Folklore Database · Browse
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 ▲ |
|---|---|
| A722.12 | Visible sun is the "pet" of real sun. S. Am. Indian (Bacairi): Lévi-Strauss BBAE CXLIII (3) 348. |
| D1812.5.1.2.1 | Vision as evil omen. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| V515.2.1 | Vision in which chieftain sees pair of gray seals that sucked at his two breasts. They are two of his allies who are being overpowered by invaders. Irish myth: Cross. |
| V515.2.3 | Vision in which king sees his four sons changed into lion, greyhound, beagle, cur, which fight with alternating success, until lion subdues the other three. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| V515.2.1.1 | Vision in which king sees whelp reared by him gather dogs of Ireland and Britain against him but suffer death in battle at last. The whelp is one of king's two foster sons. Irish myth: Cross. |
| V515.2.2 | Vision in which saint foresees allegorically the ramifications of king's family Irish myth: Cross. |
| V515.1.3.2 | Vision in which swineherd sees yew tree upon a rock, with an oratory in front of it and angels ascending from it. Vision interpreted by druid as symbolizing founding of Cashel and the royal line of Munster. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| V511.1.2 | Vision of angels defending road to heaven against devils. Irish myth: Cross. |
| V515.1.1 | Vision of chairs (thrones) in heaven. Chairs of gold, silver, crystal (glass) assigned to saints according to merit. (Cf. A661.0.3.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| V515.1.5 | Vision of dry bones. Jewish: Neuman. |
| V511.2.1 | Vision of fires of hell. Irish myth: Cross. |
| D2031.16 | Vision of food arises to tempt fasting women. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| V516 | Vision of future. Jewish: Neuman. |
| V511.2.2 | Vision of gate of hell. Irish myth: Cross. |
| V512 | Vision of judgment. Man sees his own soul being judged. |
| V39.4 | Vision of sacrament in form of young child. Alphabet No. 694; Scala Celi 66a Nos. 360—64; Toldo IV 49ff.; Irish: O'Suilleabhain 109. |
| V513.2 | Vision of the earth in the devil's snares. Saint sees earth in snares. Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| V511.1 | Visions of heaven. **Becker Medieval Visions of Heaven and Hell (Baltimore, 1899); **Ward II 396ff. passim; Alphabet No. 622, 743; Dickson 265; Scala Celi 66a, 138b Nos. 362, 777. — Irish: *Cross, O'Suilleabhain 57, Beal XXI 322; English: Malory Morte D'Arthur XV 3; Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 105 No. 932; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| V511.2 | Visions of hell. *Becker (see V511.1); Alphabet No. 610; Dickson 265; Herbert III 25; **Ward II 386ff.; *Crane Vitry 260f. No. 289; Scala Celi 34b, 74a, 85b Nos. 195, 422, 497. — Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: *Boberg; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| V511.4 | Visions of Land of the Saints. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| V511.3 | Visions of purgatory. *Dickson 265 n. 87; *Loomis White Magic 116; Irish myth: *Cross. |
| V511 | Visions of the other world. |
| V111.1 | Visit to certain church protects from drowning on pilgrimage. (Cf. D1384, D1388.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F370 | Visit to fairyland. BP II 329.—Irish myth: *Cross; Danish: Feilberg DF V 55ff.; Norwegian: Solheim Register 18f.; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F16 | Visit to land of moon. India: Thompson-Balys; Eskimo (Bering Strait): Nelson RBAE XVIII 515, (Greenland): Rasmussen II 30, Rink 440, (Central Eskimo): Boas RBAE VI 598; Africa (Angola): Chatelain 131 No. 12. |
| F17 | Visit to land of the sun. *Type 461; *Aarne FFC XXIII 115ff.—N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 311 n. 118b; Aztec: Alexander Lat. Am. 82, 90; Africa: Werner African 233, (Angola): Chatelain 131 No. 12. |
| F109.1 | Visit to lower world made head first. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 148. |
| F92.1 | Visit to lower world through hole made by lifting clumps of grass. Type 425, 480; *Roberts 140; Tegethoff 15.—Greek: Fox 227 (Proserpine); Oceanic (New Zealand, Samoa, Nieue Island): Dixon 47f. |
| F92.3 | Visit to lower world through opening rocks. Rocks open with a charm. Oceanic (New Zealand, Samoa, Mangaia): Dixon 48. |
| F109 | Visit to lower world—additional motifs. |
| F100 | Visit to lower world—miscellaneous motifs. |
| F460.4.8 | Visit to mountain-men. Norwegian: Solheim Register 18. |
