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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 292 | Ass Tries to Get a Cricket's Voice | Asks cricket what they eat to get such a voice. They answer, >>dew.>> He tries it and starves. | 292 | J512.8. |
| 293 | Debate of the Belly and the Members | Debate as to their usefulness. All are mutually useful. | 293 | J461.1. |
| 294 | The Months and the Seasons | Symbolic actions. | 294 | NA |
| 295 | The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean | The coal burns the straw in two and falls into the water. The bean laughs till it splits. | 295 | F1025.1. |
| 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. |
| 3 | Sham Blood and Brains | The fox covers his head with buttermilk (blood, urine, etc.) and says that his brains have been knocked out. Frightens the bear. | 3 | K473. |
| 30 | The Fox Tricks the Wolf into Falling into a Pit | Race. | 30 | NA |
| 305 | Dragon Blood as Cure | No examples in the Database yet | 305 | D1500.1.7.3.3.1.7.3.3. |
| 318 | The Batamärchen | Batu: the Egyptian >>Two Brothers>> Tale. Plots with paramour against life of her husband. Cf. Types 303, 315, 590, 590A. I. Rescue of a Princess from a Dragon. [R111.1.3]. II. Treacherous Wife. The hero marries the princess, but she falls in love… | 318 | K2111. |
| 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. |
| 41 | The Wolf Overeats in the Cellar | The fox persuades the wolf to enter a cellar (smokehouse or kitchen) and steal food. The wolf eats so much that he cannot escape through the hole he has entered by. He is killed. Cf. Types 33*, 33**. | 33*, 33**, 41, 41* | K1022.1. |
| 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. |
| 335 | Death' Messengers | Death promises the man to indicate his future. He gives him a blow, blindness, etc. But the man does not understand the signs and lives happily throughout. | 335 | J1051. |
| 34 | The Wolf Dives into the Water for Reflected Cheese | The wolf and the fox think the reflection of the moon in the water is a cheese. The fox lowers the wold into the water, the wolf fall into the water and the cheese disappears. | 34, 34A | J1791.3., J1791.4. |
| 36 | The Fox in Disguise Violates the She-Bear | The she-bear is caught in a tree cleft or hole in the hedge . To avoid later recognition the fox covers himself with soot and is taken for the pastor. Variant: the hare, the she-fox. | 36 | K1384. |
| 363 | The Vampire | The bridegroom eats corpses in three churches [E251.3.1, G20]. He appears to his bride in the form of her father, her mother, etc. [D40, D610] and when she tells about his habit he devours her. | 363 | G20. |
| 365 | Specter Bridegrooms | He carries her behind on his horse. Says, »The moon shines bright, the dead ride fast,» etc. She is pulled into the grave [E2l5]. | 365 | E215. |
| 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. |
| 37 | The fox as shepherd | Search for a nursemaid (or mourning-woman). Fox takes service and eats up the young bears. | 37, 37* | K931. |
| 38 | Claw in Split Tree | The fox (or man) persuades the bear to stick his claw in the cleft of a split tree. | 38 | K1111. |
| 4 | Carrying the Sham-Sick Trickster | The fox shams sickness and is carried by the wolf. | 4 | K1241. |
| 44 | The Oath on the Iron | In a dispute between the fox, the wolf, and the bear concerning the theft of their winter supplies, the fox denies the guilt and swears by touching iron (a trap). The bear follows his example but hits the iron so hard that his paws are caught. | 44 | K1115. |
| 49 | The bear and the honey | The fox leads the bear to a wasp-nest. | 49 | K1023. |
| 5 | Biting the foot | The fox to the bear, who is biting his foot: »You are biting the tree root.» The bear lets loose. | 5 | K543. |
| 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. |
| 52 | The Ass without a Heart | The ass as toll-gatherer is killed by the lion for asking for toll. The fox eats the ass's heart. When the lion asks for it, the fox replies that the ass could have had no heart since he was such a fool as to ask the lion for toll. | 52 | K402.3. |
| 53 | Reynard the Fox at Court | The fox is summoned to appear before the court of justice, but he does not come and laughs at the messengers. When he is caught at last and about to be hanged, he escapes again. | 53 | J864.2. |
