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

Overview

A female div at the bottom of a well threatens to eat visitors but receives Little Fatima’s polite greeting. Following the cow’s advice, the girl reverses destructive commands: she combs the div’s hair, fills her jars and cleans her house. She retrieves her cotton without taking treasure. Summoned White and Black Winds shake her to test this restraint, after which the div’s blessing places a luminous moon on her forehead and a star on her chin.

The stepsister follows the destructive commands literally and takes jewels. The winds shake the treasure away, and the div’s words give her donkey ears on her forehead and a donkey tail on her chin. Cutting them off does not prevent their return. These changes concern particular visitors, not the div’s own anatomy; no kinship with the seven well-sisters of another tale is asserted.

Female well-dweller who tests visitors and changes their facesSpecific translated narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Kermani storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Complete XIII, Little Fatima, pp. 79–88, directly read in original-edition OCR.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Persian Tales

    D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, collectors/translators · 1919

    Kermani tales; XIII, Little Fatima, pp. 79–88

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

D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (London: Macmillan, 1919)

Kermani tales. XIII, pp. 79–88

Complete narrative read in cached original-edition OCR, from the vinegar-jar murder to the slipper recognition and marriage. Page headers checked. Narrator explicitly identifies cow with dead mother.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translated folktaleLorimer, Persian Tales (1919), XIII, pp. 79–88Research 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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