| F725.5.1 | Visit to people of village under lake. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F15 | Visit to star-world. Chinese: Graham; N. A. Indian: **Thompson The Star-Husband Tale 93—163; *Thompson Tales 311 n. 118c; S. A. Indian (Cherentes, Amazon): Alexander Lat. Am. 308, (Toba): Métraux MAFLS XL 41, (Chaco): Métraux BBAE CXLIII (1) 369. |
| F420.7.1 | Visit to water-goddess's underwater home. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| W151.2 | Visiting friends take everything from house of dying man. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 496. |
| W151.2.1 | Visitors of sick stag eat up all his provisions so that he starves. Wienert FFC LVI *60 (ET 227), 122 (ST 311); Halm Aesop No. 131. |
| C51.1.11 | Visits of goddess cease when her sacred spring is disturbed. Tahiti: Henry 85. |
| E789 | Vital bodily members—miscellaneous. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E780 | Vital bodily members. They possess life independent of the rest of the body. (Cf. F1096.) India: Thompson-Balys; N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 346 n. 246b. |
| E780.1 | Vital body: kills attacking enemies. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E783.5 | Vital head speaks. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E783 | Vital head. Retains life after being cut off. (Cf. D992, F511.) Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: Boberg; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Jewish: *Neuman; India: *Thompson-Balys; West Indies: Flowers 432. |
| E770 | Vital objects. Objects that have life in them. (Cf. D1620, D1640.) |
| E785 | Vital skin. Retains life after death of owner. Africa (Bushman): Bleek and Lloyd 3. |
| D1594.0.2 | Vivification by hitting with bone. (Cf. D1013.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E402.1.1 | Vocal sounds of ghost of human being. (Cf. E545. |
| F450.0.1 | Voetter (generalized underground spirit). Scandinavian: *Hartmann 30—32. |
| F556.3 | Voice changed by medicine. Africa (Hausa): Rattray II 14ff. No. 23, (Madagascar): Renel I 247ff. No. 46. |
| F556.2 | Voice changed by work of silversmith (goldsmith). Jamaica: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 242 No. 17; N. Am. Negro (Georgia): Harris 236 No. 40. |
| D1316.5.1 | Voice comes forth from tree, revealing truth. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| V39.7 | Voice from grave asks that it be opened. Corpse spits out host because he has missed confession. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| Q556.0.2 | Voice from heaven pronounces curse of destruction on city. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| H216.2 | Voice from heaven testifies to innocence of accused. (Cf. F966.) Jewish: *Neuman. |
| F688.3 | Voice heard over whole land. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| D1610.27.2 | Voice issues from ruby. (Cf. D1071.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F556.1 | Voice made rough by swallowing hot iron. Africa (Kaffir): Theal 119, (Basuto): Jacottet 64 No. 10. |
| F556.1.2 | Voice made smooth by having ant bite tongue. Africa (Mwimbe): Browne The Vanishing Tribes of Kenya (London, 1925) 211ff. |
| F556.1.1 | Voice made smooth by swallowing hot iron. Africa (Bechuana): Arbousset et Daumas Voyage d'exploration au Nord-Est de la Colonie du Cap de Bonne-Espérence (Paris, 1842) 119f., Fraser FLJ VII 167f., (Basuto): Jacottet I 62f. No. 10. |
| F451.2.8 | Voice of dwarfs (echo). Icelandic: MacCulloch Eddic 269, *Boberg. |
| N576.1 | Voice of ghost scares away treasure seekers. Canada, England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| A2421.7 | Voice of peewit. Lithuanian: Balys Legends No. 264f. |
| G72.4 | Voice of slain and eaten child comes from the heart of cannibal. (Cf. F911.1.) Jewish: Neuman. |
| E324.1 | Voice of son answers his mother from the grave only when called by his pet name. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F966 | Voices from heaven (or from the air). *Penzer X 220 s.v. "Heaven"; Alphabet No. 800; *Loomis White Magic 53; Irish: *Cross, Beal XXI 314, 318, O'Suilleabhain 38, 49; Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas I 367, *Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E401 | Voices of dead heard from graveyard. Irish: O'Suilleabhain 63, Beal XXI 324; Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 2 No. 20. |
| Q431.1 | Voluntary exile as punishment for murder. (Cf. Q211, Q431.9.) Greek: Fox 93 (Herakles). |
| A1013.1 | Vomiting of a whale causes flood. N. Am. Indian (Déné): Petitot Traditions (Paris 1886) 318f. |
| M107 | Vow fulfilled in next existence. Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 1221. |
