The Girl and the Guinea Fowl

Maya arrives at Keeper Tom's farm eager for a day she has anticipated, wearing yellow rain boots, green overalls and a canvas satchel holding a notebook and pencil. At the gate, Tom introduces the farm's newest residents: a flock of guinea fowl. He cautions that she will hear them before she sees them, and he is right. The plump, speckled birds with bare blue-grey heads and bright red-orange wattles welcome her with a noisy chorus, and Maya grows curious about what all that racket means.

Settling onto a hay bale, Maya records every sound the guinea fowl make and tries to work out what each one signals. When a hawk passes overhead, the flock erupts in a sharp call and dashes for cover, and she recognizes a warning. Later she notes the soft clucking that brings the chicks running, the loud rhythmic call that announces scattered grain, and the low murmurs made while pecking at seeds. She even claps her hands to test her findings, filling her notebook like a detective. This gentle tale by Çınar BİBER about observation and curiosity can be read on Masalcı Baba.