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Overview

The sea originally holds fresh water and intends to swallow the whole world. God determines to break its arrogance and sends a mosquito to drink it. The tiny creature consumes the water until it sucks at the exposed sand. The disproportion between the smallest being and the vast sea supplies the fable’s central reversal: the threatening devourer is itself swallowed.

God then orders the mosquito to release the water, and it does so. The sea’s pride is broken because this minute being has consumed it. Its returned water is now salt, the narrator explains, because it has passed through the mosquito’s body. The short tale gives no further encounter or named mosquito; its complete action is draining and restoring the sea, with saltwater origin as the final consequence.

Minute sizeConsumption of entire seaReturn of swallowed waterSaltwater origin
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Origins & earliest records

Hans Stumme, Märchen der Schluḥ von Tázerwalt (Leipzig, 1895), tale 32, Das Meer und die Mücke: complete German pp. 193. Abdulla Ben Mhammed, dictating contributor; collection context Preface v–vi.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete German tale 32 and relevant notes read through the ending. Creature actions and literary explanations remain those of this located named-contributor witness; no real species or modern chemical account is inferred.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Märchen der Schluḥ von Tázerwalt

    Abdulla Ben Mhammed, dictating contributor; Hans Stumme, recorder and German translator · 1895

    Tale 32, whole German pp. 193; contributor/collection Preface v–vi.

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.

  1. Primary collected narrative with German translation and contextual notesOriginal bilingual collection: Das Meer und die MückeResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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