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 ▲ |
|---|---|
| A2495.2 | Why ass smells his own excrements. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2774.1 | Why ayikha-bush is firmly rooted. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1326 | Why babies die so easily. S. Am. Indian (Toba): Métraux MAFLS XL 103. |
| A2875 | Why babies have soft spots in head. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 507. |
| A2317.10 | Why baboon has bare place on back. (See A2213.2.3.) |
| A2441.1.2 | Why baboon walks on all fours. Hottentot: Bleek 36 No. 17. |
| A2411.1.5.2.1 | Why baboon's face and hands are black. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2378.9.2 | Why baboons have crooked tails. (See A2262.2.) |
| A1663.1 | Why Babylonians are round headed. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2771.4 | Why banana bears fruit from crown of tree. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2751.2.2 | Why bark of red willow is thin. Tahltan: Teit JAFL XXXII 223. |
| A2751.4.4 | Why bark of saja and tinsa is white. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2491.1 | Why bat flies by night. (See A2275.5.3.)—Dh III 267.—Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3170; Legends No. 271; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| A2317.8 | Why bat is bald. Dh I 95. |
| A2491.1.1 | Why bat sleeps by day. (See A2236.3.)—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2426.1.6 | Why bats cry as they fly. New Guinea: Kerr 7. |
| A2793.1 | Why bean has black stripe. (See A2741.1.) |
| A2793.1.1 | Why beans bear everywhere. Chinese: Graham. |
| A2356.2.6 | Why bear has hump on back. Ojibwa: Jones JAFL XXIX 368. |
| A2378.4.2 | Why bear has short tail. (Cf. A2378.2.4.)—Loucheux: Barbeau JAFL XXVIII 256. |
| A2433.3.17 | Why bear lives where he does. Australian: Dixon 298 (trees); Kaska: Teit JAFL XXX 444 (mountains). |
| A2524.3 | Why bears attack men. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2353.4 | Why bears do not have breasts for nursing. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2371.2.4 | Why bears have short, crooked legs. Tahltan: Teit JAFL XXXII 217. |
| A2481.1 | Why bears hibernate. Dh III 257.—Finnish: Aarne FFC XXXIII 53 No. 78**. |
| A2378.7.1 | Why beaver has flat tail. (See A2247.6, A2241.10, A2378.1.6.) Dh III 51. |
| A2433.3.12 | Why beaver lives along rivers. Tahltan: Teit JAFL XXXII 246. |
| A2462.2 | Why beaver splashes his tail in water and dives when attacked. Quileute: Farrand JAFL XXXII 251. |
| A2305.2 | Why bedbug is flat. Korean: Zong in-Sob 36 No. 20. |
| A2332.6.9 | Why bee is blind. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2541.1 | Why bee is sacred. Dh I 215; Sébillot RTP III 158. |
| A2346.2 | Why bee's sting is no longer fatal to man. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2346.1 | Why bees die after they sting. (See A2232.2.)—Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "abeilles"; Lithuanian: Balys Index 3204, Legends Nos. 296—300. |
| A2435.5.1.1 | Why bees eat their own children. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2435.5.1 | Why bees may not get honey from red clover. (See A2231.3.2.) |
| A2441.3.1 | Why beetle creeps on ground. (See A2232.3.)—Dh III 227. |
| A2433.5.4 | Why beetles live in manure. Pueblo: Parsons JAFL XXXI 245. |
| A1689.1 | Why Bhuiya yoke the cow and the bullock together to the plough. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2771.9 | Why big trees have small fruit. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2751.4.1 | Why birch has white bark. Livonian: Loorits FFC LXVI 94 No. 110; Flemish: DeMeyer FFC XXXVII 91 No. 132f. |
| A2776.1 | Why birch is cursed. Flemish: DeMeyer FFC XXXVII 91 No. 132d. |
| A2431.2 | Why bird has no nest. (See A2233.4.1.) |
| A2378.8.7 | Why bird has two beautiful feathers in his tail. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2343.2 | Why bird's beak is colored. |
| A2317.9 | Why bird's feet are bare. Dh II 261. |
| A2320.5 | Why bird's head is so large. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| A2434.1.1 | Why birds are everywhere. India: Thompson-Balys; Tahltan: Teit JAFL XXXII 209. |
| A2492.2 | Why birds do not live in societies. New Guinea: Ker 77. |
| A1422.2 | Why Birhors eat flesh of monkeys and baboons. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2434.1.4 | Why black ants are everywhere. Zuсi: Handy JAFL XXXI 468. |
