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

Overview

Parker’s tale begins with a widow who gives birth to a frog and rears him. He undertakes to obtain the Jewelled Golden Cock from an ogress’s house. After stringing his rice on a wild-date leaf stalk, he becomes a handsome prince; clothes and a horse appear with the change.

Three kings provide objects that can become a thorn fence, a mountain and a barrier of fire. The ogress’s daughter first hides the visitor beneath seven trunks and helps him escape, although she subsequently joins her mother’s pursuit. The two leap the first barriers but perish at the fire.

Returning to the wild-date tree, the prince eats the dried rice. As he finishes, he becomes a frog again, and the clothing, horse and cock vanish. The tale ends with his death from grief, preserving a markedly different outcome from familiar European frog-prince stories.

Frog birthHuman transformationAppearing horse and clothesRice-linked reversalVanishing treasure
01

Origins & earliest records

Sri Lankan narratives collected and translated by H. Parker

02

Records & interpretation

Actual hosted 1910 text and named tale sections directly read.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

    H. Parker (collector and translator) · 1910

    No. 5, pp. 67–70; attribution and narrative variations preserved.

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

Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

Volume I (1910). No. 5, pp. 67–70

Actual translated tale read with identified volume and section; no creature illustration asserted.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon I — No. 5, pp. 67–70Research 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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