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 ▲ |
|---|---|
| F232.4.1 | Fairy as a small pretty girl with blond hair. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges. |
| F234.2.7 | Fairy as guide to fairyland. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F262.3.1 | Fairy as harper. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.2.3 | Fairy as headless woman. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| N815 | Fairy as helper. Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: *Boberg; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F271.6 | Fairy as herdsman. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D1711.5 | Fairy as magician. (Cf. F234.0.2.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F234.2.6 | Fairy as messenger from fairyland. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F253.1.1.1 | Fairy as mighty lifter. Irish myth: Cross. |
| P424.4 | Fairy as physician. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F234.0.2 | Fairy as shape-shifter. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.15.1 | Fairy as swan. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| H938 | Fairy assigns tasks. (Cf. H1219.4.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.2.8 | Fairy assumes shape of woman and frequents bazaars. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F302.3.3.1 | Fairy avenges herself on inconstant lover (husband). *Fb "ellefolk" I 241b; Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXV (1933) 115ff.; Irish myth: *Cross; English: Child I 372—389. |
| F302.3.3 | Fairy avenges self on man who scorns her love. English: Child I 376ff.; Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F252.4.1 | Fairy banished for adultery. (Cf. F254.5, Q241.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F252.4.2 | Fairy banished for falsehood. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F265 | Fairy bathes. Hoffman-Krayer Zs. f. Vksk. XXV 120 n. 3; Irish myth: *Cross; England: Baughman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F259.1.2 | Fairy becomes mortal. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F242.2.3 | Fairy boat from flax-stem. Maori: Beckwith Myth 335. |
| F242.2.2 | Fairy boat of bronze. (Cf. F841.1.2.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F242.2 | Fairy boat. Irish myth: *Cross; Welsh: MacCulloch Celtic 194; Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "bateau". |
| F322.1.1 | Fairy borrows comb from Christian maid to comb hair of changeling bride. (Cf. F324.1.) *Fb "ellepige" I 242a. |
| F343.19.1 | Fairy bread must be eaten same day it is given or it turns to toadstools. Wales: Baughman. |
| F361.17.4 | Fairy breaks leg of servant girl who tells lies about him. Scotland: Baughman. |
| F239.3 | Fairy breathes fire. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F363.5 | Fairy calls her victim only once or twice. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F329.4.3 | Fairy captured by mortal escapes. England, Wales: *Baughman. |
| F387 | Fairy captured. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F242.1.1 | Fairy car becomes invisible. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F242.1 | Fairy car. Malone PMLA XLIII 421; Irish myth: Cross. |
| F222.3 | Fairy castle of glass. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F222 | Fairy castle. Dickson 114 n. 34.—English: Wells 128 (Sir Orfeo); Irish myth: *Cross; Ireland, Wales: Baughman; Lithuanian: Balys Index Nr. 3600. |
| F278.1 | Fairy casts huge stones to keep enemies off. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F356 | Fairy cattle (bull, cow) stolen. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F241.2.4 | Fairy cattle graze on earth on Hallowe'en. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F362.4 | Fairy causes mutilation (injury). Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F241.1.0.1 | Fairy cavalcade. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F242.1.3 | Fairy chariot of precious metal. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F242.1.2 | Fairy chariot rides waves. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F329.4.2 | Fairy child found and cared for, but it pines away. England: Baughman. |
| K602.1 | Fairy child injured by man who says that his name is "Self". Child tells mother, "Self did it." England, Scotland: *Baughman. |
| F302.4.2.1 | Fairy comes into man's power when he steals her clothes. She leaves when she finds them. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F302.4.2 | Fairy comes into man's power when he steals her wings (clothes). She leaves when she finds them. Slavic: Máchal 258; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *404; India: *Thompson-Balys; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 55. |
| E545.8 | Fairy converses with dead. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F261.2 | Fairy dances in snow: no tracks left. (Cf. F255.5.) Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 50 No. 420. |
