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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 ▲ |
|---|---|
| H662 | Riddle: what is dearer than gold? Mother love. (Cf. H651.2.) Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 311 No. 60. |
| H643 | Riddle: what is deepest? De Vries FFC LXXIII 92. |
| H659.14 | Riddle: what is easiest? |
| H659.7 | Riddle: what is greatest? |
| H646 | Riddle: what is greenest? De Vries FFC LXXIII 94. |
| H673 | Riddle: what is harder than stone? (Cf. H637.) BP III 16. |
| H642 | Riddle: what is highest? De Vries FFC LXXIII 93. |
| H878 | Riddle: what is it that one buys who does not want it or use it? (Coffin.) Fb "ligkiste" II 442b. |
| H644 | Riddle: what is longest? De Vries FFC LXXIII 93. |
| H641 | Riddle: what is most beautiful? *BP II 357; Köhler-Bolte I 457f. |
| H659.10 | Riddle: what is most general? |
| H659.13 | Riddle: what is most pleasant? |
| H659.12 | Riddle: what is most shameful? |
| H659.11 | Riddle: what is most useful? |
| H659.1 | Riddle: what is oldest? |
| H672 | Riddle: what is softer than swan down? (Cf. H652.1.) BP III 16. |
| H652 | Riddle: what is softest? De Vries FFC LXXIII 87; BP II 358. |
| H671 | Riddle: what is sweeter than honey? (Cf. H633.) BP III 16. |
| H633 | Riddle: what is sweetest? Type 875; *De Vries FFC LXXIII 79ff.; *BP III 233. |
| H661 | Riddle: what is swifter than a bird, the wind or lightning? The eye. (Cf. H632.2.) Gascon: Bladé I 9 No. 1. |
| H767.1 | Riddle: what is that thou passest over with haste? (The field of youth; the mountains of youth, etc.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| H824 | Riddle: what is that which has drunk water for its sustenance and eaten after its death? (Moses's staff, which became a serpent.) Chauvin V 194 No. 114. |
| H862 | Riddle: what is that which is neither man nor jinn nor beast nor bird? (Louse and ant.) Chauvin V 194 No. 114. |
| H659.4 | Riddle: what is the best fowl? |
| H659.17 | Riddle: what is the best time to eat? For the rich man, when he wishes; for the poor man, when he has something to eat. Spanish: Childers. |
| H681.3 | Riddle: what is the center of the earth? *Type 922; Anderson FFC XLII 157. |
| H762 | Riddle: what is the creature that is of all countries, that is loved by all the world, and that has no equal? (The sun.) Chauvin V 192 No. 113. |
| H875 | Riddle: what is the difference between a poor man and a rich? (Riches.) Anderson FFC XLII 229. |
| H653 | Riddle: what is the fattest? De Vries FFC LXXIII 75ff. |
| H659.15 | Riddle: what is the hardest to skin? |
| H637 | Riddle: what is the hardest? BP III 16. |
| H645 | Riddle: what is the heaviest? De Vries FFC LXXIII 94. |
| H822 | Riddle: what is the land that has seen the sun only once? (The bottom of the Red Sea during the passage of the Israelites.) Chauvin V 194 No. 114; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| H647 | Riddle: what is the most beloved? De Vries FFC LXXIII 94. |
| H734 | Riddle: what is the mother who devours her children when they grow up? (Ocean and rivers.) Chauvin V 192 No. 113. |
| H636 | Riddle: what is the richest? Types 461, 875; BP III 357; Aarne FFC XXIII 129. |
| H631 | Riddle: what is the strongest? *Types 461, 875, 922; *BP II 357; *De Vries FFC LXXIII 84, Aarne FFC XXIII 129; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| H634 | Riddle: what is the sweetest song? *Type 922; *Anderson FFC XLII 233; Irish myth: Cross. |
| H635 | Riddle: what is the sweetest sound? Anderson FFC XLII 233; De Vries FFC LXXIII 90; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| H632 | Riddle: what is the swiftest? *Type 875; *De Vries FFC LXXIII 69ff. |
| H663 | Riddle: what is whiter than a swan? An angel. *Fb "engel". |
| H659.9 | Riddle: what is wisest? |
| H659.6 | Riddle: what kind of work occupies most men? |
| H871 | Riddle: what six things are not worth doing? (Sowing salt, mowing pebbles, drinking from an empty jug, making signs to a blind man, wooing at mealtime, playing a harp in a mill.) Anderson FFC XLII 227, *228 n. 1. |
