The Fowl (The domestic Fowl) is an important symbol in the Sudanese Culture. As back in the day almost all people had them in their homes.

What made the fowl so special was that he crows at a specific time, at the dawn of each day to wake people up for the Fajr (dawn) prayer, so he is well respected among Muslims.

In this story, it happened that the fowl was outside the village with his kids looking for food. The kids were very happy that they were having time out with their dad.

The fowl was beautiful looking and peaceful, which attracted other animals to like him, but some animals just can’t be trusted.

The wolf Sharshar followed the fowl and his kids, waiting for a chance to attack one of them, as he was scared of the fowl.

The fowl said to his kids: “Kids, don’t go far from me to be safe, the jungle is a dangerous place to be in.” They listened to him, perhaps, the youngest Fofo didn’t, and went far and no-one did notice.

Sharshar took advantage of the situation and caught Fofo to eat him.

The fowl felt that his kid was in danger, searched for him and finally found him between the wolf paws. He attacked the wolf using his nib and his claws. The wolf got scared and ran away.

Fofo went back to his brothers so proud of his father. His father warned him from splitting up again.

Fofo felt shy and promised to listen to his father always. Others promised the same as well, as they saw what was about to happen to their brother.

Sharshar decided to leave the jungle and look for another place, where kids don’t listen to their fathers.

Who tells the story and when?

It’s one of the traditional Sudanese stories that grandmothers used to narrate to kids at night and it’s told in Arabic.

The names are imaginary and they are used to teach children how to use the language. If we looked for example at the name Sharshar, it sounds like an evil name, but Fofo sounds cool.

Therefore, the story teaches children how important it is to stick with the family and listen to parents.