The Donkey's Head
A Jewish-Tunisian folktale of an enchanted donkey-headed husband.
Dan Hadani · CC BY 4.0
The Donkey's Head (French: *La Tête d'Âne*) is a Jewish-Tunisian folktale collected by Alice Fermé and published in the late-1800s in the French journal *Revue des Traditions Populaires*. It belongs to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom, or The Search for the Lost Husband, and is classified as Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 425D, "The Vanished Husband."
**Summary**
A poor old woman decides to spend the night in a supposedly haunted storeroom; if she survives until dawn, she will own it. At a certain hour, a donkey's head appears. She invites it closer, and it thanks her, explaining it is a sultan's son cursed by enemies for loving a young lady. She survives the night, gains the storehouse, and lives with the head.
The head asks her to go to the town's sultan and request his youngest daughter's hand. She brings a box of expensive jewels as a dowry, and the daughter agrees to marry a rich donkey's head. When the girl arrives at the humble storehouse, she is disappointed and cries. But a young man in an emerald robe appears, embraces her, and leads them to a table of fine dishes. He warns that this secret must stay between them, and she must tell her family her married life is poor, or he will vanish. This arrangement continues for a time.
One day, the prince tells his wife an enemy army is coming. He will fight for her father's army in ruby garments. He defeats the enemy. During the victory parade, the sultan's daughter reveals the mysterious rider is her husband. He disappears. She falls ill, and the old woman returns her to her parents.
Meanwhile, in another country, a different poor woman is blown by a fierce wind to a place near the sea. A man appears, and they bathe. At night, they seek shelter in a manor, where a richly dressed man cuts an apple into four pieces, offering one to his father, one to his mother, and one to someone far away. He then asks the manor—its doors, ceiling, and tables—to weep with him. The second old woman learns of the sultan's daughter's illness and visits her. Paid for her story, she tells it, and the sultan's daughter asks to be taken to the manor. Both women see the man cut the apple, but when he begs the entryway to weep, it laughs and announces his wife is there. He sees her and embraces her.
**Analysis**
**Tale type** This tale belongs to the Animal as Bridegroom cycle.
- Collected by
- Alice Fermé
- Published in
- Revue des Traditions Populaires
- Time of publication
- Late-19th century
- Cultural origin
- Jewish-Tunisian
- Tale type
- ATU 425D (The Vanished Husband)
- Related cycle
- Animal as Bridegroom / Search for the Lost Husband
Lore & Background
The tale follows a poor old woman who spends the night in a haunted storeroom and meets a donkey's head, which reveals itself as a sultan's son cursed by enemies. The old woman gains the storeroom and lives with the donkey's head, who later asks her to woo the sultan's youngest daughter. The princess marries the donkey's head, but on the wedding night he transforms into a handsome young man in a robe of emeralds, warning her to keep his secret or he will disappear. The princess eventually betrays his trust during a victory parade, causing him to vanish. She falls ill and returns to her parents. Meanwhile, another poor woman is blown by wind to a manor where a man cuts an apple into four pieces, offering them to his father, mother, and someone far away, then commands the manor to weep. The second woman tells the princess, who goes to the manor and is reunited with her husband when the entryway laughs and announces her presence.
Reader's Guide
The Donkey's Head is significant as a variant of the international tale type ATU 425D, 'The Vanished Husband', which involves a human princess marrying a supernatural husband in animal form, breaking his trust, and searching for him. Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn classified it as subtype D, and folklorist Dov Noy identified a Jewish oikotype based on similar tales. The tale features motifs such as the enchanted bridegroom as a donkey's head (Arabic: Rās al homār) and the husband's location discovered through a story told at an inn or bath house. It also relates to Heda Jason's type AaTh 425*Q, 'Marvelous Being Woos Princess'. The tale's publication in a French journal highlights its role in documenting Jewish-Tunisian oral traditions within the broader context of European folklore studies.
Did You Know?
- It is classified as ATU 425D, 'The Vanished Husband', a subtype of the Animal as Bridegroom cycle.
- The enchanted husband appears as a donkey's head, a motif noted by researcher Samia Al Azharia Jahn.
- Folklorist Dov Noy abstracted a Jewish oikotype based on eight Jewish tales and three Yiddish tales.
Gallery
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "The Donkey's Head"?
It is a Jewish-Tunisian folktale in which a destitute old woman gambles her night in a supposedly cursed storeroom and encounters a mysterious donkey-headed figure who turns out to be her enchanted husband.
Who collected "The Donkey's Head" and where did it first appear?
Alice Fermé gathered the tale, and it was printed in the French periodical Revue des Traditions Populaires during the late 1800s.
How is "The Donkey's Head" classified in folklore studies?
It is indexed as Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 425D, "The Vanished Husband," and belongs to the wider Animal as Bridegroom / Search for the Lost Husband narrative cycle.
What actually happens in the story?
The old woman takes a risk by sleeping in the haunted room, and when the donkey's head materializes at a prescribed hour she coaxes it closer; it then thanks her and reveals itself as her long-lost, magically transformed spouse.
Why does "The Donkey's Head" matter to fans of Jewish folklore?
It offers a rare North African Jewish-Tunisian variation on a tale type that is far more commonly associated with European and Mediterranean traditions, showing how local communities reshaped the Animal as Bridegroom motif in their own cultural idiom.
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