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

Overview

A pigeon dwelling in a well with a serpent and a demon claims that its droppings can cure any illness. The hidden prince collects some and uses them to cure a princess whom the demon says it possesses. Later the pigeon notices that its droppings have been stolen, prompting the well’s occupants to search and discover the prince’s hostile brothers. The miraculous cure belongs to the folktale and is not a medical use of bird waste; no separate transformed human identity is stated.

Speaking pigeon whose droppings provide a miraculous narrative remedySpecific collected narrative witness
01

Origins & earliest records

Punjabi storytelling collected and adapted in colonial British India

02

Records & interpretation

Complete named tale and Temple’s corresponding notes read; university-hosted 1894 text compared in full.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Tales of the Punjab, Told by the People

    Flora Annie Steel, collector/adapter; R. C. Temple, annotations · 1894

    Prince Half-a-son and corresponding Temple notes; illustrations J. Lockwood Kipling

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

Direct primary record

Flora Annie Steel, Tales of the Punjab, Told by the People (Macmillan, 1894); R. C. Temple notes

Prince Half-a-son. Complete tale and titled notes; Gutenberg id01482/id01911; UPenn punjab-41

Full narrative and corresponding short notes directly read; Gutenberg footer excluded from final note section. Whole 1894 UPenn narrative compared, over 98% token overlap, all residual differences inspected. No biological Snake-king parentage or bodily restoration inferred.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical collected folktaleSteel, Prince Half-a-son, complete narrativeResearch access: 2026-10-05
  2. Collector’s linguistic and comparative notesTemple, Notes to Prince Half-a-sonResearch access: 2026-10-05
  3. University-hosted historical primary textUniversity of Pennsylvania, 1894 edition transcriptionResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

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