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

Overview

A striped and dappled gazelle leads the golden Malik Mahmad into a cave where he finds a woman enthroned among attendants and music. She identifies herself as the gazelle and explains her wager: defeating her wins her and her possessions, while losing brings imprisonment. She throws Malik to the ground unconscious and confines him with her earlier captives.

She repeats the lure with his twin Sultan Mahmad, but a greybeard has told him the particular hold that makes her powerless. Once defeated, she directs him to a bottle that restores Malik and the other prisoners to consciousness. She then leaves with the brothers and marries Sultan. The text establishes her animal transformation and strength without naming her a peri or div; the wager’s treatment of people as property belongs to the tale’s social framing, not a modern endorsement.

Gazelle-woman who captures defeated wrestlersSpecific translated narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Bakhtiari storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale read in original 1919 scan transcription, including ending; contents and body title difference retained.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Persian Tales

    D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, collectors/translators · 1919

    Bakhtiari tale XXXII, The Story of the Two Golden Brothers, pp. 212–219; contents: The Gazelle Maiden and the Golden Brothers

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

D. L. R. and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (Macmillan, 1919)

Bakhtiari tales. Bakhtiari tale XXXII, The Story of the Two Golden Brothers, pp. 212–219; contents: The Gazelle Maiden and the Golden Brothers

Entire pp.212–219 read in retained scan OCR. Bodies become gold after birth; villagers’ peri speculation is not the narrative’s identification. Gazelle transformation and differentiated twin actions retained.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical collected narrative in translationOriginal 1919 edition of Persian TalesResearch 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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