A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A poor wood-gatherer catches a bird and cages it. His son finds a ruby in the cage the next morning, and the household continues selling one every day. When wealth permits the father to undertake an eastern pilgrimage, he leaves his wife and two children behind. His wife sells the rubies to a man whom the narrative identifies as Jewish. He persuades her to kill the bird and bring a frying pan so that he can eat it. Before he receives it, the children return from the mosque and eat its head and heart, one each. Their mother beats them, and they leave home.
The brothers separate beside a pond. One later becomes king under a dying ruler’s instruction that the person found asleep at the gate should succeed him. The story does not explicitly explain which swallowed organ causes this result. Three pigeons briefly approach the new king and fly west at his command; they are distinct birds, not a stated transformation of the ruby bird. The father returns to find his wife remarried and converted to Judaism. He appeals to the king, recognizes his son and demands her death. The son condemns her to burning, which people described as Arabs carry out. This final punitive religious conflict belongs to the historical tale, rather than being a claim about Jewish people or an endorsed judgment.
Origins & earliest records
René Basset, Contes populaires berbères (1887), no. 36, complete printed pp. 75–76. Preface xiii–xiv assigns no. 36 to the two tailor contributors from Aïn Sfisifa and Figuig recorded at Tlemcen in 1883; the heading specifies Aïn Sfisifa. Original note 76, printed p. 181, identifies Ah’med ben Moh’ammed of Aïn Sfisifa, dictating at Tlemcen in 1883; Basset cites the text and transcription in Bulletin de correspondance africaine (1885), pp. 419–422.
Records & interpretation
Complete French narrative inspected against original DjVu pages 113–114, printed pp. 75–76, including the entire ending. Preface context inspected separately. The tale-specific original contributor note has also been inspected in facsimile.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Contes populaires berbères
No. 36, complete pp. 75–76; preface xiii–xiv. Preface xiii–xiv assigns no. 36 to the two tailor contributors from Aïn Sfisifa and Figuig recorded at Tlemcen in 1883; the heading specifies Aïn Sfisifa. Original note 76, printed p. 181, identifies Ah’med ben Moh’ammed of Aïn Sfisifa, dictating at Tlemcen in 1883; Basset cites the text and transcription in Bulletin de correspondance africaine (1885), pp. 419–422.
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, complete narrative 36Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.