A woman with two children, having abandoned her home, goes into the forest where she encounters a leopard, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night

c. 1560

A woman with two children, having abandoned her home, goes into the forest where she encounters a leopard, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night, c. 1560. Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); painting only: 15.6 x 10.2 cm (6 1/8 x 4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.200.b A woman wanders through the wilderness with her children in tow. A fearsome leopard waits above them, hoping to carry the children away. Thinking quickly, the woman offers the leopard one of her children and half of her own body, stating that a lion has staked claim to the other half. Fearing rivalry with the lion, the leopard quickly flees. The woman is described as bad-tempered, quarrelsome, sharp-tongued, gossipy, and peevish.