A Tall Story

Once upon a time, in the golden mountains of Ethiopia, there lived a goat-herd by the name of Kaldi.

Every day Kaldi left his wife and children and led his beloved goats up the mountainside so that they would eat and grow strong and provide milk for his family.

One day, Kaldi noticed something peculiar.  His goats were chewing on red berries that they found high up on a bush.  The kids tasted the berries but promptly spat them out.  The nanny goats and the billy goats enjoyed these red berries and Kaldi observed that they had more energy during the day. 

Each morning the goats raced up the mountainside to find more of these strange red berries.  It seemed to Kaldi that the goats preferred these berries to any of the other normal food.  So Kaldi decided to taste the berries himself. 

And lo and behold!  Kaldi’s body also reacted with renewed energy and exhilaration.  

That night Kaldi told his wife about this unusual occurrence.  He asked her, “What can this be?  What does this mean?  Are the berries a gift from G-d or are they an enticement from the Devil? “