| H821 | Riddle: what was the walking tomb with the living tenant? (Jonah and the whale.) Chauvin V 194 No. 114; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| H812 | Riddle: what were the clothes of Adam and Eve? (Their hair.) Chauvin V 195 No. 114. |
| H883 | Riddle: where is the root of the floor? Below. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| H722.1 | Riddle: white brother, black sister: every morning brother kills sister; every evening sister kills brother; they never die. (Day and night.) Köhler-Bolte I 116; Gascon: Bladé I 9 No. 1. |
| H726 | Riddle: who are the real travellers? The son and the moon. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| H811 | Riddle: who first spun and when? (Eve.) Chauvin V 195 No. 114. |
| H817 | Riddle: who has had, here below, two names? (Jacob-Israel.) Chauvin V 195 No. 114. |
| H751 | Riddle: who of fourfold beard is he, of azure foot and neck so ruddy? Arrow. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| H815 | Riddle: who, having had father and mother, is not dead like other mortals? (Lot's wife.) Chauvin V 195 No. 114; Scala Celi No. 821. |
| H814 | Riddle: who, having had father and mother, is not dead? (Elias.) Chauvin V 195 No. 114; Jewish: Neuman. |
| H813 | Riddle: who, having neither father nor mother, are dead? (Adam and Eve.) Chauvin V 195 No. 114. |
| H772 | Riddle: why are there more days than nights? (The moon turns some nights into days.) Chauvin V 38 No. 365. |
| H773 | Riddle: why are there more living than dead? (There are some of the dead of whom we still speak.) Chauvin V 38 No. 365. |
| H774 | Riddle: why are there more women than men? (Some women make women [i.e., weaklings] of their husbands.) Chauvin V 38 No. 365. |
| H771 | Riddle: why is the hair gray before the beard? (It is twenty years older.) *Wesselski Arlotto II 270 No. 222. |
| H841 | Riddle: worth of the animal. |
| H885 | Riddles about flax. Taylor English Riddles from Oral Tradition (Berkeley, California, 1951) 250; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| H886 | Riddles about naphtha. Jewish: Neuman. H900—H1199. |
| H810 | Riddles based on the Bible or legend. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| H790 | Riddles based on unusual circumstances. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| H660 | Riddles of comparison. Boberg Danske Studier 1945, 1ff., and øst og Vest, Afhandlinger til Arthur Christensen (Kbhvn. 1945) 192.—Irish myth: Cross. |
| H680 | Riddles of distance. |
| H770 | Riddles of explanation. Jewish: Neuman. |
| H682 | Riddles of heavenly distance. (Cf. A658.) |
| H696 | Riddles of measure. |
| H700 | Riddles of numbers. |
| H681 | Riddles of terrestrial distance. |
| H659 | Riddles of the superlative—miscellaneous. |
| H630 | Riddles of the superlative. |
| H710 | Riddles of value. |
| H690 | Riddles of weight and measure. |
| H691 | Riddles of weight. |
| H509.4.2 | Riddles proposed as tests of poetic ability. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| H540.3.1 | Riddles sent to Solomon by King Hiram. (Cf. H548.) Jewish: Neuman. |
| H574 | Riddles solved with aid of propounder's wife. (Cf. G530.2, H335.0.1, H974.) Jewish: Neuman. |
| H881 | Riddles with "none" as answer. Fb "ingen" II 27. |
| H530 | Riddles. Only such riddles are treated in this work as appear in tales, ballads, myths, or the like. **J. B. Friedreich Geschichte des Räthsels (Dresden, 1860); **Taylor English Riddles in Oral Tradition (Berkeley, 1951), A Bibliography of Riddles (FFC CXXVI); R. Petsch Das deutsche Volksrätsel (Strassburg, 1917); *Anderson FFC XLII 3ff.; *Chauvin VI 42 No. 207; Jewish: *Neuman. A classification of riddles will be found in Lehmann-Nitsche Zs. f. Vksk. XXIV 240ff. and in Von Sydow and Christiansen Iriska gеtor (Folkminnen och Folktankar, II 65—80, VI 120—48). |
| H582.1 | Riddling answer betrays theft. |
