousands and thousands of merchants began to come to the palace in accordance with the king's proclamation. Those who had been robbed of their merchandise during the war came to ask for restitution. Others came to receive the royal permits which would give them free and safe passages everywhere. Every merchant without exception came to the king's palace. The king was very happy to see them coming. He told Wahid to look for his man attentively and ordered the merchants to march in front of him.

Wahid stood at the gate and began looking for his benefactor. He looked and looked but could not find him the first day. On the morrow he resumed his search he looked for hours and hours without success. Very late in the morning, however, a merchant walked slowly in front of him looking very sad. He was literally in rags and it was evident from his looks that he had been suffering from hunger. He had been robbed of all his property and had undergone innumerable difficulties. When he saw him, Wahid was extremely happy. He jumped and fell on the knees of the good man. "How are you my lord?" he asked the merchant clinging onto his knees. "How are you my kind benefactor?" The countenance of the merchant had much changed because of the extremities he suffered. But it was not difficult for Wahid to recognize him.

The merchant was astonished. At first he could not remember where he had known the young man who was prostrating himself before him in spite of his honors and illustrious decorations. Later, however, when Wahid told him his story he remembered clearly what had happened. But he was not happy because he did not want his good deeds to be publicized in this world. He wanted to do good for its own sake, not for vain glory.

As soon as he saw that Wahid had found the man he was looking for the king ordered him to be brought to his presence. He asked him how much property he had lost during the war, and gave him twice as much. Moreover, he made him a Negadras (a kind of agent for financial affairs) in the district where he lived, and sent him home. It is sometimes true that the deeds of men are visited upon them not only in the world to come but in this world of men. Once he had fulfilled his promise to find the merchant for Wahid, the king called him and his father to his presence in private. "You were weeping day in and day out at the loss of your beloved son," he said to Wahid's father ."But I found him for you and thus made you happy." He then turned to Wahid and said: "And you Wahid, you were looking for that good merchant for months on end: you were even sold into slavery in the process. 1 freed you from bondage and found the man for you. Now," he added looking at both of them, "now it is your turn to do something for me in return!" Wahid and his father were confounded. They could not imagine what they could possibly do for the king.

"Your Majesty," they told the young king, it is indeed true that we should do something for you in return. But what on earth could we do for you except to express our gratitude for all the kindness you have done to us, and to pray that God may give you a long and prosperous life? You could fulfill all our wishes because everything is within your power. But you know we can do nothing for you in return. Moreover is there anything in this world you could not get if you wanted; anything that we, your humble servants, could do for you? No, Your Majesty, no."

"It is true," he replied, "I can do everything I want. I am king, and my kingdom is wide. Though I am still young and have lost my mother and father, my god

has given me all that I need in this world. There is only one thing I lack to make my happiness complete, something I can only get with your help. It is not only kings and rich men that can help others. I do not ask you what you cannot do for me."

"'Well Your Majesty tell us what you want us to do for you. There is nothing within our power that we will refuse to do for Your Majesty." A cock who lives with his hens by picking microscopic grains from the ground is much happier than a lonely fox who is let loose among sheep and goats and has plenty to devour! So is my position, though I have everything at my disposal I am not completely happy as yet. If you want me to be perfectly happy," he said finally addressing Wahid's father " give me the hand of Tobbya and let her be my wife. And you Wahid " he added looking toward the young boy, " accept the hand of my beloved cousin and marry her. Once you marry her you shall be the first man in my kingdom next to myself. This I promise to you!"

Tobbya's father was stunned at the unexpected demand of the king. Moreover, he was worried about Tobbya's reactions. He knew she cared much for her religion and feared that she would at once reject the proposal. Finally he decided to postpone his reply " Give me some time to think about it," he said to the king and went home. Wahid too, did not reply. He wanted first to see what would happen to Tobbya.

Tobbya was shocked when she heard of the king's plans. Indeed she was surprised. She never wanted a life of comfort and grandeur and could not at once assent to his proposal. She only thought of the various possibilities. If she refused, she thought, it would be ungrateful to the king who had done so much for her and her family. If she accepted his hand it would be tantamount to denying her religion and would mean that she preferred the comforts and pleasures of his transient world to the happiness and eternal glory of the world to come. She finally decided to refuse the hand of the pagan king whatever the risks. Before she took any step, however, she prayed her Lord to protect her father and brother from all dangers that might befall them because of her decision. She then wrote the following letter to the king.

