A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A king asks for someone to discover where the sun rises, and the poor traveler Ataru volunteers. After a long journey on a supplied horse, he goes beyond familiar settlements and reaches the country of the storks. The printed account states that they are men there. One resident recognizes him and takes him to the king of the Stork-Men; other inhabitants also know him. They answer his question and give directions for continuing toward the place where dawn emerges. Their homeland is a narrative bird-country, rather than a located modern state or an account of real human ancestry.

Ataru follows their guidance beyond a dark region and through silver and golden river places, finally reaching the great bird near the sunrise gate. When the sun comes out, he gallops away but is scorched before reaching the stork city again. The residents nurse him until he recovers. Their two concrete roles are therefore guides and hosts who care for the returning traveler. The text supplies human form within their own country and recognition of Ataru, but does not narrate a particular resident taking off feathers, changing shape before him or carrying him through the air.

Storks as men in their countryBird-community kingRecognition of a travelerDirections to sunriseCare for the scorched visitor
01

Origins & earliest records

The Ataru story is recounted in Tremearne's fabulous-bird discussion, not printed as an independently numbered tale with its own named narrator. Its possible Arabic connection is the collector's unresolved question, not an established derivation.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected source episode and ending read. Complete Ataru journey in A Fabulous Bird, printed pp. 129-130.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs

    A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Complete Ataru journey in A Fabulous Bird, printed pp. 129-130.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Digitized collected primary narrative with collector commentaryTremearne 1913 - selected narrative and commentaryResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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