| H582.2 | Riddling answers betray adultery. BP I 198; *Wesselski Märchen 197; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| H582 | Riddling answers betray theft or adultery *BP I 198, II 361f.; Köhler-Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. VI 59 (to Gonzenbach No. 1); *Wesselski Märchen 197. |
| H586 | Riddling remarks of traveling companion interpreted by girl (man) at end of journey. De Vries FFC LXXIII 43ff.; *Wesselski Märchen 197 No. 7; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D1381.30 | Rider on magic horse immune to harm or danger. (Cf. B181.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1874.1 | Rider takes the meal-sack on his shoulder to relieve the ass of his burden. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 229 No. 490; *Fb "sæk" III 720b; *Clouston Noodles 19; Field Pent Cuckoo 3; England, U.S.: Baughman; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| X52 | Ridiculous nakedness or exposure. |
| H1155.1 | Riding and taming a wild horse. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| Q473.5.2 | Riding backwards on donkey as punishment. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| K27 | Riding contest won by substitution. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| H242.1 | Riding speckled horse as credential test. Irish myth: Cross. |
| R112.2 | Riding three times around hill to free captive confined within. Fb "ride" III 52b. |
| F305.2.1 | Right half of son resembles mortal father; left half, fairy father. Irish myth: Cross. |
| Q451.1.6 | Right hands cut off enemy's messengers. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| N2.5.1 | Right of succession to the throne lost in gambling. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| U30 | Rights of the strong. Wienert FFC LVI 147. |
| H361 | Ring (jewel) bride test. Hero will marry girl possessing certain ring or jewel. Cox 505. |
| H433.1 | Ring as chastity index. Indicates faithfulness by color. (Cf. D1076.) Penzer I 168; Child I 269; Zingerle Zs. f. Deutsche Myth. und Sittenkunde II (1855) 353. |
| D1567.9 | Ring brings forth water from dry soil. (Cf. D1076.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| Z151 | Ring broken as token of broken engagement. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 69 n. 3. |
| P13.3.2 | Ring can make or unmake a king. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D1365.5 | Ring causes forgetfulness. (Cf. D1076.)—*Oesterley No. 10.—English: Wells 66 (Ywain and Gawain). |
| Z321 | Ring fits only one person. Irish myth: Cross. |
| D1500.1.15.2 | Ring made of coffin-hinge as remedy. Kittredge Witchcraft 142, 461 n. 33; England: Baughman. |
| D1566.2.5 | Ring makes boiling water cold. (Cf. D1076.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| T85.4.1 | Ring of Fastrada. (Tove's magic ring.) Lover keeps body of dead mistress (wife) intact by means of magic ring. When ring is removed from her finger, the body immediately decays and he is cured of his love. **A. Pauls Der Ring der Fastrada (Aachen, 1896); **K. Nyrop Fortids Sagn og Sange 1: Tove's Tryllering (København, 1907); *Chauvin II 202 No. 48; *Moth Danske Studier (1915) 97ff.; *BP I 463f.; *G. Paris Journal des Savants Nov. 1896; Euphorion VI 186. |
| D1549.3.6 | Ring of hay thrown into empty lake fills it up with water. (Cf. D1276.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D1413.2 | Ring prevents person from rising from chair. (Cf. D1076.) *Fb "ring" III 60b, 61a.—Icelandic: Boberg. |
| D1355.4 | Ring produces love. (Cf. D1076.)—*Kittredge Witchcraft 109, 436ff. nn. 38—48 passim; Fb "ring" III 60b.—Icelandic: *Boberg; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| D1318.9 | Ring reveals guilt. (Cf. D1076.) |
| H82.4 | Ring sent from husband to wife as token that he has been baptized, and that she should also be. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| D1318.9.1 | Ring springs asunder when faithlessness of lover is learned. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XX 66. |
