A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
When a pond dries, a turtle asks two storks to carry him away. Gripping the centre of their stick with his mouth, he must remain silent, but an insult from a jackal makes him reply and fall. He survives, unlike the fatal endings quoted in Parker’s comparisons. Persuading the jackal that his dry body must first be soaked, he gains access to another pond, then says a seized leg is a plant root and escapes when the predator releases it.
The disgraced jackal and his fellows arrange a pretended exchange of brides with the pond’s turtles, intending to capture them. The turtles gather on fallen trees, make their own loud accompaniment to the wedding procession and dive into the pond before they can be seized. No marriage occurs. Parker attributes the complete telling to a Village Vaeddā of Bintaenna and supplies a shorter North-western Province version ending with the first escape. His suggestion that the wedding continuation is peculiar to the Vaeddās is an editorial judgment, not demonstrated exclusive ownership of the motif.
The opening birds are called kokkā, which Parker says can denote several large waders; he proposes black storks by comparison with the Sinhalese variant. The principal figure is an aquatic turtle. The birds carry him mechanically with a stick rather than giving him wings or a power of flight.
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. 36, The Jackal and the Turtle, pp. 234–239; variants and notes pp. 239–240
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. 36. No. 36, The Jackal and the Turtle, pp. 234–239; variants and notes pp. 239–240
Entire story and its comparative notes read; initially truncated transition explicitly reread. Main telling and variants kept distinct, no magical event inferred from deceptive claims. Individual teller unnamed; Village Vaeddā of Bintaenna attribution retained.
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. 36, The Jackal and the Turtle, pp. 234–239; variants and notes pp. 239–240Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.