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

Overview

A wood-carver makes a garuda-shaped bird from a log and equips it with springs so that a passenger can direct its flight. A painter colors the exterior. A revived young man uses it to reach the palace where his wife has been taken, concealing himself inside the constructed body.

The ruler mistakes the machine for the divine Garuda and sends the captive wife to offer it food. Her husband opens a door, reveals himself and flies away with her. The craft is a wooden imitation with a pilot, not an independently living deity. The eventual quarrel among the rescuers ends tragically, but the bird’s successful rescue flight remains a distinct marvelous invention within the story.

Crafted flying bird operated through internal controlsSource-specific narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Kalmouk tale cycle as presented by Rachel Harriette Busk

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant tale or frame passages 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

    Tale IX, Five to One, pp. 105–114, especially pp. 110–112

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

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

Saga of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan. Tale IX, Five to One, pp. 105–114, especially pp. 110–112

Full relevant narrative read from cached Gutenberg historical text; preface read for transmission limits. Primary evidence of this published adaptation, not proof of the described supernatural events. No modern translation quoted.

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), Tale IX, Five to One, pp. 105–114, especially pp. 110–112Research 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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