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

Overview

The khan in Busk’s twenty-first tale has ears like an ass and kills each youth summoned to comb his hair so that the secret cannot spread. A widow protects her son by giving him cakes made with her milk. When the khan eats one, he regards the shared milk as a kinship bond and spares the youth under an oath of silence.

The youth becomes ill from keeping the secret and speaks it into a marmot’s burrow, believing that he has told no person. The marmot, echo and wind carry it back to the khan. After hearing the explanation, the ruler accepts a high cap with side flaps to conceal his ears and stops killing his attendants. The opening names King Daibang and his hidden son, while the later secret explicitly names the ass-eared ruler Daibang; the wording does not clearly resolve that generational inconsistency.

Ruler concealing animal-like earsSource-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 XXI, pp. 206–212

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. Tales XXI, pp. 206–212

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 XXI, pp. 206–212Research 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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