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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 440 | The Frog King | A maiden promises herself to a frog in a spring. The frog comes to the door, the table, the bed. Turns into a prince. I. Promise to Marry the Frog. (a) To the youngest of three sisters a frog in a spring gives clear water (a ball thrown into the… | , 440 | B211.7.1., C41.2., D789., F875., S215.1. |
| 1876 | The Geese on the Line | The hawk flies away with them on it. The geese have been bound together as protection from the hawk. [X1267.1]. | ||
| 227 | The geese's eternal prayer | The fox attacks a group of geese. They ask his if they can make one last prayer. The fox agrees. The geese make so much noise that the farmer hears them and saves them. | 227 | K551.1. |
| 153 | The Gelding of the Bear and the Fetching of Salve | The man tells the bear that the horse is strong because he is gelded. The bear has the man geld him to make him strong. He is to geld the man the next day. The man substitutes his wife and sends her with salve; the bear in disgust throws the salve into the tree. Cf. Type 1133. | 153 | K1012.1. |
| 302 | The Giant Without A Heart, | The youth who can turn himself into a lion, ant, etc. Sometimes the ogre's heart in the egg appears alone. Cf. Type 665. Sometimes introduced as in Type 400, or 425. I. Magic Help. The hero receives magie help (a) from grateful animals for whom he… | , 302, 302B | B393., B500., B571.1.1., D152.2.2., D182.2.2., D1834., E710., E711.10.10., K975.2.2., R11.1.1., T11.2.2. |
| 701 | The Giant's Toy | No examples in the Database yet | 701 | F531.5.3. |
| 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… | ||
| 409 | The Girl in the Form of a Wolf | A childless woman wants a child even if it be an animal: she bears a goat-child (jackdaw). When she sends the goat-child to get water for its father, the goat lays off goat-skin and plays. A prince sees her and sends wooers to her house. The prince… | , 409, 409A | D113.1., D721., Q261., T554. |
| 1458 | The girl who ate so little | The girl eats lightly and the mother declares this is always so. Next day the suitor sees her baking and discovers that she can eat. [K1984.2]. Cf. Types 1373, 1407. | ||
| 962 | The girl who played with the bread | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 1461 | The girl with the ugly name | Her mother gives her a new one. The girl does not recognize it when she is called in, and her mother must use the old one. [K1984.3]. | ||
| 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. |
| 530 | The Glass Mountain | Cf. Types 300, 329, 502, 550. I. Reward for the Vigil. (a) Three brothers one after the other are sent to guard a meadow which is devastated at night by a monster or they must in turns keep vigil for their dead father. (c) The elder brothers are… | , 530 | B315., B401., H1471., H331.1.1., H80. |
| 2015 | The goat that would not go home | One animal after another tries in vain to persuade the goat to go home. Finally a wolf (bee) bites him and drives him home. [Z39.1]. Variants: a hog, wolf, cat or the like [Z39.1]. Often mixed with Type 2030. Cf. Type 212. | 2015 | Z39.1. |
| 366 | The Golden Arm | A man steals the heart, (liver, stomach, clothing) of one who has been hanged [E235.4, E236.1]. Gives it to his wife to eat. The ghost comes to claim his property and carries off the man. | 366 | E235.4.4. |
| 550 | The Golden Bird | Quest for the wonderful bird. With the help of an animal (wolf fox) the youngest brother succeeds. On his return he saves his brothers, who betray him. See analysis below: I a, b; II; III a, b; IV; V. ANALYSIS Types 550 and 551. I. Object of the… | , 550 | B184.1., B313., B435.1., B560., H1242., H1331.1., K1932., L13., L161., N711.3., W154.12.3. |
| 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. |
| 854 | The golden ram | No examples in the Database yet | , 854 | H322., K1341.1. |
| 314 | The Golden-Haired | The Magic Flight. From the ogre's house. The fugitives throw magic objects behind them which become mountains, wood, or sea; or they change themselves into various animals or objects. | , 314 | B316., C495.1.1., C912., H56., H75.4.4., K1816.1.1., L113.1.0.1.1.0.1., T55.1.1., T91.6.4.6.4. |
| 1642 | The Good Bargain | The fool throws money to the frogs. Sells butter to sign-post and meat to the dogs. Makes the princess laugh. I. Money to the Frogs. The numskull throws money to the frogs so that they can count it. II. Selling to Dogs. (a) He sells meat to dogs, (b)… | , 1642 | H341., J1151.2., J1851.1.1., J1852., J1853., J1853.1., K187. |
| 226 | The Goose Teaches the Fox to Swim | Shakes him off in the water. | ||
| 1202 | The Grain Harvesting | The grain is shot down with guns. When the unknown sickle is bought and tried, one man is cut with it. As punishment it is drowned. Cf. Type 1650. | 1202 | J2196. |
| 554 | The Grateful Animals | A youth earns the thanks of several animals (ants, fish, etc.) and with their help wins the princess by performing three tasks imposed upon him (brings a ring from the bottom of the sea, etc.). I. The Animals' Gratitude. The hero, (a) the youngest of… | , 553 | B571., B582.2., H982., NA |
