Haile
was a happy little boy living with his mother and father in their home in Ethiopia.
But, one day his mother died and Haile was so hurt, and so confused, and so
angry. A year passed and his father decided to remarry. But, Haile remained so
hurt, and so confused, and so angry. So when Zeynab met him and hugged him he
pulled away from her. When she fixed him his favorite foods for dinner he
didn’t eat. When she made him a play suit out of fine cloth he ran through the
woods and played so roughly he tore the clothes up. Whenever she spoke to him
he ignored her.
One
day when her husband was gone hunting, Zeynab went to Haile’s bedroom to talk
to him.
"Haile,
I love you so much and I really need you to love."
Before
she could finish Haile jumped up and said, "I hate you, you aren’t my
mother. I’m running away."
Haile
ran past Zayneb and out of the house. Zayneb sat down and cried and cried. When
her husband returned she told him what had happened. He told her to go on and
cook dinner and not to worry that he would find Haile. Haile was at the river
in his favorite spot. The two walked home and ate dinner without a word.
That
night, as the other two slept, Zayneb got out and walked deep into the forest
to the home of the witch doctor. The witch doctor was a very wise woman who
knew the ways of peoples’ minds and hearts.
"I
need you to make me a love potion so my step-son will love me," said
Zayneb.
"Well,"
the old woman said slowly, "Before I can give you a love potion, you must
bring me the whisker from a ferocious lion."
Zeynab’s
eyes grew large as she said, "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Use
your imagination," said the witch doctor.
Zeynab
went home and slept just a few more hours. She got up before the sun rose and
put several large pieces of raw meat in a bag and headed toward the hills. She
walked until she found a cave which had large paw prints around it. Zeynab took
a piece of meat out and placed it in front of the entrance to the cave. Then
she hid in the bushes about 50 feet from the entrance and waited.
After
a few minutes a large, very ferocious looking lion stepped out of the cave,
looked around, smelled the meat, and ate it all up.
Zayneb
waited for a couple of hours then she walked up to the entrance of the cave and
placed a second piece of meat in front of it. Then she moved back only 25 feet
and didn’t hide in the bushes. After a few minutes the lion came out. He looked
around, stared at Zayneb, smelled the meat, picked it up, and ate it all up.
Zayneb
waited for a couple of hours then she walked up to the entrance of the cave and
placed a third piece of meat in front of it. She moved back only 5 feet and
didn’t hide in the bushes. After a few minutes the lion came out. He looked
around, stared at Zayneb, smelled the meat, picked it up, and ate it all up.
Zayneb
waited for a couple of more hours then she walked up to the entrance of the
cave and placed a fourth piece of meat in front of it. She moved back only two
steps. After a few minutes the lion came out. He looked around, stared at
Zayneb. She stared back at the lion. Although she was shaking inside, she
didn’t move her body. She just stared right back at the lion’s large brown
eyes. The lion smelled the meat, picked it up and began eating.
Very
slowly Zayneb extended her hand, grabbed a whisker and quickly pulled it out.
The lion kept eating as slowly, very slowly, as if walking on a tight rope,
Zayneb backed away toward the bushes. When she got into the forest she ran back
to the witch doctor’s home.
Breathing
heavily, she rushed into the witch doctor’s house and held up the whisker.
"See, here, I brought you a lion’s whisker. Now, give me a love
potion."
The
witch doctor looked at the whisker. "Ah, this does look like a ferocious
lion’s whisker. But, I don’t have any love potions."
"What,
what do you mean?" screamed Zayneb.
"Now,
tell me, how did you get that lion’s whisker?" the old lady calmly asked.
"Well,
I had to be very, very careful and patient. I was very gentle and very quiet,
and persistent."
"Yes,
and you were very courageous. See, you have all of the skills you will need to
get your stepson to love you without a magic potion."
Then
Zayneb understood. She returned home and treated Haile nicely as before. But,
she did not make any special efforts to win his affection. She was just her
sweet, giving self. When Haile was rude to her or ignored her, she continued on
as if he had said nothing. In three weeks Haile began to smile and speak to
Zayneb. In six weeks he offered to help her with chores. In nine weeks he
invited her to walk with him to his favorite place at the river. One night
about 12 weeks later, just before he fell asleep Haile looked up in Zayneb’s
eyes and said, "Zayneb, I love you."