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Overview

A king buys a wax horse offered for sale in the street and gives it to the son whose horoscope foretells departure from the country. The horse has two wings and can fly through the sky. Using it, the prince leaves his guarded upper-story room and reaches another kingdom, where he hides the horse while lodging with a flower-seller. The tale supplies no named maker, operating pin or formula that animates it.

The horse carries him on secret nightly visits to a princess. After the court captures him and orders his execution, he persuades the guards to let him climb a tree for a possession. Retrieving the hidden horse, he flies away, then returns at night and departs with the princess. When she goes into labor in the forest, he leaves her to fetch medicine and other necessities, parking the horse near a shop. A nearby fire melts the wax, and he cannot find his way back to her.

The horse is never repaired or restored. The continuing tale follows their abandoned infant’s upbringing and eventual recognition of both parents; their separation is not the final state of the family. Parker’s comparative notes discuss wooden and ebony flying mounts and speculate about ancient transmission, but those accounts do not give this wax horse wooden construction or mechanical controls. Its material vulnerability is an essential limit on its otherwise extraordinary flight.

Two wingsCarries riders through the airWax melts near fire
01

Origins & earliest records

Western Province tale in Parker’s historical translation

02

Records & interpretation

Complete English tale and attached notes read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume III

    H. Parker, collector and translator · 1914

    No.225, The Wax Horse, pp.193–199; Western Province; full notes 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

Direct primary record

H. Parker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon III (1914)

III. No.225, pp.193–199

Complete narrative and comparisons read, truncated final comparison separately reread. Two wings/wax material; real flight and destruction near fire; no pin/control-maker imported from Arabian parallel. Subsequent family recognition retained.

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References

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

  1. Historical primary tale translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon III, No.225Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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