| D2149.4.2 | Ring that has dropped into water rises to surface. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| K362.2 | Ring to put on corpse's finger. A thief holds a corpse up to a lord's window. The lord shoots the corpse and leaves to bury it. The thief goes to the lady and gets a sheet to bury the corpse in and a ring to put on his finger. *Type 1525A; BP III 379; Missouri French: Carrière; Jewish: Neuman. |
| D1364.0.1 | Ring wakes from magic sleep. (Cf. D1076.)—*Fb "ring" III 60a. |
| E771 | Ring with life in it. Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "animisme". |
| H86.3 | Ring with names inscribed on it. German: Grimm No. 101. |
| A2238.2 | Ring-dove eats man's grain: man may kill him. Similarly francolin and guinea fowl. Ila (Rhodesia): Smith and Dale 351 No. 6. |
| A2431.3.3 | Ring-dove's nest. Exchanged with gull. (See A2247.)—Dh III 124. |
| G303.16.12 | Ringing of churchbell causes devil to lose his power. Wünsche Teufel 40, 42, 43f. |
| F791 | Rising and falling sky. Sky rises and falls at horizon, giving periodic access to the other world. Buriat: Holmberg Siberian 308; N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 275 n. 15a, Hatt Asiatic Influences 78ff. |
| D1812.5.0.4 | Rising smoke as omen. N. A. Indian: Kroeber JAFL XXI 224. |
| V19.1 | Rising smoke as sign of acceptance of sacrifice. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| V96 | Ritual bathing. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| G13.1 | Ritual cannibalism: corpse of hero (demigod) eaten to acquire his strength. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| T92.10 | Rival in love killed. Icelandic: *Boberg; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| T92.7 | Rival lovers do battle for girl. (Cf. T86.1.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| T92.11.1 | Rival suitors discomfit each other. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 1692*, 1693. |
| T86.1 | Rival suitors kill each other over woman's love. Woman dies of broken heart and all three are buried in the same grave. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| P427.7.10 | Rivaling poets. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| P447.6 | Rivaling smiths. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| T92.11 | Rivals contesting for the same girl. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| T92 | Rivals in love. Irish myth: *Cross; Missouri French: Carrière; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F932.5 | River acts as messenger. |
| D2151.2.5.1 | River appears at prayer of desert travelers. U.S.: Baughman. |
| F932.2 | River arches over saint's body like a vault. (Cf. F931.9.1, V220.) *Ward Catalogue II 640 No. 17; Crane Miraculis 104 No. 40. |
| F141.1 | River as barrier to otherworld. (Cf. F162.2.) Icelandic: *Boberg; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F141.1.3 | River between the realms of giants and gods never freezes. Icelandic: MacCulloch Eddic 276. |
| F932.7.1 | River boils when ashes of hearts are cast into it. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F932.7 | River boils. Irish myth: Cross. |
| A939.1 | River bursts from well in pursuit. |
| A934.7 | River bursts from well in pursuit. Irish myth: Cross. |
| S131.1 | River carrier (whale, crocodile) throws passenger off and drowns him. India: Thompson-Balys; Africa (Madagascar): Renel II 207f. No. 119. |
| F932.5.1 | River carries object to saint. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F932.6 | River ceases to flow. Irish myth: *Cross; Jewish: Neuman. |
| A657 | River connecting earth and upper and lower worlds. Norse: MacCulloch Eddic 304, 313; Siberian: Holmberg Siberian. |
| D915.2.1 | River contained in bird's ears. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D915.3 | River contained in box. Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "rivière". |
| D915.2 | River contained under cock's wings. *Type 715. |
| D1524.5 | River crossed by means of charm. (Cf. D1273.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| D1524.6 | River crossed by means of magic stone. (Cf. D930.) Congo: Pratt-Chadwick and Lamprey The Alo Man (New York, 1927) 17ff. |
