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

Overview

A man searching for his cow sleeps in a small cave. Its ghost refuses a larger ghost assembly’s demand to eat him, insisting on a host’s responsibility toward his guest. Instead it removes his goitre and offers that, but the other ghosts reject it.

The delighted traveler returns home cured. A second man imitates the adventure, hoping for the same result. This time the assembly refuses another goitre and orders the unwanted first one attached to the newcomer’s neck, leaving him with two. The actions and hospitality rule belong to this folktale; the account is not a medical explanation or a description of an actual treatment.

Supernatural hosts who alter a sleeping visitor’s neckSpecific translated narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Tibetan narrated traditions, as mediated by the Shelton collection

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant tale, title-page credits, contents and Flora Beal Shelton’s preface read.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Tibetan Folk Tales

    A. L. Shelton, translator; Flora Beal Shelton, editor · 1925

    Tale 41, The Story of the Man with the Goitre, pp. 163–165

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

A. L. Shelton, Tibetan Folk Tales (St. Louis: United Christian Missionary Society, 1925), edited by Flora Beal Shelton

Historical English collection. Tale 41, The Story of the Man with the Goitre, pp. 163–165

Full tale directly read, including ending; original contents confirms printed locator. Preface read for mediation and absence of individual narrator identification. Primary witness of this historical translation, not an independently checked Tibetan original.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical translated folktaleShelton, Tibetan Folk Tales (1925), 41, The Story of the Man with the Goitre, pp. 163–165Research 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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