" Your Majesty! I have just heard that you asked my father for my hand. I was surprised at this sudden and unexpected news. You are a great king, a rich man under whose power everybody and everything trembles. All the peoples of the world respect your name and honor You have had a glorious past and greater things await you in the future. How can such a man condescend so much as to ask the hand of a poor girl like me? Indeed it would certainly show great respect for me if I accepted this unmerited honor But I know that I do not deserve it I cannot be a suitable match for you. Please leave me alone, Your Majesty. Moreover, I cannot give my hand to a king who has not been baptized in the name of Christ. I cannot deny my religion and forfeit the eternal life and glory that await me in the world to come for the passing, transient comforts and pleasures of this world. I stretch my hands towards God, and shall never give my hand willingly to a pagan. I have pledged myself, Your Majesty, not to marry anyone but a Christian. I pray Your Majesty to take this in good spirit. You have indeed done a lot for us : you have found my brother for us and made us happy. No man can do anything in return for such kindness. It is only God himself who can reward you for it. You do not know Christ, but he knows you, and will certainly reward you for your goodness!" At the end of the letter Tobbya added "You remember, Your Majesty, you have given us your word of honor more than once that you would send us to our country in peace. I pray you, My Lord, to fulfill your promise and to make it possible for us to return home as soon as possible." She gave the letter to Wahid and begged him to deliver it to the king in private.

The king was very sorry at the failure of his proposal. He could make Tobbya his wife by force, but he knew very well that forced marriage cannot be a success and that a king should not misuse his powers to obtain by force whatever he wanted. He also thought of sending his friends home according to his word of honor But that was inconceivable! His whole body trembled at the thought of sending Tobbya away and losing her for ever. He could not stand it. He preferred Tobbya to everything else. He felt that his kingdom, his crown, his riches and all his royal grandeur were nothing compared to Tobbya. His heart beat and he had a terrible fever when he thought of the possibility of losing Tobbya. He was extremely troubled by his feeling and began to avoid people. He refused to give any audiences. It was announced that the king had a fever and that he would not see anyone. No one except Wahid was allowed to see him. The king felt almost desperate as regards the possibility of marrying Tobbya. She had once and for all vowed not to marry him because he was not a Christian. He spent hours and hours in meditation. He knew clearly that Tobbya would not change her mind at all unless he became a Christian. Finally after long contemplation he decided to embrace the Christian religion. " Go and tell your sister", he said to Wahid at last, "that I have decided to become a Christian and marry her. Go and convey to her my congratulations. Tell her to get a priest for me who would teach and baptize me in private." Tobbya was very happy at the news, not because she was going to be a queen, but because God had used her as a means of converting the great pagan king to Christianity. She praised the name of God for his kindness.

The king began in earnest preparing for the great day. He announced that he was going to give a grand feast after some months and ordered everything to be ready soon: tella and tej were prepared and many heads of cattle were collected.

At night one of the high priests of the church came from one of the monasteries and began teaching him in secret the fundamentals of the Christian faith. He was not the only one who attended this nocturnal course. Also his cousin participated in the secret lessons. The king had planned to give her in marriage to Wahid who looked like Tobbya whom she loved as a disguised boy. He called her in private and said to her " You must become a Christian if you want to marry your beloved Tobbya. I myself have decided to be baptized and to marry a Christian girl." She readily accepted the idea and attended the secret lessons with him. Both began to understand the teachings of Christ. In the meantime the king made secret arrangements for all his weapons of war to have the sign of the cross carved on them. A new flag and seal was made bearing the signs of the cross instead of the pagan ones. Now all the royal drums, the trumpets, the shields, and all the medals and other state decorations bore the cross and other signs of the Christian faith. The names of the pagan gods were erased and the name of Christ inscribed in their place. After all the preparations for the feast were finished the king and his cousin were baptized by the high priest at midnight one day before the king's wedding day. On the morrow, before sunrise, the king ordered his new flag to be fixed on his tents and the old one to be put on the fire. Then at day break the big drum began to be heard resounding at the square in front of the palace with two banners bearing the cross carried on either side of it. This meant in accordance with usual practice that a very important proclamation was going to be made and that everyone should assemble in the main square to listen to the announcement. Everyone was still in bed, but when the regular and familiar beats of the drum were heard all hastened to get up and ran to the square as soon as possible. Some could not get the time to wash their faces nor even to get dressed properly. Everyone ran to the square to hear the proclamation. Within a short time the square was full of thousands of people.

