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

Overview

A female mouse loses her tail in a trap while stealing and asks a cobbler to sew it back on. His demand for thread sends her through an expanding chain of exchanges: a thread seller asks for an egg, the hen for grain, a speaking corn heap for a sieve, a sieve maker for goat skin, the goat for grass and the farmer for a spade. She finally appeals to a blacksmith, repeating the entire sequence. The printed tale stops there with its closing formula, so no repaired tail or completed exchange is narrated. The human tradespeople are not made into supernatural beings by the historical ethnic labels used in their dialogue; the mouse, hen, goat and even the grain heap speak within the cumulative fable.

Speaking mouseSpeaking grain heapUnresolved barter chain
01

Origins & earliest records

Kermani storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Complete XXX and its sieve note directly read in original-edition OCR.

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

    Kermani tales; XXX, The Sad Tale of the Mouse’s Tail, pp. 191–193 and sieve note

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. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (London: Macmillan, 1919)

Kermani tales; XXX. Kermani tales; XXX, The Sad Tale of the Mouse’s Tail, pp. 191–193 and sieve note

Whole tale and note read through closing formula. No assumed successful tail repair, ethnic caricature not adopted, and speaking corn heap retained as a story action. Subsequent Bakhtiari introductory poem is not part of the mouse story.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical translated folktaleLorimer, Persian Tales (1919), Kermani tales; XXX, The Sad Tale of the Mouse’s Tail, pp. 191–193 and sieve noteResearch 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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