The living wooden parrots of Panch-Phul Ranee

Overview

In Anna Liberata de Souza’s tale collected by Mary Frere, an exiled prince earns his living as a carpenter after marrying a carpenter’s daughter. He makes, paints and varnishes a thousand lifelike wooden parrots. Parbuttee admires them during a journey with Mahdeo and asks him to give them life for amusement; he does so. The next morning the birds walk into the house, flap their wings and chatter. They are animated carvings with explicitly described wings, legs, eyes and beaks, not a flock of ordinary birds merely trained by the prince.

The maker’s mother-in-law fears the expense of feeding them, but the birds gather their own food and each brings back grain, leaving enough surplus for their master to sell. The wisest, called the old parrot despite sharing the flock’s recent manufacture, confirms the prince’s dream of Panch-Phul Ranee. Two birds interlace their inner wings into a seat and use their outer wings to carry him across distant lands and seas. The other998 remain to provide food for his first wife. At the princess’s barrier the old parrot refuses a shortcut: being carried over would not fulfil her requirement that a suitor jump across on foot.

The prince dies during the attempt and is restored by Panch-Phul Ranee after she overhears jackals. His bird advisers then carry the couple away. When human conjurors deprive him of his memory, the two parrots remain near the palace for eighteen years; they do not cure him. After physicians restore his faculties, he uses them to fetch his first wife and the remaining flock. Four birds later carry the royal couple and their son to Panch-Phul Ranee’s parents. Repeated journeys end with the prince bringing his first wife and the whole flock to the new kingdom. The account continues to call them wooden parrots; it does not explain their internal mechanics or grant them immortality.

Origins & earliest records

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

Records & interpretation

Complete IX164–193 and all seven attached footnotes read; no separate IX endnote occurs in the selected edition. Full introductory provenance previously 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

   IX, Panch-Phul Ranee, pp.164–193; footnotes67–73; Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co. Complete narrative and footnotes 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

References

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

1. Historical collected oral narrative in EnglishOld Deccan Days — IX, Panch-Phul Ranee, pp.164–193; footnotes67–73Research access: 2026-10-06

Image credits

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