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The Silly Chicken
A Sufi teaching tale of a chicken that has learned to speak as people do and spreads an alarming warning, which causes the townspeople to panic without first considering the messenger.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Idries Shah
261 books426 followersIdries Shah (Persian: ادریس شاه), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي), was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 25, 2020
The Silly Chicken.
A world of colour and a lovely picture of a silly chicken who has learnt to speak man language from a very clever man. The chicken doesn’t know what he is talking about but because he has the words, people, equally silly, think he does. As a result, people try to run away from the earth. A roller skate of a run, up and down the world. Finally the people arrive back in the town they ran from and confront the chicken. This is an ancient tale. One of those tales that become more rewarding the more they are listened to, read or repeated.
I can’t imagine a child who would not fall headlong into this story.
A world of colour and a lovely picture of a silly chicken who has learnt to speak man language from a very clever man. The chicken doesn’t know what he is talking about but because he has the words, people, equally silly, think he does. As a result, people try to run away from the earth. A roller skate of a run, up and down the world. Finally the people arrive back in the town they ran from and confront the chicken. This is an ancient tale. One of those tales that become more rewarding the more they are listened to, read or repeated.
I can’t imagine a child who would not fall headlong into this story.
February 5, 2021
This Sufi folktale is well-illustrated and funny, teaching children to consider the messenger before assuming that a prediction of disaster is true. It is similar to Chicken Little, but simpler and more streamlined.
May 1, 2016
I loved listening to this book. The narrator has a great voice and is funny as he reads the book. Kids will love this! I loved it! It's a funny story that tells a good tale. The book itself (If you were to follow along) has both the English and the Spanish translations on the beautifully-illustrated pages. Two thumbs up!
March 4, 2018
Incredibly silly but beautifully illustrated.
May 10, 2019
125/365
July 18, 2019
The illustrations were adorable but I found the story itself really confusing. You definately lose something in translation.
January 27, 2021
I was gifted this book by Hoopoe Books. An excellent picture book!! The lesson was spot on. The illustrations make it relatable for kids. Thank you!
June 8, 2016
Shah, I. (2006). El pollo bobo = The silly chicken. Place of publication not identified: Hoopoe Books.
A lot of people believe chickens are pretty dumb for birds, and in this legend, the Silly Chicken decides that sine no one will listen to him any way, he will just do a lot of bizarre things that make people laugh and say nonsensical things to entertain people. what was funny is that in the end it turns out his silliness represents all of the chickens and even thought they have a lot to say, no one will listen to them because of the legend of the Silly Chicken. The paintings that cover the pages are vivid and seem to represent the Latino culture where the story is set. I liked this bilingual story, because it gives readers a different perception of chickens and a reason why we think the birds are also funny. This would be a fun story to show kids to show them how one person's, or chicken's actions can affect the public perception of a whole group. It is also just fun book that could give you different perspective of chicken as well.
A lot of people believe chickens are pretty dumb for birds, and in this legend, the Silly Chicken decides that sine no one will listen to him any way, he will just do a lot of bizarre things that make people laugh and say nonsensical things to entertain people. what was funny is that in the end it turns out his silliness represents all of the chickens and even thought they have a lot to say, no one will listen to them because of the legend of the Silly Chicken. The paintings that cover the pages are vivid and seem to represent the Latino culture where the story is set. I liked this bilingual story, because it gives readers a different perception of chickens and a reason why we think the birds are also funny. This would be a fun story to show kids to show them how one person's, or chicken's actions can affect the public perception of a whole group. It is also just fun book that could give you different perspective of chicken as well.
June 30, 2011
The Silly Chicken
Reading Level: Easy Reader
Genre: Fiction, humor
This is an amusing little story. It’s about a man who finds a chicken and tries to understand what it’s saying. Everyone in town believes the chicken is crazy because it just says tuck, tuck, tuck all of the time and nothing else. Finally the man gives up and trying to understand what the chicken is saying and instead teaches the chicken human language. When the chicken finally speaks in a human language starts telling people that essentially the world is going to end. The people are so shocked that the chicken can talk, they believe everything it says. Through humor, this story teaches youngsters not to believe everything they hear! With the ICDL version the book is written in both English and Spanish, which is nice to be able to read and translate what it says in another language.
Reading Level: Easy Reader
Genre: Fiction, humor
This is an amusing little story. It’s about a man who finds a chicken and tries to understand what it’s saying. Everyone in town believes the chicken is crazy because it just says tuck, tuck, tuck all of the time and nothing else. Finally the man gives up and trying to understand what the chicken is saying and instead teaches the chicken human language. When the chicken finally speaks in a human language starts telling people that essentially the world is going to end. The people are so shocked that the chicken can talk, they believe everything it says. Through humor, this story teaches youngsters not to believe everything they hear! With the ICDL version the book is written in both English and Spanish, which is nice to be able to read and translate what it says in another language.
November 1, 2012
This is an odd book about a talking chicken. The chicken tells people in a town that the earth is going to eat them up. It sends the villagers into a panic and they scramble from town to town looking for refuged.
Eventually they come back and the chicken asks them why they would ever trust a talking chicken. I think his book is rather pointless but it is a fun read for kids. It makes very simple jokes and is easy to grasp.
Eventually they come back and the chicken asks them why they would ever trust a talking chicken. I think his book is rather pointless but it is a fun read for kids. It makes very simple jokes and is easy to grasp.
August 11, 2008
Just a silly and fun book to read with a 4 year old boy...
May 16, 2009
Do you know why do people never listen to a chicken, even if it speaks their own language??
I didn't enjoy it myself but I'm not sure how a 4 year old would think of it?
I didn't enjoy it myself but I'm not sure how a 4 year old would think of it?
September 25, 2009
This was a fun story much like Chicken Little who says "The sky is falling" and causes a panic. I read this with 6-8 yr olds and they thought it was very funny (particularly the younger ones).
March 30, 2017
Funny. This Sufi story warns us not to be too gullible. it's a very onl and timeless story. Really, would you listen to everything a chicken said?
And the picture :)
And the picture :)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews