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Overview
The Eagle and Woodpecker hide the beautiful daughter of the King of the Genii in a hollow tree sealed with pitch. The Eagle has missed Solomon’s gathering and faces death, but their disclosure of the princess secures a promise to spare him. Brought before the king, she is bathed by the queen with powdered rice and limes: her feathers disappear and the white markings of her skin become visible. She marries Solomon. The text gives neither a personal name nor an original bird species, and does not explain her consent or the origin of her feathers. This is a particular collected narrative concerning a sacred figure, not a universal religious account.
Origins & earliest records
Malay Peninsula; Malay narrative in Skeat’s collection; locality not specified in this tale
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant tale and attached scholarly notes directly read.
In the literature
“At this the Princess’s feathers disappeared”
XXIV King Solomon and the Birds, printed 66 · Walter William Skeat
Solomon orders his bird subjects home at nightfall. When an eagle is missing, most accuse it of neglect, but heron, woodpecker and thrush obtain progressively longer respites. The eagle returns and enlists the woodpecker, which reports a beautiful genii princess as a potential consort. The two birds conceal her inside a hollow tree closed with pitch. Solomon calls both to him and grants the eagle its life. The princess is brought before him, her feathers disappear during a narrated washing, and she marries Solomon. Solomon then faults the other birds’ rash speech and curses them; the story explains their varying beaks, tails and markings.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest
XXIV, King Solomon and the Birds, pp. 64–66; note p. 84
- 02
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest — XXIV King Solomon and the Birds
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, collected and translated Walter Skeat, Cambridge: University Press,1901. Original title leaf13 visually checked; selected complete tales and all accompanying notes read from historical transcription. Introduction states1899 Cambridge expedition collection and limitation of phraseology, not verbatim unedited speech. Original quoted folios visually checked in Archive fablesfolktalesf00skearich; IIIF canvas positions omit initial leaves, so exact original leaf number matched from image identifier, not array index.
Family, evolution & connections
King of the Genii and his daughter — Skeat’s tale
The expressly stated father and daughter in tale XXIV.
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- Unnamed King of the Genii — father
Repeated daughter designation; marriage is a separate relationship. Neither father nor princess has a personal name in this witness. Bird attendants are subjects and captors, not relatives. The feather-removal episode does not establish biological bird ancestry. Other Solomon traditions are not combined.
King of the Genii in Skeat’s Solomon tale
The feathered princess is repeatedly called the King of the Genii’s daughter. Neither the eagle who confines her nor Solomon is described as her birth father.
Solomon in Skeat’s birds tale
After the princess is brought to court and her feathers removed, the narrative states that she marries Solomon. This Malay tale is not merged with unrelated Solomon narratives.
Primary records and illustrations
Walter Skeat, Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest (Cambridge: University Press, 1901)
XXIV, King Solomon and the Birds. XXIV, King Solomon and the Birds, pp. 64–66; note p. 84
Complete tale and associated notes directly read. Regional spellings and differing accounts retained; commentary does not establish present-day practice or biological facts. Individual teller not named here.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, collected and translated Walter Skeat, Cambridge: University Press,1901. Original title leaf13 visually checked; selected complete tales and all accompanying notes read from historical transcription. Introduction states1899 Cambridge expedition collection and limitation of phraseology, not verbatim unedited speech. Original quoted folios visually checked in Archive fablesfolktalesf00skearich; IIIF canvas positions omit initial leaves, so exact original leaf number matched from image identifier, not array index.
- Solomon orders his bird subjects home at nightfall. When an eagle is missing, most accuse it of neglect, but heron, woodpecker and thrush obtain progressively longer respites. The eagle returns and enlists the woodpecker, which reports a beautiful genii princess as a potential consort. The two birds conceal her inside a hollow tree closed with pitch. Solomon calls both to him and grants the eagle its life. The princess is brought before him, her feathers disappear during a narrated washing, and she marries Solomon. Solomon then faults the other birds’ rash speech and curses them; the story explains their varying beaks, tails and markings.
XXIV King Solomon and the Birds, complete printed 64–66; note84
Complete XXIV64–66 and note84 read. Daughter of the King of Genii is explicit; no personal name, mother or species given. Consent to confinement or marriage is not independently narrated. No practical ceremonial recipe or spoken curse copied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected narrative with locality and editorial notesSkeat, Fables & Folk-Tales (Cambridge University Press, 1901), XXIV, King Solomon and the Birds, pp. 64–66; note p. 84Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.