| M184 | Vow if queen bears another girl she and child will both be killed. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M171 | Vow never to accept a man who does not know any sport. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M137 | Vow never to be jealous of one's wife. Wells 64 (The Avowynge of King Arthur, etc.); Irish myth: *Cross. |
| M142 | Vow never to carry a woman. Irish myth: Cross. |
| M155.3 | Vow never to flee from fire or weapon. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M161 | Vow never to flee in fear of death. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| M166.1 | Vow never to give more than one blow in a fight and never to beat a fallen enemy nor take his weapons. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M163 | Vow never to make a nocturnal assault. Irish myth: Cross. |
| M186 | Vow never to pass over demarcation line into other's property. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| M158 | Vow never to refuse food to any man. Wells 64 (The Avowynge of King Arthur); Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M135 | Vow never to remarry. Irish myth: *Cross; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| M141 | Vow never to strive against a woman. Irish myth: Cross. |
| M172.1 | Vow never to touch money and to give what anyone begs for. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M162 | Vow not to be killed by a single opponent. Irish myth: Cross. |
| M125 | Vow not to change clothes till a certain time. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 53 No. 400B*. |
| M168.1 | Vow not to deceive the man who spared one's life. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M168 | Vow not to devastate country or take revenge after release. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M151 | Vow not to eat before hearing of adventure. Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight § 5; Irish myth: *Cross; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M151.1 | Vow not to eat before learning secret. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M151.6 | Vow not to eat or drink before knowing if king is alive. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M151.5 | Vow not to eat or sleep until certain event is brought to pass. Irish myth: Cross. |
| M151.8 | Vow not to eat until lost son is found. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M151.5.1 | Vow not to eat, drink, or move from position until dead anchorite comes himself to accept necklace. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M182 | Vow not to enter any house before reaching one's own. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M152 | Vow not to go to bed with wife till enemy is killed. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M152.1 | Vow not to kiss anybody until father is revenged. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M136 | Vow not to marry till iron shoes wear out. Köhler-Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. VI 71 (to Gonzenbach No. 32); *Roberts 137. |
| M151.2 | Vow not to marry until quest is concluded. Irish myth: Cross. |
| M151.2.1 | Vow not to reign and to starve to death unless picture's original is found. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M151.9 | Vow not to see friends until quest is completed. English romance: Malory XI 12. |
| M121 | Vow not to shave or cut hair until a certain time. *BP II 431ff.; A. Bugge "Harald Haarfagres løfte" Edda VII 166; Helm Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte I 301; Eitrem Opferritus und Voropfer (Skrifter Vidensk. Selsk. i Oslo No. 1, 1914) 400; Frazer Golden Bough III 194; Kruyt Het Animisme 33; FFC LXXXIII xxiv. — Irish: O'Suilleabhain 24, 45, Beal XXI 307, 316; Icelandic: *Boberg; Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 308 No. 39; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 53 No. 400B*; Greek: Roscher Lexikon s.v. "Achilleus"; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| M152.2 | Vow not to sit on father's high-seat until he is revenged. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M151.4 | Vow not to take food or drink until enemy is killed. Irish myth: Cross; Jewish: Neuman. |
| M151.3 | Vow not to take food or drink until manner of father's death is learned. Irish myth: Cross. |
| M172 | Vow not to touch certain thing. |
| M172.2 | Vow not to touch certain tree. Later cannot cross bridge made of this wood. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M126 | Vow not to wash till a certain time. Greek: Iliad XXIII 49. |
| M131 | Vow of chastity. Penzer I 67; Wesselski Mönchslatein 142 No. 117; Irish myth: *Cross; Missouri French: Carrière; Greek: *Grote I 162f. |
| M146.7 | Vow of enemy chief to marry princess of besieged city. Jewish: Neuman. |
| M132 | Vow of virginity. Penzer III 40. |
