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Stith Thompson Motif Index
About this index and how to read it
Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature classifies recurring narrative elements in folktales, myths, legends, ballads and related traditional narratives. Each entry below gives Thompson's motif reference and the description recorded in the index.
The index is large, so this browser displays 250 entries per page. You can search by motif reference or by words in the description, restrict the results to one of Thompson's main letter categories, and click motif references mentioned inside descriptions to follow cross-references. Individual motif pages also show any ATU tale types whose concordance explicitly cites that Thompson reference.
All
A
Mythological Motifs
B
Animal Motifs
C
Motifs of Tabu
D
Magic
E
The Dead
F
Marvels
G
Ogres
H
Tests
J
The Wise and the Foolish
K
Deceptions
L
Reversals of Fortune
M
Ordaining the Future
N
Chance and Fate
P
Society
Q
Rewards and Punishments
R
Captives and Fugitives
S
Unnatural Cruelty
T
Sex
U
The Nature of Life
V
Religion
W
Traits of Character
X
Humor
Z
Miscellaneous Groups of Motifs
| Thompson reference | Description ▲ |
|---|---|
| J2464 | The servant to improve on the master's statements. The wooer makes boasts to the girl and the servant always doubles the master's boast. Finally the master says, "I have poor eyesight." — The servant, "You don't see at all." (Or the master coughs and apologizes; the servant says that he coughs all night.) *Type 1688; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 221; Scala Celi 126b No. 688; Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. IX 88 No. 46; French Canadian: Barbeau JAFL XXIX 24. |
| J901 | The seven daughters of Humility. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| J2213.3 | The seventh cake satisfies. Fool regrets that he had not eaten number seven first since that was the one that brought satisfaction. *Von der Leyen Das Märchen 78 and Herrigs Archiv CXIV 20 n. 2; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2424 | The sharpened leg. A trickster sees a man with a sharpened leg. He also receives the power of sharpening his leg without harm if he will use it but four times. He breaks the tabu and is left with his leg sticking in a tree. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 299 n. 95; S. A. Indian (Warrau, Carrib, Shipaya): Lowie BBAE CXLIII (3) 55. |
| J1391.3 | The sheep's teeth. Two thieves caught with stolen sheep. One says that he told the other than sheep have lower teeth but no upper, and that they caught the sheep to see. India: Thompson-Balys; Africa (Vai): Ellis 221 No. 34. |
| J2172.1 | The shepherd who cried "Wolf!" too often. When the wolf really comes no one believes him. Wienert FFC LVI 84 (ET 508), 104 (ST 172); Halm Aesop No. 353; Jacobs Aesop 210 No. 43; India: *Thompson-Balys; West Indies: Flowers 489. |
| J1521.1 | The shoes carried into the tree. Tricksters induce a numskull to climb a tree, planning to steal his shoes. He takes them in his belt with him. "Perhaps I shall find a nearer road home up there and shall need my shoes." *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 233 No. 96. |
| J1179.3 | The short blanket must be patched. Weaver makes blanket shorter than ordered. Weaver ordered to add a piece to the blanket and then to receive full price. Bolte Frey's Gartengesellschaft 110, 256. |
| J2511 | The silence wager. A man and his wife make a wager as to who shall speak first (close the door). The man (woman) becomes jealous and scolds; loses the wager. *Type 1351; Child No. 275; **Brown Amer. Journ. of Philol. XLIII 289; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 263; Clouston Tales II 15; *Basset 1001 Contes II 401; Chauvin VIII 132 No. 124; Clouston Noodles 108, 184; Fb "tie" III 792a; Christensen DF L 79; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2168 | The slaughter of the ox. In preparation, the feet are cut off the evening before. Type 1261. |
| J2333 | The sledges turned in the direction of the journey. At night turned around by a joker. Type 1275. |
| J2618 | The sleeper answers for the dead man. A man falls asleep by a gallows. A company of wags come and invite the dead man on the gallows to accompany them. The sleeper awakes with a start and says, "I'll come at once." The wags flee in terror. *Wesselski Bebel II 119 No. 59; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J229.10 | The smaller the evil the better. Therefore choose the smallest woman possible for a bride. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1442.13 | The smallest woman makes the best bride. "Of an evil choose the smallest part." Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J1532.1 | The Snow-Child. (Modus Leibinc.) A sailor's wife bears a son in his absence and says that it came from eating snow. Later the husband makes away with the boy who, he says, melted in the sun. *Type 1362; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 208; BP IV 130; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J1484 | The sound of shaving. An unskillful barber keeps cutting a man's face. A noise is heard. The man: "What is that?" Barber: "A smith shoeing horses." Man: "I thought it was someone being shaved." *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 226f. No. 473. |
| J1626 | The sound of the harp. An apprentice harpmaker is blamed that he has not made the harp sound. He throws the harp at his master's head and breaks it to pieces: "There you have your sound." *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 722. |
| J2335 | The stag with iron shoes. Hunters shoot a stag and hide it. Another who sees puts a dead ass in the bag instead. When the bag is opened, one cries, "Oh Jesus, we have shot a stag with iron shoes!" Köhler-Bolte I 325. |
| J2672 | The stolen bedcover. A man hears a noise outside the house at night. He wraps a bed cover about him and goes to investigate. The robbers take the bed cover and flee. The wife asks what the debate was about. "About the bed cover. When they got it, the quarrel was over." Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 230 No. 77. |
| J1611 | The stolen meat and the weighed cat. A man buys three pounds of meat. His wife eats it and says that the cat ate it. The man weighs the cat and finds that it does not weigh three pounds. *Type 1373; Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 232 No. 87, *II 185 No. 348. |
