I have followed the interesting debate on the son who bit off his mother’s ear. The point is whether the son was the notorious bandit, Saradiel.

In Aesop’s Fables, A new translation by Laura Gibbs, Oxford University Press (World’s Classics): Oxford, 2002, there is a story of a son who bit his mother’s nose. Chambry’s first edition of Greek fables gives another version of this story in which the son bites off his mother’s ear, rather than her nose. Gibbs version runs as follows:

"A boy who was carrying his teacher’s writing tablet stole it and brought it triumphantly home to his mother who received the stolen goods with much delight. Next, the boy stole a piece of clothing, and by degrees he became a habitual criminal. As the boy grew older and became an adult, he stole items of greater and greater value. Time passed and the man was finally caught in the act and taken off to court where he was condemned to death: woe betide the trade of the thief! His mother stood behind him, weeping as she shouted, ‘My son, what has become of you?’ He said to his mother, ‘Come closer, mother, and I will give you a final kiss.’ She went up to him, and all of a sudden he bit her nose, tugging at it with his teeth until he cut it clean off. Then he said to her, ‘Mother, if only you had beaten me at the very beginning when I brought you the writing tablet, then I would not have been condemned to death!"

It is well known that in traditional folklore, the prototype of a story is copied by various cultures dressing it up with local characters and environment. For instance, there are many plots that are common to the Jatakas and Aesop’s fables. Even within a particular culture, the characters may change with time as forgotten figures are replaced by those coming into vogue from time to time. Historical facts are elusive in folklore and it is often futile to chase them.

The temptation to fit this plot to Saradiel would have been quite natural in the years following the death of the bandit who was a notorious figure in his time. Imaginably other similar characters in contemporary limelight would have played Saradiel’s role in the forgotten past. I dare not identify who would be cast as Saradiel when the plot is recast on our times.