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Overview
At night a fairy visits a woman’s house, asks for henna and perfumes, and offers friendship. She says childbirth is approaching and promises to send her son when the time comes. The son subsequently enters the woman’s house in the form of a cat. Recognizing him as the fairy’s child, she rises and follows him to his mother. The supernatural appearance is precise: the son takes cat form and acts as a nocturnal guide, rather than being an ordinary pet accidentally encountered.
On arrival the woman finds that the fairy has just delivered a daughter. The fairy gives her money, and she returns home. Although Basset titles the episode The Midwife and the Fairy, the narrated sequence places the human visitor’s arrival after the birth; it does not describe her performing the delivery. The original French describes both children with a color term, which this profile does not turn into a human ethnic identity. Mother, guiding son and newborn remain together as one household episode.
Origins & earliest records
René Basset, Contes populaires berbères (Paris, 1887), no. 26, complete pp. 55. Bou Semghoun narrative group supplied at Frenda in 1883 by the son of the former qaïd, interned with his father; Preface xiii.
Records & interpretation
Complete episode inspected in original facsimile DjVu pages 93, printed pp. 55. The spring benefactor and childbirth visitor are separately introduced in adjacent tales and are not silently equated. No unnamed narrator is given an invented personal name.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
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Contes populaires berbères
No. 26, complete pp. 55; Preface xiii gives Frenda 1883 collection and internment context.
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.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected narrative; original facsimile inspectedOriginal edition, fairy episode 26Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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