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Ezra was an 11-year old shoeshine boy in the city of Gondar, Ethiopia.
Every day he pestered passers-by to shine their shoes so he could earn enough money to pay for food and shelter.
âShine your shines, mister? Shine your shoes?â
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Ezra didnât have a family. He didnât have a home. He never went to school.
Day after day, it was always the same. âShine your shoes, mister?â âShine your shoes, maâam?â
He earned very little and some days, nothing at all.
On those days, he couldnât buy any food or pay for his shelter.
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Ezra didnât see much around him. What he saw were the toes of peopleâs shoes and sometimes their bare feet.
The people whose shoes he shined were also poor.
Everyone he knew was poor in one way or another.
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At night, Ezra would share a room with five or six other boys.
It was the same with these boys too.
No family. No school. No money.
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Ezraâs life was filled with things he couldnât do. He couldnât sleep past dawn because he had to be ready as people got up to go to work, in case they wanted their shoes shined.
He couldnât take a break whenever he wanted in case he missed a customer.
He couldnât buy what he wanted because he had little money. He couldnât live where he wanted because the room was all he could afford. He couldnât go to school because he didnât have enough money to pay for his school materials.
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Ezra desperately wanted to go to school. He wanted to learn how to read.
He wanted to find out how other people lived. He wanted to make sense of the world around him and life outside of Gondar.
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Ezra could dream.
At night as he lay wrapped in his thin blanket with his head on a flat pillow, he dreamed of himself as Ezra, king of the forest.
This was a different Ezra. An Ezra who could do what he wantedâ¦but then of course, unexpected things happen even when they are imagined:
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Ezraâs mother told him never to go into the forest on his own â¦but he never listened. âIt is a dark and dangerous place,â his mother said.
Then off he would go, plunging into the deep darkness of the forest without looking back.
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Because he was so pleased with himself, Ezra made a proclamation:
âI am King of the Forest,â he declared. âI am the ruler of the forest,â he said to anyone or anything that would listen.
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âYou look like an ass to me,â said a voice.
âWho are you?â asked Ezra.
âYou arenât a very smart king if you must ask.
I am a donkey, your majesty.â
âYou dare speak to me this way?â
âIâm afraid so,â said the donkey.
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âA king mustnât walk when he can ride.
I command you to carry me through the forest.â
âBeast of burden, thatâs meâ replied the donkey.
âOf course, Kingâ¦Kingâ¦?â
âKing Ezra to you, silly donkey.â
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âWhere to, your Majesty?â
âJust keep going until I tell you to stop.â
âJust my luck. A king who doesnât know where he is going.â
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âHurry up!â commanded King Ezra.
âEasy for you to sayâ¦your majesty.â
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Ezra and the donkey made their way through the woods.
It was tough going. Ezra was hit in the face by a branch.
âHey, watch where youâre going.â
âBut I am,â the donkey replied.
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Something or someone got in their way.
âWho are you? You are blocking the path.â âI hear you are bragging about being king of the forest,â said the lion cub.
âI am king of the forest,â Ezra replied.
âSmells like trouble,â said the donkey.
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âEveryone knows I am king of the forest,â retorted the lion cub.
âNo, youâre not. I