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

Overview

An abandoned boy sees two snakes fighting beneath a resting shelter. Both are wounded, and one kills the other before eating nearby grass and becoming whole again. After that snake leaves, the boy puts the same grass into the dead snake’s mouth; it revives and blesses him. Thus the snake that demonstrates healing and the snake restored by the boy are distinct individuals.

The brothers eat the grass and gain strength, and the elder later uses it to revive a ruler’s daughter, receiving land, wealth and marriage. The tale identifies the plant only as grass; no usable species or real medical effect is established. The source gives neither snake a personal name, human form or ownership of the ruler’s daughter.

Snakes whose fight reveals a plant’s healing and reviving powerSpecific historical telling
01

Origins & earliest records

Historical Laos country within Siam, as identified by the collection

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant narrative and Willis G. Craig’s introduction directly read.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India

    Katherine Neville Fleeson, collector/translator · 1899

    IX.3, The Boys Who Were Not Appreciated, pp. 122–126

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

Katherine Neville Fleeson, Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India (Fleming H. Revell, 1899)

IX.3, The Boys Who Were Not Appreciated. IX.3, The Boys Who Were Not Appreciated, pp. 122–126

Complete tale read. Initial human labels and later object-like actions retained without invented metamorphosis; actual snake revival distinguished from feigned human death. Source plant unidentified and not presented as real medicine.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical folktale collectionFleeson1899, IX.3, The Boys Who Were Not Appreciated, pp. 122–126Research 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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