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Overview
A prince in Parker’s tale rejects his arranged wife, confines her in a cave and demands that she produce a son during his absence, intending to kill her for failing. Two tunnelling rats given by her father help her escape. Having learned dance and disguised herself, she sleeps with the prince before he sails; years later she fulfills his demand with their child. Her public explanation still does not win his acceptance, and her parents also refuse to take her back.
The prince wants the child but sends its mother poisoned cakes during his next wedding. The narrator explicitly says that she dies. A Nāga maiden then nurses the infant. When the prince carries the child to his royal home, this being follows in snake form. He cuts her with his sword as her head lies within the doorway and her tail remains outside. The snake vanishes, and the child’s original mother stands before him.
Concluding that he cannot kill her, the prince establishes her as chief queen. The ending reveals the mother through the snake’s disappearance, but never separately narrates the moment of her death-to-Nāga transformation; that transition remains a gap. The nurse is not assigned a distinct personal name or hybrid human-and-serpent anatomy. The account’s eventual royal recognition also does not erase the repeated coercion and attempted killing that precede it.
Origins & earliest records
Historical translated tale attributed to Western Province
Records & interpretation
Complete English tale and attached notes read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume III
No.249, pp.325–327; attribution: Western Province
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
H. Parker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon III (1914)
III. No.249, pp.325–327
Complete tale and footnotes read; Western Province. Concluding that he cannot kill her, the prince establishes her as chief queen. The ending reveals the mother through the snake’s disappearance, but never separately narrates the moment of her death-to-Nāga transformation; that transition remains a gap. The nurse is not assigned a distinct personal name or hybrid human-and-serpent anatomy. The account’s eventual royal recognition also does not erase the repeated coercion and attempted killing that precede it.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical primary tale translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon III, No.249, pp.325–327Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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