| J2326 | The student from paradise. A student tells a woman that he comes from Paris. She understands him to say from paradise and gives him money and goods to take to her husband. *Type 1540; **Aarne FFC XXII 3—109; *Clouston Noodles 204—217 passim; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 463; *Wesselski Bebel I 189 No. 50; Christensen DF L 35; Indonesia: Coster-Wijsman 73 No. IV. |
| J621.1 | The swallow and the hemp-seeds. Swallow in vain urges other birds to eat seed as fast as it is sowed. Ridiculed, he builds his nest among the dwellings of men. Later, birds are caught in nets made from the hemp. Wienert FFC LVI 62 (ET 248), 118 (ST 277); Halm Aesop Nos. 105, 106; Dähnhardt IV 275; Herbert III 8; *Crane Vitry 176 No. 101; Jacobs Aesop 203 No. 12; Africa (Fang): Tessman 27ff., (Pangwe): ibid. 362ff. |
| J2373 | The tailless and earless ass. Just lain down to sleep, a man is awakened by a neighbor announcing that his she-ass has borne a young one without ears or tail. The man lies awake all night wondering how the ass will keep the harness on. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 259 No. 207. |
| J1401 | The tailor's dream. A tailor dreams that at Judgment Day he sees a flag made up of all the pieces of cloth he has stolen Upon waking he asks his servants to warn him if they ever see him tempted to steal again. This happens. He replies, "The piece I am about to steal does not fit into the flag." *BP I 343; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 256 No. 190. |
| J1607 | The testament of the dog. The owner of a dog has him given Christian burial. The bishop thereupon pretends that the dog has left the church a large legacy. *Anderson FFC XLII 359 n 3; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 72; **Feilberg "Hundens Testament" Festskrift til E. T. Kristensen 11ff.; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles No. 96. |
| J2223 | The thief as discoverer. The fool lies still as the thief enters the house, hoping that the thief may find something so that he can take it back from the thief. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 231 No. 83, Mönchslatein 170 No. 134. |
| J1141.16 | The thief is tricked into betraying himself in supposed ordeal. Canada, England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1141.15 | The thief is tricked into revealing himself in church. England: Baughman. |
| J1161.1 | The three joint depositors may have their money back when all demand it. Money is left by three joint depositors subject to their joint order. It is stolen by one. When the banker is sued he agrees to give up the money when he receives joint order from all three. *Type 1591; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 113; Scala Celi 7b No. 46; Alphabet No. 139; Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIX 21 No. 77; Spanish Exempla: Keller; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2075 | The transferred wish. A husband, given three wishes, transfers one to his wife, who wastes it on a trifle; in his anger he wishes the article in her body and must use the third to get it out. *Type 750A; *BP II 220, 225; N. A. Indian: Thompson CColl II 454. |
| J1531.1 | The transformed golden pumpkin. Borrower of golden pumpkin returns a brass pumpkin and claims that the gold has turned to brass. The lender takes the borrower's son and returns with an ape. He claims that the boy has turned into an ape. Köhler-Bolte I 533; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2092 | The trusted porters. A man finds a treasure, but is robbed by porters whom he has employed to rid him of the trouble of carrying it. Chauvin II 82 No. 2; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 179; B[ö]dker Exempler 272 No. 2; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J1919.3 | The two extra pounds. A dog has eaten 14 pounds of butter; the fool squeezes 16 pounds from him. Fb "sm[ö]r" III 412b. |
| J2415.1 | The two presents to the king: the beet and the horse. A farmer takes an extraordinary beet as present to the king and receives a large reward. His companion is eager for a reward and leads a handsome steed to the palace. The king rewards him with the beet. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 798; BP III 188ff., *191; *Gaster Exempla 190 No. 25; Köhler-Bolte I 136; England: Baughman; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; India: Thompson-Balys; West Indies: Flowers 490. |
| J2415.1.2 | The two presents to the king: two poems. A famous poet presented to the king some poems and was richly rewarded. Another poet likewise gave the king some poetry. The king gave him the first poet's verses. Spanish: Childers. |
| J1914.1 | The underfed warhorse. Fails in the war. Wienert FFC LVI 72 (ET 363), 129 (ST 369); Halm Aesop No. 178. |
| J1321 | The unrepentant drunkard. |
| J345 | The valuable neglected for the interesting. |
| J1193.2 | The value of a blow. A judge awards damages of a penny against a friend of his for giving a blow. The defendant goes to get the money and is gone long. Meanwhile the plaintiff gives the judge a blow and tells him to use the penny as damages. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 254 No. 172; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 718; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1966 | The wall accuses the crowbar. But the man who uses the crowbar is to blame for the downfall of the wall. Wienert FFC LVI 75 (ET 400), 123 (ST 319); Halm Aesop No. 402. |
| J1903.1 | The water on the calf's back. When the calf will not drink, the peasant woman throws the water on its back. Type 1211*. |
| J1312 | The watered wine. |
| J1382.2 | The weighted order-cards. To a man going on a voyage, various people give commissions for purchases, which he writes down on cards. Some give him money; some promise it on his return. On ship he looks the cards over, placing the proper gold on the proper card. A wind blows into the sea those not weighted with gold. *Wesselski Arlotto II 234ff. No. 122. |
| J355.1 | The widow's meal. King upbraids wind for blowing away a poor widow's last cup of meal. Finds that the wind has saved a ship full of people by that very act. The king is humbled. **Schiller Anthropos XII—XIII 513; DeVries FFC LXXIII 324ff.; Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas III 67, *301, *Neuman. |
