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

Overview

Suri accepts the young prince from the dog Shankar after promising to care for what he entrusts to her. She swallows the child as a refuge and brings him out after a year to play, talk and receive her affection. She repeats this when he is three years old, but a cowherd sees them and reports the secret to the jealous queens.

The queens claim Suri has attacked them, and the king orders her killed. Suri overhears the command and passes the child to Katar, the dangerous-looking royal horse, who agrees to protect him. She is killed the next morning. The narrative does not call her a transformed human or give her Katar’s fairy-country origin. The boy eventually restores his mother’s position, but Suri’s death remains part of the cost of his survival.

Speaking cowProtective swallowingTransfer to KatarDeath after false accusation
01

Origins & earliest records

South Asian tale selected through Maive Stokes

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected English narrative and source note read, including final recognition, punishment and horse’s continued companionship.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Indian Fairy Tales

    Joseph Jacobs (selector), through Maive Stokes · 1892

    XXII, “The Boy who had a Moon on his Forehead and a Star on his Chin,” pp. 156–178; notes p. 250. London: David Nutt. Source note credits Stokes no. 20, pp. 119–137.

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

Complete selected English narrative and specific notes read

Indian Fairy Tales

Joseph Jacobs, London: David Nutt, 1892. XXII, pp. 156–178; notes p. 250

Caches jacobs-22.txt (35687 characters) and jacobs-notes-22.txt. All infancy, animal transfers/deaths, fairy-horse escape, ear transformations, marriage/hunting, brother-in-law humiliation, family recognition and final ending read. No animal resurrection invented; no narrator name or original-language collation inferred. Original printed scans not checked.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical English folktale selectionJacobs 1892, XXII and source noteResearch 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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