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

Overview

A fisherman brings home a fish and the girl’s stepmother orders her to wash it, threatening punishment if it escapes. The fish asks permission to feed its young, returns as promised and offers to be carried home. The girl instead sets it free permanently despite knowing that she will be beaten. Next morning the fish gathers its relatives to thank her and arranges continuing help. When she is denied suitable clothes for the feast dances, it supplies splendid finery. The king notices her there and asks to marry her; she directs his messengers to her father’s house rather than treating the dance as sufficient marriage negotiation.

After the marriage the fish family brings grain and cloth to the palace at night, asking that nobody venture outside while they are arriving. The jealous palace women then cut off the bride’s hands. Her attendant summons the fish, and the assembled relatives come at midnight and restore both hands. Next morning she can wield the pestle when the rival wives expect to expose her injury. Tremearne’s notes leave the fish’s kind unspecified and explain that his neutral English pronoun avoids shifts of grammatical gender. His appended comparative version substitutes a frog and includes a self-moving golden boot; those details do not enter the fish’s main episode.

Reciprocal helpKin assemblyGift of festive fineryNight-time palace visitRestoration of severed hands
01

Origins & earliest records

Sar(r)ikin Dukawa supplies the selected narrated witness; A. J. N. Tremearne translated and edited it. His general collection context is not an exact performance date for this individual tale.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete primary episode independently read: Tale 3, The Tender-Hearted Maiden and the Fish, pp. 187–190; note III.2–3, p. 459, explicitly leaves kind uncertain and explains translation pronouns.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Hausa Superstitions and Customs, second edition

    Sar(r)ikin Dukawa, narrator; A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and translator · 1913

    Tale 3, The Tender-Hearted Maiden and the Fish, pp. 187–190; note III.2–3, p. 459, explicitly leaves kind uncertain and explains translation pronouns.

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. Collected primary narrative and explicitly separated edition variantsTremearne 1913 — Grateful Fish of the Tender-Hearted MaidenResearch 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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