| M149.7 | Vow only to marry daughter to the man who kills snake by her house. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M166.2 | Vow rather to be cut in pieces than permit oneself to be bound. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M161.4 | Vow rather to die (on a spear) than to accept grace. (Cf. M165.) Hdwb. d. Märchens II s.v. "Gnade ausbitten"; Icelandic: Ragnars saga Loрbr. 139-41, *Boberg. |
| M146.3 | Vow that magically conceived children shall marry (or be friends). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M184.1 | Vow that no daughter born to chief's wife will be allowed to live until she bears a son. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 526. |
| M185 | Vow to abide by laws. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| M165 | Vow to ask nobody for peace, grace. (Cf. M161.4.) Icelandic: Boberg. |
| M161.1 | Vow to attack (kill) the enemy or die. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M183.2 | Vow to bathe in the Ganges. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M177.1 | Vow to become a Christian. |
| M183.4 | Vow to become monk should he escape execution. Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 817. |
| M183.1 | Vow to build shrine. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M177 | Vow to change religion. |
| M193 | Vow to destroy kingdom by austerities. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M149.2 | Vow to die rather than marry unwelcome suitor. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M183.3 | Vow to find Holy Grail before returning to Round Table. English romance: Malory XIII 7. |
| M155.2 | Vow to find vanished sister. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M149.6 | Vow to get stubborn girl half-married only. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M166.3 | Vow to kill anyone who touches his beard. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M149.3 | Vow to kill more successful rival. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M155.1 | Vow to kill wild boar alone at night. Wells 64 (The Avowynge of King Arthur, etc.). |
| M161.3 | Vow to live and die with the king. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M146 | Vow to marry a certain woman. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M138 | Vow to marry first person performing certain act. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M146.5 | Vow to marry none but daughter of certain man. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| M138.1 | Vow to marry off two daughters to first two men father looks at on the following morning. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M146.1 | Vow to marry queen of fairies and not to eat or drink inside kingdom until this is done. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M155 | Vow to perform act of prowess. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M117 | Vow to perform certain act unless cataclysm occurs. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| M192 | Vow to put to death every king that comes his way unless engaged in marrying a lady at the time he sees them. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M161.2 | Vow to revenge (king, friends, father) or die. English: Malory XX 10; Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M157 | Vow to ride the forest all night and slay all comers. Wells 64 (The Avowynge of King Arthur, etc.). |
| M167 | Vow to serve only the most generous of all kings. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| V113.0.2 | Vow to visit shrine. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M156 | Vow to watch at frightful place all night. Wells 64 (The Avowynge of King Arthur). |
| M145 | Vow to wed no man who cannot perform certain feat. |
| M145.1 | Vow to wed no man who fears to saddle and mount a lion. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| M133 | Vow: man will love only a virgin. Malone PMLA XLIII 427. |
| M166.4 | Vow: never to fight with brother. Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 1019. |
| M122 | Vow: woman not to bind hair till enemy is conquered. Alphabet No. 529. |
| M100 | Vows and oaths. *Penzer X 355 s.v. "vow"; *Hdwb. d. Abergl. II 659ff.; *Encyc. Rel. Ethics IX 430ff.; Estonian: Loorits Grundzüge I 198ff.; Missouri French: Carrière; Jewish *Neuman. |
| M120 | Vows concerning personal appearance. |
| M149 | Vows concerning sex—miscellaneous. |
| M130 | Vows concerning sex. (Cf. M151.2, M152.) |
| M119.3 | Vows taken as an old Norse custom at the festival of Yule. Icelandic: Cleasby and Vigfússon Icel.— Eng. Dict. (1874) 853 s.v. "heitstrenging"; Lagerholm 18, *Boberg. |
