We've put you in Columbus, OH.
The fidel, first words with their sound, and where to ask about weekend classes — for children growing up here, and the parents teaching them.
Tales Ethiopian grandparents tell, a page at a time. Read it to your child, or let them read it to you — then answer the questions and tell it back.
These are traditional Ethiopian tales, retold in our own words. Hundreds more, collected from storytellers in every region, are at Ethiopian Folktales
Read it aloud together. Try the Amharic first; the English is one tap away. Then answer the three questions — if one is wrong, read the story again and try another.
The fox and the crow
አንድ ቀን አንድ ቁራ ትልቅ የአይብ ቁራጭ አግኝቶ ዛፍ ላይ ሰፈረ።
አንዲት ብልጥ ቀበሮ ከዛፉ ሥር ሆና አይቡን አየችው።
ቀበሮዋ «አንተ ቁራ፣ እንዴት ያለህ ቆንጆ ወፍ ነህ!» አለች።
«ድምፅህም እንደ መልክህ ያማረ መሆን አለበት። እስቲ አንድ ዘፈን ዝፈንልኝ።»
ቁራው በሙገሳው ተደስቶ አፉን ከፍቶ «ቋ!» አለ።
አይቡ ከአፉ ወደቀ። ቀበሮዋ አንስታው እየሳቀች ሄደች።
ቁራው ምን ይዞ ነበር?
ቀበሮዋ ቁራውን ምን እንዲያደርግ ጠየቀችው?
ቁራው አይቡን ለምን አጣ?
The lion and the mouse
አንድ አንበሳ በዛፍ ጥላ ሥር ተኝቶ ነበር።
አንዲት ትንሽ አይጥ በላዩ ላይ ስትሮጥ ቀሰቀሰችው።
አንበሳው ተቆጥቶ በመዳፉ ያዛት።
አይጧ «እባክህ ልቀቀኝ፤ አንድ ቀን እረዳሃለሁ» አለችው።
አንበሳው ሳቀ። «አንቺ ትንሽ አይጥ እኔን ልትረጂኝ?» አለ፤ ግን ለቀቃት።
ከጥቂት ቀናት በኋላ አንበሳው በአዳኞች መረብ ተያዘ።
አይጧ ጩኸቱን ሰምታ መጣች፤ መረቡን በጥርሷ ቆራርጣ ነፃ አወጣችው።
አንበሳው ለምን ተቆጣ?
አንበሳው በምን ተያዘ?
ከዚህ ተረት ምን እንማራለን?
Ask a parent or grandparent in Amharic, listen to the answer, then do the task. Heritage-language classes send children home with questions like these.
A grandparent or an elder
«አንድ ተረት ይንገሩኝ።»
Please tell me a folk tale.
Then: Tell it back to someone else in Amharic, and say what it teaches.
Your parents
«ስሜ ምን ማለት ነው? ማን አወጣልኝ?»
What does my name mean? Who chose it?
Then: Write the answer in two or three sentences.
A parent or grandparent
«የሚወዱት ምሳሌ የትኛው ነው? ምን ማለት ነው?»
Which proverb do you like best? What does it mean?
Then: Write the proverb down and say when people use it.
The order follows published Amharic courses and children's readers: the seven vowel forms and a few letter families at a time, reading only words made from letters already taught (FSI Amharic Basic Course; University of Wisconsin); short stories and folk tales followed by questions, as in Ethiopia's Grade 1–3 readers and its national early-grade reading check; English beside the Amharic, as the bilingual diaspora books do; and questions to ask at home, as heritage classes give. The Amharic is drafted and is being checked by a native speaker.