| A2511.1 | Why black bears are better eating than grizzly bears. Kaska: Teit JAFL XXX 448. |
| A2332.6.1 | Why blindworm has no eyes. (See A2241.5.) |
| A2434.1.2 | Why bluebirds are everywhere. Pueblo: Parsons JAFL XXXI 219. |
| A2752.1 | Why bombax tree has thorns. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2751.4.5 | Why broom-corn is covered with blood-red spots. Korean: Zong in-Sob 10 No. 3. |
| A1552.1 | Why brothers and sisters do not marry. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| A2431.3.8.1 | Why brush turkey nests on the ground. New Guinea: Kerr 107. |
| A2793.9 | Why buckwheat produces twice a year. Chinese: Graham. |
| A2326.3.4 | Why buffalo's horns are bent. Dh III 30. |
| A2416.6 | Why bugs smell bad. Lappish: Qvigstad FFC LX 39 No. 62. |
| A2792.1 | Why bush holds on to passer-by. (See A2275.5.3, A2741.4.) |
| A2486.2 | Why bustard hatches but two eggs. (See A2284.2.) |
| A2433.5.6 | Why butterflies haunt urine-impregnated places. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2317.3 | Why buzzard is bald. Dh III 11.—Ojibwa: Skinner JAFL XXXII 282. |
| A2356.2.13 | Why camel has humped back. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2325.7 | Why camel has no ears. (Cf. A2232.1.)—Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2325.4 | Why camel has short ears. (See A2232.1.) |
| A2351.1 | Why camel's neck bends upwards. Dh III 35. |
| A1683.4.1 | Why Canaanites go nude. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A1661.3 | Why Canaanites have curly hair. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A1666.1 | Why Canaanites have red eyes. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2391.1 | Why canary's eggs are yellow. (See A2219.1.)—Dh III 65. |
| A2345.7.3 | Why caribou has no teeth. Eskimo (Cumberland Sound): Boas BAM XV 168, 306, (Central Eskimo): Boas RBAE VI 587, (Alaska): Jenness 80, (West Hudson Bay): Boas BAM XV 536, 554, (Labrador): Hawks GSCan XIV 160, (Bering Strait): Nelson RBAE XVIII 449, 460. |
| A2332.3.3 | Why caribou has small eyes. Eskimo (Labrador): Hawks GSCan XIV 161. |
| A2482.2 | Why caribou migrate. Tahltan: Teit JAFL XXXII 232. |
| A1445.2.1 | Why carpenters are found everywhere: flood scatters them on raft over world. Tonga: Gifford 201, Beckwith Myth 317. |
| A2281.3 | Why cat and dog fight: dog ate up cat's part in master's reward. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2495.1 | Why cat buries its excrements. Cyprus: Hadjioannou No. 9; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2545.2 | Why cat eats first. Lithuanian: Balys Legends No. 225; S. Carolina negro: Davis JAFL XXVII 244 (eats before washing). |
| A2356.2.3 | Why cat has arched back. Dh I 166, III 44. |
| A2325.6 | Why cat has jagged ears. Irish myth: Cross. |
| A2385.4 | Why cat hides its excreta. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2433.3.1.1 | Why cat keeps chimney-corner. (See A2223.1.) |
| A2421.8 | Why cat purrs. (Cf. A2236.8.) |
| A2479.6 | Why caterpillars climb trees. Marquesas: Handy 115. |
| A2326.2.1 | Why cats have no horns. See A2247; Dh III 125; Sébillot RTP II 491. |
| A2547 | Why certain animal is king. |
| A2434.2 | Why certain animals are absent from countries. *Dh III 217ff. |
| A2317 | Why certain animals are bare of covering. Dh III 10ff. |
| A2435.2.2 | Why certain animals are carnivorous. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2478 | Why certain animals are continually eating. (See A2231.1.1.) |
| A2494 | Why certain animals are enemies. *Dh III 324ff.—(See A2286.0.1.) —India: Thompson-Balys; Africa: Stanley 78, (Wakweli): Bender 88f. |
| A2434.1 | Why certain animals are found everywhere. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2582 | Why certain animals are plentiful. |
| A2561 | Why certain animals are sterile. |
| A2555 | Why certain animals are swift. |
| A2491 | Why certain animals avoid light. Dh III 266ff. |
| A2492 | Why certain animals go in herds. |
| A2513 | Why certain animals serve men. Dh III 249ff.—Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3108. |
| A2547.1 | Why certain bird is king of birds. India: Thompson-Balys; Ibo (Nigeria): Basden 281. |
| A2435.1.1 | Why certain birds may not drink out of river. (See A2233.1.1.) |
| A1599.13 | Why certain caste is kind to animals. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| A2584.1 | Why certain district is free of mosquitoes. Korean: Zong in-Sob 58, No. 32. |