| M119.4 | Vows taken by placing one's foot on a certain post in the hall. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| M114.3 | Vows taken on holy swine. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| F129.4.5 | Voyage to Island of Darkness. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 500. |
| F129.4.6 | Voyage to Island of Silence. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 500. |
| F129.4.3 | Voyage to Isle of Shape. Visitors become beautiful. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F129.4.4 | Voyage to Isle of the Dead. Visitors who sleep there die. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F129.4.2 | Voyage to Isle of Truth. People cannot lie. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F111.3 | Voyage to Land of Lotus Eaters. Greek: Frazer Apollodorus II 280 n. 2. |
| F129.2 | Voyage to Land of Mossynoikoi. (People of topsy-turvy morals.) Greek: Fox 111. |
| F111.2 | Voyage to Land of Promise. Irish: Plummer xxxvii, xli, *Cross. |
| F111.6 | Voyage to land without evil. S. A. Indian (Guaraní): Métraux BBAE CXLIII (3) 94. |
| F129.3 | Voyage to the Land of the Cimmerians. People who dwell amid clouds of gloom and never see sun. Greek: Fox 145. |
| F116.1 | Voyage to the Land of Youth. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| P682.2 | Voyagers have right to ask landsman first question. Marquesas: Handy 56, 72. |
| Z313 | Vulnerability only by one person. Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: *Boberg; India: Thompson-Balys; Hindu: Keith 153. |
| B147.2.2.6 | Vulture as bird of ill-omen. Irish myth: Cross. |
| B291.1.8 | Vulture as messenger. Africa (Upoto): Einstein 144; Jewish: Neuman. |
| B511.5.1 | Vulture cures blindness. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| E697 | Vulture eats only those who will be reborn as human beings in their next birth. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1039.1 | Vulture sent out as scout to see whether earth has cooled from world-fire. (Cf. A1021.2.). |
| B159.4 | Vulture's chicks will not eat dead hero's leg, since they know he has been treacherously murdered. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D1380.1 | Waberlohe. Magic fire surrounds and protects. (Cf. D1271.) BP I 440; *Panzer Sigfrid 281 s.v. "Waberlohe"; Seligmann 110ff., *122, 123ff., *130; Krappe Archiv für das Studium der Neueren Sprachen 1937, 1938.—Icelandic: Boberg. |
| N51.1 | Wager about tree names: learned and common names. Brahmin gives learned names but servant's common names are confirmed by illiterate peasants. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2511.1 | Wager as to who shall rise (speak) first in morning (last up to get reward). They are carried to funeral pyre before they will give in. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| N15.2 | Wager on nun's chastity. Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 996. |
| N72 | Wager on second marvelous object. First object has proved to be ordinary. King induced to make large wager that second is ordinary. He loses. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| N16.1 | Wager on sex of unborn child. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| N12 | Wager on the most obedient wife. The husband tames his shrewish wife so that he wins the wager. *Type 901; *Wesselski Märchen 216 No. 24; von der Hagen I lxxxii; *Köhler-Bolte I 137; Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"; N. A. Indian (Zuсi): Boas JAFL XXXV 76. |
| N25 | Wager on truthfulness of servant. The servant is sent to a neighbor's where he is made drunk and is seduced by the neighbor's wife. He tells the master all. *Type 889; Wesselski Märchen 200; Wesselski Mönchslatein I No. 1; Fb "lyve" II 491a, "sandhed" III 157b; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| N11 | Wager on wife's complacency. Though the man has foolishly bargained everything away, she praises him and he wins the wager. Type 1415; *BP II 199; *Hdwb. d. Märchens I 187 n. 131. |
| N61 | Wager that falsehood is better than truth. Left to unjust umpire, so that falsehood wins. *Type 613; *BP II 468ff.; **Christiansen FFC XXIV 47; Chauvin V 11 No. 8, 13 No. 9, 14 No. 158; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 489; India: *Thompson-Balys; N. A. Indian: Thompson CColl II 395. |
| N92 | Wager to win or lose according to whether jackal howls or ass brays before game is finished. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X32 | Wager with overdressed youths that servant can carry a large bucket of water upstairs. They follow and are soaked when the servant purposely spills the dirty water. Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| N77 | Wager: bullock to defeat elephant. Elephant is frightened and flees. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| N66 | Wager: fortune made from capital or from working at vocation. Test: money given to workman is stolen or lost; lead for his work given him is lent to fisherman who rewards him with a fish in which is a diamond. *Chauvin VI 32 No. 202. |
