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Overview
In “Loving Laili,” selected by Joseph Jacobs from Maive Stokes, an angel appearing as a fakir tells the wandering heroine to obtain passage from a large Rohu fish in the Bhagirathi. She jumps into its open mouth while it is yawning and continues calling for Majnun from inside it. The frightened fish swims downriver and eventually reaches Majnun’s country. The narrative says Laili has spent twelve years inside it, following twelve years of wandering on land.
The fish asks a crow, then a jackal, then an enormous snake to investigate the noise. Each enters its mouth and calls the occupant a Rakshas. The reader already knows this is Laili: their diagnosis does not transform her into a demon. The snake proposes cutting the fish open and promises medicine to prevent its death. Once the fish agrees, it is opened and Laili emerges; the snake carries her ashore. The promised treatment and the fish’s subsequent fate are not described. Its name links the tale to a familiar fish word, but its speech, enormous carrying capacity and prolonged human occupant are marvellous narrative properties, not claims about the living animal.
Origins & earliest records
South Asian tale selected from Maive Stokes’s Indian Fairy Tales
Records & interpretation
Entire selected English story and notes read, including the later transformations, revivals and final palace confinement.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Indian Fairy Tales
VIII, “Loving Laili,” pp. 51–65; Rohu episode pp. 53–55; notes p. 242. David Nutt, London. Jacobs credits Stokes, Indian Fairy Tales, pp. 73–84.
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. VIII, pp. 51–65; relevant episode pp. 53–55; notes p. 242
Caches jacobs-8.txt and jacobs-notes-8.txt; full subsequent angel/fakir, ash recreation, dog/fruit forms, two decapitation revivals and restricted-palace ending read. Fish treatment promised but not narrated; three animals mistake human occupant for Rakshas, not actual demon identity. Original page images/earlier Stokes text/native-language collation unverified.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English folktale selectionJacobs 1892, Loving Laili and notesResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.