| F932.10 | River divides into two parts after rape in its bed. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F932.6.1 | River dries up for a day. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F932.6.2 | River dries up its waters out of sympathy. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F93.1 | River entrance to lower world. Wimberly 108ff.; Kruyt Het Animisme 357ff., Hdwb. d. Abergl. II 1157, IV 196; Frobenius Erdteile III 69, 73, 76.—Icelandic: Herrmann Saxo II 103, MacCulloch Eddic 320, Boberg; Finnish: Kalevala rune 16; Greek: Roscher Lexikon s.v. "Acheron" I 9; Egyptian: Müller 176; Aztec: Krickeberg Märchen der Azteken 146, 215. |
| D483.1 | River expands and becomes sea. S. A. Indian (Apapocuvú-Guaraní): Métraux RMLP XXXIII 138. |
| A511.1.1.1 | River flows from corpse of mythical mother of culture hero. S. Am. Indian (Amuesha): Métraux RMLP XXXIII 131. |
| F715.1.4 | River flows from man's head. Jewish: Neuman. |
| F715.1.5 | River flows from man's mouth. Jewish: Neuman. |
| F715.1.3 | River from man's finger. Jewish: Neuman. |
| A933.1 | River from the slaver of the Fenris-wolf. Icel.: MacCulloch Eddic 328; cf. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A934.11 | River from transformation. |
| A933 | River from urine of goddess (giantess).—Irish myth: Cross; Icel.: Herrmann Nordische Mythologie 368, Boberg; French: Sébillot France II 327ff.; Sudanese: Frobenius Atlantis VI 219; India: Thompson-Balys; Korean: Zong in-Sob 15 No. 7. |
| A933.2 | River from vagina of first woman. S. A. Indian (Paressi): Métraux BBAE CXLIII (3) 359. |
| A425.1 | River goddess. Irish myth: Cross; Hindu: Penzer II 189 n. 1; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| D1658.1.6 | River grateful for being given color. Africa (Tim): Frobenius Atlantis XI 184ff. No. 7. |
| D1658.1.1 | River grateful for being praised even when ugly. (Cf. D915.) Sicilian: Gonzenbach I 99 No. 15. |
| E755.1.2 | River in heaven burns wicked and gives joy to righteous. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| A671.2.2.2 | River in hell filled with weapons. Icel.: MacCulloch Eddic 320, 321. |
| F162.2.8 | River in paradise with terrible roar. Robs people of hearing. *Hertz Abhandlungen 86 n. 1. |
| F162.2.12 | River in underworld from tears of living. Eskimo (Bering Strait): Nelson RBAE XVIII 488. |
| F715.1.1 | River issues from magic nut. (Cf. D985, F718.12.) Fb "nød" II 719a. |
| F715.1.2 | River issues from pillar. Dickson 222 n. 18. |
| D915.5 | River issuing from cave controlled by race of Amazons. Hartland Science 202. |
| D2091.7.1 | River magically caused to rise against enemy. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D2151.2.6 | River magically widened. S. A. Indian (Chiriguano): Métraux BBAE CXLIII (3) 484. |
| F715.2.1 | River of blood. Irish myth: Cross; N. A. Indian (Creek): Alexander N. Am. 71; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F715.2 | River of extraordinary fluid. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F142 | River of fire as barrier to otherworld. (Cf. A671.2.2.3.) Patch PMLA XXXIII 638f.; Krappe Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen (1937) 172ff.; Irish myth: *Cross; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F715.2.4 | River of honey. (Cf. F711.2.5.) Africa (Hausa): Tremearne Hausa Superstitions and Customs (London, 1913) 424ff. No. 93. |
| F715.2.2 | River of mercury. Chauvin V 41 No. 388. |
| F715.2.3 | River of milk. (Cf. F711.2.1, F713.4, F814.6.) Finnish: Holmberg Finno-Ugric 80; Jewish: *Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F715.2.5 | River of tears. Rose Classical Review XLII 28, 171. |
| Z118.3 | River personified (Mother Ganges). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F932.8.6 | River piles up to a height of three hundred miles. Jewish: Neuman. |
| D915.1 | River produced by magic. Irish myth: *Cross; Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "rivière". |
