Gold-Producing Cat of the Tazerwalt Woodcutter

Overview

The gold-producing cat is the third gift a woodcutter obtains from a spirit speaking inside a tree. He repeatedly returns with his axe asking for food. The first gift is a handmill that grinds flour, and the second a bowl that fills with couscous and meat. An old woman steals each by substituting an identical ordinary object beneath her cloak. When the replacements stop supplying food, the woodcutter breaks them. The tree spirit next gives him a cat whose special action produces gold as excrement when addressed. The sequence moves from direct nourishment to portable wealth.

Taking the animal to a bathhouse, the woodcutter leaves it with the keeper and warns him against the action that would expose its power. The keeper tests it as soon as the owner goes inside. After seeing the gold, he exchanges it for another cat that looks exactly the same. At home, the woodcutter tells his wife what to expect. The substitute produces ordinary excrement, and he abandons it in the street. The failure belongs to the replacement animal; the gift cat retains its power in the thief’s possession.

The woodcutter returns to the tree and receives three sticks that beat people when activated. He learns the means of stopping them after first being struck himself, then teaches his wife. When the old woman returns asking for food, the sticks compel her to reveal the stolen mill and bowl. After recovering these, the woodcutter takes the sticks to the bathhouse. The keeper again ignores a warning and tests the gift, starting a beating. The owner refuses to stop it until the cat is restored. The keeper points out the animal, the beating ends, and the woodcutter carries both cat and sticks home. The complete ending recovers the original animal rather than transferring its power to the lookalike.

Origins & earliest records

Hans Stumme, Märchen der Schluḥ von Tázerwalt (Leipzig, 1895), tale 2, Die Geschichte vom Holzfäller: complete German translation pp. 73–77; original Tashelhit transcription pp. 2–4. Preface pp. v–vi names Abdulla Ben Mhammed as dictating contributor and describes Leipzig collection.

Records & interpretation

Entire German tale read from the first tree encounter through recovery and final return home, including both domestic thefts and the bathhouse substitution. The German translation is the language witness used here; the Tashelhit transcription is not independently retranslated. Contributor and recording context checked against original Preface pixels.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Märchen der Schluḥ von Tázerwalt

   Abdulla Ben Mhammed, dictating contributor; Hans Stumme, recorder and German translator · 1895

   Tale 2, whole German pp. 73–77; original transcription pp. 2–4; Preface v–vi.

Family & connections

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References

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1. Primary collected Tashelhit transcription with German translationOriginal 1895 bilingual collection: The WoodcutterResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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