| F389.5 | Fairy defeated by druid's magic. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F259.1.3 | Fairy dies of longing for fairyland. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F234.3.1 | Fairy disappears in form of a cloud. Tobler 87. |
| F393.0.1 | Fairy dissatisfied with fairyland leaves to live among mortals. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F241.6 | Fairy dogs. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D839.2 | Fairy dun acquired by tricking owner. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F302.3.1 | Fairy entices man into fairyland. Hartland Science 41, 163, 184, 202; Irish myth: *Cross; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F381.4 | Fairy escaped by learning and using his secrets. Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 56 No. 484. |
| F221.4 | Fairy family lives in neat cottage. England: Baughman. |
| F326 | Fairy father carries off child of mortal mother. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F244.3 | Fairy fetches mortals to remove treasure hidden by ghosts in their lifetimes. (Cf. N510.) Wales: Baughman. |
| F243.4 | Fairy food undiminished when eaten. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F311.2 | Fairy foster-father. Guardian to mortal. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F311.3 | Fairy foster-mother. (Cf. P270.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| D2088.1 | Fairy gains entrance to locked city. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F348.0.1 | Fairy gift disappears or is turned to something worthless when tabu is broken. German: Grimm No. 182; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *771. |
| F348.1 | Fairy gift not to be taken to earth. Hartland Science 50. |
| F348.3 | Fairy gift not to leave possession of mortal's family. Bad luck will follow. Hartland Science 56. |
| F361.2.4 | Fairy gifts stop when man steals fairy knife. England: Baughman. |
| F348.9.1 | Fairy gifts turn to paper when shown. (Cf. F342.1, F348.0.1.) Wales: Baughman. |
| F251.9 | Fairy gives instructions on means of reaching heaven. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F343.5.1 | Fairy gives magic cloak (and shirt). Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F343.9 | Fairy gives man horses, cattle, etc. Irish myth: *Cross; Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges. |
| F343.13 | Fairy gives mortals a child. French Canadian: Sister Marie Ursule. |
| F343.10.3 | Fairy gives person invulnerable shield. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F343.10.2 | Fairy gives person magic spear. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F343.10.1 | Fairy gives person magic sword. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F302.6.2.2 | Fairy gives up her fairy nature and becomes mortal to be able to return to her mortal husband. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F343.10 | Fairy gives warrior equipment for soldiers. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F311.1.1 | Fairy godmother helps girl escape. England: *Baughman. |
| F311.1 | Fairy godmother. Attendant good fairy. *Type 715; Irish myth: Cross; Slavic: Máchal 257f. |
| F342.1 | Fairy gold. Fairies give coals (wood, earth) that turns to gold. *Type 503; BP I 366, III 324ff.; Hartland Science 57; Fb "kul" II 326b, "guld" I 512, "hövlspеn" I 762, "jord" II 45b.—England: Baughman; Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 308 No. 2; Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 47 No. 388; Lithuanian: Balys Legends No. 434, Index No. *771, 3648; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F332 | Fairy grateful for hospitality. England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales: *Baughman; Scotch: Campbell Tales II 51, Macdougall and Calder 215, 217. |
| F335.1 | Fairy grateful for loan of meal causes the vessel to remain full thereafter. (Cf. D1652.1.) Canada, Scotland, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| F335 | Fairy grateful for loan. *Fb "ellefolk" I 241b. |
| F339.3 | Fairy grateful for returning lost fairy child. |
| F339.1 | Fairy grateful for rides on man's back, warns him his cow is choking. Ireland: Baughman. |
| F333 | Fairy grateful to human midwife. (Cf. F372.1.) Hartland Science 55f.; Scotland, Ireland, Wales: *Baughman. |
| F332.0.1 | Fairy grateful to mortal for daily food. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F334 | Fairy grateful to mortal for healing. Hartland Science 57; U.S.: Baughman. |
| F337.1 | Fairy grateful to mortal for saving children's life. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| F337 | Fairy grateful to mortal for saving his life. (Cf. F304.5.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F223 | Fairy hall. Hartland Science 41. |
| F366.5 | Fairy hangs on to carriage on road. (Cf. E272.1.) England: Baughman. |
| F245.1 | Fairy harp. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F386.1.1 | Fairy harper enclosed in yew-tree. Irish: MacCulloch Celtic 73. |
| F262.3.1.3 | Fairy harper in tiny bronze boat. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F262.3.1.2 | Fairy harper in yew tree. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F262.3.1.1 | Fairy harper plays two harps at once. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F232.1.2 | Fairy has back rough like pine cone. U.S.: Baughman. |
