Whole illustrated book page with surrounding printed narrative: Two striped tigers grapple with two dark, long-tailed humanoid demons; two ornate coats hang behind the fighting pairs.
The complete 1892 book page shows Batten’s tiger spouses fighting the king’s two captive demons in the Labam tale. His long-tailed bodies and coats hung aside are artistic treatment; neither tiger nor demon is individually mapped to one fighting pair. The surrounding text belongs to the same source witness.
Overview
In the Princess Labam narrative told by Múniyá and selected through Maive Stokes by Joseph Jacobs, the princess’s father has captured two demons. He keeps them in a cage because he does not know how to kill them and fears that releasing them would allow them to eat his people. He sets them against would-be sons-in-law, hoping someone will destroy them. The successful prince obtains permission for his two grateful tiger helpers to fight instead; they kill both captives. The demons have no personal names, described anatomy or demonstrated transformation. Their threatened consumption of the population is the king’s fear, not an episode the story says occurred.
Origins & earliest records
South Asian narration attributed to Múniyá through Maive Stokes
Records & interpretation
Complete English tale including final tests, marriage and return, plus specific source notes read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Indian Fairy Tales
II, “How the Raja’s Son won the Princess Labam,” pp. 3–16; notes pp. 237–238. London: David Nutt. Notes credit Stokes no. XXII, pp. 153–163, and state replacement of God by Khuda. Complete selected narrative and notes read.
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
Indian Fairy Tales
Joseph Jacobs, London: David Nutt, 1892. II, pp. 3–16; notes pp. 237–238
Caches jacobs-2.txt and jacobs-notes-2.txt, master jacobs-indian.html. Múniyá via Maive Stokes explicitly credited. Entire ending includes Labam’s hair splitting wood, marriage and return; magical stick remains unused. Original printed scans/source-language and earlier Stokes edition not independently collated. No artwork verification claimed.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical narrated folktale in an edited English collectionJacobs 1892, Princess Labam and source notesResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrated book-page facsimileWhole illustrated book page with surrounding printed narrative: Two striped tigers grapple with two dark, long-tailed humanoid demons; two ornate coats hang behind the fighting pairs.
The complete 1892 book page shows Batten’s tiger spouses fighting the king’s two captive demons in the Labam tale. His long-tailed bodies and coats hung aside are artistic treatment; neither tiger nor demon is individually mapped to one fighting pair. The surrounding text belongs to the same source witness.