| A2356.2.4 | Why certain fish have bowed backs. Dh III 44. |
| A2764 | Why certain leaves are hollow. |
| A2763 | Why certain leaves have holes in them. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1683.4 | Why certain peoples go nude. |
| A1683.5 | Why certain peoples wear only loincloths. S. Am. Indian (Toba): Métraux MAFLS XL 94. |
| A2777 | Why certain plants (trees) are blessed. |
| A2776 | Why certain plants are cursed. |
| A2757 | Why certain reeds are hollow. Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 36. |
| A975.2 | Why certain rock produces fire when struck with steel. |
| A2426.2.15 | Why certain species of eagle cries like a baby: spirit of tortured baby became an eagle. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2766 | Why certain tree bleeds. |
| A2788 | Why certain tree is hardy. |
| A2778 | Why certain tree is tall. |
| A2775 | Why certain trees are dwarfed. (See A2721.2.1.) |
| A2771.6 | Why certain willow tree bears fruit when fruit trees bear. Irish myth: Cross. |
| A2411.5.6.1 | Why chameleon can change his color. (Cf. A2223.8.) —Africa (Fang): Einstein 96, (Togo): Einstein 10f. |
| A1689.8 | Why Chapperbands coin false money for a living. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1689.9 | Why Chenchu women are ugly. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1361 | Why children are helpless for so long. Livonian: Loorits FFC LXVI 84 No. 36; Lithuanian: Balys Legends Nos. 43f.; Flemish: DeMeyer FFC XXXVII 83 No. 11c. |
| A1579.1 | Why children are not left alone in the house to sleep. Marquesas: Handy 51. |
| A1321.1 | Why children learn to walk later than animals. African (Cameroon): Mansfield 231, 237. |
| A2426.2.18.1 | Why cock crows on roof with neck stretched out. Korean: Zong in-Sob 25 No. 11. |
| A2489.1.1 | Why cock crows to greet sunrise. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| A2422.10 | Why cock does not speak. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2527.1 | Why cock is vain and selfish. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2433.4.2 | Why cock lives in town. (See A2250.1.)—Benga: Nassau 199 No. 29. |
| A2435.4.8.1 | Why cock scratches for food. Am. Negro: (Georgia) Harris Nights 56 No. 11. |
| A2489.1 | Why cock wakes man in morning. India: Thompson-Balys; Mpongwe: Nassau 58 No. 9. |
| A2433.5.7 | Why cockroaches live in houses. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2421.6 | Why cocks crow. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 35 No. *205; Jewish: Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2778.1 | Why coconut tree is tall. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 98. |
| A2433.6.3.3 | Why common crab lives underground. Africa (Cameroon): Mansfield 224. |
| A2433.3.5 | Why coney lives among rocks. (See A2241.7.) |
| A2872 | Why coral is soft. Africa (Tonga): Gifford 136. |
| A2422.8 | Why cormorant cannot speak. (See A2344.2.5.)—Dh III 232f. |
| A2344.2.5 | Why cormorant has no tongue. (Cf. A2422.8.)—Dh III 28.—N. A. Indian: *Boas RBAE XXXI 678. |
| A2793.5.1 | Why corn does not yield in the middle. Chinese: Graham. |
| A2376.1 | Why cow has cloven hoof. Dh. III 47.—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2345.7.1 | Why cow has no upper teeth. Chinese: Graham. |
| A2363.1 | Why cow has so few teats. Finnish: Aarne FFC VIII 12 No. 63, (Cf. No. 48). |
| A2356.2.12 | Why cow's body has hollow on one side. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2326.3.1 | Why cows have two horns. (See A2286.2.3.) |
| A2472.1 | Why cows ruminate. (See A2231.1.1.)—Chinese: Graham. |
| A2335.4.4 | Why coyote has long muzzle. (See A2213.4.1.) |
| A2412.1.3 | Why coyote has yellow patch behind his ears. (See A2218.4.) |
| A2332.5.1 | Why coyote has yellowish eyes. Zuсi: Handy JAFL XXXI 461. |
| A2371.2.6 | Why coyote's right leg is thin. (See A2284.5.) |
| A2376.5 | Why crab has legs like teeth of a comb. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2320.4 | Why crab has no head. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2534.1 | Why crab is afraid in dark. Jamaica Negro: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 259 No. 54. |
| A2525.2 | Why crab is cunning. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2332.4.2 | Why crab lifts eye out of body or has eye behind. (See A2231.10, A2231.1.3.) |
| A2433.6.3.2 | Why crabs burrow in sand. New Guinea: Kerr 86. |
