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

Overview

The Speaking Bird waits beside a fountain in the enchanted palace reached by the queen’s two sons. A hermit warns each visitor to ignore its speech, take a wing feather, dip it into a nearby jar and anoint the surrounding statues. The bird instead provokes the first prince by reporting that his mother has been condemned to the tread-mill. His astonished answer turns him into a statue. The second brother repeats the mistake. Their sister comes disguised as a page and remains silent while the bird recounts her family’s misfortunes. When it flies down, she captures it and follows the feather-and-jar instructions. Her brothers revive when their nostrils are anointed; the other statues, lions and giants also return to life.

Back in the city, the children have a goldsmith fasten the bird with a golden chain. It directs them to furnish their palace magnificently and arranges two dinners with the king. At the second dinner it tells the history of the exchanged infants and their mother’s punishment, identifying the young people as the king’s children. The king retrieves his nearly dying wife and asks the bird to sentence the guilty nurse and aunts; the resulting executions belong to this violent tale’s ending. The bird then departs. Its role changes from dangerous examiner to adviser and witness, without an explanation of its species, origin or departure destination.

Human speechAnswers trigger petrificationFeather used with restorative liquidExposes substituted infants
01

Origins & earliest records

Crane, Italian Popular Tales (1885), IV, The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird, pp. 17–25; selected from Giuseppe Pitrè, Fiabe, Novelle e Racconti, no. 36, Li Figghi di lu Cavuliciddaru.

02

Records & interpretation

The complete selected English narrative distinguishes the animal foster carer, the disguised fairy guides and the bird’s successive dangerous and protective roles. Crane acknowledges changes of tense and occasional condensation; this record does not claim inspection of the original Italian witness.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Italian Popular Tales, IV: The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird, pp. 17–25

    Thomas Frederick Crane; selected from Giuseppe Pitrè, no. 36 · 1885

    Complete English narrative through family recognition, punishment and the bird’s departure; Pitrè’s Sicilian collection identified by Crane.

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. Primary textCrane 1885, complete selected tale IVResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

FT·752 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