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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 769 | A Child Returns from the Dead | Frequently to stop weeping. [E324]. | , 769 | E324., E361. |
| 770 | The Nun Who Saw the World | The nun leaves the convent with her lover. The Virgin takes her place in the convent during the years of her absence. The nun returns repentant. [K1841.1]. | 770A* | V238. |
| 774 | Jests About Christ and Peter | Peter made ridiculous. | ||
| 777 | The wandering Jew | No examples in the Database yet | , 777, 777* | E511., E511.1.1., E511.1.2., E511.1.3., Q502.1. |
| 778 | To Sacrifice a Giant Candle | Refusal to make sacrifice after need is past. In distress a person promises a sacrifice to a god (saint) but disregards the promise when the danger passes. [K231.3, K231.3.1]. | ||
| 779 | Divine rewards and punishments | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 780 | The Singing Bone | The brother kills his brother (sister) and buries him in the earth. From the bones a shepherd makes a flute which brings the secret to light. In different versions the murder is revealed in several different ways [N271]: (a) an instrument (harp,… | , 780 | D1610.34., E632., N271. |
| 782 | Midas | His secret discovered by his barber. Or he whispers the secret to a reed which repeats it. | , 782 | D1316.5., F511.2.2., N465. |
| 785 | Who Ate the Lamb's Heart ? | Accused of eating the goose's leg, the thief maintains that it had only one leg, and cleverly enforces his point by showing geese standing on one leg. (Usually the master confounds the rascal by frightening the geese so that they use both legs.)… | , 785 | J1141.1.1., K1811., K402. |
| 788 | The Man Who Was Burned Up and Lived Again | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 791 | The Saviour and Peter in night-lodgings | Peter is twice beaten. Peter and Christ are sleeping in the same bed. The drunken host returns home and beats Peter. Peter changes places with Christ. The host then comes in to beat the other lodger. Peter again receives the blows. [K1132]. In French… | 791 | K1132. |
| 800 | The Tailor in Heaven | In God's absence, Peter lets an unworthy tailor into heaven. The tailor throws Gods footstool at an old woman thief on earth. He si expelled from heaven. | , 800 | A661.0.1.2., F1037.1., L435.3., P441.1. |
| 801 | Master Pfriem | The cobbler who was never satisfied is expelled from heaven [Q312.1]. He is admitted by St. Peter, [A661.0.1.2] but warned against fault-finding [F13]. He sees men carrying a beam crosswise [F171.6.3]. But when he sees the horses hitched in front and… | , 801 | A661.0.1.2., F13., F171.6.3., F171.6.4., H1023.2., Q312.1. |
| 802 | The Peasant in Heaven | On the arrival of the rich man there is song and dance, because of the rarity of such an event. [E758, W245]. | 802 | E758. |
| 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]. | ||
| 804 | Peter's Mother Falls from Heaven | It is permitted to the son in heaven [A661.0.1.2] to pull his mother out of hell on a stalk [F51.1.3]. When the other dead catch her feet, she kicks them and falls back into hell [Q291.1]. | , 804 | A661.0.1.2., F51.1.3., Q291.1.St. |
| 805 | Joseph and Mary Threatens to Leave Heaven... | No examples in the Database yet | 805 | V254.6. |
| 810 | The devil loses a soul that was promised him | The priest permits the man who is promised to the devil to spend the night in the church, and draws a ring around him. The devil cannot tempt him outside the ring. | , 810, 810A* | D1381.11., G303.16.19.15., G303.16.19.4., G303.9.1.6., K218.1., S211. |
| 811 | The man promised to the devil becomes a priest | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 812 | The Mystery of the Devil | The man is saved by solving the riddle propounded by the devil. The solution discovered in the forest. I. Devil's Contract. (a) A man (three men) promises himself to the devil at the end of a certain time if he cannot solve three (seven) riddles… | , 812 | H523., H671., H672., H673., M211. |
| 815 | The Deceased Rich Man and the Devils in the Church | The rich man's money is buried in his skin in the grave. The devil comes to see the money. The cobbler draws a circle about him [D1381.11] to keep the devil off; takes the money and nails the devil fast. | , 815, 815* | C12.2., D1381.11., G303.22.11., K210., K218.1., Q45.2. |
| 821 | The Devil as Advocate | A man is accused of theft. The devil carries the judge from the court room and thus repays the hospitality of the accused. | 821B | J1191.2. |
| 822 | The lazy boy and the industrious girl | The Lord and St. Peter come across a very lazy boy and a very industrious girl. Our Lord decrees, much to St. Peter's astonishment, that these two are to be married. [T125]. | ||
| 825 | The Devil in Noah's Ark | The devil wants to know what Noah is doing when he is building the ark. He persuades Noah's wife to give him a drink. Noah forbids the wife to go into ark until the devil has also been invited. [K485]. I. Secret Building of Ark and its Destruction by… | , 825 | A1015., A1021., A1853.1., A2001., A2031.2., A2145.2., A2214.3., A2232.4., C12.5.1., F531.5.9., G303.14.1.1., K2213.4.2. |
| 826 | Devil writes down names of men on hide in church | No examples in the Database yet | 826 | G303.24.1.3. |
| 828 | Men, Animals, and the Span of Life | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 830 | Refusal to Ask God's Blessing | The man shoots a stag but denies that God has given it to him and insists that he shot it himself. [J151.4]. The wounded stag jumps up and flees. | 830C | C454. |