| D1813.0.2 | Fairy has knowledge of how mortals fare. (Cf. D1810.0.4.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F232.8 | Fairy has long tail. (Cf. F460.1.5, F518.) England: Baughman. |
| F233.1.1 | Fairy has one side green. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F395 | Fairy has power to prevent mortal's approach. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F233.3.1 | Fairy has red eyes. U.S.: Baughman. |
| F346 | Fairy helps mortal with labor. England, Scotland, Wales: *Baughman; Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 187; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3695; Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges; Italian: Basile Pentamerone IV No. 4; Africa (Gold Coast): Barker and Sinclair 181 No. 36. |
| F262.8 | Fairy horns heard by mortals. Scotland: Baughman. |
| F241.1.3.1 | Fairy horse one-legged. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F241.1.6 | Fairy horse pulls chariot by pole which passes through his body. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F221.1 | Fairy house disappears at dawn. Irish myth: *Cross. Cf. Boberg. |
| F221.5 | Fairy house without doors. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F386.5 | Fairy imprisoned as punishment. (Cf. F386.1.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F386.1 | Fairy imprisoned in tree. (Cf. F386.5.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F234.3.3 | Fairy in form of a bundle of rags. England: Baughman. |
| F234.1 | Fairy in form of an animal. Irish myth: *Cross; Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 32 No. 268, 48 No. 396. |
| F234.1.16.3 | Fairy in form of ant. England: Baughman. |
| F234.2.5 | Fairy in form of beautiful young woman. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.15 | Fairy in form of bird. Irish myth: *Cross; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 56. |
| F234.1.1 | Fairy in form of cow (bull). Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 281ff., 291ff.; Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.4.1 | Fairy in form of doe. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.9 | Fairy in form of dog. |
| F234.1.15.2 | Fairy in form of dove. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F234.1.15.4 | Fairy in form of drake. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F234.1.10 | Fairy in form of eel. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.16.1 | Fairy in form of fly. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F234.1.6 | Fairy in form of frog. Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 271. |
| F234.1.0.1 | Fairy in form of giant animal. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F234.1.2 | Fairy in form of goat. Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 289. |
| F234.1.9.2 | Fairy in form of greyhound. Wales: Baughman. |
| F234.2.1 | Fairy in form of hag. Irish myth: *Cross; Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 227. |
| F234.1.12 | Fairy in form of hare. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.8 | Fairy in form of horse. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.16 | Fairy in form of insect. |
| F234.1.9.1 | Fairy in form of lapdog. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.16.2 | Fairy in form of moth. England: Baughman. |
| F234.3 | Fairy in form of object. |
| F234.2 | Fairy in form of person. *Type 480: *Roberts 117.—Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.11 | Fairy in form of sheep. Irish myth: Cross; Wales: Baughman. |
| F234.1.15.3 | Fairy in form of sparrow. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F234.1.4 | Fairy in form of stag. Irish myth: *Cross; Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 203. |
| F234.1.3 | Fairy in form of swine. Wales: Baughman. |
| F234.1.5 | Fairy in form of toad. *Fb "tudse" III 888b; Hartland Science 52ff. |
| F234.1.14 | Fairy in form of weasel. England: Baughman. |
| F234.1.3.1 | Fairy in form of wild boar. Irish: MacCulloch Celtic 126, *Cross. |
| F234.1.13 | Fairy in form of wolf. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.1.7 | Fairy in form of worm (snake, serpent). Irish myth: *Cross; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F236.1.6 | Fairy in green clothes. Irish myth: Cross; England, Scotland, Wales: Baughman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F234.2.2 | Fairy in hideous form. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F234.2.4 | Fairy in likeness of another. (Cf. F239.2.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F369.4.1 | Fairy incites mortals to war. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| K1072 | Fairy induces hero to dive into lake which makes person old. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F239.4.3 | Fairy is tiny. Irish myth: *Cross; England, Scotland: Baughman. |
