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Aarne–Thompson–Uther index
About this index and how to read it
The ATU index classifies international folktales by type. Each row gives the type number, its title and summary, followed by the references it inherits: Arne Thompson is the earlier Aarne–Thompson type number, and Thompson lists the motif references from Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature associated with that type.
Cross-references inside a summary open the relevant tale-type or motif record. Thompson motif references in the final column are linked directly to the corresponding entry in the Stith Thompson Motif Index when that reference exists in the database. Any column heading can be clicked to sort by it, and clicking again reverses the order. Following a type number opens that type on its own page.
| ATU | Title | Summary ▲ | Arne Thompson | Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 859 | The Penniless Bridegroom Pretends to Wealth | After marriage he takes the bride to look at his land. He puts on soiled clothes. She looks at the land; he points to the patch on his clothes. »That patch is mine.» [K1917.1]. | , 859 | K1917., K1917.1., K1917.2., K1917.4. |
| 224 | Wedding of the Turkey and the Peacock | All birds are invited to the wedding except the eagle. This omission starts a great conflict. | ||
| 1203 | The Scythe Cuts one Man's Head off | All have theirs cut off. [J2422]. | ||
| 571 | The Golden Goose | All remain hanging to the magic object: bundle of hay, cow, servant boy, preacher, etc. I. The Golden Goose. (a) Of three brothers only the youngest divides food and drink with a hungry man and receives as reward a golden goose; or (b) he gets the… | , 571, 571B | D1413., D1413.8., D2171.3.1., D2171.5., D812.3., D817., F591., H1010., H1194., H341., H341.1., K422. |
| 593 | Fiddevav | All who poke in the ashes (the daughter, the woman, the preacher, etc.) must keep saying »Fiddevav», until they are released from the magic [D1413.17]. An old woman [N825.3] gives [D810] the hero a magic stone and advises him to go to the peasant's house at night, to say nothing, but »Thanks« [C495.3] and to lay the stone in the ashes. The stone prevents fire from being made and all who try to make it stick to the poker [D1413, D2172.1]. The hero gets the peasant's daughter in return for release. Cf. Types 330A, 571, 571A, 571B]. | , 593 | D1413., D1413.17., D2172.1., N825.3. |
| 1805 | Confessions of a Pious Woman | Allegorically tells her sin; repeatedly confesses the sin she committed in her youth, as its remembrance gives her delight (and the like). Cf. Type 1851. | ||
| 745 | Hatch-penny | Always returns to its owner. Eaten by cow; owner happens to buy cow and kill her; etc. [D1602.11, N212]. | 745A | N212. |
| 977 | The Eloping Couple and the Robbers | An eloping couple comes to the house of a band of thieves who are absent. The mother of the thieves tries to detain the couple, but, unable to keep them until the robbers return, she ties a bag of seeds, or the like, to their horses so that they can… | ||
| 1620 | The conversation of the one-eyed man and the hunchback | An impostor pretends to make clothes for the king and says that they are visible only to those of legitimate birth. The king and courtiers are all afraid to admit that they cannot see the clothes. Finally a child seeing the naked king reveals the… | , 1620 | J2312., K445. |
| 1278 | Marking the place on the boat | An object falls into the sea from a boat. Numskulls mark the place on the boat-rail to indicate where it fell. [J1922.1]. | 1278, 1278* | J1922.1., J1922.2. |
| 1475 | Marriage Forbidden Outside the Parish | An order is read in church forbidding the young people to marry girls from other parishes. [X751]. | ||
| 78 | Animal Allows himself to be Tied to Another for Safety | Animal allows himself to be tied to another for safety. Carried to his death. | , 78, 78A | K713.1.1., K713.1.2., |
