Folklore Database · Browse
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 700 | Tom Thumb | Plowing. The king buys the boy. In thieves' company. In the belly of the cow and of the wolf. Cf. Type 327B. I. The Hero's Birth. A childless couple wish for a child, however small he may be; they have a boy the size of a thumb [F535.1.]. II. His… | , 700 | F535.1., F535.1.1.1., F535.1.1.11., F535.1.1.8., F535.1.1.9., F911.3.1., F913. |
| 81 | Too cold for hare to build house in winter | Too cold for hare to build house in winter, not necessary in summer: must go without a house. Cf. Types 43, 1238. | ||
| 1948 | Too much talk | Three men vowed to silence go to a glen away from the world. At the end of seven years one speaks: I heard a cow lowing. Others are angry but silent. At the end of seven years more, second one says: 'Twas not a cow but a bull! The third is very angry… | ||
| 1935 | Topsy-Turvy Land | Land where all is opposite from the usual. [X1505]. | ||
| 112 | Town Mouse and Country Mouse | Country mouse visits town mouse. Former prefers poverty with safety. | 112 | J211.2. |
| 1415 | Trading Away One's Fortune | Foolish bargains. He trades his horse for a cow, the cow for a hog, the latter for a goose, until finally he has nothing left [J2081.1]. Wins the wager when his wife does not get angry [N11]. | 1415 | J2081.1. |
| 1737 | Trading Places with the Trickster in a Sack | The youth claims to be the Angel Gabriel [K842]. (Dupe not always a parson; sometimes told of animals.) Cf. Types 1525A, 1535 (IV). | ||
| 763 | Treasure Finders Murder One Another | Two hunters are shown a treasure. One of them puts poison in the other's wine, but the other kills him, drinks the wine and dies. [K1685]. | 763 | K1685. |
| 1741 | Trickster Wives and Maids | The servant who has eaten the chickens tells the guest to flee because the priest is going to cut off his ears, and he tells the priest the guest has stolen two chickens [K2137]. The priest runs after him crying, »Give me at least one of them.» | ||
| 611 | True Love | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 2250 | Unfinished tales | Just as interest is aroused the narrator quits. »If the bowl had been stronger my tale had been longer». [Z12]. | ||
| 982 | Ungrateful Heirs | They think that the chest of stones contains the inheritance. [P236.2, Q281.1]. | , 982 | P236.2., Q281.1. |
| 1812 | Wager: to Dance with Nun | Man tells nun she must undress. Nun outraged refuses. Then you must dance a few steps with me. Nun prefers this and does. Man wins wager. (Nun's song while dancing a part of tale). | ||
| 1153 | Wages: as much as he can carry | To get rid of the boy the master offers him as large wages as he is able to carry himself. The boy says that he will be contented with what the troll can carry. [K1732]. Cf. Type 650. | 1153 | K1732. |
| 103 | War between Wild Animals and Domestic Animals | The cat shrieks; the bear falls out of the tree and breaks his backbone. | 103, 103A, 103A*, 104 | B262., B281.9.1., NA |
| 1183 | Washing Black Cloth White: Task for Devil | Sometimes cattle, wool, black man. [H1023.6]. Gf. Types 480, 1312. | ||
| 224 | Wedding of the Turkey and the Peacock | All birds are invited to the wedding except the eagle. This omission starts a great conflict. | ||
| 1558 | Welcome to the Clothes | A man at a banquet is neglected because of his poor clothes. He changes clothes, returns, and is honored. »Feed my clothes,» he says, »for it is they that are welcomed.» [J1561.3]. | 1558 | J1561.3. |
| 2043 | What Have You Got There? | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 1696 | What Should I Have Said? | The mother teaches the boy (the man his wife) what he should say (do) in this or that circumstance. He uses the words in the most impossible cases and is always punished. [J2461]. Cf. Types 1681A, 1681B. | , 1696 | J2461., J2461.2. |
| 179 | What the bear whispered in his ear | Paid guide climbs tree and leaves traveler to mercy of a bear. Traveler feigns death and the bear sniffs at him and leaves. The guide: »What did the bear say to you?« »He said, never trust a coward like you.« | 179 | J1488. |