| J2353 | The wife multiplies the secret. To prove that a woman cannot keep a secret the man tells his wife that a crow has flown out of his belly (or that he has laid an egg). She tells her neighbor that two crows have flown. Soon he hears from his neighbors that there were fifty crows. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 395; Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 244 No. 542; Chauvin VIII 168, 197; Spanish: Espinosa II Nos. 68—69; Italian Novella: Rotunda; Jewish: Gaster Exempla 196 No. 56; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J125.1 | The wine needs no further water. Guests asks small daughter of innkeeper for water to put into his wine. She says, "You will not have to do that for mother poured a whole tubful into the cask today." *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 374. |
| J1511.5 | The wine-spilling host rebuked. A host spills his customer's wine so that he must buy more. He consoles the guest with "It is a sign of the great abundance you shall have this year." With the same remark the guest draws the spigot from the host's wine cask. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 372; *Wesselski Mönchslatein No. 106; *Crane Vitry 269 No. 310. |
| J1714.2 | The wise man and the rain of fools. A wise man is persuaded to taste water which has turned many persons into fools. He also becomes a fool. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) Nos. 34, 54. |
| J2349.4 | The woman who asked for news from home. Gets many impossible answers, which she believes. E.g., "The cock has become sexton."—"Yes, that is why he sang so well in the morning." (First edition X941.) *Type 1931. |
| J1169.1 | The woman with bad eyes. Physician called to doctor woman's eyes bandages them and then steals things each day. She refuses to pay fee and is haled to court. She says that her sight is worse than ever for whereas she used to see many things in her house she now sees very little. Theft is thus revealed. Wesselski Mönchslatein 20 No. 15; Wienert FFC LVI 39; Halm Aesop No. 107.—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1171.3 | The woman with two husbands is to be killed. One of the husbands refuses to bury her. She is awarded to the other. Type 926*; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J181 | The years not counted. Man says that he is the youngest present, for he does not count the years before he became monk (or the like). *Chauvin III 108. |
| J1962 | The yeast as an afterthought. An old woman who has forgotten to knead it in the dough throws it into the stove. Type 1261*. |
| J2212.6 | The Zodiac grows up: the Kid becomes the Goat. A fool who was born under the sign of the Kid declares that he was born under the Goat. "Hasn't it had time in these fifty years to become a goat?" Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 235 No. 105. |
| J1169.3 | Their assistance not asked. Knight attacks enemy contrary to orders. Part of army helps him and is killed. He disclaims responsibility since he had not asked their aid. Wesselski Bebel I 157 No. 86. |
| J1269.11 | Their own quarters need it more. Such is the answer given monks who insist that quarters occupied by the king and his train be reconsecrated. Wesselski Bebel I 189 No. 53. |
| J1291.2 | Theological questions answered by propounding simple questions in science. Where was God before he made heaven and earth? and the like answered by "Why a louse bite raises a blister, a flee bite raises a swelling, and a gnat bite is unnoticeable?" If you cannot answer such simple questions how can you pry into God's secrets. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 97. |
| J2031.2 | There are ten horses; then when he is mounted there are only nine. Why? *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 267 No. 261; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1444 | They gave it away themselves. A wandering actor rewarded by a city with a coat of their color gambles it away. When upbraided about giving away their present he replies that they hadn't wanted to keep it themselves. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 396. |
| J2136.5.1.1 | Thief debates whether to take one thing or another. Caught. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1143 | Thief detected by building straw fire so that smoke escapes through thief's entrance. The secret hole into the building is thus discovered and the thief caught. *Type 950; BP III 395ff.; Köhler-Bolte I 200ff.; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1149.6 | Thief detected by his answer to question. "How would you treat a woman who came into your possession?" Answer: "I would use her and then give her to the servants." This reveals his true character. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1213 | Thief exposes owner's unjust claim. |
| J1392.1 | Thief followed home. A thief ransacks a man's house and departs. The man gathers together the rest of his belongings and tracks the thief. Comes to the thief's door. Thief: "What do you want with me?" "What, isn't this the house we set out for?" *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 212 No. 32. |
| J1391 | Thief makes a lame excuse. India: Thompson-Balys; Indonesian Coster-Wijsman Uilspiegel Verhalen 35ff. Nos. 17—22. |
| J1161.11 | Thief makes it fall out that he has but taken what has been given him (he has followed literal instructions). India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1758.4 | Thief mistakes leopard for calf (ass). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2136.5.3 | Thief of deer cuts it up and keeps counting pieces. Rescued by wife. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2527 | Thief out of habit robs from his own purse. Nouvelles Récréations No. 46. |
| J1141.1.9 | Thief persuaded detective can read thoughts: confesses. (Cf. N275.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1149.7 | Thief posing as corpse detected by pricking soles of his feet. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1861 | Thief punishes the escaped ox. An ox strays on the rascal's land but escapes from him. The next week he sees the ox yoked up and gives him a beating. The master is astonished. The rascal: "Let me alone; he knows well enough what he has done." Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 210 No. 20. |
