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

Overview

A thorn-gatherer, angry at his poverty, attempts to leave God’s country. After trading successfully with a stranger, he spends all his profits on overpriced bread, water and medicine. A later man questions his plan, recounts these purchases and argues that his ability to obtain necessities depends on God. The narrator then identifies this final speaker as an angel, who vanishes after the lesson. The thorn-gatherer repents and eventually prospers. The text does not give the angel a personal name, wings or another nonhuman form, nor explicitly identify every earlier trader with him. An editorial note admits uncertainty about the lesson’s precise logic; the narrative’s explanation is retained as devotional teaching rather than a general explanation of real poverty.

Human-appearing instructorSudden disappearanceExplicit narrator identification as angel
01

Origins & earliest records

Bakhtiari storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Whole LIV and both explanatory notes 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

    Bakhtiari tales; LIV, The Impious Thorn-Gatherer, pp. 328–330 and notes

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)

Bakhtiari tales; LIV. Bakhtiari tales; LIV, The Impious Thorn-Gatherer, pp. 328–330 and notes

Complete LIV and notes read. Only final teacher explicitly identified as angel; no personal name, wings or identity with earlier traders inferred. Editorial uncertainty about lesson retained. Original paraphrase.

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), Bakhtiari tales; LIV, The Impious Thorn-Gatherer, pp. 328–330 and notesResearch 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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