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

Overview

A woman gathering wood finds a crying boy beside a tree and brings him home to her wealthy but childless household. Thereafter the village cannot catch its plentiful deer or fish. Seeking food in another village, she notices that the boy slips away at night while something sounds like a rat gnawing the host’s provisions. On the return journey he refuses to walk ahead of her; gnawing comes from her load, and he grins when she turns around.

Her husband sets a trap in the storehouse. The boy leaves the bed during the night and never returns, while a large rat is found in the trap and killed. In a dream a divine-looking person explains that a wicked rat exploited their wish for a child by taking a boy’s form, and attributes the village’s misfortune to its presence. The speaker promises them a child, which the narrative says they subsequently receive. Penri’s closing caution about unknown foundlings or puppies belongs to this historical tale; it is not evidence about real children, adoption or disease. No personal name or separate rat species is supplied.

Assumed human-child formNocturnal food theftIdentity explained in a dream
01

Origins & earliest records

Ainu oral narrative in Chamberlain’s historical English collection

02

Records & interpretation

Complete numbered tale, ending, attached notes, title and collection introductions read; teller and recording method retained.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Aino Folk-Tales

    Basil Hall Chamberlain, collector and English translator; narrative by Penri · 1888

    xxiii, The Rat Boy, pp.26–27; Penri, 20 July1886; labelled translated literally. Folk-Lore Society XXII. Page markers from English transcription, not independent scan collation.

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

Complete English narrative and edition context read

Aino Folk-Tales

Basil Hall Chamberlain; Folk-Lore Society XXII,1888; introductionEdwardB.Tylor. xxiii, The Rat Boy, pp.26–27

Complete cache chamberlain-aino-23.txt; master chamberlain-aino.html/.txt. Penri, 20 July1886; labelled translated literally. Actual Ainu original not collated. Sacred narrative scoped to named historical telling; original English prose public domain, no image reuse.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical English record of a named Ainu tellingChamberlain, Aino Folk-Tales — xxiii, The Rat Boy, pp.26–27Research 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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