Long ago, in the highlands of Eritrea where the Tigrean people tell their stories by the fire, a white kite built her nest high in the branches of a tall tree. She cared for her young ones with love, feeding them carefully and shielding them beneath her wings. But danger prowled near. A cunning fox, ever hungry and always scheming, came one day with a trick up his sleeve, or rather, with an axe of clay in his paws. Approaching the kite’s tree, he brandished the fragile axe and said, “With this, I shall cut down your tree unless you give me one of your young.”
The white kite trembled. She feared the fall of the tree more than she trusted her own wings, and in her terror she agreed. “Do not cut the tree, for you will destroy us all. I shall give you one of my little ones.” And so, she handed over a chick to the fox, who devoured it with glee.
But greed has no end. Each day the fox returned with the same threat, pressing the clay axe against the bark of the tree and repeating his demand. And each day the kite, helpless and afraid, gave him another of her young. Her cries echoed through the branches, but no one answered. Soon, only one small chick remained.
The white kite wept bitterly, her heart breaking for her lost children. It was then that a raven, black-feathered and sharp-eyed, flew near and perched beside her. “Why do you weep so sorrowfully?” asked the raven.
The kite poured out her grief: “Each day the fox threatens to cut down my tree with his axe, unless I surrender one of my children. I have lost them all, and now he will surely take this last one too.”
The raven, wiser and less fearful, chuckled darkly. “Your sorrow is great, but your fear is greater still. His axe is made of clay. It cannot cut wood; it can only break. The next time he comes, do not yield. Say to him: ‘Cut, then! Strike the tree if you can!’”
The kite, though still trembling, clung to the raven’s words.
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The following day, the fox returned as usual. He stood beneath the tree and sneered, “Give me the last of your young, or I shall cut down this tree with my axe!”
The kite raised her voice, stronger than she thought possible. “Cut, cut then! That axe is nothing but clay!”
Angered, the fox swung the axe against the trunk, and as the raven had said, the tool shattered into useless pieces. Humiliated, the fox hissed in rage. “Who told you my axe was clay? Tell me, or I shall return with an axe of iron and fell your tree for certain!”
Terrified but truthful, the kite answered, “It was the raven.”
The fox’s eyes narrowed. “Then I shall have my revenge on him!”
He plotted carefully. One day, the fox lay flat upon a wide rock, letting his tongue hang out as though death had claimed him. His body was still, his eyes closed, his fur lifeless. The raven, flying above, spied the carcass and thought, “Here lies a feast!”
The raven descended, hopped close, and began to peck at what seemed a corpse. In an instant, the fox leapt up, jaws snapping, and seized the raven in his grip. Victory seemed his.
But the raven, ever resourceful, pleaded for his life. “Do not kill me so quickly. If you wish me dead, make a great fire. When the wood turns to glowing embers, throw me upon it. Better to perish in flames than in your jaws.”
The fox, greedy for the spectacle, agreed. He gathered wood, built a large fire, and when the flames rose, he cast the raven upon it. Yet the raven was no fool. Beating his wings, he soared into the air unharmed, leaving the fox glaring at the empty sky.
And so the raven escaped, while the fox was left with nothing but ashes and his broken pride. From that day onward, the Tigrean people say of things that do not last: “It is an axe of clay.”
Moral Lesson
This Tigrean folktale teaches that fear often gives power to lies, while truth and courage shatter deception. The white kite’s terror blinded her to the fox’s weakness, but once she faced him with confidence, his trick collapsed. At the same time, the story warns against greed and treachery, showing that cunning used for cruelty often backfires.
In life, false threats and empty boasts may appear powerful, but like the axe of clay, they cannot endure. Wisdom, truth, and courage are the weapons that outlast deceit.
Knowledge Check
Who built a nest in the tree?
The white kite built her nest high in the tree.
What did the fox use to threaten the kite?
He used a clay axe, pretending it could cut the tree.
How did the raven help the kite?
He advised her to call the fox’s bluff, knowing the axe was useless.
What proverb came from this story?
“It is an axe of clay,” meaning something weak and not durable.
How did the fox try to kill the raven?
He pretended to be dead and later threw the raven into a fire.
Where does this folktale originate?
It is a Tigrean folktale from Eritrea.
Source: Tigrean folktale, Eritrea.