| J1289.15 | Thief serves king buffaloes he has killed in hunt and lost; thus reproaches king's wastefulness. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2136.5.1 | Thief stops to admire beautiful things before stealing them. Caught. Scala Celi 58a No. 324; **Zachariae Studien zur vgl. Litg. IX 284ff.; Spanish Exempla: Keller; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1141.7 | Thief suspected of crawling through hole must take off clothes. He is full of scratches and confesses. Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas IV 99, 280. |
| J1758.5.1 | Thief thinks lion is horse. Rides him. Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J2091 | Thief warned what not to steal. The numskull tells the thief where his door-key, his cakes, and his roasts are and warns him not to steal them. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. IX 87. |
| J1142.4 | Thief's corpse carried through street to see who will weep for him. *Type 950; *BP III 395ff. |
| J1391.1 | Thief's excuse: the big wind. Vegetable thief is caught in a garden. Owner: How did you get into the garden? A wind blew me in. How were the vegetables uprooted? If the wind is strong enough to blow me in, it can uproot them. How did they get into your bag? That is what I was just wondering. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 207 No. 7, cf. II 214 No. 441. |
| J1141.6 | Thief's money scales borrowed. A man buries gold and a thief steals it. The owner detects the criminal. He takes some money to the thief and borrows money scales "to weigh so as to bury with the other". The thief decides that he is detected and hastens to return the stolen money. *Wesselski Morlini 294 No. 43. |
| J1517 | Thieves deceived by prearranged conversation which they overhear. (Cf. K420.) |
| J2136.5.8 | Thieves disposed of one at a time. They will not help each other since the fewer thieves there are the more there is to share. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1165.1 | Thieves tell judge walls of houses were so weak they could not resist temptation of breaking in. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1394 | Thieves' nocturnal habits. |
| J2136.5.7 | Thieving numskull beats drum (blows trumpet, etc.) he finds in outhouse. Caught. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2136.5.9 | Thieving wolf persuaded to sing. Caught. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1783 | Thing thought to be corpse. |
| J1511.14 | Things on highway belong to the public. Man reproves another for picking his cherries that overhang the highway. He is told that things on the public highway belong to no one in particular. He invites the man to climb the tree for better cherries, drives off with his horse and buggy, giving the same answer about things in the public highway. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1789 | Things thought at night to be other frightful object. |
| J1780 | Things thought to be devils, ghosts, etc. Indonesian: Coster-Wijsman 57 No. 83. |
| J1782 | Things thought to be ghosts. |
| J1784 | Things thought to be spirits. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3446, Legends Nos. 875-885. |
| J2516.1 | Think thrice before you speak. The youth obeys literally the precept even when he sees the master's coat on fire. *Type 1562; Chauvin VIII 170 No. 187; cf. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 387. |
| J1218 | Thirty years old for twelve years. Man claims to be thirty; has been doing so for the last twelve years. Spanish, Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J656.1 | Thornbush blamed by fox for wounding him. He should have known better than to lay hold of something whose nature is to lay hold of others. Wienert FFC LVI 73 (ET 386), 122 (ST 310); Halm Aesop No. 32. |
| J1179.11 | Those who furnish equal number of animals for plow share equally in crop (in spite of amount of work done by each). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1321.2 | Though old woman is made to believe she is in hell she calls for drinking companions. *Wesselski Bebel I 230 No. 142. |
| J1179.6 | Thread awarded to disputant who knows what it was wound on. Zachariae Kleine Schriften 84; Alphabet No. 533. |
| J2037.2 | Three brothers buy cow for common use; each brother pays the farmer full price. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1914.2 | Three brothers take turns using mule. None of them feeds him, supposing that the others have. The mule dies. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 575. |
| J2071 | Three foolish wishes. Three wishes will be granted: used up foolishly. *Bédier Fabliaux 212ff., 471; Type 750; *Bolte Zs. f. vgl. Litgsch. VII 453; *BP II 212; *Fb "[ö]nske" III 1179a. — Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "souhaits"; Spanish Exempla: Keller; India: Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda; Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 213, Coster-Wijsman 46 No. 56. |
| J2033 | Three girls distressed by seemingly impossible task of going and returning together — one in half month, other in fifteen days, other in seven plus eight days. Chinese: Graham. |
| J1242.2 | Three men divide a large fish by quoting scripture. Spanish: Childers. |
| J2133.5.3 | Three men in a tree sing song and clap hands: they fall down and die. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2225 | Three reasons for not giving alms. (1) Student has only one eye: Aristotle says to beware of those whom nature has marked. (2) Student comes from Bremen: no one of consequence comes from there. (3) His name is Nicholas: no one with that name can succeed. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 611; cf. Type 1661. |
| J1552.2 | Three reasons for refusing credit. A man asks for credit, although he has always paid cash before. He is refused on these grounds: either (1) he has never found anyone to trust him, (2) he has never bought anything, or (3) he is rich and does not need an extension of time. *Wesselski Bebel II 121 No. 65. |
