A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Caught on a limed tree, a thumb-sized flower-pecker persuades Father Lime-stick to release it by promising a coconut-sized bezoar. Safely perched elsewhere, it explains that a bird so small could not carry such a stone and advises the man against undertakings beyond his strength. The talisman is a trick promise, not an object actually produced. Skeat names the human To’Să-gĕtah and the bird Sĕpah putri, and expressly credits the telling to Che Busu.
A separate origin legend in the note explains the bird’s name, Princess’s betel-quid: the Moon-Princess throws her betel to earth, where it becomes a small bird, then tells her owl suitor to find the discarded quid. His failure prevents the proposed marriage. The note’s quotation from Malay Magic provides a distinct naming story, not a claim that this particular trapped bird performs the owl episode on the page.
Origins & earliest records
Malay Peninsula; Kelantan teller Che Busu, a follower of the Raja Muda of Patāni
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant tale and attached scholarly notes directly read.
In the literature
“Why, have I even got the strength to lift it?”
I Father Lime-stick and the Flower-pecker, printed 2 · Walter William Skeat
Father Lime-stick catches a tiny flower-pecker and prepares to eat it. The bird points out its small size, then promises a valuable coconut-sized bezoar if released. Once free, it preens safely in a tree. The old man asks for the promised object, and the bird exposes the absurdity: its thumb-sized body could not carry so large a stone. It advises him to undertake tasks proportionate to his abilities. Skeat credits Che Busu, a Kelantan Malay attached to the Raja Muda of Patāni. A note separately reports a Moon-Princess/owl legend in which discarded betel becomes the bird, citing Skeat’s Malay Magic.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest
I, Father Lime-stick and the Flower-pecker, pp. 1–2; notes pp. 73–74
- 02
Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest — I Father Lime-stick and the Flower-pecker
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 & 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
Walter Skeat, Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest (Cambridge: University Press, 1901)
I, Father Lime-stick and the Flower-pecker. I, Father Lime-stick and the Flower-pecker, pp. 1–2; notes pp. 73–74
Complete tale and associated notes directly read. Regional spellings and differing accounts retained; commentary does not establish present-day practice or biological facts. Teller attribution retained where stated: Che Busu for I/II; unnamed Siong River villager for VI.
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.
- Father Lime-stick catches a tiny flower-pecker and prepares to eat it. The bird points out its small size, then promises a valuable coconut-sized bezoar if released. Once free, it preens safely in a tree. The old man asks for the promised object, and the bird exposes the absurdity: its thumb-sized body could not carry so large a stone. It advises him to undertake tasks proportionate to his abilities. Skeat credits Che Busu, a Kelantan Malay attached to the Raja Muda of Patāni. A note separately reports a Moon-Princess/owl legend in which discarded betel becomes the bird, citing Skeat’s Malay Magic.
I Father Lime-stick and the Flower-pecker, complete printed 1–2; notes73–74
CompleteI and all notes read. The promised giant bezoar is a deception, not an actually delivered magical object. Moon-Princess origin is a separately cited story reproduced in the note, not a scene in this main tale or independent new review of Malay Magic. Modern zoological identifications not asserted.
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), I, Father Lime-stick and the Flower-pecker, pp. 1–2; notes pp. 73–74Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.