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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.

890 tale types

Sorted by title, ascending

Showing 551–600 of 890 · Page 12 of 18

ATU Title ▲ Summary Arne Thompson Thompson
1348 The Imaginative Boy No examples in the Database yet 1348 W211.2.
1162 The Iron Man and the Ogre In order to save the king's daughter from the ogre an iron man is forged. The ogre is driven away. [K1756].
1592 The Iron-eating Mice The trustee claims that mice have eaten the iron scales confided to him. The host abducts the trustee's son and says that a falcon has carried him off. [J1531.2]. 1592, 1592B J1531.2., J1531.3.
154 The Jackal and the Farmer The fox helps the man; his reward. He converses with his members. 154 J2351.1.
68 The Jackal Trapped in the Animal Hide
  • I. Entering the Elephant. (a) An elephant lets his friend the jackal enter his body to drink water. The jackal eats the internal organs and the elephant dies. The jackal is trapped in the carcass. (b) A jackal eats its way into a carcass which it finds and is trapped inside when the skin dries.
  • II. Jackal and the God. (a) A god passes and the jackal challenges him to a rain-making contest. The god sends rain, the carcass swells, and the jackal escapes. (b) The jackal pretends to be a god and frightens people into bringing sacrifice and pouring water over the carcass.
    		•  , 68, 68*, 68A J2131.5.7., J655.2., K1022.1.1., K565.2.
    235 The Jay Borrows the Cuckoo's Skin No examples in the Database yet 235 A2241.
    238 The Keen Sight of the Dove and the Keen Hearing of the Frog They boast to each other.
    981 The Killing of Old Men Wisdom of Hidden Old Man Saves Kingdom. In famine all old men are ordered killed. One man hides his father. When all goes wrong in the hands of the young rulers, the old man comes forth, performs assigned tasks, end aids with his wisdom. [J151.1].… 981 J151.1.
    480 The Kind and the Unkind Girls The real daughter and the stepdaughter by the spring, or the rolling cake. Cf. Types 403, 510A. I. Kind and Unkind Girls. (a) A real daughter and a stepdaughter or two sisters or (c) other girls, one kind and one unkind, go from home, the kind girl… , 480 D1860., H934.3., H935., L211., N791., Q2., Q41., Q41.2., S31.
    922 The king and the abbot Falsely accused minister reinstates himself by his cleverness [K2101, P111]. Cf. Type 981. , 922 H512., H541.1., H561.2., H634., H681.1., H691.1., H696.1., H701.1., H702., H703., H705.1., H705.2., H711.1., H713.1., H797., K1961., Q113.4.
    411 The King and the Lamia
  • I. The Snake-Wife. A king sees, falls in love with, and marries a lovely girl who is actually a snake-woman [B29.1].
  • II. Overcoming her Power. (a) His health deteriorates. (b) A fakir tells him to feed her salty food and to stay at night and watch her. (c) She assumes her snake form and goes for water.
  • III. The Ashes. (a) An oven is heated red-hot and she is pushed in. (b) Among the ashes is found a pebble capable of turning anything it touches into gold [D1469.10.1].
    		•
    921 The king and the peasant's son The youth's clever answers to the king' questions (1 1/2 men and the horse's head, etc. [H561.4, H583]). Among the riddles are: (a1) What do you see? - 1 1/2 men and horse's head (himself, the legs of the king who is horseback in the door way, and… , 921, 921A, 921B* , 921C*, 921D* H583., H583.1., H583.2., H583.3., H583.4., H583.5., H583.6., H585.1., J1252., L144.2., NA
    952 The King and the Soldier A soldier prepares to testify before the king against his superior officer. Accompanies the king, whom he does not know, to the robbers' house [K1812.1]. The soldier kills the robbers (or renders them harmless) [N884.1]. The robbers are usually… , 952 D2072., K1812.1., K422., N884.1.
    873 The King Discovers his Unknown Son Marries the mother. A king in disguise leaves a token with a girl to give to their son if one is born [T645]. The boy is twitted with being a bastard and goes on a quest for his unknown father [H1381.2.2.1.1]. The king incognito discovers the boy's… , 873 H1381.2.2.1.1., H80., L162., N731., T645.
