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Overview
A mouse gives birth to a human boy after praying for a wise, wealthy and powerful child. A barber discovers that the boy’s cut hair becomes diamonds, pearls and other jewels as it falls, while his nail parings become turquoise. On hearing of this, the king tries to obtain him by threatening slavery and his mother’s death unless he supplies first four tigers, then four peacocks, and finally enables his mother to defeat the royal elephant.
The boy summons his tiger and peacock brothers using the tokens they left with their mother. After the birds and beasts fulfill the first two demands, his mother herself defeats the elephant in a fantastical contest. The king gives him his daughter and half the kingdom; after the king’s death he succeeds to the throne. The gem-producing ability is attached to cut hair and nails, not to tears or all bodily substances, and no individual name is printed.
Origins & earliest records
Tibet; collected historical narrative
Records & interpretation
Full relevant tale and collection preface directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Folk Tales from Tibet
XII, The Mouse’s Three Children, pp. 68–75
Family, evolution & connections
The Mouse’s three sons — O’Connor 1906
Explicit births and sibling relationships in Story XII, a Nepal-set tale in O’Connor’s Tibetan collection.
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Mother and offspring named directly in the narrative; birth sequence retained. The Mouse initially lives with a husband, but the births do not explicitly identify a father. Prayers do not establish divine parentage. Recruited tigers and peacocks are not additional siblings. This is a translated literary witness, not biological evolution.
Unnamed king’s daughter (O’Connor Story XII)
After the Mouse defeats the king’s elephant, the king fulfils his promise by marrying his daughter to the human son. No children of this marriage are stated.
Primary records and illustrations
W. F. O’Connor, Folk Tales from Tibet (1906)
XII, The Mouse’s Three Children. pp. 68–75
Entire tale read. Mouse mother and three offspring explicitly identified; other recruited animals not given shared parentage. Original paraphrase; mythical elephant anatomy not biological evidence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical tale collectionO’Connor, Folk Tales from Tibet — XII, The Mouse’s Three Children, pp. 68–75Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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