| F932.1 | River pursues fugitive. Fb "е" III 1187a; Greek: Frazer Apollodorus II 209 n. 8; Africa (Kaffir): Theal 63. |
| F932.8 | River rises and overflows. |
| D1318.17 | River rises to drown liars. (Cf. D1316, D915) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F932.8.2 | River rises to prevent advance of army. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F932.8.1 | River rises to prevent body's being carried over it against dying man's wish. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F932.8.3 | River rises to prevent escape of thieves. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F932.8.2.1 | River rises to prevent meeting of hostile armies. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D1311.11.1 | River says, "The time has come but not the man". Man thus induced to drown himself.—*Fb "tid" III 789b; *Lizbarski Am Urds-Brunnen IV 56.—England: Baughman; Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 54 No. 460; Netherlands: Sinninghe FFC CXXXII 52 No. 1; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3495; Livonian: Loorits in FFC LXVI 45 No. 44f.; Estonian: Aarne in FFC XXV 136 No. 95. |
| A761.1 | River taken to sky becomes star. Eridanos.—Fox 244. |
| F715.6 | River that burns like fire. Irish myth: Cross; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| F141.1.2 | River that cannot be crossed by mortals. Hindu: Penzer II 15. |
| A872 | River that flows around the world. Greek: *Grote I 220, 232, 310 (River Ocean); Jewish: Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A951.1 | River valley licked out by giant beast. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F715.5 | River which never freezes. Icelandic: MacCulloch Eddic 276. |
| F715.7 | River which petrifies anyone passing through it. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F715.10 | River whose specific gravity is so slight nothing can float on it. (Cf. F716.2.) Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 1156. |
| D2151.2.1.1 | River with flow magically divided. (Part stands still, rest flows.) Africa (Wakweli): Bender 87. |
| A425 | River-god. Greek: Fox 256, *Frazer Pausanias II 527; Egyptian: Müller 45ff.; Russian: Rambaud La Russie épique 216f.; India: *Thompson-Balys; Jewish: Neuman; Chinese: Werner 336, Eberhard FFC CXX 135—141. |
| F424 | River-spirit. Buddhist myth: Malalasekera II 416; S. A. Indian (Warrau): Kirchoff BBAE CXLIII (3) 880. |
| A659.3 | River's source where sky and earth meet. S. Am. Indian (Toba): Métraux MAFLS XL 24. |
| A938 | Rivers and streams offspring of marriage of Ocean and his sister. Greek: Grote I 6. |
| A934.3 | Rivers burst forth to commemorate birth, death, battle, etc., of primitive hero. (Cf. A901, A920.1.4.)—Irish myth: Cross. |
| A934.2 | Rivers formed where certain stones are placed. Each of seven children are to go in a different direction, to walk a mile and put down a stone, then another mile and a stone, etc. Thus rivers are formed.—Ekoi: Talbot 366. |
| A934.1 | Rivers from digging of primeval ox. (Cf. A920.1.2.)—Kirghis: Holmberg Siberian 331. |
| A934.8 | Rivers from mythical well. Icel.: MacCulloch Eddic 330, 333. |
| F162.2 | Rivers in otherworld. (Cf. A671.2.2.6, F141.1.) Patch PMLA XXXIII 621ff., Other World 382f. s.v. "river"; Gaster Oldest Stories 50, Thespis 171; Irish: *Cross, Beal XXI 321. |
| D2151.2.3 | Rivers magically made dry. (Cf. D2165.2.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F162.2.5 | Rivers of balsam and attar in otherworld. *Patch PMLA XXXIII 621 n. 70; Irish: Beal XXI 319, O'Suilleabhain 52; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| A671.2.2.4 | Rivers of black water in hell. Irish myth: Cross. |
| A671.2.2 | Rivers of blood in hell. Wimberly Folklore in Ballads 128. |
| A671.2.2.3 | Rivers of fire in hell. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F162.2.3 | Rivers of honey in otherworld. Wimberly 159; Gaster Thespis 200f., Oldest Stories 233; Africa (Hausa): Werner African 141 (milk and honey). |
