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Overview
After Half-Cock brings gold home, the two co-wives still jointly own a female dog. The envious woman proposes dividing it, but her companion gives up her share instead and leaves the dog alive. Its new sole mistress tells it to go on pilgrimage as Half-Cock did and bring her gold. The dog obeys and sets out in the morning. At a fountain it bends to drink, sees a yellow stone in the water, picks it up in its mouth and runs home.
The dog speaks on arrival, asking its mistress to prepare mats and rods. Once beneath the mats, it asks to be struck moderately. The woman instead beats with all her strength and refuses the dog’s repeated cries to stop. Eventually it grows cold. Removing the mats, she finds it dead with the yellow stone still in its mouth. The ending separates a speaking animal’s fatal imitation from Half-Cock’s successful release of actual gold; it does not say the stone changes into a precious metal.
Origins & earliest records
René Basset, Contes populaires berbères (1887), no. 42, Moitié de Coq, complete printed pp. 83–89. Note 90 on p. 187 identifies Moh’ammed ’Abdi as the contributor at Cherchel in 1885. Basset is the French translator and editor; the contributor and recording place are separately credited.
Records & interpretation
Complete French narrative read against original DjVu pages 121–127, printed pp. 83–89, including all three rescues, gold return and the final dog episode. Original note 90, DjVu page 225, verifies the named contributor, place and year. It cites an earlier text and transcription in Basset’s Recueil de textes et de documents relatifs à la philologie berbère, Bulletin de Correspondance africaine (1885), pp. 317–326; that earlier publication is a bibliographic lead, not an independently inspected witness here.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Contes populaires berbères
No. 42, complete pp. 83–89; contributor note 90, p. 187; preface xiv.
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.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected narrative; original facsimile inspectedOriginal edition, complete narrative 42Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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