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Overview
The tattooer who marries Fatima’s father gives birth to two daughters called Char-te, translated Four Eyes, and Char-angila, translated Four Stumps. These names are printed, but the narrative does not separately describe four eyes or four limbs as unusual anatomy. When sent to discover how Fatima is fed, Four Eyes keeps her confidence whereas Four Stumps exposes the food-producing calf.
Both later imitate Fatima’s visit to Alla Zingi but answer his questions insultingly. He fixes one donkey ear on each forehead and a bull’s tail on each chin. Four Stumps subsequently ties Fatima to a tree and takes her place as the prince’s wife, concealing and chewing the added appendages; her absence of facial light helps reveal that something is wrong. Fatima’s return through a reed exposes the substitution. The tale’s ending executes both sisters, although their narrated actions and degree of participation differ.
Origins & earliest records
Bakhtiari storytelling, Iran
Records & interpretation
Complete XXXIX with all printed footnotes read in original-edition OCR.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Persian Tales
Bakhtiari tales; XXXIX, How Fatima Killed Her Mother and What Came of It, pp. 256–268
Family, evolution & connections
Fatima’s paternal family — Lorimer’s Bakhtiari tale XXXIX
Named daughters sharing one unnamed father, with Fatima’s unnamed son; this Bakhtiari telling only.
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- Unnamed father — children by two different mothers
- Unnamed son of Fatima and her prince husband
Explicit parentage and birth statements on pp. 256–258 and 264, within the complete pp. 256–268 tale. Fatima’s mother and the tattooer are different mothers. Both later daughters link to their collective profile; no extra individual profiles are invented. The text later calls them stepsisters despite its shared-father account. Fatima’s reed and whistle retain her identity. Alla Zingi’s affectionate child address is not biological parentage.
Tattooer mother of Char-te and Char-angila
The tattooer bears Char-te and Char-angila after marrying Fatima’s father. They are her own children; Fatima is her stepdaughter.
Primary records and illustrations
D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (London: Macmillan, 1919)
Bakhtiari tales. XXXIX, pp. 256–268
Whole tale and all footnotes read in two bounded portions. Mother and calf not equated; name glosses not made into extra anatomy; reed/whistle retain Fatima identity. Colonial generalizations in notes not adopted.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translated folktaleLorimer, Persian Tales (1919), Bakhtiari tales; XXXIX, How Fatima Killed Her Mother and What Came of It, pp. 256–268Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.