| J1717 | Three silly pundits sent to a raja as the two-footed cattle he had demanded. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J485 | Three sins of the hermit. Choice of three sins given him: adultery, murder (theft), drunkenness. He chooses drunkenness; the others follow. (Cf. J21.25.) *Type 839; **Taylor MPh XX 61ff.; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 243; Chauvin VIII 129 No. 118; Herbert III *131; Köhler-Bolte I 583; Nouvelles de Sens No. 25; *Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIX 24; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas IV 159, 282, Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. Cf. Wesselski Mönchslatein 22 No. 17. |
| J2499.7 | Three stupid sons sent out into the world to learn trades: hunter kills his father; musician plays and dances at his father's death, etc. Chinese: Graham. |
| J80.1 | Three thousand parables of Solomon. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| J1262.9 | Three true faiths. Ruler trying to confiscate Jew's money asks him which is the true faith. "There are three, the one which the Lord knows is right and the two his children think are right." (Cf. H659.5.1, J462.3.1.) Italian Novella: Rotunda (J462.3.1.2). |
| J1169.9 | Three unlawful acts in killing one sheep: two lambs were inside. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1881.1.3 | Three-legged pot sent to walk home. Clouston Noodles 36; Field Pent Cuckoo 5; *BP I 521 n. 1; England: Baughman; Missouri French: Carrière; Spanish: Espinosa III 147; N. A. Indian: Thompson CColl II 417f. |
| J651.1 | Throstle giving all attention to sweet fruits is caught by bird catcher. Wienert FFC LVI 66 (ET 298), 107 (ST 195); Halm Aesop No. 194. |
| J1602 | Throw at a rich man. Philosopher gives a penny to a man who throws stones at him but advises him that it will be wiser to throw at one who can afford to give more. The advice is followed and the rascal is arrested and hanged. Wienert FFC LVI 85 (ET 519), 99 (ST 128). |
| J1292 | Tide inquires whether moon is up. Minnow seeing absurdity of question (since tide could not be up without the moon) tells the tide to wait till he gets a drink and he will tell. Africa (Vai): Ellis 200 No. 17. |
| J1675.2.1 | Tidings brought to the king: You said it, not I. The messenger arranges it so that the king says the words in the form of a question. *Anderson FFC XLII 362; Icelandic: *Boberg; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 111 No. 925B. |
| J1758 | Tiger (lion, etc.) mistaken for domestic animal. |
| J1706.1 | Tiger as stupid beast. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2633 | Tiger frightened of leak in house. Chinese: Graham. |
| J1758.3 | Tiger mistaken for ass. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1758.1 | Tiger mistaken for goat. Fool trying to steal goat in dark catches thieving tiger. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1758.2 | Tiger thought to be dog. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J17.1 | Tiger, jackal, and bear each learn to fear man. They report him as head-thumper (he has beaten the tiger), turn-twister (he has swung jackal by tail), and top-tumbler (he has fallen out of tree on bear). India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1075 | Time renders all things commonplace. |
| J881 | Timid animal consoled when he sees others more timid. |
| J955.1.2.1 | Titmouse ruffles feathers to seem big as a bear. Her young ones know her. Type 228; Africa (Hottentot): Bleek 32 No. 16. |
| J1182.1 | To be beaten by deceiver of husband. Lady has her women ready to give a trickster a beating. He is allowed to make one request. The one who has most often deceived her husband shall strike first. *Wesselski Gonnella 121 No. 16; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J1364 | To be rewarded by his kind. Unworthy person is rewarded. Asks worthy one: "Why is it that I am rewarded and you are not?" Answer: "Because you have found more of your kind that I have of mine." (Also told of Dante and a minstrel.) Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J2060.3 | To build a palace in the sky: hawk as architect is let fly in the air. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1805.1.1 | To cover house with straw. Word for wife is similar, so wife is covered. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1141.1.6 | To decide which is master and which servant they are to put heads through window and servant's head is to be cut off. Servant draws back. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2516.8 | To draw out fence stakes and throw them down. Boy throws them into river. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J81.2 | To each his appropriate food. Woman gives morsel of various foods to each guest, with explanation. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2095 | To eat a hundred onions. Choice of eating 100 onions, receiving 100 blows, or paying 100 coins. Fool tries onions in vain, then the blows, and finally must give the coins. *Zachariae Kleine Schriften 170; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 349; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1634 | To follow the king. In order to test a favorite, a king says that he is going to retire from the world and offers the regency to the favorite. On advice from his philosopher, the favorite says that he is going to accompany the king into retirement. *Chauvin II 148 No. 1, III 98 No. 2; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J1627 | To give the accounting afterward. A nobleman embezzles money from the public treasury. When counsellors urge an accounting, he replies that he is ready as soon as they have themselves made an accounting of all their transactions. They are ready to let well enough alone. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 800. |
| J2417.2 | To imitate the leader. He slips and all fall to floor. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1191.4 | To return the dead elephant alive. Hired elephant dies. Owner demands the live elephant. The god causes the elephant's owner to break pots of the other. Is unable to make specific restitution. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1512.2 | To return the eye to the one-eyed man. "Let me have your other so that I can see whether the one I bring you matches." India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2461.7 | To sell some cloth for four rupees. Fool refuses to take six rupees for it. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2516.3.5 | To tell nothing else than "very good news." India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1153.2 | To which of two men does woman belong? Only one can answer questions just as she has. Other discredited. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2061.4 | Toad having found money daydreams and is run over. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J461.3 | Tobacco, pipe, and match debate usefulness to smoker. Africa (Vai): Ellis 196 No. 13. |
