A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A king’s youngest son obtains a griffin feather after an old man advises him to attract the creature with corn. His brothers find the feather hidden in his shoe, murder him and bury him, then take the cure home and claim its discovery. Later a shepherd investigates the place where his dog repeatedly digs and recovers a bone. Held to his mouth, it sounds and speaks of betrayal over the griffin’s feather.
The king hears this unusual whistle and asks the shepherd about it. When the king puts the bone to his mouth, its speech addresses him as father; when the guilty brother does so, the accusation changes to address the brother directly. The king understands the murder and has both surviving sons executed. The youngest prince is not bodily revived. The speaking remains carry the accusation, while the narrative gives neither a visible ghost nor a separate account of how consciousness entered the bone.
Origins & earliest records
Crane, Italian Popular Tales (1885), VIII: The Griffin, pp. 40–42; selected source: Imbriani, Pomiglianesi, p. 195, L’Auciello Crifone.
Records & interpretation
Crane’s selected English narrative supplies the actions and stated outcome. His prefatory qualification allows altered tenses and omitted repetitions; the cited Italian version has not been independently collated here.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Italian Popular Tales, VIII: The Griffin, pp. 40–42
Complete selected tale and its attached comparative note; adjacent versions remain separate.
Family, evolution & connections
Three royal brothers and the accusing remains — Crane VIII
Complete selected English telling, pp. 40–42.
Scroll sideways to see all branches. With a keyboard, focus the tree and use the arrow keys.
- Unnamed king, expressly father of three sons
- Elder son (relative order unstated)
- Other elder son (relative order unstated)
Opening father/three-son statement and the bone’s changing father/brother addresses. All four family members are unnamed. Mother and elder sons’ relative ages are unstated. The bone represents the murdered youngest prince; no resurrection or separate fourth child is narrated. The griffin and helpful old man are excluded from kinship.
Unnamed king of The Griffin
The opening expressly gives the king three sons; the recovered bone later addresses him as father. This is the youngest son’s speaking remains, not a fourth child or a bodily resurrection.
Two unnamed elder princes of The Griffin
The brothers steal the feather, kill their youngest brother and are executed after the bone exposes them. The griffin supplies the sought feather but is not a parent or relative of the princes.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textCrane 1885, VIII: The GriffinResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.