Emissary inside the squash in Shelton’s tale

Overview

When the greedy gardener cuts open the squash grown from a bird’s gift, a fierce old man springs out. He says that the king of the lower regions has sent him to weigh the gardener. Carrying his own scale, he seizes the man by the neck and sets him upon it, finds him too light and useless, then takes him outside and beheads him. The narrative provides neither a personal name nor an elaborate monstrous body.

This punishment follows the gardener’s deliberate breaking of a bird’s leg to imitate a neighbor’s compassionate rescue. The first gardener receives gold; the second receives the emissary. The tale ends with a condemnation of covetousness and gives no afterlife journey or resurrection. Although weighing and an underworld ruler are explicit, the text does not identify the agent as Yama or assign him a Tibetan divine name; the king’s authority is conveyed through the emissary’s own speech.

Origins & earliest records

Tale labeled a Black Tent Story in a historical English collection

Records & interpretation

Complete tale including its final punishment directly read.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Tibetan Folk Tales

   A. L. Shelton; edited by Flora Beal Shelton · 1925

   XXVI, The Golden Squash (A Black Tent Story), pp.107–111

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

References

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

1. Historical English tale collectionShelton, Tibetan Folk Tales, XXVI, The Golden SquashResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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