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

Overview

Mushu courts the finely dressed beetle Susku and promises her a resting place in his arms after she rejects several uncomfortable household materials. When a farmer tells him that she has fallen into the irrigation water, he steals two carrots and carves them with his teeth into the little ladder requested for her rescue. The teller calls this a golden ladder, but gives no separate act changing the material into metal. Mushu pulls her out, and the two marry.

Later he asks Susku to prepare broth and returns to find that she has drowned in the pot. He pours ashes on his head. A passing crow learns the cause and sheds its feathers, beginning a chain of lamenting animals, plants, waters and people. Mushu has no stated power over those later reactions and performs no resurrection. His name and Susku’s are retained in the Lorimers’ English spellings rather than expanded into a presumed native script.

Speaking mouse who rescues and later mourns his beetle wife
01

Origins & earliest records

Kermani storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Complete IV, pp. 14–18, 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; IV, The Story of Susku and Mushu, pp. 14–18

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; IV. Kermani tales; IV, The Story of Susku and Mushu, pp. 14–18

Complete IV read through final griddle-cake transformation. Actual marriage and unrevived death retained; carrot/gold wording reported without supplying an alchemical mechanism. No individual teller named here. Original paraphrase.

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References

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

  1. Historical translated folktaleLorimer, Persian Tales (1919), Kermani tales; IV, The Story of Susku and Mushu, pp. 14–18Research 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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