| J321.1.1 | Today's catch of fish traded for prospective larger catch tomorrow. Africa (Akan-Ashanti): Rattray 252 No. 67. |
| J1559.3 | Too large a payment. A student leaving the university sends back a small coin to pay for the knowledge he is carrying away, although he says that he is really paying too much. Wesselski Bebel II 114 No. 45. |
| J1363 | Too late for the same advice. Impoverished spendthrift sarcastically to thrifty person: "Stop spending so freely!" "It's too late to give you the same advice." Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J1276.2 | Too much for his income. Child born two months after marriage. Husband returns wife to her father (uncle) saying: "I can't afford a child every two months." Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J684.3 | Tortoise joins peacock in dance. Cannot escape hunter; peacock flies off. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J657.2 | Tortoise lets self be carried by eagle. Dropped and eaten. *Wienert FFC LVI 46, 50 Nos. 51, 98; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J2357 | Tortoise speaks and loses his hold on the stick. He is being carried through the air by a bird. *Penzer V 55 n. 3; *Chauvin II 90 No. 31; B[ö]dker Exempler 285 No. 33; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1703 | Town (country) of fools. **Christensen DF XLVII; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J211.2 | Town mouse and country mouse. Latter prefers poverty with safety. *Type 112; Crane Vitry 199 No. 157; Wienert FFC LVI *59 (ET 208), 124 (ST 325); Halm Aesop No. 297; Jacobs Aesop 202 No. 7; Albini Atene e Roma VI 175.—Spanish Exempla: Keller; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 15 No. 5; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J133.3 | Trained deer drinks wine till he breaks his leg but thereafter abstains. Thus teaches lesson to master. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 240. |
| J2075.1 | Transferred wish wisely used as well as unwisely. (J2075 contrasted with a married couple in which the wish is wisely used by the wife.) *BP II 223. |
| J1269.5 | Transmutation of the quail. Bishop brought quail on Friday orders them cooked. Blamed. If he can turn bread into the body of the Lord why can he not turn quail into fish? Frey (ed. Bolte) 247 No. 85; Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles No. 100; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J1563 | Treatment of difficult guests. |
| J165 | Tree of knowledge. Dh I 212ff.; Irish myth: *Cross; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| J1973 | Tree pulled down in order to give it water to drink. Type 1241; Christensen DF XLVII 179. |
| J1964 | Tree-trunks laid crosswise of the sledge. *Type 1248; BP III 302. Cf. Type 801. |
| J2126.1 | Trees cut down to gather fruit. Penzer V 70f. |
| J1161.3 | Trespasser's defense: standing on his own land. Man has earth from his own land in his shoes. *Type 1590; Herbert III 507 No. 62; *Anderson FFC XLII 362 n. 1; Fb "ed" I 234, "jord" II 45b; Künssberg Jahrbuch f. hist. Vksk. I 120f.; Danish: Kristensen Danske Sagn V (1897) 443ff., (1934) 324ff.; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J161 | Trial rehearsed before stick in the ground as judge. Köhler-Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. VI 62 (Gonzenbach No. 8). |
| J1492 | Trickster artist hoodwinks king: cuckold's eyes cannot see picture. King pretends to see the picture. Courtiers reveal that there is no picture. Spanish: Childers. |
| J1282 | Trickster chooses his gift. To be rewarded by ruler with a coin, an ass, a sheep, or a vineyard. Answers that he will take the coin, mount the ass, drive the sheep into the vineyard, and there pray for the ruler. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 237 No. 523. |
| J2134.2 | Trickster eats medicines that physic him. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 303 n. 109h, (California): Gayton and Newman 83. |
| J2134.1 | Trickster eats scratch-berries. Cause great itching. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 304 n. 109k. |
| J2136.2 | Trickster gets caught on a fishhook. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 306 n. 109bb. |
| J1883 | Trickster joins bulrushes in a dance. He thinks they are dancing when he sees them waving. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 306 n. 109dd. |
| J217.0.1.1 | Trickster overhears man praying for death to take him; the trickster appears at man's house, usually in disguise, says he is God (or the devil). The man tells him to take his wife (or he runs away). (Compare C11 for a similar situation in which Death appears.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J2136.4 | Trickster pinched by shellfish (crab). B[ö]dker Exempler 281 No. 26; Spanish Exempla: Keller; India: Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda; Indonesia: DeVries's list Nos. 60, 62, 63; West Indies: Flowers 488. |
| J2131.5.1 | Trickster puts on buffalo skull: gets head caught. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 297 n. 86. |
| J2173.7 | Trickster travels while fish cook: they burn up. N. A. Indian (California): Gayton and Newman 83. |
| J2186 | Trickster's false creations fail him. A trickster creates men from his excrements (or the like). They melt in the sun. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 356 n. 286. |
| J2751 | Trickster's greed while hunting causes him to be deserted. Jamaica: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 237 No. 7. |
| J1564.1 | Trickster's interrupted feast revenged. He is asked a question by his master each time he tries to eat a date, so that he always has to spit out the date. He revenges himself that night when the master tries to carry on an intrigue with his wife's maid. He comes with his answers at embarrassing moments. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 242 No. 537. |