| F389.4 | Fairy killed by mortal. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F361.17.6 | Fairy kills dog that refuses to let fairy sleep in stack. Scotland: Baughman. |
| F361.17.7 | Fairy kills man who refuses his hospitality. Man refuses to visit fairy after being invited. (Cf. F361.15.) England: Baughman. |
| F369.3 | Fairy kills mortal's hound (horses). Irish myth: Cross. |
| F304.1 | Fairy king punishes ravisher of his daughter. Malone PMLA XLIII 406; Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| F233.5.1 | Fairy king with yellow hair. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F252.1 | Fairy king. Keightley 50ff.; Malone PMLA XLIII 422; Irish myth: *Cross; English: Wells 128 (Sir Orfeo), England, Wales: Baughman; Icelandic: MacCulloch Eddic 225; India: Thompson-Balys; Papua: Ker 73. Cf. Oberon in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and in Huon of Bordeaux. |
| F302.3.4.1 | Fairy kisses man. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F316 | Fairy lays curse on child. (Cf. F312.1.1.) *Type 410; Icelandic: Nornagests юáttr (Bugge ed. 1864) 76, Boberg. |
| M411.16 | Fairy lays curse on village. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges. |
| F343.8 | Fairy leaves goats as purchase price for girl he has carried off. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F381.6 | Fairy leaves when druid utters spell that drowns her voice. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F381.11 | Fairy leaves when given impossible tasks to do. Scotland: Baughman. |
| F381.3 | Fairy leaves when he is given clothes. BP I 364; England, Scotland, U.S.: Baughman. |
| F381.1 | Fairy leaves when he is named. BP I 366; cf. Type 500. |
| F217.1 | Fairy lights seen in low places. Fb "lys" II 481a. |
| F225 | Fairy lives in a shell. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F301.6 | Fairy lover abducts fairy wife of mortal. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F301.2 | Fairy lover entices mortal girl. |
| F301 | Fairy lover. Fb "underjordiske" III 975a; Dickson 121 n. 65; Hartland Science 64; Irish myth: *Cross; Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 133ff.; Icelandic: Boberg, *Feilberg DF V 43ff.; India: Thompson-Balys; Chinese: Werner 343. |
| F381.5 | Fairy lured away from house by treasure which he claims. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| Q172.0.1 | Fairy minstrel asks admission to heaven as reward for playing for saint. (Cf. F262.3.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F393.1 | Fairy minstrel lives among mortals to learn of their heroic deeds. (Cf. F262.3.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F262.3 | Fairy minstrel. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F262.3.2 | Fairy minstrel's birds sing accompaniment. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F262.3.3 | Fairy minstrel's music heard far and wide. Irish myth: Cross. |
| K2369.9 | Fairy mist mistaken for smoke of enemy's burning ships. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F302.5 | Fairy mistress and mortal wife. |
| F302.8 | Fairy mistress demands mortal lover deny Christian teachings. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F302.5.4 | Fairy mistress demands that man send his mortal wife away. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F302.6 | Fairy mistress leaves man when he breaks tabu. See all references to C31, C31.1.2, C31.2, C31.4.1, C31.4.2. Irish myth: *Cross; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F302.7 | Fairy mistress prophesies mortal lover's fate in battle. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F302.9 | Fairy mistress rescues hero from battle. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F361.17.9 | Fairy mistress strikes her disobedient human lover on the face and predicts death. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F302.5.1 | Fairy mistress surrenders man to his mortal wife (Wildfrau). *Heltzel Philological Quarterly VIII (1930) 348; Irish myth: *Cross Icelandic: Hálfdanar saga Brönufуstra (whole saga). |
| F302.5.2 | Fairy mistress transforms man's human wife. (Cf. F302.3.2.2.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F302.5.5 | Fairy mistress tries to destroy mortal's wife (mother) by sending her a magic belt. Krappe Revue des études Grecques LII (1939) 569ff. |
| F302 | Fairy mistress. Mortal man marries or lives with fairy woman. *Hoffman-Krayer Zs f. Vksk. XXV 120 n. 4; *Puckett MPh XVI 297; Clouston Tales I 212ff.; Malone PMLA XLIII 406; *Grimes The Lays of Desiré, Graelent and Melion (New York, 1928); *Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIII 97ff.—Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: Hjálmthèrs saga ok ölvis 477, Boberg; Finnish-Swedish: Wessman 56 No. 483; Lappish: Qvigstad FFC LX 44 Nos 42, 43; India: *Thompson-Balys; Indonesia: De Vries's list No. 151; Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 500. |
| F305.1.1 | Fairy mother bestows magic powers upon half-mortal son. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| R121.8 | Fairy mound destroyed to rescue person confined in it. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D1812.5.1.13 | Fairy music as evil omen. Irish myth: Cross. |
