Emmi

7/5/18

As Aesop walked through the wheat fields, he came upon a young girl. At first, she was afraid but when she saw his jolly demeanor she relaxed. Aesop looked at Emmi saying, ‘You need some of my fat.’ They both laughed.

As he brought her safely to his neighborhood where his friends made a simple but colorfully delicious meal, Emmi explained she was originally from the Sudan, near what would eventually be called Khartoum. She had been abducted while working as a servant at a wedding party taken to a port (now Port Sudan) where she had been sold into slavery and sent across the Red Sea. She had escaped two nights ago. 

Aesop was impressed by her knowledge of several African languages and improbably Greek,her highly skilled way of communicating. Equally impressive he thought is the presence, self-assurance without rancor - a beautifully balanced character. Emmi had heard one Aesop's Fables which miraculously had traveled the distance to her parents. When she recounted the fable to Aesop and he told her his original version, they shared another great laugh at how much the story had changed in its travels.

. She told him her parents although they could not read or write had been great story tellers, having learned from their grandparents, griot from Senegal. They had migrated east in search of the history of the world. They had worked for generations dancing, singing and reciting the history of their tribe. Now they wanted to know more. The desire for knowledge of her ancestors was alive and flourishing in Emmi. She could speak a number of African and European languages.

Emmi now cleaned up, well fed and most importantly among friends, grew into a beautiful woman. Although courted by many, she chose to devote herself to learning to read and write. The only problem was most teachers would not teach a woman.

Aesop himself was not able to read or write otherwise he told her in all honesty he would be the first to teach her. He did find and pay for a teacher for Emmi who over time became the scribe to whom we, centuries later owe our enjoyment of Aesop's stories.