| 532 | The Speaking Horsehead | The helpful horse. The hero is driven from home by his stepmother [S31]. He acquires a helpful horse which advises him [B401] to dress in poor clothing [K1816] and to answer all questions with "I don't know" [C495.1]. He takes service as gardener to… | 532* | B411.2. |
| 546 | The Clever Parrot | I. The Parrot Wins a Princess for the King. (a) The king wins the gratitude of a parrot. (b) The parrot takes the king to a princess. (c) The parrot brings a princess to the king. II. Separation. On the return trip the king and his bride are… | 546 | B469.9. |
| 55 | The Animals Build a Road (Dig Well) | The fox as overseer punishes lazy animals. | 55 | A2233.1. |
| 57 | Raven with a Cheese | A raven/crow has some cheese/meat in his mouth. The fox flatters the raven into singing. He drops his food and the fox gets it. | 57 | K334.1. |
| 59 | Fox and the Sour Grapes | Pretends that the grapes he cannot reach are sour. | 59 | J871. |
| 60 | The Fox and the Crane Invites Each Other | The crane (heron) has his food in a deep dish, the fox his on a flat plate. The crane injures his beak. | 60 | J1565.1. |
| 61 | The Fox Persuades the Cock to Crow with Closed Eyes | Captures him. Often followed by: the cock persuades the fox to ask a blessing before eating him. | 61, 61B | K721., K815.15. |
| 62 | Peace Among the Animals – The Fox and the Cock | The fox tries to beguile the cock by reporting a new law establishing peace among the animals. Dogs appear and the fox flees saying that the dogs have not yet heard of the new law. | 62 | J1421. |
| 63 | The Fox (or Jackal) and the Fleas | No examples in the Database yet | 63 | K921. |
| 65 | Mrs. Fox's Suitors | The widowed she-fox proves her faithfulness by rejecting suitors who do not resemble her deceased husband. | 65 | N681. |
| 681 | King in the Bath; Years of Experience | This illusion takes place when the king puts his head under water. [D2012.1]. | 681 | D2012.1. |
| 7 | The calling of three tree names | The bear and the fox wager as to which can name three trees first. The bear names different varieties of the same tree. The fox wins the wager. | 7 | N51 |
| 70 | More cowardly than the hare | The hare finds a (sheep, fish, frog, etc.) who is afraid of him and laughs till his lip splits. | 70 | J881.1. |
| 701 | The Giant's Toy | No examples in the Database yet | 701 | F531.5.3. |
| 704 | The Princess and the Pea | A princess is recognized by her inability to sleep in a bed which has a pea under its dozen mattresses. | 704 | H41.1. |
| 71 | Contest of Frost and the Hare | The hare lies on the frozen snow and says, »Oh, how warm!» | 71 | H1541.1. |
| 72 | The Rabbit Rides Fox A-Courting | The fox is the favorite suitor of the girl the rabbit wants. The rabbit tells the girl that the fox is his horse. She refuses to believe him. She agrees to marry if he will ride to her house. He persuades fox to carry him—usually by feigning lameness—and wins the girl. (Sometimes told of human beings.) Cf. Type 4. | 72, 72* | J61., K1241. |
| 726 | The Oldest on the Farm | A wayfarer asks for a night's lodging at a farm. He meets a very old man outside, but he is shown to his father who has to decide, and so on up to the seventh generation [F571.2]. Sometimes mixed up with fairy tradition: the old troll finishes by… | 726 | F571.2. |
| 729 | The Axe Falls into the Stream | The water-spirit exhibits a golden axe, but the honest man admits that it does not belong to him [Q3.1]. Another man deliberately throws his axe into the water and claims the golden one as his. He gets neither. | 729 | Q3.1. |
| 73 | Blinding the Guard | The rabbit, imprisoned in a hollow tree, induces his guard to look up at him. He spits tobacco juice into the guard's eyes and blinds the guard, and thus effects his escape. | 73 | K621. |
| 736 | Luck and Wealth | The fish with the jewel. Cf. Types 745, 745A. A poor man gets a piece of tin. He gives it to a fisherman under the agreement that the first catch of fish shall be given to him. In the net is a fish with a precious stone in his body. [N421]. | 736A | N211.1. |
| 737 | Who Will be her Future Husband | No examples in the Database yet | 737 | D1825.1. |
| 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. |
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