| J1176.5 | True husband of woman determined by assigning superhuman task. Thus god masking as husband is discovered. Hdwb. d. Märchens I 247b; Zachariae Zs. f. Vksk. XVI 139. |
| J557.1.1 | True penance for even a day is effective. Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J1465 | Trumpeter's false defense. A trumpeter captured pleads that he did not fight. Answered: "You may not fight, but you encourage your men to do so." Jacobs Aesop 220 No. 79. |
| J1149.10 | Truth detected by spies listening to reactions of defendants at night. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J751.1 | Truth the best policy. Servant about to be caught for theft rehearses the lie he is to tell his master. He finds lies so transparent that he decides to tell the truth. Wesselski Märchen 200. |
| J1961.1 | Trying to catch light in a mouse-trap. Type 1245**. |
| J1944 | Trying to get fruit from fruitless tree. |
| J1905.5 | Trying to have cows make curds before being milked. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1964.1 | Trying to stretch the beam. *Type 1244. |
| J1821.1 | Trying to swim in the mist. Mistaken for sea. Tonga: Gifford 98. |
| J1811.3 | Turkey's gobble misunderstood by man lost in woods. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1825 | Turkish ambassador misunderstands Christian ceremonies. Makes ridiculous report to his king. Bolte Frey's Gartengesellschaft 217 No. 5. |
| J1293.3 | Turning king into Brahmin like turning donkey into horse. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1562.1 | Turning the plate around. A cuts the meat and puts all the good things on his side. B turns the plate around: "See how all things turn about in this world." A turns it back: "However the world may turn, with good friends like us the plate will always remain the same." *Wesselski Arlotto II 222 No. 89; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 1568*; Estonian: Aarne FFC XXV No. 1568*. |
| J1511.2 | Turnips called bacon: cat called rabbit. A peasant compels his servant to call turnips bacon. Under favorable circumstances the servant compels the master to call a cat a rabbit. Type 1565**. |
| J1172.4 | Turtle released by man to carry him across stream. Threatens him midway. Fox to be judge. Feigns deafness and makes turtle come so near shore man jumps and saves self. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1761.1.1 | Turtle thought to be an island. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2213.5 | Twenty better than ten. A numskull is asked how many daily prayers (Moslem) there are. "Twenty."—"There are only four."—"I said that there are twenty; that is even better." *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 261 No. 222. |
| J2074 | Twice the wish to the enemy. (The covetous and the envious). A can have a wish, but B will get twice the wish. A wishes that he may lose an eye, so that B may be blind. *Type 1331; *BP II 219 n. 1; Crane Vitry 212 No. 126; Bédier Fabliaux 457; Wienert FFC LVI 79 (ET 446), 132 (ST 387); Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 647; *Reinhard JAFL XXXVI 383 n. 1; Scala Celi 106b No. 589; Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIX 31.—Spanish Exempla: Keller; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1341.4 | Two eggs. Widow serves tailor one egg. He sings, "One egg, one egg." She decides one egg is not enough and serves him two next time. He then sings "Two eggs are two eggs." He is next given two eggs and a sausage, etc. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 142 No. 1715. |
| J2212.1 | Two fifteen-year old slaves ordered: fool brings one thirty years old. Clouston Noodles 4. |
| J2083.2 | Two for the price of one. The fool sells two fox-skins pulled into each other. Type 1265*. |
| J1369.3 | Two men meet in narrow passage. One says: "I do not give every coxcomb the wall!" The other says: "I do, sir!" England: Baughman. |
| J1606 | Two monks renew their appetites. Entertained by a lord, they say that they are going to certain waters to recover their appetites. They are taken to a chamber and locked in for a day They recover their appetites without further journeying. (Cf. K1955.1.1.) *Köhler-Bolte I 137, II 5714; *Anderson FFC XLII 359; Boccaccio Decameron X No. 2 (Lee 311ff.); Scala Celi 126a Nos. 685, 686; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2183.4 | Two prisoners use up their hour of grace disputing over road to take home. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J624.1 | Two sheep kill a fox who has licked up the blood they have spilled in a fight. Chauvin II 87 No. 22; Bødker Exempler 279 No. 22; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Jewish: Neuman. |
| J2075.2 | Two transferred wishes used unwisely: redeemed by wise use of third. Wife uses two transferred wishes selfishly. Husband kills wife and uses remaining wish to his advantage. Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J2410 | Types of foolish imitation. |
| J1791.6.1 | Ugly woman sees beautiful woman reflected in water and thinks it is herself. Prides herself on her beauty. *Type 408; BP II 121ff.; Italian: Basile Pentamerone V No. 9; Indonesian: Dixon 226. |
| J2010 | Uncertainty about own identity. |
| J52.1 | Understanding of universality of death from watching animals prey on one another. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J121.2 | Undutiful son rebuked by father. Father tells son not to drag him past the threshold, because he had dragged his own father only up to that point when he had thought of putting him out of his house. Spanish: Childers. |
| J1264.8 | Unequal returns. Man at his lady's funeral says to priest: "You enjoy them when they are young and then give them to us to bury. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1172.3 | Ungrateful animal returned to captivity. A man rescues a serpent (bear) who in return seeks to kill his rescuer. Fox as judge advises the man to put the serpent back into captivity. *Type 155; **Krohn Mann und Fuchs 38; **McKenzie MPh I 497ff.; Herbert III 14, 37, 54; *Köhler-Bolte I 50; *Chauvin II 121 No. 109; IX 18 No. 4; *Gaster Exempla 268 No. 441; *Crane Vitry 201 No. 160; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 745; Wienert FFC LVI 65 (ET 293), 147 (ST 515); Halm Aesop No. 97; *Fb "utak"; Scala Celi 86b No. 502; Alphabet No. 706; Oesterley No 174; *Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIX 39. -Spanish Exempla: Keller; Jewish: *Neuman; India: *Thompson-Balys; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 27 No. 15; Indonesia: Dixon 197 n. 36; American Negro: Harris Nights 274 No. 46; Africa: Milligan Jungle 98f., (Cameroon): Lederbogen 63. |
