Aroy and Asom

Aroy and Asom

Collected by Fatma Al-Hail

Edited by Patty Paine


One spring morning, Asom and Aroy, the goat sisters, went out to town. While they were in town it began to rain. Asom hurried over to Aroy and said, "Let's go back home so we don't get wet!" Aroy was having fun in the rain, and refused to go home. Aroy ran into the middle of a pasture, stood on her back legs and clapped with her front paws. She began to sing joyfully. Asom followed her, and argued "enough playing, it's time to go home!" Aroy didn't care and replied "go back home by yourself, I want to stay here."

Asom desperately tried to convince her sister to return home. She began threatening her. She said, "if you don't return home I will call the wolf to eat you!" Aroy replied sarcastically. "Ewww, do whatever you want. I will stay here and play. Isn't the rain wonderful?"

Asom went to the wolf and asked him to eat Aroy, but he refused. She then went to a dog to help her persuade the wolf, but she couldn't convince him either. Asom spent her day moving from human to animal to inanimate object searching for someone or something that would help her. The rooster was her last hope, and he agreed to help Asom.

To get the wolf to eat Aroy, the rooster chased a grasshopper. The grasshopper jumped on the back of a camel and bit him. The camel dove in the river to get away from the grasshopper. The water overflowed the banks of the river, and a fire on the banks was afraid that the water would kill her so she crawled towards the barber's hut. The barber ran away from the fire still holding the razor he had been using to shave a shepherd's beard. The shepherd ran to his dog and commanded him to attack the wolf. The wolf saw the dog was angry so he panicked and ran off to find Aroy so he could eat her.

When the wolf arrived in the pasture he couldn't find Aroy because she had gone to another part of town. The wolf was very agitated and angry that he couldn't find Aroy, so he went to the goat sister's home. He found Asom at home so he attacked and ate her. In the end, Asom fell victim to the conspiracy she had hatched against her sister Aroy.