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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 |
|---|---|
| X1244.1 | Lie: goat carries one hundred cartloads of grease. (First ed. X961.13.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1244.2 | Lie: goats heat oven. (First ed. X961.21.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1244.3 | The great he-goat. (First ed. X1021.2.) BP II 515. |
| X1250 | Lies about birds. |
| X1252 | Lies about crows. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1252.1 | Lie: crows mow meadow. (First ed. X961.14.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1256 | Lies about doves. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1256.1 | Lie: doves tear up wolf. (First ed. X961.37.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1258 | Lies about geese. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1258.1 | Lie: man carried through air by geese. (First ed. X916.) Type 1881; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| X1258.2 | Lie: the tough goose. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1261 | Remarkable ducks. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1267 | Remarkable hawk. |
| X1267.1 | Hawk flies away with geese on a line. They have been tied together as a protection. (First ed. X912.) *Type 1876; BP III 337. |
| X1267.2 | Lie: hawk swims. (First ed. X961.11.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1280 | Lies about insects. |
| X1280.1 | Lies about crossbreeding of insects. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1280.1.1 | Bumblebees imported to rout mosquitoes; the two insects crossbreed and have stingers on both ends. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1280.2 | Lies about ferocious insects. |
| X1280.2.1 | Insects eat team of horses or mules, pitch horseshoes to see who gets what is left. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1282 | Lies about bees. Ireland, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1282.1 | Lie: the great bee. Liar says that in a certain place bees are as big as sheep.—And the bee-hives?—The same as ours.—How do the bees get in? (Various answers.) (First ed. X1021.3.) BP II 515; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 219. |
| X1285 | Lies about fleas. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1286 | Remarkable mosquitoes. |
| X1286.1 | Lie: the large mosquito. North Carolina: Brown Collection I 703. |
| X1286.1.1 | Lie: wingspread of large mosquito. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1286.1.2 | Lie: weight of large mosquito. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1286.1.3 | Lie: mosquito's long bill. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1286.1.4 | Large mosquitoes fly off with kettle. They have drilled through kettle. Their bills are clinched inside like nails. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1286.1.5 | Large mosquitoes carry off prey. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1286.1.6 | Big mosquito with golden palace in his mouth. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1286.1.7 | Large mosquitoes—miscellaneous. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1286.2 | Lies about ferocious mosquitoes. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1287 | Lie: extraordinary fireflies. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1288 | Lies about grasshoppers. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1291 | Lies about bedbugs. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1294 | Lies about flies. |
| X1294.1 | Lie: flies build bridge. (First ed. X961.15.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1295 | Lies about gnats. |
| X1295.1 | The tragic death of the three gnats. One of them meets his death between the horns of two struggling oxen, another because of two restless stallions, the third during a tussle between two giants. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 291* (X1021.9). |
| X1296 | Lies about lice. |
| X1296.1 | Rag so full of lice it can move. Irish myth: *Cross (X1049.1). |
| X1300 | Lies about fish. (Cf. X1150.) |
| X1301 | Lie: the great fish. (First ed. X1021.7.) Type 1960B; England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1303 | Lie: remarkable actions of big fish. |
| X1303.1 | Big fish pulls man or boat. (Cf. B551.1.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1306 | Lie: tamed fish lives on dry land. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1316 | Dogfish act like dogs. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1317 | Crowded fish. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1320 | Lies about reptiles. |
| X1321 | Lies about snakes. |
| X1321.1 | Lie: the great snake. |
| X1321.1.1 | Lie: remarkably long snake. England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1321.1.2 | Lie: great snake is thought to be a log. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1321.2 | Lie: large number of snakes. England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1321.3 | Lies about remarkable kinds of snakes. |
| X1321.3.1 | Lie: hoop snake. Snake takes its tail in its mouth and rolls like a hoop toward its victim. (Cf. B765.1.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1340 | Lie: extraordinary amphibia and other animals. |
| X1342 | Lies about frogs. |
| X1342.1 | Lie: the big frog. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1342.1.1 | The great frog. Eaten by one larger and this in turn by crow. (First ed. X1021.5.) *BP II 515. |
| X1342.2 | Ferocious frog. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1342.3 | Lie: frog eats plowshare. (First ed. X961.25.) (Cf. J1531.2.) Type 1930; BP III 258. |
| X1344 | Lies about crabs. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1344.1 | Lie: crab hunts hare. (First ed. X961.34.) Type 1930; BP III 258. |