| 96 | When the hare was married | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 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. | ||
| 1015 | Whetting the Knife | The whole blade whetted away. [K1418]. | ||
| 976 | Which was the Noblest Act? | The bridegroom, the robber, and the lover. A bridegroom permits his bride to fulfill a promise to visit her lover on her wedding night. On the way she meets robbers. When he hears her story one of the robbers conducts her to her lover. On hearing her… | 976 | H1552.1. |
| 1651 | Whittington's cat | In a land where cats are unknown, he sells it for fortune. Cf. Types 1281, 1650. I. He Gets the Cat. (a) The hero is left a cat as his only inheritance [N411.1.1] (see Type 1650); or (b) he earns or finds four coins which he tests by throwing them… | ||
| 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. |
| 1091 | Who Can Bring an Unheard-of Riding-Horse | The man sends his naked wife on all fours in tar and feathers. The devil has never seen such a horse and is defeated [K216.2]. | 1091, 1092 | K216.2., K31.1. |
| 737 | Who Will be her Future Husband | No examples in the Database yet | 737 | D1825.1. |
| 1806 | Will Lunch with Christ | Priest tells condemned man after confession that he will dine with Christ that evening. The mule that carries him to the scaffold goes very fast and the criminal says, »At this rate I shall lunch with Christ.» [J1261.3]. | ||
| 298 | Wind and sun | Sun by warmth causes traveler to remove coat, while the wind by violent blowing causes him to pull it closer around him. | 298, 298C* | J832., L351. |
| 1925 | Wishing contests | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 1186 | With his whole heart | The judge carried off. (The Devil and the Advocate.) The devil refuses to take things not offered him with the whole heart. He hears the judge (advocate) cursed for fraud with such sincerity that he carries him off. [M215]. | ||
| 136 | Wolf Surprises Pig in Apple Tree | Wolf surprises pig in apple tree. Will release him in return for one of his harms. Pig throws down a piece of thorny wood instead, which splits wolf's gullet. | 136 | K1043. |
| 121 | Wolves Climb on Top of One Another to Tree | Wolves climb on top of one another to tree. The hog (or man) in the tree. The lowest wolf runs away and all fall. Cf. Type 1250. | 121 | J2133.6. |
| 762 | Woman with three hundred and sixty-five children | Punished for self-righteous condemnation of unchaste girl. [L435.2.1]. | , 762 | L435.2.1., T586.1., T587.1. |
| 321 | Won Back the Eyes from the Witch | A boy takes service with a blind couple. Warned not to let goats (sheep) wander beyond certain point, he does so and there defeats the witch who has stolen the blind couple's eyes. He restores the eyes. [D2161.3.1.1]. | 321 | D2161.3.1.1.3.1.1. |
| 1071 | Wrestling Contest (with Old Grandfather) | The man challenged by ogre to wrestling contest persuades the ogre to wrestle his old grandfather, i.e., a bear [K12.2]. | 1071 | K12.2. |
| 1070 | Wrestling Contest: Looks Where to Throw him | The ogre squeezes the man so that his eyes bulge out. The ogre: »Why do you glare so?» »I am looking to see where to throw you.» The ogre flees. [K12.1]. | 1070 | K12.1. |
| 1827 | You shall see me a little while longer | The parson takes a drink of liquor during the sermon. [X445.1]. Cf. Type 1698M. |
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
Please cite the relevant sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including the Folklore Database, Berezkin-Duvakin Catalogue, ATU, Thompson, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed. Please respect copyright and licenses.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-Duvakin derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.
Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.
Designed and Developed by Jonathan Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.