An English prose translation was made by Douglas Fox, published in African Genesis (first printed 1937).
This lyrical epic narrative tells the story of a prince who gives up his ambition to become king, and instead becomes a diari, the Soninke equivalent to a griot, a bard/singer.
He finally can play the lute when he sings of the empire and the story provides lessons to all the people who listen.
Jablow published an English translation of Frobenius's original in 1971, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, and with a six-page glossary.
[10] Regarding Jablow's unquestioning adoption of Frobenius's work, Stephen Belcher observes: "Alta Jablow has erected a vision of Soninke epic art on the basis of this one narrative, perpetuating the romantic vision that inebriated Frobenius himself, but she has done so without consideration of the related historical and ethnographic material.
"[11] The story was set to music by Wladimir Vogel as Wagadus Untergang durch die Eitelkeit (1930, reconstructed in 1948).