| X1345 | Lies about snails. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1345.1 | Lie: snail kills lion. (First ed. X961.35.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1346 | Lies about worms. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1370 | Lies about imaginary animals. |
| X1381 | Lie: the side-hill beast. Animal with two short legs on one side for convenience in living on hillsides. It can walk around the hill in only one direction. U.S.: *Baughman; North Carolina: Brown Collection I 703. |
| X1396 | Lie: imaginary snakes. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1396.1 | Lie: seaserpent. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1400 | Lies about plants, fruits, vegetables, and trees. |
| X1401 | Lie: the great vegetable. |
| X1401.1 | Lie: animals live inside great vegetable, usually feeding from it. Ireland, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1401.2 | Lie: harvesting great vegetable. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1401.3 | Lie: hole from which great vegetable is removed. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1402 | Lie about the fast-growing plants. |
| X1405 | Lie: plants produce fruit in remarkably short time after planting. (Cf. F815.1, F811.13, F971.7.) U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1410 | Lies about fruits. (Cf. X1402.1, X1405.) |
| X1411 | Lie: the large fruit. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1411.1 | Lie: the great melon. (First ed. X1024.2.) *BP II 516. |
| X1411.1.1 | Lie: large watermelon. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1411.2 | Lies about large pumpkins. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1411.3 | Lie: large pumpkin vine. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1411.4 | Lie: the great pear. (First ed. X1025.1.) Hdwb. d. Märchens I 256a n. 18. |
| X1420 | Lies about vegetables. |
| X1423 | Lies about cabbages. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1423.1 | Lie: the great cabbage. (Usually matched by tale of great pot to put cabbage in.) (First ed. X1024.1.) *Type 1960D; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 220 No. 454; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| X1424 | The great mushroom. (First ed. X1024.3.) Type 852; *BP II 516. |
| X1431 | Lies about turnips. Type 1920A. |
| X1431.1 | Lies about big turnips. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1435 | Lies about potatoes. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1435.1 | Lie: large potatoes. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1450 | Lies about field crops. |
| X1455 | Lies about corn (maise). |
| X1455.1 | Lie: remarkable cornstalks. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1455.2 | Lie: remarkable yield of corn. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1470 | Lies about trees. |
| X1471 | Lies about large trees. (Cf. F811.14.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1472 | Lie: tree bears unusual fruit. |
| X1472.1 | Lie: pancakes growing on lime-tree. (First ed. X961.27.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1480 | Lies about flowers. |
| X1481 | Lie: remarkable lilies. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1490 | Lie: miscellaneous plant motifs. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1495 | Lie: man raises eggs from eggplant. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1500 | Lies about geography and topography. |
| X1503 | Schlaraffenland. (Land of Cockaygne.) Land in which impossible things happen. (First ed. X950.) (Cf. X1712.) *Type 1930; *BP III 244ff.; Boccaccio Decameron VIII No. 3 (Lee 254); Irish myth: Cross; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1503.1 | Land in which highest praise parents can earn is that they marry their children when they are babies. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1503.2 | Blind town, its king fourfold blind. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1503.3 | Lie: land where all things are sold for the same price. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1503.4 | Mountain of grain to be eaten through on way to Schlaraffenland. (First ed. X950.2.) (Cf. X1712.) BP III 250. |
| X1505 | Topsy-turvy land. Land where all is opposite from the usual. (First ed. X952.) BP III 244ff., *254ff.; Wienert FFC LVI 44ff. |
| X1505.1 | House where omens go by contraries. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1506 | The extraordinary names. A place where animals and things are designated by senseless names. (First ed. X951.) (Cf. Z32.2.1.) Type 1940; BP IV 183; Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XXVII 135; Wisser ibid. XXVIII 135; West Indies: Flowers 585. |
| X1510 | Lies about land features. |
| X1520 | Lies about mountains and hills. |
| X1521 | Remarkably narrow valleys. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1523 | Lies about steep slopes of mountains. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1523.1 | Lie: country so steep that people look up chimney to see when the cows come home. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1523.2 | Lies about farming on steep mountain. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1526 | Lies about mountain roads. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1526.1 | Crooked railroads in mountains or hills. (Cf. X1815.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1528 | Mountain of unusual material. |
| X1528.1 | Lie: mountain of cheese. (First ed. X961.5.) Type 1930; BP III 258. |
| X1530 | Lies about remarkable soil. |
| X1532 | Rich soil produces remarkable crop. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1532.1 | Rich land: corn grows so fast that it pulls up its own roots. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1540 | Lies about water features. |