| A2433.6.3.1 | Why crabs live in water. Kaffir Kidd 249 No. 11; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2435.4.2 | Why crane suffers thirst. (See A2231.2.1.) |
| A2344.1.1.1 | Why crocodile has half a tongue. (Cf. A2239.7.)—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2320.6 | Why crocodile has marks of water pot on head. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2344.1.1.2 | Why crocodile has no tongue. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2311.7 | Why crocodile has rough skin. (Cf. A2315.2.)—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2344.1.1 | Why crocodile has short tongue. Dh III 28.—Jewish: Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2431.3.6.1 | Why crow cannot enter sparrow's nest. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2435.4.7.1 | Why crow eats excrement. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2378.4.7 | Why crow has short tail. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2522.5 | Why crow is disliked. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2431.3.6.3 | Why crow must build nests far from people's houses. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2317.4 | Why crow's head is bald. Dh III 13. |
| A2431.3.6.2 | Why crow's nest is not tightly built. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2442.2.2 | Why cuckoo flies with difficulty, and sings with wings spread. Sébillot RTP III 265. |
| A2431.2.1 | Why cuckoo has no nest. (See A2231.3.1.)—Dh III 177, 195, 200; India: Thompson-Balys; Lithuanian: Balys Legends Nos. 198f., 250, 270. |
| A2332.5.2 | Why cuckoo has red eyes. Sébillot RTP III 262. |
| A2371.4.1 | Why curlew has red legs. Australian: Dixon 292. |
| A2371.2.12 | Why daddy-long-legs has long legs. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2578.1 | Why daddy-long-legs has long life. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1599.7 | Why dagger must be always cleaned on the inside of the robe. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1155 | Why days lengthen in spring. Flemish: DeMeyer FFC XXXVII 83 No. 9d. |
| A1156 | Why days shorten in autumn: the real sun sets very early because the red cockscomb plant, used to kill his brother sun with, grows to its full height during this time.—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2326.1.1.1 | Why deer has antlers: as reward for not cheating. Jewish: Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2335.2.1 | Why deer has white mark on nose. From white ashes. Dh III 79. |
| A2461.4 | Why deer run, stop, and run on again (defense). Quileute: Farrand JAFL XXXII 251. |
| A2475.1 | Why deer scent people from distance. Sinkyone: Kroeber JAFL XXXII 346. |
| A2378.9.4 | Why deer's tail tastes like liver. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2371.2.9 | Why diver (loon) holds legs backward. (See A2215.6.) |
| A2471.4 | Why diver always looks at sea. (See A2275.5.3.). |
| A2426.1.5 | Why dog barks after thief. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2512.1 | Why dog can follow animal's scent. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2545.3 | Why dog eats first. |
| A2335.4.3 | Why dog has black muzzle. (See A2229.1.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2375.2.3 | Why dog has hairy paws. Stole from rabbit. (See A2245.) |
| A2326.2.2 | Why dog has no horns: they were stolen by deer (goat). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2427.2 | Why dog howls at night. |
| A2471.6 | Why dog is always looking. Jamaica negro: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 259 No. 48. |
| A2524.6 | Why dog is bold. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2526.1 | Why dog lacks restraint. Ojibwa: Jones JAFL XXIX 369. |
| A2471.6.1 | Why dog looks back at person who has beaten him. Liberian: Bundy JAFL XXXII 421. |
| A2422.1 | Why dog lost his power of speech. Bulu: Krug. |
| A2479.8 | Why dog snaps every fly. Fly laughed at dog's (feigned) death. Africa (Cameroon): Mansfield 227. |
| A2422.1.1 | Why dogs do not speak. Dh III 232. (See A2237.1.)—Benga: Nassau 163 No. 22; Zuсi: Handy JAFL XXXI 467; Tahltan: Teit JAFL XXXII 243; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2496.1 | Why dogs get stuck in copulation. (Cf. A2236.3, A2236.5.) —Jewish: Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2427.2.1 | Why dogs howl when man is dying. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2471.6.2 | Why dogs howl, looking at sky. Joshua: Frachtenberg JAFL XXVIII 225. |
