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Aarne–Thompson–Uther index
About this index and how to read it
The ATU index classifies international folktales by type. Each row gives the type number, its title and summary, followed by the references it inherits: Arne Thompson is the earlier Aarne–Thompson type number, and Thompson lists the motif references from Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature associated with that type.
Cross-references inside a summary open the relevant tale-type or motif record. Thompson motif references in the final column are linked directly to the corresponding entry in the Stith Thompson Motif Index when that reference exists in the database. Any column heading can be clicked to sort by it, and clicking again reverses the order. Following a type number opens that type on its own page.
Realistic Tales 850–999
| ATU | Title ▲ | Summary | Arne Thompson | Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 940 | The Haughty Girl | The haugty girl entices three suitors (unknown to one another) into the churchyard. They revenge themselves by having her marry the hangman thinking he is the governor's son. [K1218.3]. | ||
| 981 | The Killing of Old Men | Wisdom of Hidden Old Man Saves Kingdom. In famine all old men are ordered killed. One man hides his father. When all goes wrong in the hands of the young rulers, the old man comes forth, performs assigned tasks, end aids with his wisdom. [J151.1].… | 981 | J151.1. |
| 922 | The king and the abbot | Falsely accused minister reinstates himself by his cleverness [K2101, P111]. Cf. Type 981. | , 922 | H512., H541.1., H561.2., H634., H681.1., H691.1., H696.1., H701.1., H702., H703., H705.1., H705.2., H711.1., H713.1., H797., K1961., Q113.4. |
| 921 | The king and the peasant's son | The youth's clever answers to the king' questions (1 1/2 men and the horse's head, etc. [H561.4, H583]). Among the riddles are: (a1) What do you see? - 1 1/2 men and horse's head (himself, the legs of the king who is horseback in the door way, and… | , 921, 921A, 921B* , 921C*, 921D* | H583., H583.1., H583.2., H583.3., H583.4., H583.5., H583.6., H585.1., J1252., L144.2., NA |
| 952 | The King and the Soldier | A soldier prepares to testify before the king against his superior officer. Accompanies the king, whom he does not know, to the robbers' house [K1812.1]. The soldier kills the robbers (or renders them harmless) [N884.1]. The robbers are usually… | , 952 | D2072., K1812.1., K422., N884.1. |
| 873 | The King Discovers his Unknown Son | Marries the mother. A king in disguise leaves a token with a girl to give to their son if one is born [T645]. The boy is twitted with being a bastard and goes on a quest for his unknown father [H1381.2.2.1.1]. The king incognito discovers the boy's… | , 873 | H1381.2.2.1.1., H80., L162., N731., T645. |
| 986 | The Lazy Husband | Forced by his wife to work he joins a caravan and finds in a desert spring a pomegranate and a beautiful girl. He sends the pomegranate to his wife. Out of it fall jewels which make them rich. He returns the stolen girl to her father. | 986 | NA |
| 896 | The Lecherous Holy Man and the Maiden in a Box | I. The Lecherous Holy Man. (a) A holy man or (b) another trusted adviser falls in love with a beautiful girl, but she spurns his advances. He convinces the girl's father or husband that the girl is unchaste or that she will bring calamities to the… | ||
| 880 | The Man Boasts of his Wife | Is imprisoned in the royal castle. The wife in man's clothing is betrothed to the princess [K1837]. Escapes with her husband [R152.1]. | , 880 | K1837., R152.1. |
| 947 | The Man Followed by Bad Luck | He escapes from one trouble only to meet with another. Finally, apparently safe, he is killed by a falling stone wall. [N253]. | 947 | N253. |
| 891 | The Man Who Deserts his Wife and Sets Her the Task of Bearing Him a Child | I. The Prince Deserts His Wife. (a) A girl by accident arouses the enmity of a prince, who threatens to make her half a wife, or the like, and marries her, or (b) a prince becomes angry at his wife. (c) The prince deserts his wife, (d) or imprisons… | , 891, 891A, 891B | H1187., K1814., K1837., M372., na, R41.2., T381. |
| 850 | The Moles of the Princess | The pipe and the dancing hogs.
