“Tomorrow at the break of dawn, I will face the man courageously
and request for some fiery coals for lighting up some fire.” The two
immediately declared the idea effective. And true to her word, Hen entered
man’s gate full of great faith the next day. And her believe paid off once she
set foot on the grass thatched hut. The human being, (a woman) had been sifting
chaff from some maize grains. And some remnants had of course fallen on the
ground. And on seeing them, and imagining how hungry she was, Hen began pecking
them with an appetite comparable to that of a starved ogre. 
The woman had
welcomed Hen so warmly that the latter’s heart began envying the forest, in
favour of the woman’s compound.
The woman had
welcomed Hen so warmly that the latter’s heart began envying the forest, in
favour of the woman’s compound.
Days came and passed
swiftly. And hen was so satisfied with man’s hospitality that she made up her
mind never to make a return to the problem-filled forest. Her friend the guinea
fowl would think up a plan of survival. But was the hen not betraying the
loyalty of her colleague? She had promised Guinea fowl that she would bring
fire from the man’s hearth. That is why one evening she took wing to the top of
the hut. With continuous, persistent flaps of her wings she sang to Guinea
fowl, her mouth facing the direction of the forest.
But was the hen not betraying the
loyalty of her colleague? She had promised Guinea fowl that she would bring
fire from the man’s hearth. That is why one evening she took wing to the top of
the hut. With continuous, persistent flaps of her wings she sang to Guinea
fowl, her mouth facing the direction of the forest.
Hen was a good thinker as well
as a wise woman. She knew the saying of old; our ancestors for us as a whole
and everybody to himself. One day while she and Guinea foul were sitting on a
flat stone, she said; “My friend, I have cooked up an excellent plan which
would unchain us from this natural slavery.” Guinea fowl laughed at the
seriousness showing up in Hen’s face. “What is it, the eldest daughter of King
Solomon?” she asked jokingly but at the same time burning with anxiety to hear
of the plan. Hen was not in the mood of wasting her words, but she hit directly
at the point.
“What is it, the eldest daughter of King
Solomon?” she asked jokingly but at the same time burning with anxiety to hear
of the plan. Hen was not in the mood of wasting her words, but she hit directly
at the point.
Te te te te ii oo,
Guinea fowl, my jungle friend,
Allow my words to settle into your ears,
Yes, guinea fowl
I say there is no fire.
No fire! No fire! No fire at all, my friend the guinea fowl!
The lyrics of the song echoed
through the forest. Hen assumed that the song’s importance had successfully
entered her friend’s mind and heart. So Hen was bewitched by the good life
available in the woman’s hut. And that is why she lives with man to this very
day. And day in, day out, she never fails to reassure her friend the Guinea
fowl of the absence of fire in human land.
©2013 Peter Ngila
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