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Overview
A separated princess reaches a city in Brāhmaṇa clothing and becomes a teacher after demonstrating writing that neither the schoolmaster nor the king can read. A parrot she has reared overhears the king planning tests to determine whether the teacher is a woman. It flies from the palace roof to report each plan: an excursion first to a flower garden, then to a betel garden.
Forewarned, the princess takes a single flower and later a single betel leaf, holding each near her eye and turning it as the king expects a Brāhmaṇa to do. The bird preserves her disguise until her later reunion with her prince. It is a speaking, observant helper, with no stated magic transformation or powers over plants. Parker attributes this narrative to the North-western Province; the tests express the story’s gender assumptions rather than a reliable means of identifying a person’s gender.
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. 8, The Prince and the Princess, pp. 93–99
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. 8, The Prince and the Princess, pp. 93–99
Complete tale and all comparative notes/footnotes read. Actual food multiplication and buffalo revival distinguished from subsequent false claims; parrot’s intelligence distinct from supernatural anatomy.
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. 8, The Prince and the Princess, pp. 93–99Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.