Fatna Umm Zumayyim and Folktales from Central Sudan - 15

Fatna Umm Zumayyim and Folktales from Central Sudan - 15. The Feathered Bird. Narrated by May Zumrawi, edited by Adel Sid Ahmed. Our story tells of Muhammad, the Sultan's son, and the Feathered Bird. There was a Sultan who had three sons. These three sons lived in their father's palace isolated from people; their father locked them in a special place far from others, residing in a room built entirely of glass. They never left it, no one entered, and no creature visited them. There was only one maid their father tasked with serving them, tending to their affairs, and fulfilling their requests. Among her duties was preparing their food, which consisted of peeled boiled eggs, boneless thigh meat, and radishes without their leaves. The Sultan's sons lived this way for many years until they became men. One day, the maid passed away. The Sultan appointed a new maid. She began serving them boiled eggs with shells, meat with bones, and radishes with their leaves. They asked her, 'Why do you not do as the previous maid?' She replied, 'I intend for you to have some amusement while peeling eggs, to enjoy sucking and gnawing on the bones, and the radish leaves are healthy.' They agreed. One day, after eating, one of them threw a bone through the window, breaking the glass. This allowed them to see the gardens and people outside. Enchanted by the world, they asked the maid to tell their father that they wished to mingle with the world and marry. The Sultan agreed and ordered all the maidens of the Sultanate to pass under their window. The older brothers chose their cousins, but Muhammad, the youngest, chose no one, even after a second attempt. Eventually, they brought a girl living on the edge of the neighborhood, and he threw his apple to her. They were wed. After three days, the older brothers appeared, but Muhammad did not. The Sultan checked on him and found his wife sitting on his chest, grinding grain—she was a Ghula (ogre/ghoul). Terrified, the Sultan and the people fled the village. Muhammad later told the Ghula he wanted to go for a stroll. She warned him that she could cover in five days the distance he could travel in five years. Muhammad escaped on an old, lame horse that spoke to him. The horse gave him three twigs: black, red, and white. As the Ghula chased them, he threw the black twig to create a dense forest, the red twig to create a blazing fire, and the white twig to create seven seas, finally escaping her. He later found a feather that spoke, saying he would regret picking it up or leaving it. He took it. At night, the feather sang beautifully. The local Sultan heard it and demanded Muhammad bring the 'Feathered Bird.' Muhammad's horse helped him capture it. The bird then demanded its spouse, then its lost ring from the sea, and finally demanded Muhammad enter a fire. With the horse's help—using its sweat to protect him—Muhammad survived each trial. When the local Sultan, driven by arrogance, tried to enter the fire himself, he was consumed by it. The people appointed Muhammad as their new, just Sultan, and he lived happily ever after.