| F162.2.4 | Rivers of mead in otherworld. Wimberly 159. |
| F162.2.6 | Rivers of oil, milk, wine, and honey in otherworld. *Patch PMLA XXXIII 623 n. 78; Irish myth: *Cross; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| A671.2.2.1 | Rivers of poison in hell. Irish myth: Cross; Icel.: MacCulloch Eddic 319f.; Jewish: Neuman. |
| F162.2.2 | Rivers of wine in otherworld. Wimberly 159; Irish myth: *Cross; Jewish: *Neuman. |
| A934.5 | Rivers originate through saint's prayer during drought. Irish myth: Cross. |
| A934.4 | Rivers where god drags his staff. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F715.3 | Rivers with marvelous underground connections. Euphrates, Tigris, Tiber, and River Boant really the same which flow through oceans and underground. Irish: Todd Lecture Series X 29 (Metrical Dindshenchas), *Cross. |
| F771.9 | Road runs through house (banqueting-hall). Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F57 | Road to heaven. India: Thompson-Balys; Africa: Werner African 233. |
| F151 | Road to otherworld. Siuts 29f.—Irish myth: Cross. |
| E272 | Road-ghosts. (Cf. E332ff., E582.) Ghosts which haunt roads. Lappish: Qvigstad FFC LX 40 No. 10; England, U.S.: *Baughman; New York: Jones JAFL LVII 248; North Carolina: Brown Collection I 674. |
| X1551.1 | Roads go over roofs of houses. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| A989.2 | Roads marked out by supernatural cows. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F1099.2.1 | Roads miraculously appear on day of hero's birth. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F1099.2 | Roads miraculously appear on Hallowe'en. (Cf. F900.1.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| D1812.5.1.17.3 | Roaring of shields as evil omen. Irish myth: Cross. |
| D1812.5.1.24 | Roaring of waves augurs danger to king. (Cf. D911.1, D1812.5.2.7.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D1812.5.2.7 | Roaring wave augurs luck. (Cf. D911.1, D1812.5.1.24, F931.4.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| D2191 | Roast ducks fly (by magic). Fb "and" IV 12b. |
| J1423 | Roast falcon. A falcon reproaches a cock for fleeing from the master who has fed him. The cock: "I have never seen a falcon roasted." *Chauvin II 117 No. 96. |
| X1208.1 | Roast pigs run around with knife and fork in back ready for eating. U.S.: Baughman. |
| E168.1 | Roasted cock comes to life and crows. English: Child I 233—242, 505, II 8, 501b, III 502f., IV 451f., V 212a, 288a. |
| J2223.1 | Robbed man blames thief for not warning him so that he could have witnesses to the theft. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| N884 | Robber as helper. West Africa: Nassau Fetischism in West Africa (London, 1904) No. 2. |
| N392 | Robber attempting to steal cow at night seizes thieving tiger. Great fight in stable. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| K1916 | Robber bridegroom. Robber marries girl under pretence of being a fine gentleman. *Type 955; *BP I 370; *Fb "r[ö]ver" III 131b, 132a; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| K437.1 | Robber cheated by substitution. Spending the night in company with a suspicious-looking stranger, the man does not go to sleep, but leaves his clothes in bed and waits to see what will happen. When the stranger wakes up in the night, he stabs at his sleeping companion, who shoots him down. (Cf. K525.1.) Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 965*. |
| K311.6.1 | Robber disguised as bear is killed. Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| Q520.2 | Robber does penance. (Cf. Q212.) *Types 756B; **Andrejev FFC LXIX 81, 118ff., 236ff; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| K335.1.5 | Robber frightened from his goods by playing of bagpipe. Type 1706*. |
| J1635 | Robber gives priest double his penance and then takes his horse. Mensa Philosophica No. 53; Shakespeare Jest Books III (Certayne Conceyts and Jeasts) 11 No. 22. |
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