The king watched this from his palace. When he saw the people gathered he sent his chief herald accompanied by his large group of announcers down to the square. The king's chief herald was dressed in special costumes of honor: a llemd, or short cape elaborately worked with gold, golden shoes, golden hat, a golden zennar or cartridge belt, a beautiful gown and green trousers of silk, and carried the document of the proclamation in one hand and a golden stick in the other. With such pomp and grandeur the king's herald reached the square. The rhythm of the drum became faster and faster signifying that the time for the big announcement was arriving. The people waited silently for the proclamation. Everyone was pushing everyone else in frenzy to get near enough to listen to every word of the announcement. Finally one herald ascended the platform as usual to pronounce the king's wishes. "Listen, listen ye people," he began, "May God render deaf the ears of the king's enemies!" After the pronouncement of this formula with which every proclamation started, the chief Herald of the king read slowly and in a low voice the words of the proclamation which were then repeated loudly by the announcer on the central platform. It ran as follows:

"Oh my people, and my country! There is only one God who created the world. He created the earth, the heavens, mankind, animals, and all the other things in the world. There has never been another creator nor shall any other even come in the future. The only True God was before the World and will continue to be even after this transient world passes away. We believe in God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Ghost who is only one God.

"This Almighty God first created Adam and Eve and made them multiply and reproduce the human race.

Not only Adam and Eve but also all the birds and the other animals glorified His name for this. For years and years our ancestors multiplied themselves and filled the face of the earth. They began living in the different parts of the world and their languages and ways of life became different .Their beliefs and religions also became different. Men forgot the True God and began worshiping idols. But God still loved the world and sent his only Son to the world. The Son of God came down from the Heavens, was incarnated and born by the Holy Virgin Mary. He became man like any one of us and taught the Word of God. He was crucified, and died on the cross. His disciples went round the world and taught his words. Wherever they taught the name of God the people understood the words of God and believed in Christ. They were baptized in the name of Christ. Those who did not listen to the teachings of the Apostles remained in darkness and continued to worship idols, evil spirits, trees, and mountains.

"I have also been carrying on this heritage of darkness and ignorance. But now Jesus Christ has opened my heart. He has pulled me out of the darkness of ignorance and made me know the only and true creator of the World. I am convinced in the Truths of the teachings of Christ. Let it be known to my beloved people that I have become a Christian. Those who have me and would like to follow me may be baptized; those who do not love me may do otherwise. Let those of you who accept to be Christians, move to the right hand side and camp there; those who prefer their old ways of life may proceed to the left and camp there. "

These were the words of the king's proclamation. There was no one who wanted to camp at the left hand side. All wanted to be baptized All decided for Christianity! Every one silently proceeded to the right hand side and camped in order as if no change was introduced at all. The king had been worrying that he might be left alone, he was very happy when he saw that his people honored his new religion and followed him. He immediately passed a royal decree to the effect that Christians might possess slaves but no one might keep Christians as slaves.

All were saved because of a merchant. All believed in Christ because of a woman. The whole of Christian Ethiopia was established because of the words of a king.

A very big das, or temporary pavilion was built for the wedding ceremony. The tables were set at once. Wat was prepared in a very large quantity, and tej was kept in hundreds of containers ready to be served to the royal guests. Areqe was made available. Many head of cattle were slain. Glasses and birille were washed and set in order on the tables. Everything was now ready for the feast.

The king had already prepared "the royal costumes and ornaments for his queen. A new tent of red silk richly embellished with gold was pitched for her. A large fence of red clothes, like that for the king's tents, was built round the tent. Hundreds of body guards lined up around it. Tobbya was dressed in her magnificent costume of a queen and was led into her new tent with a retinue of beautiful lady-attendants almost as gorgeously dressed as their royal mistress. A thousand shank-ilia or Negro soldiers armed with shining swords and wearing their tall red tarbooshes came to join the queen's body guard and formed part of Her Majesty's followers. Tobbya's camp looked more active and more beautiful than that of the king himself.

Wahid was made the king's Ras Bitweded⁹ and was crowned with the traditional coronet of his new title. The king ordered all the high ranking officials of the old Christian Kingdom to camp with Wahid and become his followers. Wahid's army and following soon became the largest after that of the king himself.

It was decided that both the king and Wahid should marry on the same day. The king's cousin still thought that she was going to marry Tobbya, the young handsome boy she loved. The king still did not tell her the secret of Tobbya's identity. So on the eve of their wedding day he took Wahid to her to see her reactions. When she saw Wahid in his new costumes of honor wearing the coronet of the Ras Bitweded she never doubted that it was not Tobbya. She longed to see her beloved so much that as soon as she saw him she burst into tears. She could not stand the happiness of seeing "Tobbya" once again after such a long time! she only said to the king that "Tobbya" must have increased much in height since she saw him last. "His name is no more Tobbya," the king told her. "I have given him another name. He is henceforth to be known as Wahid.¹⁰ Wahid means one, or united as one.¹¹ I gave him this name because on this day the pagans and the Amharas¹¹ (Christians) are united into one. His original name has been given to my wife. She is to be known as Tobbya."

