A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Fleeson names Punya In as the god of wisdom who descends from heaven as a crow. He offers a poor fisherman a prosperous life on condition that the man remember his benefactor. Carrying him to a distant province on his back, he removes its dead ruler and puts the fisherman in the body’s place. The watchers mistake the replacement for their ruler returned to life; the story does not actually revive the dead man.

After years of wealth, the fisherman forgets the gift and drives crows out of his rice fields and province. Punya In returns as a crow, promises still greater happiness and carries him back to his original impoverished home. The bird is a form taken by the named god, and the moral concerns the recipient’s ingratitude. The collection does not supply an original-script spelling or establish an alias with another named deity.

Heavenly wisdom deity who carries a fisherman in crow formSource-specific narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Historical Laos country within Siam, as identified by the collection

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant narrative and Willis G. Craig’s introduction directly read.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India

    Katherine Neville Fleeson, collector/translator · 1899

    VI.4, The Ungrateful Fisherman, pp.84–85

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

Katherine Neville Fleeson, Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India (1899)

VI.4. VI.4, The Ungrateful Fisherman, pp.84–85

Complete relevant narrative read with attached notes; Craig introduction previously read. Historical missionary collection, unnamed individual narrator and original-script name absent. Rebirth, disguise and mistaken resurrection kept distinct. Original paraphrase.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical folktale collectionFleeson, Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India, VI.4, The Ungrateful Fisherman, pp.84–85Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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