| X1543 | Lies about hot springs. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1545 | Lies about remarkable underground channels. |
| X1545.1 | Water passage through the earth. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1546 | Remarkable pond. |
| X1546.1 | Lie: fish pond supplies both fresh fish and cooked. Italian Novella: Rotunda (X925.1). |
| X1547 | Lie: remarkable river. |
| X1547.1 | Lie: round river: runs in circle without outlet. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1547.2 | Lie: river of honey. (First ed. X961.1). Type 852; BP II 515. |
| X1547.2.1 | Lie: honey flows up high mountain. (First ed. X961.9.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1550 | Geography and topography—miscellaneous motifs. |
| X1551 | Remarkable road. |
| X1551.1 | Roads go over roofs of houses. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1560 | Lies about cities. |
| X1561 | Lie: Rome hanging by thread. (First ed. X961.8.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1563 | City into which only married and mothers may enter. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1564 | Village where rubies sell for four pice apiece. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1600 | Lies about weather and climate. |
| X1602 | Lie: year with two summers and no winter. Canada: Baughman. |
| X1603 | Lie: year with two winters and no summer. It is winter all summer and in fall it gets colder. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1605 | Lie: mixed weather: summer in one spot and winter in another nearby. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1606 | Lies about changes in weather. |
| X1606.1 | Lies about quick change from cold to warm. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1606.2 | Lies about quick change in weather from warm to cold. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1606.2.1 | Man freezes to saddle. Must be thawed out by the stove. (First ed. X924.) Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 746. |
| X1610 | Lies about winds and storms. |
| X1611 | Lies about the wind. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1611.1 | Lies about big wind (cyclone, tornado). Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1620 | Lies about cold weather. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1623 | Lies about freezing. (Cf. X1606.2.1.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1623.1 | Lie: shadow freezes. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1623.2 | Lie: words freeze. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1623.2.1 | Lie: frozen words thaw out in the spring. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1623.3 | Lie: flame freezes: startling results. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1630 | Lies about hot weather. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1633 | Lie: effect of heat on animals. |
| X1633.1 | Lie: weather so hot that corn pops in fields, animals freeze to death thinking it has snowed. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1640 | Lies about dry weather. |
| X1642 | Lie: clouds beaten by man until they promise to water his crops thrice daily. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1643 | Lie: how dry weather affects animals. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1643.1 | Lie: bullfrogs several years old cannot swim — have never had water to learn in. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1650 | Lies about precipitation and dampness. |
| X1651 | Lies about fog. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1651.1 | Lie: shingling the fog. Man shingling building during thick fog shingles several feet of fog when he gets beyond the roof line. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1651.2 | Ship sails on thick fog. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1653 | Lies about snow. |
| X1653.1 | Lie: fast-melting snow leaves horse dangling in air. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1653.2 | Lie: blue snow. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1653.3 | The man who sold dried snow for salt. (First ed. X944.) Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 747. |
| X1654 | Lies about rain. |
| X1654.1 | Lie: dry rain. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1654.2 | Lie: extraordinary floods produced by heavy rain. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1654.2.1 | Lie: heavy rain of boiling water melts palace. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1655 | Lies about extraordinary mud. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1655.1 | Lie: the man under the hat, which is the only thing seen above the mud. England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1660 | Lies about climate. |
| X1663 | Lies about healthy atmosphere. |
| X1663.1 | Lie: air from healthy climate revives dying person. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1663.2 | Lie: place so healthful that residents shoot man to start cemetery. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1700 | Lies: logical absurdities. (Cf. J2200.) |
| X1710 | Lies about numbers. |
| X1712 | Schlaraffenland lies three miles beyond Christmas. (First ed. X950.1.) BP III 250. |
| X1720 | Absurd disregard of anatomy. (Cf. X1202, X1203, X1204.) |
| X1721 | Lies about surgical operations. |
| X1721.1 | New backbone for the horse made from a stick. (First ed. X935.) Type 1911**. |
| X1721.2 | Lie: man's organs replaced with animal's. (Cf. E782.) He acts like animal. Type 660; U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1723 | Lies about swallowing. (Cf. F910.) |