| 1913 | The Side-hill Beast | Animal with two short legs on one side for convenience in living on hillsides. It can walk around the hill in only one direction. [X1381]. | ||
| 106 | The Animal's Conversation | Animals' conversation (imitation of animal sounds). | 106 | NA |
| 876 | The Clever Maiden and the Suitors | Answers and understands enigmatic questions. | ||
| 931 | Oedipus | As foretold by the prophecy, the hero kills his father and marries his mother. | , 931 | M343., M371.2., N323., R131., S354., T412. |
| 1293 | Numskull Stays until he has Finished | As he is making water he hears a brook flowing and mistakes what it is. He waits for a day and a half. [J1814]. | ||
| 468 | The Towering Tree | Ascent on a tree which reaches the sky. On its branches lives a princess. | ||
| 1215 | The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey | Asinus Vulgi. Miller blamed when he follows his son on foot; when he takes the son's place on the ass; when he takes the son behind him; and when he puts the son in front of him. [J1041.2]. | , 1215 | J1041., J1041.2. |
| 292 | Ass Tries to Get a Cricket's Voice | Asks cricket what they eat to get such a voice. They answer, >>dew.>> He tries it and starves. | 292 | J512.8. |
| 1380 | The faithless wife | Asks God how she can fool her husband. The husband from the tree (or rafters) tells her that she can make him blind by feeding him milk-toast. The husband feigns blindness and slays the lover. The body is thrown into the river. Cf. Types 1324*, 1375,… | 1380 | K1553. |
| 803 | Solomon Binds the Devil in Chains in Hell | Asks the devil to try on the chains meant for Solomon. Variant: Christ and the Smith in hell. [A1071.1]. | ||
| 1557 | Box on the Ear Returned | At table each gives his neighbor a box on the ears. The soldier is to give it to the king, but he returns it to the courtier from whom he has received it. [K2376]. | 1557 | K2376. |
| 2201 | Death to Listener | At the end of the story, the story-teller uses a fearful voice and points at one of his audience: »You'll be the hundredth one to die». | ||
| 1560 | Make-believe eating; make-believe work | At the table the peasant says, »We will only act as if we were eating.» At work the servant: »We will only act as if we were working.» [J1511.1]. | ||
| 1538 | The youth cheated in selling oxen | Avenges himself. As carpenter and as doctor in the purchaser's house he punishes the latter [K1825.1.3]. Brings it about that the miller is hanged in his place [K841]. | , 1538 | K1825.1.3., K713.1. |
| 475 | The Man as Heater of Hell's Kettle | Bargain with the devil: seven years service without washing or combing. In the kettle in hell are his former masters. In payment he receives the sweepings which change into gold. The host at the inn robs him of his gold, but with the devil's help he… | , 475 | C325., C721.1., D475.1., D861.1., D885., M210. |
| 289 | Bat, Diver, and Thornbush Shipwrecked | Bat brought money, bush put on clothes, and diver brought leather. All shipwrecked. Diver is looking for his leather. Bush looks for his clothes and holds fast to all passers-by. Bat is abroad only at night to escape creditors. (Cf. A2471.4,… | 289 | A2275.5.3. |
| 318 | The Batamärchen | Batu: the Egyptian >>Two Brothers>> Tale. Plots with paramour against life of her husband. Cf. Types 303, 315, 590, 590A. I. Rescue of a Princess from a Dragon. [R111.1.3]. II. Treacherous Wife. The hero marries the princess, but she falls in love… | 318 | K2111. |
| 1160 | The ogre in the haunted castle. Beard caught fast | Beard caught fast. Cf. Type 326. | ||
| 706 | The Girl Without Hands | Becomes wife of the king. Is driven forth. Gets her hands back and is received again by her husband. | , 706, 706B | K2117., N711., Q451.1., S322.1.2., S451., T327.1. |
| 1062 | A Contest in Throwing Stones | Bird. In a contest in throwing, the ogre throws a stone, the hero a bird (K18.3]. Cf. Type 1640. | 1062 | K18.3. |
