Folklore Database · Browse
Aarne–Thompson–Uther index
About this index and how to read it
The ATU index classifies international folktales by type. Each row gives the type number, its title and summary, followed by the references it inherits: Arne Thompson is the earlier Aarne–Thompson type number, and Thompson lists the motif references from Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature associated with that type.
Cross-references inside a summary open the relevant tale-type or motif record. Thompson motif references in the final column are linked directly to the corresponding entry in the Stith Thompson Motif Index when that reference exists in the database. Any column heading can be clicked to sort by it, and clicking again reverses the order. Following a type number opens that type on its own page.
Tales of Magic 560–749
| ATU | Title | Summary | Arne Thompson | Thompson ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 610 | The Healing Fruit | The sick princess is offered to the man who can cure her [T681, H346]. An old woman [N825.3] gives healing power to the fruits [D1500.1.5] of the youngest brother [Q2, L13]. After the youngest brother has succeeded [L10] he is given tasks: herding rabbits (Type 570); making a land and water ship (Type 513), and fetching a feather from a magic bird (Type 461). He performs the tasks, goes and makes a fortune, returns and humbles the king and marries the princess [L161]. | , 610 | D1500.1.5., D1533.1.1., H1010., H1112., H1331.1.2.1., H346., L10., L13., L161., N825.3., Q2., T68.1. |
| 613 | The Two Travelers: Truth and Falsehood | One puts out the other's eyes. The blind man overhears secrets under a tree (gallows) and recovers his sight. The wicked companion has his eyes put out or is killed. I. The Blinded Man. (a) Two travelers (brothers) dispute as to whether truth or… | , 613 | D1505.5., D2064.1., F1045., F933.2., H346., K451.1., M225., N2.3.3., N451.1., N471., N61., N92. |
| 577 | The Order of the King | The three brothers; the oak in the king's castle yard. The king's daughter is promised to the one who is able to perform certain difficult tasks, usually to cut down a large tree. The three brothers set out, and the youngest is the only one who pays… | , 577 | D1581., D1601.14., D1601.15., D1601.18.2., H335., H971.1. |
| 708 | The Miraculous Child | Through the magic power of her evil stepmother, a princess gives birth to a monster and is banished. The monster aids her till everything turns out well. The monster is transformed into a prince. | , 708 | D1717.1., D741., S441. |
| 725 | The Dream | The boy refuses to tell his dream to his father, and even to the king. Various adventures. Conquers enemies, wins the princess. Thus the dream is fulfilled. The boy dreams that his parents shall serve him and that the king shall pour water on his… | , 725 | D1812.3.3., H551., L425., M312.0.1. |
| 737 | Who Will be her Future Husband | No examples in the Database yet | 737 | D1825.1. |
| 681 | King in the Bath; Years of Experience | This illusion takes place when the king puts his head under water. [D2012.1]. | 681 | D2012.1. |
| 720 | From the Juniper Tree | The boy's bones transformed into a bird. The bird lets the millstone fall on the mother. Becomes boy again. I. The Murder. (a) The little boy is slain by his cruel stepmother, who closes the lid of a chest on him. (b) She cooks him and serves him to… | , 720 | E607.1., E610.1.1., G61., Q412., S121. |
| 660 | The Three Doctors | The hog's heart, the thief's hand, the cat's eye. The three doctors make a trial of their skill [H504]. One removes one of his eyes, one his heart, and the other a hand [F668.1]. They are to replace them without injury the next morning [E782]. During… | , 660 | E780.2., E781.3., E782.1.1., E787., F668.1., H504. |
| 701 | The Giant's Toy | No examples in the Database yet | 701 | F531.5.3. |
| 700 | Tom Thumb | Plowing. The king buys the boy. In thieves' company. In the belly of the cow and of the wolf. Cf. Type 327B. I. The Hero's Birth. A childless couple wish for a child, however small he may be; they have a boy the size of a thumb [F535.1.]. II. His… | , 700 | F535.1., F535.1.1.1., F535.1.1.11., F535.1.1.8., F535.1.1.9., F911.3.1., F913. |
| 726 | The Oldest on the Farm | A wayfarer asks for a night's lodging at a farm. He meets a very old man outside, but he is shown to his father who has to decide, and so on up to the seventh generation [F571.2]. Sometimes mixed up with fairy tradition: the old troll finishes by… | 726 | F571.2. |
| 655 | The Wise Brothers | The king is bastard. Staying at the king's court they are asked to utter three wise words. As a result of extraordinary powers of deduction, they declare that the king is bastard, the roast is dog meat, etc. All proves to be true. | , 655 | F647.1., F647.5.1., J1661.1.1., J1661.1.2. |
| 654 | The Three Brothers | The father has them trained. Trial of their handiwork. The fighting master swings his sword so fast that it does not become wet in a heavy rain; the barber shaves a running hare; the blacksmith shoes a horse while it is galloping. | , 654 | F660.1., F663.1., F665.1., F667.1. |
| 707 | The Bird of Truth | The queen bears marvelous children. They are stolen away. The queen is banished. The quest for the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life. | , 707 | H1381.2.2.1., H71.1., H71.2., H71.3., K2110.1., K2115., L162., N201., R131.2., S301. |
| 712 | Crescentia | The slandered and banished wife is reinstated through her miraculous healing powers. | , 712 | H151.8., K2110.1., K2112., K2116.1.1.1., S451. |
| 704 | The Princess and the Pea | A princess is recognized by her inability to sleep in a bed which has a pea under its dozen mattresses. | 704 | H41.1. |
| 706 | The Girl Without Hands | Becomes wife of the king. Is driven forth. Gets her hands back and is received again by her husband. | , 706, 706B | K2117., N711., Q451.1., S322.1.2., S451., T327.1. |
| 735 | The Rich Man's and the Poors Man's Fortune | The fortune of the rich brother gives the poor brother the advice to seek his luck under a bush. The poor man goes there and Fortune tells him to become a merchant. He becomes rich. | , 735A | N112., N112.1., N181. |
| 736 | Luck and Wealth | The fish with the jewel. Cf. Types 745, 745A. A poor man gets a piece of tin. He gives it to a fisherman under the agreement that the first catch of fish shall be given to him. In the net is a fish with a precious stone in his body. [N421]. | 736A | N211.1. |
| 745 | Hatch-penny | Always returns to its owner. Eaten by cow; owner happens to buy cow and kill her; etc. [D1602.11, N212]. | 745A | N212. |
| 705 | Born of a Fish | Cf. Type 303. The king's son finds the speechless maiden in a bird's nest. Marries her. The children are stolen away. She is driven forth by her husband. The riddle. A man receives a magic fish which he shall feed to his wife. Instead, he eats it… | , 705 | N711., R13.3., S410., T412., T511.5.1., T541.16., T578. |
| 729 | The Axe Falls into the Stream | The water-spirit exhibits a golden axe, but the honest man admits that it does not belong to him [Q3.1]. Another man deliberately throws his axe into the water and claims the golden one as his. He gets neither. | 729 | Q3.1. |
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.