Dirty Old King

So the story goes: the Queen of Sheba traveled from Ethiopia to present King Solomon of Israel with treasures from her kingdom. He was impressed with her gifts and her beauty and said to her 'you may stay with me, but if you take anything from my palace I will be able to take something equally dear from you.' She assented.

That evening he arranged to have a very spicy meal served to his guests. The queen awoke in the middle of the night filled with thirst; she reached for a nearby glass of clean water and drank. King Solomon awoke (she was apparently put up for the night in his own chambers) and accused her of stealing from the palace. She explained 'but it was only water.' 'Clean water,' returned the king, 'is the most precious thing on earth.'

And so he asserted his right and she wound up returning to Ethiopia pregnant with Menelik, which means 'son of a wise king.' He and his descendants ruled Ethiopia for the next two thousand years.