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Overview

In Catherine Elizondo’s Fisherman tale, a mountain serpent must eat one person every day, with its victim chosen by lot. The king’s daughter is selected, and the city mourns. The fisherman’s first son reaches the mountain ahead of her with his horse, dog and sword. A shrill hiss announces the serpent. The dog holds it while the youth severs all seven heads.

He keeps the seven tongues and matching pieces of the princess’s seven dresses. A charcoal-burner later presents the discarded heads as proof of his own victory. Their tongueless mouths, the rescuer’s tongues and the dress fragments expose the false claim and permit the marriage. Unlike Laurentine’s separate Grateful Tartaro account, this passage gives a single encounter rather than three successive days, and includes no request for quarter or conditional burning threat.

Seven headsMountain dwellingDaily allotted victimDog restrains attackerTongues prove rescue
01

Origins & earliest records

Webster’s Basque Legends, second edition (London, 1879), prints The Fisherman and His Sons under Catherine Elizondo’s name. This is one attributed English translation of a collected narrative.

02

Records & interpretation

The complete narrative, pp. 87–94, establishes the actions and outcome. Its serpent rescue and castle transformation are successive episodes, with the speaking fish’s warning well linking the separated family.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Basque Legends: The Fisherman and His Sons

    Wentworth Webster, collector and translator; narrator Catherine Elizondo · 1879

    Second edition, pp. 87–94; complete three-brother rescue and identification ending 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.

References

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

  1. Primary collected translationWebster 1879: complete Fisherman and His SonsResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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