Truth, Falsehood, Fire and Water together captured a herd of cattle.
Then they quarreled about how to divide it.
Falsehood was greedy, so he said to Water, "You can douse Fire; we'll get more cattle."
So Water doused Fire.
Then Falsehood told Truth, "Water doused Fire! We should go away and leave him behind."
So Falsehood and Truth went into the mountains, and Water cannot flow uphill.
Then Truth and Falsehood quarreled, raging across the mountain tops.
Wind heard them and said, "Truth must forever fight with Falsehood; otherwise, Falsehood will take all the cattle, and Truth will be lost."
Inspired by: "Fire and Water, Truth and Falsehood" in A treasury of African folklore by Harold Courlander, 1975.
Notes: You can read the original story online; the story comes from Ethiopia. Compare this story about the camel's companions: The Camel and Her Seven Companions, a story from Somalia.
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