| N53 | Wager: it is an auspicious day. In spite of all misfortunes wagerer insists that he is right. (Cf. N127.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| N63 | Wager: more doctors than men of other professions. The trickster feigns toothache. Everyone suggests remedies. He takes down their names as doctors and wins the wager. *Wesselski Gonnella 110 No. 11; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| N12.1 | Wager: raja's daughter will bring servant dinner in field. Merchant ignorant that she is his wife. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| N71 | Wager: to begin sermon with illustration from card-playing. Card-playing parson wins the wager. Type 1839B. |
| N75 | Wager: to swallow egg with one gulp. Tricksters give numskull egg with chick in it. Fool hears chick peep as he starts to swallow his egg, but he says that the chick peeped too late. Spanish: Childers. |
| N51 | Wager: who can call three tree names first. The bear names different varieties of the same tree, so that the fox wins the wager. *Type 7; Dh I 193; Krohn Bär (Wolf) und Fuchs (JSFO VI) 65ff.; Fb "træ" III 867b; N. A. Indian (San Carlos Apache): cf. Goddard PaAM XXIV 24. |
| N73 | Wager: whose hunger is it more difficult to appease—that of man or that of beast? When nuts are strewn before master's well-fed guests, they snatch and eat them. Herdsman wins wager. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 1545*. |
| N67 | Wager: woman can be forced to give alms. Trickster announces that only those who have deceived their husbands are exempt. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| N56 | Wager: woman to turn somersault in middle of public square. It is performed not exactly in the center of the square; hence she loses. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| N9 | Wagers and gambling—miscellaneous. |
| N90 | Wagers and gambling—miscellaneous. |
| N0 | Wagers and gambling. *Penzer II 232 n., VII 72 n. 2; Paton Encyc. Rel. and Ethics s.v. "Gambling"; *Fb "kort" II 278; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| N16 | Wagers on unborn children. |
| N10 | Wagers on wives, husbands, or servants. |
| K1732 | Wages: as much as he can carry. To get rid of the boy the troll offers him as large wages as he is able to carry. Boy says that this will be too much, that he will be contented merely with what the troll can carry. Type 1153. |
| Z21.1.1 | Wages: successive harvests from one grain of rice. Master has no fields left. Chinese: Graham. |
| E501.10.3 | Wagon accompanies wild hunt. Plischke 36. |
| F861.4.2 | Wagon made from nutshell, drawn by duck. German: Grimm No. 10. |
| F861.3 | Wagon of jewels. Italian: Basile Pentamerone V No. 4; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| D1317.10 | Wagon refuses to move because ghost is sitting in it. (Cf. D1113, D1654.5.)—Fb "vogn" III 1078a. |
| D1654.5 | Wagon refuses to move. (Cf. D1113.) *Fb "vogn" III 1078a.; Irish myth: Cross. |
| K553.2 | Wait for the fat goat. Troll lets the first two goats pass on the bridge so that he may eat the biggest one. He is thrown in the water. Type 123*. |
| J2214.3 | Waiting at the well for the thief. A thief has stolen a salted cheese. Since one always goes to the well after eating salted cheese, the thief will also come. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 243 No. 128. |
| J2214.3.2 | Waiting for the thief to return for the bolster. After the cover is stolen, the numskulls conclude that the thief will certainly return for the bolster. Clouston Noodles 14. |
| J2214.3.3 | Waiting for the thieves to return for invoice of goods stolen. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| T24.7 | Waiting for twenty-two years to see a beauty. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2214.3.1 | Waiting in the graveyard for the thief. He must eventually come here. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 243 No. 128. |
| J2066.3.1 | Waiting in vain for fruit to fall from a non-fruitbearing tree. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| K51 | Waking contest won by deception. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 25; cf. DeVries FFC LXXIII 400ff. |
| K51.1 | Waking contest won by giving opponent soporific. Tuamotu: Stimson MS (z-G. 3/1142). |
| H1450.1 | Waking contest. Type 513; *De Vries FFC LXXIII 311 n. 2; N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 314 n. 137. |
