A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

The red dog given to the keeper by the White Serpent-king removes her animal form at an evening halt and appears as a woman in shining white robes and a crown of white flowers. She says that the serpent ruler gave her to him as his wife. Each morning she resumes the dog form to travel.

Her husband burns the form while she bathes. This deprives her of concealment when a king discovers her extraordinary hairs downstream and sends soldiers to take her. She plans a reunion after a year: her husband arrives in a costume of magpie feathers, and she induces the king to exchange clothes with him. Returning to the palace with her own husband, she orders the disguised king driven off; the dogs kill him.

That night she bears four sons whose different powers and realms fulfil the White Serpent-king’s prediction, including Gesser-Khan. The story links her to the serpent ruler’s gift but never expressly calls her his daughter; the named Princess Goldfrog is a separate figure.

Woman wearing a removable dog formSource-specific narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Mongolian tales as presented by Rachel Harriette Busk

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant tales directly read in the 1873 textual witness.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Sagas from the Far East

    Rachel Harriette Busk, compiler and adapter · 1873

    Tales XXIII, pp. 221–229; gift introduced XXII, p. 220

Family, evolution & connections

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Rachel Harriette Busk, Sagas from the Far East (1873)

Saga of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan. Tales XXIII, pp. 221–229; gift introduced XXII, p. 220

Complete tales XXI–XXIII and relevant frame conclusion read; preface supplies transmission limits. Narrative inconsistencies retained rather than silently resolved.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical literary adaptationBusk, Sagas from the Far East (1873), tales XXIII, pp. 221–229; gift introduced XXII, p. 220Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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