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

Overview

Prince Muhammed follows an injured garden intruder’s trail down a well and reaches two women held in underground castles. The younger, whom the captor has taken as a wife, warns that he will burn or dismember them if he detects the visitor. She secures Muhammed’s promise to marry her if he survives, then explains where the opponent sleeps behind seven doors. This being has seven heads and long ears, sleeping with one ear beneath and one above his body. A sword lies near a head, and she says possession of it determines the victor.

Muhammed refuses to attack a sleeping opponent treacherously and wakes him with his sword. The being proposes leaving for the prince’s palace, but Muhammed insists on fighting immediately. Thunderous rising and neighing sounds precede their move to an open fighting ground. They agree to charge from opposite ends and let the one who knocks the other down deliver the killing stroke. Muhammed lifts him, throws him down and cuts off one head. The being asks for another head to be treated likewise; the prince refuses a succession of strokes, and it falls dead.

The women celebrate release from years of confinement without sunlight. A printed explanatory note says that another severing would have made the first head grow sevenfold, whereas refusal leaves the creature to bleed to death. This is an explanation supplied with the text; the actual combat narrates one removed head and death, not seven complete severings. The scene also identifies the prince’s earlier ring as a gift from the garden intruder unknown to this opponent, supporting their separate treatment. The women’s later rope escape and the older brother’s betrayal occur after this captor is dead.

Seven headsLong ears used as beddingUnderground captivitySword combatOne fatal severingAdditional-stroke regeneration warning
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Origins & earliest records

Hans Stumme, Märchen der Schluḥ von Tázerwalt (Leipzig, 1895), tale 17, Die Geschichte von einem Sultan, seinem Sohne, einem Garten und von zwei Mädchen nebst ihren Westen: complete German pp. 146–166. Abdulla Ben Mhammed, contributor; collection Preface v–vi.

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Records & interpretation

Whole German tale 17 read through final wedding confrontation. Garden donor and seven-headed captor distinguished by narrative statement that the latter does not know of the earlier ring. Regeneration belongs to printed explanatory note; white dog’s successful journey is an instruction, black desert transport is enacted.

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 17, whole German pp. 146–166: garden donor pp. 148–150, captive/duel pp. 151–155, dogs pp. 155–158, fetched vests pp. 162–165; 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 Tashelhit transcription with German translationOriginal bilingual collection: Garden, Prince and Two VestsResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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