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

Overview

A frog gains a golden pot through a trick race with a rabbit but cannot move it from the mountaintop. A large dark duck with a mouse-colored breast agrees to carry it down in exchange for half. After the division, the duck smears its share on its breast, accounting for its golden color.

The collection’s accompanying note associates such tame mountain and lakeside ducks with sacredness and the reincarnation of holy people. That generalization belongs to the historical editor’s account, rather than establishing one belief shared by all Tibetans. No scientific species, separate divine name or connection to a different culture’s golden bird is supplied.

Speaking helper bird in a plumage-origin taleSpecific 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 30, How the Sacred Duck Got His Yellow Breast, pp. 123–127

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 30, How the Sacred Duck Got His Yellow Breast, pp. 123–127

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), 30, How the Sacred Duck Got His Yellow Breast, pp. 123–127Research 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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