| 1891 | The Great Rabbit-Catch | The rabbits freeze their feet fast to the ice at night [X1115.1]. | 1891B*, 1893A* | NA, X1114.1. |
| 1454 | The greedy fiancee | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 751 | The Greedy Peasant Woman | Christ and Peter ask entertainment from a peasant woman [K1811]. Although the cake magically grows larger [D1652.1.2], she gives them but a morsel. She is punished [Q1.1]. | , 751A, 751C* | D153.1., D1652.1.2., K1811., K1811.1., Q292.1. |
| 1682 | The groom teaches his horse to live without food | It dies. [J1914]. | 1682 | J1914. |
| 1157 | The gun as tobacco pipe | The trickster gives the ogre the gun to smoke [K1057]. Cf. Type 1228. | , 1157 | J2131.4.1., K1057. |
| 1066 | The Hanging Game | Dupe really hanged. [K852]. | ||
| 1455 | The Hard-hearted Fiancée | The father-in-law disguised as a beggar. [H384.1]. | ||
| 940 | The Haughty Girl | The haugty girl entices three suitors (unknown to one another) into the churchyard. They revenge themselves by having her marry the hangman thinking he is the governor's son. [K1218.3]. | ||
| 229 | The Hawk Frightened at the Snipe's Bill | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 610 | The Healing Fruit | The sick princess is offered to the man who can cure her [T681, H346]. An old woman [N825.3] gives healing power to the fruits [D1500.1.5] of the youngest brother [Q2, L13]. After the youngest brother has succeeded [L10] he is given tasks: herding rabbits (Type 570); making a land and water ship (Type 513), and fetching a feather from a magic bird (Type 461). He performs the tasks, goes and makes a fortune, returns and humbles the king and marries the princess [L161]. | , 610 | D1500.1.5., D1533.1.1., H1010., H1112., H1331.1.2.1., H346., L10., L13., L161., N825.3., Q2., T68.1. |
| 91 | The Heart of a Monkey | Monkey when caught for his heart (as remedy) makes his captor believe that he has left his heart home. Is released. | 91 | K544. |
| 232 | The Heathcock and the Birds of Passage | The former prefers to remain at home amid hardships than to go to foreign lands. | 232D* | J101. |
| 1049 | The heavy axe | The boastful trickster told to cut wood with an axe or get water in a bucket demands one large enough to bring in the whole well (cut the whole forest). The ogre is frightened. [K1741.1, K1741.3]. | , 1049 | K1741.1., K1741.3. |
| 1615 | The Heller Thrown into Other's Money | A rascal sees robbers dividing their booty. He puts a red string through his only coin (a heller) and slips it into the others' money. He claims the money as his, and says he has marked it with a heller having a red string through it. The robbers… | ||
| 75 | The Help of the Weak | The mouse gnaws the net and liberates the captured bear (fox, lion). | 75 | B371.1. |
| 182 | The helpful animal and the snake | The helpful animal sees a snake bite his master. He catches the crow, who is the snake's confederate, and forces the snake to revive his master by sucking out the poison. | ||
| 231 | The Heron (Crane) Transports the Fish | A heron (crane) tells the fish in a lake that is drying up that it will transport them one by one to another lake, but eats them instead. A crab sees through the deception, seizes the heron by the throat and kills it. | 231 | J657.3. |
| 1838 | The hog in church | The hog has been locked by mistake in the church all week. When the congregation comes the hog runs between the parson's legs and carries him out. [X415]. | ||
| 211 | The hog who was so tired of his daily food | Schwarzer Tod im "Stipelloch" gefangen (entkommt später) | 211 | J1612. |
| 1212 | The Horse is Drawn across the Ice | Its skin is rubbed off [J1972]. | ||
| 2039 | The Horseshoe Nail | For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for the want of a horse the rider was lost ... and all for the want of a horseshoe nail. | ||
| 1131 | The hot porridge in the ogre's throat | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 115 | The Hungry Fox Waits in Vain for the Horse's Lips (Scrotum) to Fall Off | The hungry fox waits in vain for the horse's lips (scrotum) to fall off . | ||
| 1775 | The hungry parson | On the hunting trip. Overnight at the peasant's house. In the night the parson hunts the porridge to satisfy his hunger. (The sexton has given him the end of a rope to guide him) [X431]. Cf. Type 1691. | ||
| 246 | The Hunter Bends the Bow | One bird escapes; other remains and is shot. (Told also of fish.) | ||
| 1384 | The husband hunts for three persons as stupid as his wife | Cf. Types 1450, Clever Elsie; 1385, The Foolish Wife's Pawn. The man finds three as foolish [H1312.1]. Cf. Type 1540, The Student from Paradise. This type combines with many others, particularly 1310, 1245, 1265, 1286, 1326, 1371*, 1385, 1386, 1387… | 1384 | H1312.1. |
| 1097 | The Ice Mill | Like Type 43 with man and ogre in place of animals. Cf. J741. |
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