| X1723.1 | Swallowed person is discovered in animal's stomach still alive. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1723.1.1 | Fish swallows a gourd fruit where people have taken refuge during rain; hawk swallows fish. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1723.1.2 | Lie: man swallowed by fish and later rescued alive. (First ed. X921.10.) Wesselski Bebel II 137 No. 113. |
| X1723.2 | Falcon and heron eaten by wild boar recovered alive from his body. (First ed. X921.9.) Wesselski Bebel II 138 No. 116. |
| X1723.3 | Person enters animal's body. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1723.3.1 | Man crawls into body of animal (after killing it) to escape cold. The animal freezes back together; man must eat his way out. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1724 | Seeing without eyes. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1725 | Digging without hands. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1726 | Man cuts off own head. |
| X1726.1 | Lie: man cuts off own head and eats it. (First ed. X927.) Africa (Vai): Ellis 239 No. 46. |
| X1726.2 | Man cuts off own head, picks it up and replaces it. (First ed. X927.1.) (Cf. E783.) Type 852; BP II 514; Missouri French: Carrière. |
| X1727 | Absurd stories about beards. |
| X1727.1 | Lie: barber shaves wife's beard. (First ed. X961.17.) Type 1930; BP III 244ff. |
| X1731 | Lies about falling. |
| X1731.1 | Person falls from great height without injury. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1731.2 | Man falls from height, goes into solid rock up to knees. Ireland, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1731.2.1 | Man falls and is buried in earth: goes for spade and digs self out. (First ed. X917.) *Type 1882; Köhler-Bolte I 323; Gardner JAFL XXVII 305; U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1733 | Lies about sinking. |
| X1733.1 | Lie: man lifts heavy load, sinks into solid rock. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1737 | Man stays under water for long time. |
| X1737.1 | Man falls through ice, has to swim two miles to come out at an air hole. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1737.1.1 | Man under the ice. Falls through ice with his horse, wanders around on the river bottom, pushes his spear through ice from below and rises to the surface. (First ed. X918.) *Wesselski Bebel I 171 No. 8. |
| X1739 | Absurd disregard of anatomy—miscellaneous. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1739.1 | Person swallows pin or needle; it later emerges through skin of relative. England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1739.2 | Lie: man makes drinking water from his own skull. (First ed. X961.29.) Type 852; BP II 514. |
| X1740 | Absurd disregard of natural laws. |
| X1741 | Lies about gravitation. |
| X1741.1 | Person or animal rises into the air in defiance of gravity. (Cf. D2135.0.1.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1741.2 | Person or animal jumps back to starting place (from midair). U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1741.3 | Law of gravity is petrified in petrified forest. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1741.4 | Lie: anvil swims river. (First ed. X961.24.) Type 1930; BP III 258. |
| X1743 | Lies about occupying space. |
| X1743.1 | Giants go through small hole where plant has been torn from earth. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1743.2 | Lie: two bullocks go where one cannot. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1743.3 | Lie: 900,000 roofs on point of needle. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| X1750 | Absurd disregard of the nature of objects. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1755 | Lies about watches. |
| X1755.1 | Watch continues to run indefinitely when lost (swallowed). Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1756 | Disregard of nature of basketry. |
| X1756.1 | Lie: people carry wine in baskets. Italian Novella: Rotunda (X961.38). |
| X1757 | Rope of sand (chaff). (First ed. X961.2.) (Cf. F843.) Type 852; BP II 513; Missouri French: Carrière. |
| X1757.1 | Rope of dry dust. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| X1760 | Absurd disregard of the nature of non-material things. |
| X1761 | Absurd disregard of the nature of holes. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1761.1 | Person pulls up old oil wells and sells them for post holes after sawing them up into short lengths. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1761.2 | Lie: people eat the bungholes from barrels. Italian Novella: Rotunda (X961.39). |
| X1780 | Absurdity based on the nature of the object. |
| X1781 | Lies about boats with light draft. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1781.1 | Boat sailing over dry river bed (rice water). India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| X1785 | Lies about stretching or shrinking. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1785.1 | Lie: the stretching and shrinking harness. Man driving team with wagon uphill in rain finds on arrival at the top of the hill that the tugs of rawhide or buckskin have stretched and that the loaded wagon is still at the bottom of the hill. He unhitches the horses and throws the harness across a stump. Sometime later, or the next morning, the sun comes out and shrinks the tugs, drawing the load to the top of the hill. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1787 | Man cures rheumatism: puts mosquito milk in a cat's horn, stirs it with duck's crotch. U.S.: Baughman. |
| X1788 | Lie: the realistic painting. (Cf. H504.1.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1790 | Other logical absurdities. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| X1791 | Lie: deaf, dumb, blind, and lame men catch hare. (First ed. X961.33.) Type 1930; BP III 116, 258. |