It is told that a girl with a beautiful face and features named Fatima lived with her family in the country of Sudan. She was one of the most beautiful girls of her time. The meaning of al-Samha is beautiful, happy face. Fatima wasn’t only beautiful in shape or appearance, but she was also a very kind girl of high character. She would enter the heart of everyone who knew her, as hearts would smile for her and paths would open for her.
Her news spread in countries, as many princes asked for her hand in marriage and presented her with valuable gifts. The village where Fatima lived was located on the edge of a dense forest. No creature of any kind lived in it, and no human would take a single step in it. There was a terrible monster with two heads who lived in the forest and was terrifying. He would enter the village at night and look at her. One day he abducted a girl from the village and took her with him to the forest.
And from one of his habits, he would choose a girl every year to take as his new wife. So they took Fatima among them, for she was the most beautiful of the village’s daughters and the neighboring villages’ daughters. She realized this matter, so they prevented her from going outside the house. They resolved to protect her with swords and weapons no matter the cost. Fatima’s grandmother was the most person afraid for Fatima, so she didn’t allow her to play with her friends in the fields.
The village girls felt hatred and envy toward Fatima because the village’s young men were busy loving her, as each of them knew well that none of the young men would propose to her as long as there was hope of winning the love of Fatima al-Samha. Therefore, the girls thought of a plot to get rid of Fatima so that their desires would end.
Indeed, on the morning of the next day, the girls gathered in front of Fatima’s house and went to her to take her with them to the palm garden. Fatima rejoiced greatly at the coming of the girls and wanted to go out with them, but her grandmother didn’t. She said to the girls: I will scatter a basket of sesame and a basket of corn in the house courtyard. If you gather the baskets without missing a single grain from them, I will allow Fatima to go out with you.
So the girls gathered all the grains. Here the grandmother was forced to agree to Fatima going out with the girls. When they all reached the palm garden, the girls convinced Fatima to climb the palm tree to bring dates. When Fatima climbed, she started throwing dates to them. The girls would put the ripe dates in their baskets, and the unripe ones they would leave in Fatima’s basket.
When Fatima came down, she told the girls that they would play the bracelet and well game, in which each girl of them was supposed to throw her bracelet in the well, and whoever took her bracelet out first would be the winner. Fatima submitted to the girls’ words and threw her bracelet, but she was surprised that the girls didn’t throw their bracelets. Rather, they threw stones instead.
The girls started mocking Fatima and making fun of her, then ran toward the village without turning to her pleas and crying for the sake of her bracelet. Fatima remained crying alone, not knowing what to do, until a strange wind blew upon her, a storm followed by another, and suddenly a large-sized, ugly-faced monster appeared. He said to her: Don’t be sad, Fatima. I will get your bracelet out now.
Indeed, the monster drank all the water of the well and took out the bracelet for Fatima, but instead of letting her go to the village, he took her with him to his palace in the middle of the dark forest. The whole village stayed up searching for Fatima but to no avail. Sadness descended into the hearts of everyone who knew Fatima al-Samha.
Fatima’s people went to an old wise man in the village and asked him about Fatima’s place and how to reach her. He told them she was with the monster and ordered her brothers to take with them to the forest a white bull. When the bull approached the palace at night, they would slaughter the bull and scatter its blood in every place in the palace and cut their sister’s hair and escape with her.
Fatima’s brothers went to the forest and did what the wise man ordered them. They cut Fatima’s hair and carried her far from the monster’s palace. But in their haste, the youngest brother forgot to scatter the blood on a stone in the palace, so the stone started hitting the monster’s chest until he woke up and started chasing Fatima and her brothers, with fire flying from his eyes.
When the monster caught up with them, the eldest brother drew his sword and struck off the monster’s head. Another head appeared to him in a blink of an eye. The brother kept cutting off heads one after another until he reached the sixth head. With the appearance of the seventh head, the monster escaped returning to his palace.
When they reached the village in safety, the old wise man ordered the eldest brother to return to the forest and cut off the monster’s seventh head so he wouldn’t stand up again. It was only days until Fatima’s brother returned carrying the head of the evil monster, which was burned and its ashes scattered in the valleys.
From that time, the monster disappeared, and no news was heard about him in the village or the neighboring villages. Fatima al-Samha lived a quiet life and went out for walks without fear. Then she married a young man named Wad al-Numeir to become after that a mother and grandmother to all the beloved people of Sudan, and she would tell her story to her grandchildren every day before sleep.