| A2452.1 | Why dogs hunt. Sébillot RTP II 437. |
| A2473.1.1 | Why dogs leave droppings at crossroads. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2473.1 | Why dogs lift their legs. Dh III 261.—Sébillot RTP II 436; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| A2471.1 | Why dogs look at one another under tail. (See A2275.5.5, A2232.8; also *Dh IV 129ff.)—Sébillot RTP ii 433; England, U.S.: Baughman. |
| A2471.1.1 | Why dogs sniff at one another. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *202; Prussian: Plenzat 10. |
| A2444.2 | Why dolphins swim up and down. (See A2275.5.4.) |
| A2365.2.1.3 | Why donkey's penis is large. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2495.3 | Why donkeys always urinate when others begin. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2426.2.8 | Why dove coos. *Dh III 554 s.v. "Taube".—Finnish: Aarne FFC IX 12 No. 57; Angola: Chatelain 153 No. 16; Jamaica negro: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 259 No. 50; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| A2486.3 | Why dove lays but two eggs. (See A2247.4.) |
| A2330.7 | Why dove's head is marked as it is. Korean: Zong in-Sob 32 No. 15. |
| A2468.3 | Why dragon dies by means of fire. Ila (Rhodesia): Smith and Dale 379 No. 4. |
| A2426.2.10 | Why duck quacks. Fb "and". |
| A2385.1 | Why dung of ass is triangular. Flemish: DeMeyer FFC XXXVII 86 No. 58d. |
| A1567.1 | Why dust is strewn on wound at circumcision. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2578.2 | Why eagle has long life. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2351.2 | Why eagle-owl's head turns on its neck. Type 230.—Finnish: Aarne FFC VIII 18 No. 100. |
| A2356.3.1 | Why eagle's back is brown. Lappish: Qvigstad FFC LX 38 No. 48. |
| A1319.3 | Why ear-wax is inside the ear. Cameroons: Gantenbein 69ff., Lederbogen Mitt. d. Sem. f. orient. Spr. IV 175f. No. 11. |
| A857.1 | Why earth becomes warm and wet: two huge copper vessels steaming over fire are underneath earth.—India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2411.5.5 | Why earthworm is red at one end. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A1599.6 | Why earthworms are killed whenever earth is dug. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2772.4 | Why ebony tree has black wood and smoke-colored leaves. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2751.4.2 | Why ebony tree is black. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2344.2.2 | Why eel has no tongue. Dh III 27. |
| A2306.1 | Why eel is slippery. Marshall Is.: Davenport 226. |
| A1689.12 | Why Egyptians are fond of asses. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A2766.1 | Why elder tree bleeds when cut. (A2721.2.1.4.)—England: Baughman. |
| A2433.3.15 | Why elephant does not live in town. Yoruba: Ellis 267 No. 3. |
| A2531.3.1 | Why elephant flees when cock crows. Africa (Dinka): Casati I 49. |
| A2365.1.1 | Why elephant has testicles inside. Persuaded to eat them. (See A2284.4.) |
| A2412.1.5 | Why elephant has white marks on its body. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2239.10 | Why elephant hurts himself when running through the grass: mouse's curse. Africa (Sandeh): Casati I 221. |
| A2531.3 | Why elephant is peaceable. Congo: Weeks 214 No. 10. |
| A2434.3.3 | Why elephant lives in Nigeria. Gold Coast: Barker and Sinclair 153 No. 29. |
| A2332.6.7 | Why elephant sees half-blindly. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2365.2.1.2 | Why elephant's penis is large. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2433.3.13 | Why elk lives in woods. Quileute: Farrand JAFL XXXII 259. |
| A2377.1 | Why emu has no wings. (See A2284.1.) |
| A2378.8.1.1 | Why end of fox's tail is black. Central American: Krickeberg Märchen der Azteken und Inkaperuaner 282. |
| A2378.8.1 | Why end of fox's tail is white. (See A2215.5.) |
| A2772.2 | Why end of rush is black. (See A2721.1.) |
| A1667.1 | Why Europeans know more than natives. Marquesas: Handy 138. |
| A1275.8 | Why Eve was not made at first along with Adam. Irish myth: Cross. |
| A2777.1 | Why fig tree is chief priest of the trees. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A2465.1 | Why fish are caught in nets. (Cf. Type 253.)—Finnish: Aarne FFC VIII 21 No. 118, XXXIII 55 No. 118. |
| A2524.4 | Why fish attack anything they find. India: Thompson-Balys. |
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.