"It is fine, Your Majesty," answered his cousin. "It is a good name. It has a good meaning. I agree."

The wedding was celebrated. The marriage made thousands and thousands of people happy. The kingdom and the new religion were greatly strengthened.

As soon as he was thus honored Wahid remembered the son of these kind people who helped him recover from the wounds inflicted upon him by a group of merchants. He searched for him, found him, and made him his chief courtier.

And the king composed the following lines in praise of Tobbya:

"Where has such a beauty blossomed,

She must be an angel sent down from heaven;

Created by God with no defects, and no blemishes.

She enchants the whole world, both men and women;

Despite all these blessings of Nature, she knows no pride:

She cut down her beautiful hair in a boy's fashion;

She renounced her softest dresses of silk to put on a rough

Lemd; She abandoned her tender Persian carpets, and walked on

foot on the roughest of roads; She left her comfortable throne for a dirty solitary hill; While free from faults she was accused of dishonorable

acts; She was dismissed from service by the folly of a dwarf

and his infamous accomplices. She was disguised as a boy for the sake of her brother;

When her identity was revealed, however, she united two

conflicting kingdoms. Tobbya is a courageous girl—she displayed her valor

in the battle field, And she was the only one who captured the enemy king.¹²

She is an object of pride to all who love her,

She won a crown for herself for all her troubles.

Like a plant in the dry season.

Every one withered under the effect of your beauty.

Let every one be enchanted and allured,

If that leads him to the worship of God!

I have discovered something unique in your personality.

So artistically made by God, you trouble the hearts of men

However much I learn and understand the Gospels,

I cannot believe that there is anyone on earth as beautiful

as Tobbya."

In response to His Majesty's poem Tobbya sang the following lines:

''Why all this criticism"?

What has Tobbya done, except to marry a king?

Millions of Amhara hosts dispersed before him;

Rases and Dejazmatches were reduced by him;

He disposed many powerful kings;

No weapons of war overpowered him;

People trembled at the news of his approach,

He crushed oxen into pieces,

No chain was strong enough to harness him.

He was literally a lion, an uncontrollable lion,

But now he is tame, and tied down by a Mateb.¹³

No power of the Christian kings of Abyssinia,

Not even the Turks who manufactured arms.

No one could break the power of your Fathers.

Alas! You are now sitting on the great throne.

You are very young, inexperienced in the arts of war,

You do not know what to do,

You dispersed your large army at the words of a priest."

1 The Amharic has the double meaning, " a fine young man " or " a healthy young man." It is this latter meaning that the merchant understands when the merchant tells bin. about Wahid.

2 The Ethiopians beat their chests with their fists as an expression of sorrow or pity. This is particularly the practice of women, especially in funeral processions.

³ Qwancha, a basket container used for keeping milk or other liquids.

⁴ Ingib, a bowl-shaped basket used to hold and measure grain.

⁵ Hamle, the Ethiopian month of greatest rain.

⁶ Sent, the tenth month of the Ethiopian year.

⁷ Amelmalo is the final and softest stage in the preparation of cotton before being spun. The cotton, after being cleaned and softened is rolled into small pieces of long cylindrical form... These pieces are called amelmalo and are taken one by one to be spun into fine threads. Amelmalo is therefore taken as a symbol of refinement and fineness, often in connection with delicate fingers, because, if nothing else there is a similarity between a finger and an amelmado.

⁸ The Amharic word for "this" is of the feminine gender. Tobbya therefore understood in mediately that it referred to her and that it would thus reveal her identity. She immediately warned her father, however, who cleverly played on the word and used it to refer not to Tobbya but to the world which in Amharic can be considered either masculine or feminine.

⁹ Ras Bitwoded, a title of the greatest honor Has, literally means head and Bitwoded, beloved.

¹⁰ Literally, one united, etc.

¹¹ Amhara is strictly speaking the name of one of the main tribes of Ethiopia, a tribe which was converted to Christianity in the early centuries after Christ. Being very militant and having struggled for centuries with the Muslims on religious and political issues, this tribe has given its name to the Christian population of central Ethiopia. The name of the tribe was often used as a synonym for a Christian. Even today, especially in the highly islamized regions of Eastern Ethiopia the common people use the term Amhara for all Christians.

¹² This refers, of course, to the King's love for Tobbya.

¹³ The mateb is the piece of cloth worn by Christians as a sign of their faith, term is often used us a symbol of Christianity.<