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

Overview

Anna Liberata de Souza’s story distinguishes Muchie Rajah, the Fish Prince, from his later son Muchie Lal, whose name supplies the chapter title. The prince has angered the gods and been changed into a fish; his precise offence and the individual deities responsible are not specified. A palace servant saves him from a delivery of fish for the kitchen, and the childless queen adopts him as a pet and surrogate son. His growth requires successively larger vessels and finally a tank. He speaks to the queen and asks for a wife.

After others refuse, a woman secretly sells her unwanted stepdaughter to the queen’s messengers. A seven-headed cobra gives the girl three stones and explains the prince’s condition. When the fish approaches her tank-side room with its mouth open, each of the first two stones sends it under water; the third breaks the spell and restores the prince’s human form. The cobra expressly warns that she would otherwise be eaten, so the danger is not only a rumour circulated by the frightened families. The restored prince thanks her and marries her in a public celebration.

The story continues beyond disenchantment. His wife is later pushed into a river and replaced by her stepsister, whose disguise he eventually detects. He searches for the missing woman until a bangle-seller leads him to the cobra household where she and their son Muchie Lal have been sheltered. Their reunion and return with gifts close the tale. The narrative does not give the prince another fish transformation after the spell is broken, nor identify his human son as a fish merely because of his name.

01

Origins & earliest records

Told by Anna Liberata de Souza and collected in English by Mary Frere; introduction and notes by Bartle Frere.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected tale, attached footnote and related endnote read; title, introduction, collector apology and narrator autobiography with all referenced notes checked.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Old Deccan Days; or, Hindoo Fairy Legends Current in Southern India

    Anna Liberata de Souza, narrator; Mary Frere, collector; Bartle Frere, introduction and notes · 1870

    XIX, Muchie Lal, pp.258–267; footnotes83–86 and endnote342–343; Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co. Complete tale and attached/source 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

Complete XIX258–267 and all notes83–86/endnote342–343 read; full collection and narrator prefatory materials previously checked.

Old Deccan Days; or, Hindoo Fairy Legends Current in Southern India

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co.,1870. XIX, Muchie Lal, pp.258–267; footnotes83–86 and endnote342–343

Caches frere1870-19.txt, frere1870-notes19.txt and frere-deccan-1870.html. Fish father distinct son Muchie Lal; cobra rescue, restrictive shelter, bangle-seller discovery and permission/gifts ending retained. No original-language collation.

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References

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

  1. Historical collected oral narrative in EnglishOld Deccan Days — XIX, Muchie Lal, pp.258–267; footnotes83–86 and endnote342–343Research access: 2026-10-06

Image credits

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

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