| J121.1 | Ungrateful son reproved by naпve action of his own son: preparing for old age (wooden drinking cup or bowl). Spanish: Childers; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J121 | Ungrateful son reproved by naпve action of his own son: preparing for old age. Man gives his old father half a carpet to keep him warm. Child keeps the other half and tells his father that he is keeping it for him when he grows old. *Bédier Fabliaux 463f.; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) Nos. 436, 760; Crane Vitry 260 No. 288; Herbert III 25; *BP II 135, IV 172 n. 14; Scala Celi No. 530; *Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIX 41.—Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *996; Russian: Andrejev No. *982; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 256f. No. 201; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1025 | United cocks defeat partridge. When they quarrel they are defeated. Wienert FFC LVI 48 (ET 70), 135 (ST 409); Halm Aesop No. 22. |
| J624 | Uniting against a common enemy. |
| J1675.1.2 | Unjust action brought to inform king of judge's malfeasance. Husband is imprisoned and wife detained by judge. She accuses her husband of having stolen her. Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas I 287, 378. |
| J1172.3.1 | Unjust claimant of woman duped into entering jar. Jackal as judge declares that real husband shall enter jar woman carries on her head. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1521.4 | Unjust oath countered by another. A woman entrusts three coins to a headsman. He denies her claim which she fails to substantiate in ordeal. She now claims more and happens to succeed with ordeal. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1736.3 | Unknown animal: a pig captured in a pit. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J462.1 | Unnecessary choice of gods. King's sons each choose a god: Jupiter for power, Saturn for wisdom, etc. Father says that a god of all combined would be better. Oesterley No. 243; Herbert III 204. Cf. Wienert FFC LVI 44 (ET 23), 135 (ST 410); Babrius No. 15. |
| J462.2 | Unnecessary choice of philosophies. Aristotle drinks both red and white wine to show that all philosophies are good. Scala Celi 35b No. 197. |
| J462.3 | Unnecessary choice of religion. |
| J465 | Unnecessary choice: praying or reading. Both are good. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 105. |
| J463 | Unnecessary choice: to go uphill or downhill. Camel prefers the level. Wienert FFC LVI 71 (ET 353), 111 (ST 223). |
| J462 | Unnecessary choices of belief. |
| J460 | Unnecessary choices. |
| J571.8 | Unpaid servant refuses to blame master: later rewarded. Jewish: Neuman. |
| J815 | Unpleasant truths must be withheld from the great. |
| J413 | Unprofitable association of unequals. |
| J217.0.1 | Unsatisfactory life preferred to death. |
| J56 | Unscrupulous conduct of business learned from observation of usurer's own practices and used against him. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1383 | Unstable security. Stag tries to borrow grain from the sheep, using the wolf as security. Sheep says that they are both so swift that he does not know where they will be on the day of payment. Wienert FFC LVI 54 (ET 144), 98 (ST 118). |
| J866.1 | Unsuccessful fishermen console themselves that their earlier high hopes balance up their disappointment. Wienert FFC LVI 66 (ET 300), 133 (ST 324); Halm Aesop No. 23. |
| J2411.1.2 | Unsuccessful imitation of a god: lions fall out of the furnace instead of men covered with gold and silver. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2411.3 | Unsuccessful imitation of magic production of food. (Cf. J2425.) Type 552B; Christiansen Norske Eventyr 80; West Indies: Flowers 489. |
| J2411.8 | Unsuccessful imitation of magic sewing. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges. |
| J414.3 | Unsuccessful marriage of jackals and turtles (different habits). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J143 | Untrained colt result of master's neglect. Wienert FFC LVI 71 (ET 361), 129 (ST 371); Halm Aesop No. 51. |
| J1805.2 | Unusual word misunderstood. Strange results. |
| J1344 | Unwelcome guest tells about the hidden food. Having seen his hostess hide it, he tells about it in the form of a tale. Italian: Basile Pentamerone II No. 10; India: Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1149.4 | Urinalysis reveals coition as cure for illness. Treatment successful. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1818.1 | Urination of bull thought to be bleeding. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1734.1 | Urine diagnosis to tell where a man comes from. A farmer takes some of his master's urine for examination. The doctor asks where the man comes from. "You will soon see," says the man, expecting the analysis to tell. (Cf. K2321.1.) *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 857; Christensen DF L 72; ibid. DF XLVII 202f. Nos. 42, 47. |
| J245 | Useful and ugly preferred to expensive and beautiful. |
| J242 | Useful wins contest over beautiful. |
| J243 | Usefulness better than speed. |
| J1842 | Useless surgical operation from misunderstanding. |
| J2241.1 | Useless trip to find a name the wife already knew. Fool goes to astrologer for child's name, but forgets it on way home. Later wife happens to use the word and reminds him. But he cannot see the use of the trip when she already knew this word. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1653 | Using the lamb to get an audience. Peasant calls on lawyer for advice. Lawyer says that he is busy. Peasant returns with lamb. The lawyer hears its bleat and grants the audience. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1655.2 | Valuable rubies baked in bread. India: Thompson-Balys. |
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