    678 The King Transfers his Soul to a Parrot A king has learned how to transfer his soul [E725] to dead bodies, as has his vizier or another servant. The king transfers his soul to a parrot and the vizier transfers his soul to the king's body. The queen determines the truth (she hears of wise…
    569 The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn No examples in the Database yet , 569 D1222., D1470., D1472.1.22., D1475.4., D831., D861.
    670 The Language of Animals A man learns animal languages. His wife wants to discover his secret. The advice of the cock. Cf. Types 517, 671. I. The Gift of the Snake. A man receives from a grateful snake the power of understanding animal languages. He is not to reveal this… , 670 B216., B350., B491.1., C425., N451., N456., T252.2., T253.1.
    1184 The Last Leaf The man is to pay the devil when the last leaf falls from the oak tree. It never falls. [K222, cf. K221].
    1589 The Lawyer's Dog Steals Meat The lawyer tells the butcher that the dog's owner (himself) is liable for damages. He asks double the amount of the damages as fee. [K488]. 1589 K488.
    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].
    986 The Lazy Husband Forced by his wife to work he joins a caravan and finds in a desert spring a pomegranate and a beautiful girl. He sends the pomegranate to his wife. Out of it fall jewels which make them rich. He returns the stolen girl to her father. 986 NA
    1405 The Lazy Spinner The woman hidden in the bushes calls out to her husband, who is cutting wood: »Whoever cuts wood for a spinning wheel will die; whoever uses the wheel will be destroyed.» The man becomes worried and no longer keeps her at the reel [K1971.4.1]. When… , 1405 J2325., K1971.4.1.
    201 The Lean Dog Prefers Liberty to Abundant Food and a Chain Sie hielt allein Prozession, als die Menschen dies versäumten (als über den Prozessionsweg Streit war). 201 L451.3.
    1628 The learned son and the forgotten language Having left the seminary, a son speaks only Latin, pretending to have forgotten his own language. When a rake strikes him in the forehead, he screams in his own tongue »Devilish rake!» [J1511.11]. Cf. Type 1641 C. 1628* J1511.11.
    896 The Lecherous Holy Man and the Maiden in a Box I. The Lecherous Holy Man. (a) A holy man or (b) another trusted adviser falls in love with a beautiful girl, but she spurns his advances. He convinces the girl's father or husband that the girl is unchaste or that she will bring calamities to the…
    1182 The Level Bushel The student is to come into the devil's power if at the end of a year he does not at least return for the heaping bushel of gold a level one. The student forthwith hands back the level bushel and keeps the surplus. [K223].
    118 The Lion Frightened by the Horse The horse strikes sparks with his hooves. The wolf (bear) boasts of having eaten horses. The lion thereupon picks up the wolf to show him the horse and squeezes him to death.
    92 The Lion in the Water The hare, sent to be the lion's dinner, says he has been detained by a more powerful enemy and shows the lion his own reflection in a well. The lion leaps in and is drowned. Cf. Types 34, 34A, 1168A, 1336, 1383. , 92 K1715.1.,              
    51 The Lion's share The ass divides booty equally between himself, the fox, and the lion. The lion eats the ass. The fox then divides: gives the lion meat and keeps bones. 51 J811.1.
    1457 The lisping maiden The suitor on a visit. The impediment in speech discovered. The girls have been warned against talking but forget and speak out. [K1984.1]. (Sometimes other impediments or deformities.)
    1693 The Literal Fool - the Burning of Lanka Pots broken; fire set. A fool (or trickster) follows instructions literally and disastrously. He is taken before a judge or rajah, but is freed. (a) An oil seller tells a fool (or a trickster), who has spilled a little oil, that spilt oil brings good… 1693 J2450.
    1334 The Local Moon A numskull greets the old moon as if it were new. »I haven't seen it before, for I have just come to the city.» (Each town thought to have a different moon.) [J2271.1]. 1334 J2271.1.
