Why the Bush Fowl Sleeps on Trees
(An African folktale)
Long ago, the Bush Fowl slept on the ground like every other bird. Each evening, it scratched the soil, ate its fill, and rested beneath the open sky. It trusted the forest and believed danger always announced itself loudly.
But danger is often quiet.
One night, the Bush Fowl mocked the Tree Birds that perched high above.
“Why cling to branches like frightened chicks?” it said. “The earth is wide and comfortable.”
The Tree Birds warned it, “The ground remembers blood. Sleep where claws cannot reach.”
The Bush Fowl laughed and slept.
That same night, the Wildcat crept through the grass without a sound. By dawn, feathers lay scattered, and only a few Bush Fowls escaped by flying blindly into the trees.
Shaken, the survivors gathered and argued. Some insisted on returning to the ground—tradition must not be broken. Others remembered the silence of the Wildcat and the truth in the Tree Birds’ warning.
When night came again, the Bush Fowl climbed a low branch, awkward and afraid. It did not sleep well, but it lived.
The Wildcat returned, circled below, and left hungry.
From that day, the Bush Fowl chose discomfort over death. It learned that pride invites danger, and wisdom sometimes requires change.
That is why the Bush Fowl sleeps on trees—
not because it loves the height,
but because it remembers the cost of ignoring warning signs.