| D1978.1 | Waking from magic sleep by cutting off finger. Type 300; *Hartland Perseus III 211f.; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D1978.5 | Waking from magic sleep by kiss. *Type 410. |
| D1978.2 | Waking from magic sleep by letting tear fall on sleeper. Type 300; *Hartland Perseus III 211. |
| D1978.3 | Waking from magic sleep by removal of enchanting instrument. BP I 436; *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 354; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D1978 | Waking from sleep. |
| E386.4 | Walking around a grave twelve times backward will raise the ghost. England: Baughman. |
| E440 | Walking ghost "laid". *Jellinek Zs. f. Vksk. XIV 324; *v. Negelein ibid. XIV 20ff.; Irish: Beal XXI 332; Icelandic: *Boberg; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 53 No. 400A*; Estonian: Aarne FFC XXV 114 No. 6. |
| F973.2 | Walking on grass-blades without bending them. Irish myth: Cross; Welsh: MacCulloch Celtic 189. |
| D1841.4.3 | Walking upon water without wetting the soles or garments. *Loomis White Magic 40. |
| F148 | Wall around otherworld. Hdwb. d. Märchens I 209a s.v. "Baum bewacht"; Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: Boberg; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| F57.4 | Wall as path to upper world. Polynesia: Beckwith Myth 255. |
| Z49.11.1 | Wall in construction collapses. Finally the king finds out that the sea is guilty. (The chain: mason—cement mixer—beautifully singing woman—pearl necklace—jeweller—diver—sea.) India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F148.2 | Wall of silver around otherworld. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D2143.6.2 | Wall of snow around hut in answer to prayer. (Cf. D1766.1.) Estonian: Aarne FFC XXV 136 No. 97. |
| D2151.0.3 | Wall of water magically warded off. (Cf. D1549.3.1.) Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 466. |
| D1413.9.1 | Wallet (sack) from which one cannot escape. (Cf. D1192.) *Fb "pung" II 897b, "pose" II 864a.—Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 49 No. 330. |
| A1172.2 | Wallet containing night and day. Sébillot Incidents s.v. "bissac". |
| Q455 | Walling up as a punishment. (Cf. S125.) *Type 652; BP II 121ff., *124; Fb "indmure" II 24; Spanish: Espinosa Jr. Nos. 110, 140f.; Italian: Basile Pentamerone I No. 2; Jewish: Neuman; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| Q455.2 | Walling up as punishment for adultery. (Cf. Q241.) |
| Q455.1 | Walling up as punishment for murder of children. (Cf. Q211.4.) *Type 652; BP II 121ff.; Fb "indmure". |
| F688.4 | Walls fall because of great shout. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| F169.2 | Walls of crystal in otherworld. (Cf. F163.3.1.) Patch PMLA XXXIII 610 n. 30, Other World 386 s.v. "wall"; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| D2093 | Walls overthrown by magic (Jericho). *Saintyves Essais 180ff.; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Jewish: Neuman. |
| D1364.18 | Wand causes magic sleep. (Cf. D1254.1.)—Saintyves Perrault 63; Cox Cinderella 483.—Icelandic: Corpus Poeticum Boreale I 158, Boberg; Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "baguette", "sommeil"; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| W154.7 | Wanderers in shade of plane tree blame it for not bearing fruit. Wienert FFC LVI *74 (ET 396), 147 (ST 519); Halm Aesop No. 313. |
| Q503 | Wandering after death as punishment. |
| Q502 | Wandering as a punishment. |
| E261 | Wandering ghost makes attack. Unprovoked and usually unmotivated. Irish: Jacobs Celtic 200, Kennedy 180, O'Suilleabhain 30, 99, Beal XXI 309, 331; New York: Jones JAFL LVII 246; Icelandic: *Boberg; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3542, Legends No. 712; Russian: Ralston 271, 274, 313; Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 27 Nos. 229—240; cf. 2 Nos. 15—17; Lappish: Qvigstad FFC LX 40 No. 11; N. A. Indian (Kathlamet): Boas BBAE XXVI 182, 184 (Tahltan): Teit JAFL XXXII 225. |
| F737 | Wandering island. Moves about at will and sometimes appears and disappears from sea. Irish myth: Cross; Icelandic: *Boberg; Greek: Fox 266 (Aeolia); Hawaii: Fornander Collection IV 518, V 678, VI 2531, Bechwith Myth 71f. |
| A1630 | Wandering of tribes. Icel.: Snorra Edda Prologue IV-V, Hermann Saxo II 85ff.; Hebrew: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Jewish: Neuman; Armenian: Ananikian 65.—N. A. Indian (Thompson, Gros Ventre, Sarcee, Blackfoot, Cheyenne): *Teit MAFLS XI 48ff., (Creek): Alexander N. Am. 63, (Sia): ibid. 203f.; S. Am. Indian (Yuracare): Métraux BBAE CXLIII (3) 503, (Mundurucú): Horton ibid. (3) 281, (Brazil): Oberg. 108. |
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.