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Overview

A boy gets lost chasing a woodpecker that was stealing wheat, and he falls asleep inside the sleeve of a huge figure curled around a fire. The giant finds him, takes him to a palace and promises to be both father and mother to him. He raises the boy to adulthood and coaches him in winning a fairy bride.

The giant locks the bride's dress inside a walnut. He also draws a priest, guests, horses and carriages in the dust, and these figures come to life for the wedding and for travel. After the bride escapes, he gives the young man a mace that three siblings had once fought over. He then sends him to the giant's elder brother, the king of creeping things.

None of the brother's crawling subjects knows where Johara is. The elder sister hides the visitor under a millstone, cracks a whip of tremendous force and calls together the creatures of the air. She forces a lame woodpecker that arrives late to carry him to his destination. The reunited couple later choose to live in the foster giant's home.

Large enough that a boy can sleep in his sleeve; raises the boy as a foster parentDraws people and vehicles in the dust that become realHis siblings command crawling creatures and flying creatures
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Origins & earliest records

A collected Magyar tale linked in the translators' notes to Kriza (no. xv). It is read here as tale XIX, pp. 95–109, of the 1889 Jones/Kropf translation. The teller is not identified.

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Records & interpretation

The narrative was read directly in the public-domain Gutenberg text of the translation.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    The Folk-Tales of the Magyars

    Collected by Kriza, Erdélyi, Pap and others; translated and edited by W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf · 1889

    Selected bibliography; tale XIX, Fairy Elizabeth, pp. 95–109.

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.

  1. Public-domain primary translationThe Folk-Tales of the Magyars (Project Gutenberg plain text)Research access: 2026-10-07
  2. Catalogue recordThe Folk-Tales of the Magyars (Project Gutenberg catalogue)Research access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

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