| 222 | The Willow-Wren and the Bear | Birds win by cleverness. The fox's lifted tail is to be the signal. The gnats stick him under the tail. He drops it and the quadrupeds flee. Cf. Type 104. It often serves as introduction to Type 313. | 222, 222A | B261., B261.1. |
| 1053 | Shooting Wild Boars | Boastful trickster, told to shoot a wild boar or two, asks, »Why not a thousand at one shot?» Frightens ogre. [K1741.2]. | 1053 | K1741.2. |
| 1087 | Rowing contest | Boat already sawed through [K14]. | ||
| 1178 | The Devil Outriddled | Boy promised to the devil saves himself by giving riddles or enigmatic tasks that the devil cannot solve or perform. [G303. 16.19.3]. | ||
| 2038 | Cumulative Pursuit | Boys get help. One of them injures the helper. Pursued. Ridden by kind hen. One injures the hen. Hen pursues, etc. [Z49.2]. | ||
| 159 | Captured wild animals ransom themselves | Bring horses, cows, etc. to the man. | 159A, 159B | NA, W185.6. |
| 1882 | The Man who Fell out of a Balloon | Buried in the earth, he goes to get a spade to dig himself out. | 1882 | X1731.2.1., X1757. |
| 1115 | Attempting to Kill the Hero in His Bed | Butter cask (or the like) in the hero's bed so that the ogre coming to murder him stabs the object. [K525.1]. Cf Type 1640. | 1115 | K525.1. |
| 163 | The singing wolf | By his singing the wolf compels the old man to surrender his cattle, his children and grandchildren, and finally his wife. The old woman goes into the wolf's service. She returns home bringing butter, etc. [Z33.4.2]. | 163 | Z33.4.2. |
| 1731 | The Youth and the Pretty Shoes | By playing upon their desire for the pretty shoes he has stolen [T455.3.2], he betrays the wife, the daughter, and the servant girl of the parson [K1357] and finally the parson himself, who is standing by his side. Healing of the scab; holding the… | ||
| 1587 | Man Allowed to pick out Tree to be Hanged on | Cannot find one. [K558]. | ||
| 61 | The Fox Persuades the Cock to Crow with Closed Eyes | Captures him. Often followed by: the cock persuades the fox to ask a blessing before eating him. | 61, 61B | K721., K815.15. |
| 1218 | Numskull Sits on Eggs to Finish Hatching | Cautions people to be quiet and not frighten the eggs. (Sometimes puts on honey and feathers before sitting on the eggs.) [J1902.1]. Cf. Type 1677. | , 1218 | J1902.1., K1253. |
| 1586 | The Man in Court for Killing a Fly | Cf. 1586, 163A* (a) A fool sees a fly light on his mother's (companion's) head and hits it with an axe, etc., killing his mother [J1833.1, N333.1]. (b) When a grasshopper (fly) lights on a hunter's shoulder, his companion shoots it, killing the… | , 1586 | J1193.1., J1833.1. |
| 173 | Man and animals readjust span of life | Cf. 828 AT first, 30 years are given to all animals and to man. For the animals it is too long, for man too short. Man is given a portion of animal's lives. [A1321]. | 173 | A1321. |
| 425 | The Search for the Lost Husband | Cf. also Types 430, 432, and 441. I. The Monster as Husband. (a) A monster is born because of a hasty wish of the parents. (b) He is a man at night. (c) A girl promises herself as bride to the monster, (c1) to recover stolen clothes or jewels, (c2)… | , 425A, 425C, 425D, 425F, 425G, 425J, 425L, 425N | , C32.1., C611., C757.1., C761.2., C932., D150., D2006.1.4., D735.1., D753., H11.1.1., H1232., H1385.4., L221., NA, Q482.1., S241. |
| 1567 | Hungry Servant Reproaches Stingy Master | Cf. Type 1389*. | , 1567, 1567F, 1567G | J1341.1., J1341.11., J1341.4., J1341.6. |
| 511 | One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes | Cf. Type 302 I*. I. The Ox Helper. A stepbrother of One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes is cruelly treated by his stepmother and stepsisters. He is assisted by a magic ox which furnishes him food from his removable horn. II. Spying on the Ox. The… | , 511, 511A | , B100.1., B535.0.1., D1470.2.1., D830.1., F512.1., F512.2.1.1., H31.12., L162., S31. |
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