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Overview

A poor father of twelve boys finds a serpent the size of a child inside a stump and takes it home. From under the table it asks for soup and calls the couple mother and father. When it insists that the father look in the empty larder, he finds it stocked with food, gold and jewels.

The serpent sends its adoptive mother to ask for a king's daughter. It provides a man-sized sack of gold and more diamonds, wins the bride, and rides to church wrapped in her shawl. The embarrassed king shuts the couple in a poultry-house while the wedding feast continues.

When the twelve years run out, the snake becomes a prince with pure golden hair. As a white pigeon he fetches his horse, weapons and clothes from his own father. He then amuses the guests by turning into a duck, a pigeon and a quail, makes his loyal bride more beautiful and finely dressed, and rebukes those who mocked his serpent form.

Serpent form as large as a grown lad, able to speak and produce hidden wealthReleased after a fixed twelve-year term as a prince with hair of pure goldKeeps the power to change into bird forms (pigeon, duck, quail) after his release
01

Origins & earliest records

Known here from tale L of the 1889 Jones and Kropf translation of a collection drawn from several Magyar compilers. The individual teller is not named. The tale does not say who laid the curse or why.

02

Records & interpretation

Tale L, Snake Skin, pp. 282–287, with a corresponding note on p. 417.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    The Folk-Tales of the Magyars

    Collected by Kriza, Erdélyi, Pap and others; translated and edited by W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf · 1889

    Selected bibliography; primary English translation (tale L, Snake Skin) with editors' note.

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.

References

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

  1. Public-domain primary translationThe Folk-Tales of the Magyars (Project Gutenberg plain text)Research access: 2026-10-07
  2. Catalogue recordThe Folk-Tales of the Magyars (Project Gutenberg catalogue record)Research access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

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