| 831 | The Dishonest Priest | In order to get hold of money found by a poor man, the priest goes with the skin of a he-goat on his back (as Devil) to the man to frighten him [Q551.2]. But when he gets home he cannot get the skin off [Q551.2]. | 831 | Q551.2. |
| 832 | The Disappointed Fisher | The fisher, his wife, and his child always get three fishes. From greed they kill the child in order to have more fish for themselves. But they catch from then on only two fishes. [Q553.5]. | 832 | Q553.5. |
| 836 | Pride is Punished | The rich man boasts that God has not the power to make him poor [C454]. While the man is at church, his property burns and he returns home a poor man [L412]. Cf. Types 736A, 830. | , 836F* | D1323.5., D1331.3.1. |
| 837 | How the Wicked Lord was Punished | He puts poison into the beggar's bread. As the beggar is spending the night at an inn a traveler arrives. Since no other bread is convenient the beggar gives the stranger his bread. The traveler, who is the lord's son, dies of the poison [N332.1]. | 837 | N332.1. |
| 838 | The Bad Rearing | Son on gallows bites his mother's (father's) nose off: punishment for neglect in youth. [Q586]. Cf. Type 756B. | 838 | Q586. |
| 839 | One Vice Carries Other With It | A man is permitted to choose one of the following vices: theft, incontinence, drink. He chooses the last, which seemed to him least harmful. All the other vices follow in the train of the first. [J485]. | 839 | J485. |
| 840 | The Punishments of Men | When a man and his son are passing the night in a house the son is unable to sleep. He sees wonderful things happening all about: a snake creeps from the sleeping man's mouth into the wife's mouth; an axe penetrates the man's head, etc. In the… | ||
| 841 | One Beggar Trusts God, the Other the King | The king gives them each a loaf of bread, but the loaf of the second beggar is filled with gold. The beggars not knowing the nature of the loaves exchange them. [N351]. | 841 | N351. |
| 842 | The Man Who Kicked Aside Riches | A man practices austerities for many years. He asks the god for wealth as a reward and the god signifies that his request is granted. On the way home, the man decides to close his eyes to feel how a blind man feels when he walks. He stumbles against… | ||
| 844 | The Luck-bringing Shirt | The king becomes lucky when he puts on the shirt of a lucky man. The only man who says he is lucky has no shirt. [N135.3]. | 844 | N135.3. |
| 845 | The Old Man and Death | Weary old man wishes for death. When Death appears at the summons he asks for help with the load. [C11]. | 845 | C11. |
| 846 | Devil Always Blamed | Devil blamed when cow is in ditch (Who the devil did that?). When she is saved (Thank God!). | , 846 | K1811., N111.4.1. |
| 850 | The Moles of the Princess | The pipe and the dancing hogs.
|
, 850 | H315., H51.1., H525., K1358., K443.6. |
| 851 | The Riddle of the Suitor | The prince saved by his true servant in a robber's den. The poisoned raven. The riddle from the hero's own experiences. He wins the princess's hand. Cf. Types 516518. I. The Riddle Contest. A princess is offered in marriage to the youth who can… | , 851 | H117., H342., H551., H565., H721.1., H734., H762., H792., H802., H81.2. |
| 852 | That is a lie! | Cf. Types 1875, 1920C, 1960E and G. I. The Contest. (a) A princess is offered to the man who can tell so big a lie that she says, »That is a lie». II. The Lies. The youth tells impossible tales of (a) a great ox; (b) of a tree growing to the skies… | , 852 | F54.2., H342.1., K1271.1., X1036.1., X1201., X1237., X1423.1., X1547.2., X1726.2., X1739.2., X1757. |
| 853 | Contest in Repartee | Takes along a dead crow and other objects which he has found. I. The Contest. A princess is offered in marriage to the youth who outwits her in repartee. II. The Clues. On the way to the contest the hero picks up a dead crow, an egg, and other… | , 853, 853A | H507.1., H507.1.0.1., K1331. |
| 854 | The golden ram | No examples in the Database yet | , 854 | H322., K1341.1. |
| 855 | The Substitute Bridegroom | Cf. Type 870. A handsome youth is hired to take the place of a oneeyed (or crippled) prince (merchant's son) at the latter's wedding. The bride falls in love with the hero and refuses the oneeyed prince. [K19.5.3]. (a) The hero escapes with the… | ||
| 856 | The Girl Elopes with the Wrong Man | I. Expulsion. A youth is driven forth by his father when the youth says he will marry four wives [M373]. (Cf. Type 725). II. The Elopement. (a) While acting as a servant, the hero pretends to be unable to read [K1816.0.3]. He accepts a message and… | ||
| 858 | When the King Sneezes the Shephard Refuses to Cry "God Bless You!" | King has him tortured and promises him large gifts if he will say it, but the shepherd refuses until he receives the princess as wife. | ||
| 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. |
| 860 | Nuts of "Ay ay ay!" | Princess offered to man who brings a glass of all waters, a bouquet of all flowers and nuts of ay, ay, ay! Hero brings seawater, a beehive and hazelnut with thorns so that the king cries »Ay, ay, ay!» [H1377.1, H1377.2, H1377.3]. | ||
| 861 | Sleeping at the Rendezvous | A youth having a rendezvous with a princess oversleeps [D1972] and is captured and imprisoned. His sister masks as a man and takes his place in prison. When her sex is discovered all is forgiven and the youth marries the princess. |
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