This is the 4347th most frequent German word.
fürchten
"Fürchten" means "to fear" or "to be afraid."
In this sentence, 'fürchte' expresses a personal concern about a possible future event.
Ich fürchte, es wird morgen regnen.
I fear that it will rain tomorrow.
Here, 'fürchten' is used to indicate an emotional response of fear towards a direct object, 'den Feind' (the enemy).
Die Soldaten fürchten den Feind.
The soldiers fear the enemy.
In this example, 'sich fürchten' is used reflexively to describe the children's feeling of fear in relation to 'vor dem Dunkeln' (the dark).