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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 746 | Floating Stone | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 767 | Food for the Crucifix | A boy offers bread to a statue of Christ or the Virgin [Q172.1]. | 767 | Q172.1. |
| 1204 | Fool Keeps Repeating his Instructions so as to remember them | He usually forgets them [J2671.2]. Cf. Type 1687. | ||
| 1296 | Fool's Errand | People sent to get imaginary things. (Left-handed monkey wrench and the like.) [J2346]. | 1296 | J2346. |
| 1681 | Foolish man builds aircastles | Foolishly kills his horse, throws his axe into the lake to kill a duck. Undresses to recover axe. Clothes stolen. Goes into barrel of tar to hide. In tar and feathers. [J2661.4]. Cf. Types 1383, 1690*. | , 1681B | K1461., K1462. |
| 1321 | Fools frightened | Cf. Type 1677. | 1321, 1321C | J2600., J2614.1. |
| 1341 | Fools Warn Thief what Not to Steal | Explain where everything is and where the key is kept. [J2091, J2091.1]. Cf. Types 1525P, 1577*. | ||
| 1541 | For the long winter | The numskull has been told to keep the sausage »for the long winter». When the trickster hears this, he claims to be Long Winter and receives the sausage. [K362.1, cf. also J2355, K1821.1]. | , 1541 | J2460.1., K362.1. |
| 756 | Forgiveness and Redemption | The hard penance and the green twigs on the dry branch. | , 756A, 756B, 756C | F771.1.9., F81.2., F971.1., H1235., H1273.1., J172., L435.1., N843., Q172.3., Q211.1., Q222.1., Q520.1., Q520.2., Q521.1., Q521.1.1., Q521.1.2., Q521.2., Q521.4., Q523.5., Q545., Q553.2., Q561., S211., V29.1. |
| 566 | Fortunatus | The return of the objects is brought about with an apple, the eating of which causes horns to grow. I. The Magic Objects. (a) Three men each receive from a mannikin or from enchanted princess a magic object: (b) a self-filling purse (mantle), a… | , 566, 580* | D1451., D1475.1., D1520.11., D812., D861.6., D895., D992.1. |
| 1410 | Four Men's Mistress | A husband disguises as a priest to hear his wife's confession. She says that she has been the mistress of a servant, a knight, a fool, and a priest; i.e., her husband when he was her servant, and later her knight. He had then been a fool for… | 1410 | J1545.2. |
| 59 | Fox and the Sour Grapes | Pretends that the grapes he cannot reach are sour. | 59 | J871. |
| 470 | Friends in Life and Death | The deceased friend followed into the other world. Cf. Type 471. I. The Visit to the Other World. (a) Two friends pledge themselves never to part. One of them dies. (b) The living friend invites the dead to visit him on Christmas and goes with him… | , 470, 470*, 470A | C13., D2011., E238., F116., F171.1., F171.2., M253. |
| 720 | From the Juniper Tree | The boy's bones transformed into a bird. The bird lets the millstone fall on the mother. Becomes boy again. I. The Murder. (a) The little boy is slain by his cruel stepmother, who closes the lid of a chest on him. (b) She cooks him and serves him to… | , 720 | E607.1., E610.1.1., G61., Q412., S121. |
| 1294 | Getting the Calf's Head out of the Pot | A calf gets its head caught in the pot. A fool cuts off the calf's head and then breaks the pot to get it out. [J2113]. | 1294 | J2113. |
| 1138 | Gilding the Beard | A man named »Such a one» persuades the ogre to have his beard gilded. Covers it with tar, and leaves the ogre caught to the tar-kettle. The ogre with his kettle wanders about and asks everyone »Have you seen such a one?» [K1013.1]. | 1138 | K1013.1. |
| 132 | Goat Admires his Horns in the Water | Goat admires his horns in the water, and says, "I needn't be afraid of the wolf." Wolf behind him asks him what he was saying. Goat: "One talks such foolishness when one is drinking." | 132 | K1775. |
| 1718 | God can't take a joke | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 759 | God's Justice Vindicated – The Angel and the Hermit | People will not take sacrament from him. Another priest (God) shows that even this priest is according to God's will. [V39.3]. Cf. Type 756E*. | , 759 | C411.1., C491., J225.0.1., J225.0.2., J225.3., J225.4., J225.5., U21.3. |
| 332 | Godfather Death | The man as doctor. Death at the feet of the sick man (the bed or the sick man turned around). I. Death as Godfather. (a) A poor man chooses death as godfather, (b) since he considers him juster than either God or the Devil. II. Death's Gifts. (a)… | , 332 | D1825.3.1.3.1., J486., K557. |
| 1841 | Grace before meat | The parson asks the boy: »what does your father say when you begin to eat?» »You young devil, etc.» [X435.2]. | ||
| 1031 | Granary roof used as threshing flail | Cf. Type 650A (IV a). | ||
| 160 | Grateful Animals ; Ungrateful Man | The rescue from the pit. A traveler saves a monkey, a snake, a tiger, and a jeweler from a pit. The monkey gives him fruit; the tiger a necklace of the princess he has killed. The jeweler accuses the rescuer before the king. The serpent saves him by biting the prince and then showing the man the proper remedy. | 160 | W154.8. |
| 505 | Grateful dead | Through the assistance of the dead man the hero wins the princess and the castle [E341.1]. (For detailed relationship see Types 506-508. Cf. also Types 513-514, and 545A and B.) | , 505, 506, 508 | , 503, E341., H972., M241., M241.1. |