    1199 The Lord's Prayer The man about to be taken by the Devil or Death begs respite long enough to repeat the Lord's Prayer for the last time. The Devil must wait. [K551.1]. Cf. Types 122A, 227, 332, 955. , 1199 K551.1., K555.2.
    621 The Louse-Skin The hero guesses the puzzle and wins the princess. The one she turns to in the night. Cf. Types 425B, 571-574, 559, 850.
  • I. The Louse. (a) The princess has a louse fattened and it becomes as big as a calf. (b) At its death she has a dress made from its skin. (c) She is to marry the man who can guess from what the dress is made. (d) The hero learns by trickery and wins her.
  • II. To Whom She Turns [H315].
    • Occurs rarely as sequel. See Type 850.
    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.
    1890 The lucky shot Discharge of gun kills the heath-cock, which falls on the sprouts on the tree, which kills the bear, etc. [X1124.3]. 1890, 1890D, 1890E, 1890F X1122.2., X1122.3., X1124.3.
    212 The Lying Goat A father sends his sons one after the other to pasture the goat. The goat always declares he has had nothing to eat. The father angrily sends his sons from home and learns, when he himself tries to pasture the goat, that he has been deceived. Cf.… 212 K1151.
    567 The Magic Bird Heart I. The Bird-heart. The hero eats the heart of the magic bird and thereby receives the power (a) of spitting gold or (b) of finding each day a coin under his pillow; or (c) he will become king. II. The Treacherous Wife. A woman (or his own wife)… , 567, 567A B113.1., D132.1., D1561.1.1., D861.5., D965., K512., M312.3., N311., N683., S264.1., S322.4.
    313 The Magic Flight 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. , 313 D1611., D2003., D2006.1.1., D2006.1.4.1.4., D671., D672., H335.0.1.0.1.
    565 The Magic Mill Grinds an enormous amount of meal or salt when the man who has stolen it cannot stop it. I. The Magic Mill (Pot). The hero or heroine receives (a) a magic pot that fills itself with porridge or (b) a mill that grinds meal or salt. (c) Only the owner… , 565 A1115.2., C916.3., D1472.1.9., D1601.21.1., D1651., D861.
    581 The Magic Object and the Trolls Cf. Types 303, 513. I. Magic Objects Acquired. Two brothers wander immediately after birth [T585] and part at a cross-roads [N772]. The first brother meets three old women with only one eye. He takes it [K333.2] and gives it back in exchange for an…
    560 The Magic Ring The grateful animals (cat and dog) recover it for him. See analysis below: I a, b; II; III; IV a. - ANALYSIS: Types 560 and 561. I. Magic Object Received. The hero receives a magic ring (stone) which will perform all the wishes of the owner, from (a)… , 560 B360., D1131.1., D1470.1.15., D1662.1., D2136.2., D810., D812., D861.5., D882.1.1.
    325 The Magician and his Apprentice, The father put to a test recognizes his son. The son as horse, ring, etc. rescues himself from the power of his master. I. Learning Magic. (a) A father gives his son to a magician to teach, (b) but must be able to recognize him in his animal form at… , 325, 325* D1711.0.1.0.1., H161., L142.2.2.
    452 The Maiden Who Seeks her Brother No examples in the Database yet
    453 The Maiden Who Seeks her Brother No examples in the Database yet
    459 The Make-Believe Son (Daughter) The king turns out his eldest queen because she is childless. The maidservant informs the king that the queen has borne (a) a son or (b) a daughter but that the king must not see it. The queen is supplied a house and food. After some years the king…
    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.
    880 The Man Boasts of his Wife Is imprisoned in the royal castle. The wife in man's clothing is betrothed to the princess [K1837]. Escapes with her husband [R152.1]. , 880 K1837., R152.1.
    947 The Man Followed by Bad Luck He escapes from one trouble only to meet with another. Finally, apparently safe, he is killed by a falling stone wall. [N253]. 947 N253.
    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.

    Showing 551–600 of 890 · Page 12 of 18





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