|
, 850 | H315., H51.1., H525., K1358., K443.6. |
| 939 | The Offended Deity | Cf. Types 757, 947. I. A King Offends a Deity [C50]. He loses his kingdom and his fortune [C930] and is forced to wander in poverty for a term of years. (a) His wife is stolen from him. (b) He must labor at menial tasks. (c) Taken in and helped by a… | ||
| 953 | The Old Robber Relates Three Adventures | The old robber relates three adventures to free his sons [R153.3.3, J1185]. Each adventure is more frightful than the last [R151.1]. The tales: (1) an adventure with ghostlike cats, (2) Odysseus and Polyphemus (cf.Type 1137), (3) an ogre fooled by… | , 953 | J1185., K1011., K527., Q53., R153.3.3. |
| 877 | The Old Woman who was Skinned | La Vecchia Scorticata. King marries woman whose finger he has seen and whose voice he has heard. She turns out to be old woman. He has her thrown out. She hangs in a tree. Swan fairies change her into beautiful girl. The king takes her as wife. Her… | 877 | D1880. |
| 859 | The Penniless Bridegroom Pretends to Wealth | After marriage he takes the bride to look at his land. He puts on soiled clothes. She looks at the land; he points to the patch on his clothes. »That patch is mine.» [K1917.1]. | , 859 | K1917., K1917.1., K1917.2., K1917.4. |
| 885 | The Poor Boy Betrothed to the Maiden | The bride stolen. The girl's parents coerce her into pledging herself to the preacher. The hero comes in disguise to the wedding. The preacher in jest trusts him with the girl. [K1371.1]. He reveals himself. | ||
| 890 | The Pound of Flesh | The wife as judge saves her husband. I. A merchant buys a bride in Turkey for her weight in gold. II. He gets the money by giving as security a piece of his own flesh. III. (a) The husband is abroad and (b) while he is away three merchants fall in… | , 890 | J1161.2., K1825.2., K443.2., T52.3. |
| 930 | The Prediction | Cf. Types 461, 1525R*. I. The Prophecy. (a) It is foretold that a poor boy is to become the king's son-in-law. II. Sale and Abandonment. (a) The king buys the boy from his parents. (b) He abandons the boy in a box on a river (or in a forest). (c) He… | , 930, 930A | H51., K1355., K511., K978., M312.1., M312.1.1., M359.2., M370., N101., R131., S115.2., S143., T22.2. |
| 870 | The Princess in the Underground Cave | She digs herself out: serves at the king's castle. Takes the place of the bride at the wedding. The conversation with the horse, the bridge, the churchdoor. I. Imprisoned Princess. Because of her faithfulness to her betrothed, a princess along with… | , 870, 870A | H13.1., H13.2., H15.1., H151.5., H411.1., H90., H92., K1816.0.2., K1831., K1843.1., K1911.3., R211., R45., T55. |
| 935 | The Prodigal's Return | The fortunate marriage and the visit home. The youngest of three brothers [L10] is a prodigal [N172]. He goes abroad as a soldier and swindles his father into sending him money. Through cleverness he makes his fortune and marries the princess [L161].… | , 935 | K1815., K1837., L161. |
| 874 | The Proud King is Won | Gifts for the voyage [L221] (as in Type 425C). The youngest daughter sends a message to the king and he replies symbolically showing that he is not interested in her (sends her cloth, rope, and knife). The girl lets herself be sold to the king as a… | ||
| 851 | The Riddle of the Suitor | The prince saved by his true servant in a robber's den. The poisoned raven. The riddle from the hero's own experiences. He wins the princess's hand. Cf. Types 516518. I. The Riddle Contest. A princess is offered in marriage to the youth who can… | , 851 | H117., H342., H551., H565., H721.1., H734., H762., H792., H802., H81.2. |
| 955 | The Robber Bridegroom | The maiden in the den of robbers. While hidden under the bed she sees another maiden murdered. The severed finger serves her as a token. The girl usually strews her path into the forest with ashes or pees [R145]. When the bridegroom appears, she uses the severed finger of the murdered girl to expose him [H57.2.1]. Cf. Type 311. | , 955 | B143.1., H57.2.1., K1916., R135. |
| 958 | The Shepherd Youth in the Robbers' Power | The Shepherd Youth in the Robbers' Power calls on his him for help. The helpers come. [K551.1]. | 958C*, 958E* | K311.1., K437.2. |
| 920 | The son of the king (Solomon) and of the smith | The children are exchanged. In the children's play Solomon acts as king. Shows his cleverness. I. Expulsion of the Prince. (a) The prince is expelled from home because (a1) he reports from his mother's womb her scandalous conduct. (b) He is ordered… | , 920B, 920C | H486.2., J412.1., L13. |
| 855 | The Substitute Bridegroom | Cf. Type 870. A handsome youth is hired to take the place of a oneeyed (or crippled) prince (merchant's son) at the latter's wedding. The bride falls in love with the hero and refuses the oneeyed prince. [K19.5.3]. (a) The hero escapes with the… | ||
| 960 | The Sun Brings All to Light | The murderer repeats as he sees the ray of the sun the last words of the dying man [D1715]. In this way the crime is brought to light [N271.1]. Or the murder is revealed by the unusual names of boys [N271.2]. Cf. Types 883C, 1376C*, 1530*. | , 960, 960A | D1715., N271.1., N271.3. |
| 893 | The Unreliable Friends. (The HalfFriend). | The man kills a hog. He tells his friends that he has killed a man and asks where he can hide the body. All of them drive him away and only his father's halffriend remains true to him in his feigned trouble [H1558.1]. | , 893 | H1558.1., R169.6. |
| 882 | The wager on the wife's chastity | A ship captain marries a poor girl. Makes a wager with a merchant on the chastity of his wife. Through treachery, the merchant secures a token of unfaithfulness (ring). The captain leaves home. The wife follows him in men's clothing. They reach home… | , 882 | H94., K1342., K1837., K2112.1., N15. |
| 978 | The Youth in the Land of the Cheaters | I. The Cheats. A youth sets out to trade end comes to a land where cheaters flourish. He loses all his goods. (a) A one-eyed man (woman) states that the youth's father had taken the other eye and demands compensation. (The rescuer demands that the… | ||
| 964 | Thief (Murderer) Deceived into Betraying himself by a Gesture | Thief (Murderer) Deceived into Betraying himself by a Gesture [J1141.1]. Cf.Type 66A. | ||
| 925 | 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 [J1675.2.1]. | ||
| 982 | Ungrateful Heirs | They think that the chest of stones contains the inheritance. [P236.2, Q281.1]. | , 982 | P236.2., Q281.1. |
| 858 | When the King Sneezes the Shephard Refuses to Cry "God Bless You!" | King has him tortured and promises him large gifts if he will say it, but the shepherd refuses until he receives the princess as wife. | ||
| 976 | Which was the Noblest Act? | The bridegroom, the robber, and the lover. A bridegroom permits his bride to fulfill a promise to visit her lover on her wedding night. On the way she meets robbers. When he hears her story one of the robbers conducts her to her lover. On hearing her… | 976 | H1552.1. |
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