| 933 | Gregory on the Stone | The son of an incestuous union is abandoned and saved by a sailor. He undergoes years of penance and finally becomes pope. The parents come to the pope to be confessed. | ||
| 887 | Griselda | The king marries a maiden of the lower class. She promises to be always complacent. The king puts her to the proof by making her believe that he has killed their children and married another wife [H461]. Cf. Types 712, 881, 900. | 887 | H461. |
| 1009 | Guarding the Store-room Door | It is lifted off and carried away. [K1413]. Cf. Type 1653A. | 1009 | K1413. |
| 1343 | Hanging Game | Comrade to rescue fool when he whistles. Hangs himself. [N334.2]. | ||
| 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. |
| 503 | Helpful Elves | Dwarfs take hump from hunchback and place it on another man. I. The Dwarfs' Favor. (a) A wanderer takes part in a dance of the witches or people from below the earth (elves, dwarfs) or plays for them; or (b) adds to their song by naming more days of… | , 503, 504 | , F331.1., F331.3., F344.1. |
| 1004 | Hogs in the mud; sheep in the air | The cows driven away, the hogs' tails in the mud, the bell-wether on the tree. I. Pigs' Tails. Left to guard the pigs, the trickster kills and sells them and leaves their tails sticking in the ground. The owner pulls the tails out and is convinced… | , 1004 | K404.1., K404.2., K404.3. |
| 1528 | Holding Down the Hat | A rascal stands by the side of a road near his hat under which he has hidden dung. When the dupe arrives he offers to pursue the rascal with the dupe's horse if the latter will guard his hat under which is a beautiful bird. He escapes with the horse.… | 1528 | K1252. |
| 1530 | Holding up the Rock | The rascal puts his shoulder under a great rock and pretends to hold it up. He persuades a man to take his place and then runs away with the dupe's goods. [K125.1]. Cf. Types 9A, 1731. | 1530 | K1251. |
| 1631 | Horse which will not Go over Trees | A salesman tells the buyer that he is selling the horse because it eats too much and will not climb trees. On the way home the horse bites everyone and refuses to cross a bridge. Seller is literally correct. [K134.1]. | ||
| 1342 | Hot and Cold with the Same Breath | No examples in the Database yet | 1342 | NA |
| 1142 | Hot Tin under the Tail of the Ogre's Horse | The smith promises to make the horse wild. The ogre on the horse's back. [K11811]. | 1682* | K1181. |
| 2 | How the bear lost his tail | The bear (wolf) is persuaded to fish with his tail through a hole in the ice. His tail freezes fast. When he is attacked and tries to escape, he loses his tail. | 2, 2A, 2B, 64 | K1021, K1021.1., K1021.2. |
| 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. |
| 1567 | Hungry Servant Reproaches Stingy Master | Cf. Type 1389*. | , 1567, 1567F, 1567G | J1341.1., J1341.11., J1341.4., J1341.6. |
| 1896 | Hunting the wolves with rod and line | No examples in the Database yet | 1896 | X1132.1. |
| 1229 | If the Wolf's Tail Breaks | Trickster and companion are wolf hunting. The companion goes into the wolf hole. The wolf comes out. The other catches the wolf by the tail and the wolf scratches dust into the companion's eyes. »What a dust.» - »If the wolf's tail breaks, you… | 1229 | X1133.3.2. |
| 236 | Imitating bird sounds, | The dove keeps saying >>I know>> and persists in building her small nest. (Imitation of bird's sounds.) Cf. Type 2075. | 236, 236* | A1952., A2271.1. |
| 441 | In Enchanted Skin | A childless woman gives birth to a hedgehog [C758.1, T554]. The king unwittingly promises the hedgehog his daughter when the latter shows him the way out of the forest [S226]. The hedgehog takes the bride [B641.5]. His hedgehog's skin is burnt, and… | , 441 | B641.5., C758.1., D721.3., S226., T554. |
| 334 | In the Household of the Witch | Visit to house of a witch (or other horrible creature). Many gruesome and marvelous happenings. Lucky escape. Cf. Type 327G. | 334 | G11.3.3. |
| 1830 | In trial sermon the parson promises the laymen the kind of weather they want | They cannot agree. »Then you may have it as it was before.» [J1041.1]. | ||
| 674 | Incest Averted - Talking Animals | A princess, abandoned by or separated from her husband, gives birth to a son. The son is taken from her by trickery and he grows up without knowing who his true mother is. When grown, he sees his mother, falls in love with her [N365.1.1], and goes to her at night hoping to become her lover. On the way he overhears animals (calves) talking [N451] and learns the truth. | ||
| 155 | Ingratitude Is the World's Reward | A man rescues a serpent (or a bear), who in return seeks to kill the rescuer. Fox, as judge, advises the man to put the serpent back into captivity. | 155 | J1172.3. |
| 1573 | Inspecting the daughter | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 1951 | Is Wood Split? | A lazy man asks if wood is split before he accepts it as a gift [W111.5.12]. Sometimes, if rice is cooked. | 1951 | W111.5.10. |
| 774 | Jests About Christ and Peter | Peter made ridiculous. |
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