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Overview
A cattle boy saves a jackal from a python, which releases the animal and coils around the boy instead. The jackal seeks help, but nearby men interpret its repeated approaches as madness. It therefore steals a bather’s waist cloth and drops it beside the trapped boy, bringing pursuers who beat the python and free him. The narrative gives the jackal purposeful reasoning but no spoken dialogue or magic. Parker attributes the account to a Roḍiyā teller of the North-western Province; the rescuer and animal are unnamed.
Origins & earliest records
Sri Lankan narratives collected and translated by H. Parker
Records & interpretation
Complete tale and all its printed variants/comparative notes read; relevant introduction passages on collection and translation directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I
No. 72, The Grateful Jackal, pp. 373–374
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
Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I
Volume I; No. 72. No. 72, The Grateful Jackal, pp. 373–374
Complete tale and any attached comparative notes/footnotes read. Specific teller attribution retained; animal intention, speech, titles and bluffs distinguished from enacted magic. No individual narrator name supplied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon I — No. 72, The Grateful Jackal, pp. 373–374Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.