| D1555.4 | Fairy music causes earth to open (burst). (Cf. D1275.1, F262.) Irish myth: Cross (D1558). |
| F262.3.6 | Fairy music causes joy (laughter). Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F262.3.5 | Fairy music causes mourning. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F262.3.4 | Fairy music causes sleep. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F262.3.7 | Fairy music causes weakness. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F262.4 | Fairy music compared to music of Heaven. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F262.10.2 | Fairy music issues from fairy ring. England: Baughman. |
| F262.10.1 | Fairy music issues from stone. England: Baughman. |
| F262.9 | Fairy music makes seven years seem like one day to mortal hearer. (Cf. D2011.1.) England: Baughman. |
| F262.6 | Fairy music so potent it would cause wounded men to sleep. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F262.10 | Fairy music—-miscellaneous. |
| F262.5 | Fairy music—person listening is without food or sleep for a year. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F383.4 | Fairy must leave at cockcrow. Type 503; Hartland Science 145; Scotch: Macdougall and Calder 229. |
| N815.1 | Fairy nurse as helper. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F302.3.2.1 | Fairy offers aid to man if he will marry her. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F302.3.2 | Fairy offers gifts to man to be her paramour. Irish myth: *Cross; English: Child I 314, 375f., 384, III 504a, V 214; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| F343.11 | Fairy offers man change of form and feature for aid in battle. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F343.0.1 | Fairy offers mortal choice of magic objects. (Cf. D813.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F302.3.2.2 | Fairy offers to disenchant mortal wife if man will marry her. (Cf. F302.5.2.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F160.0.2 | Fairy otherworld confused with land of the dead. (Cf. A671.0.4.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| D2185.1 | Fairy personage (god?) houses mistress in crystal bower. (Cf. F165.3.5.1.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| R33 | Fairy physician abducted to heal wounded mortals. (Cf. F344.) Irish myth: Cross. |
| F344.2 | Fairy physician can heal anyone whose spine is not severed. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F274 | Fairy physician. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F315 | Fairy predicts birth of child. Irish myth: *Cross; Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "naissance". |
| F317 | Fairy predicts future greatness of newborn child. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F312 | Fairy presides at child's birth. Sometimes the Norns, the Fates, etc. *Type 410; BP I 439; *W. B. McDaniel Conception, Birth and Infancy in Ancient Rome and Modern Italy (Coconut Grove, Florida, 1948).—Icelandic: Nornagests юáttr (Bugge ed. 1864) 76, Corpus Poeticum Boreale I 131, *Boberg; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| F369.6 | Fairy prevents butter coming. (Cf. D2084.2.) U.S.: Baughman. |
| F383.4.1 | Fairy prince becomes mortal when surprised by daylight. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F232.4.2 | Fairy princess with golden hair. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F251.8 | Fairy professes faith in Christianity. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F349.4 | Fairy promises abundant crops, etc., to mortal. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F386.2 | Fairy punished for marrying a mortal. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F386 | Fairy punished. |
| F361.14 | Fairy punishes servant girl who fails to leave food for him. England, Wales: *Baughman. |
| F252.2 | Fairy queen. T. Keightley The Fairy Mythology (London, 1873) 53ff.; Irish myth: *Cross; Icelandic: MacCulloch Eddic 225, Boberg; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| F304.2 | Fairy queen's beauty temporarily destroyed by intercourse with mortal. English: Child I 327. |
| F341.2 | Fairy ransoms self with wish. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F304.4.1 | Fairy ravished by mortal strikes flesh from his ear. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F361.2.1 | Fairy recovers stolen cup by posing as a beggar. Hartland Science 141. |
| F305.1 | Fairy relative makes gifts to half-mortal child. (Cf. F340.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F383 | Fairy rendered powerless. |
| F281 | Fairy replaces man's heart with heart of straw. Eyes with wood, etc. English: Child I 343—356 passim. |
| R131.12 | Fairy rescues abandoned child. (Cf. F311.) Krappe Balor 3; Irish myth: Cross. |
| F259.3 | Fairy reveals her true identity when despite heavy rain she remains dry. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F366.2.2 | Fairy rides behind man on horse. Ireland: Baughman. |
| F261.1 | Fairy rings on grass. Seen after fairy dance. Irish myth: Cross; English: Brueyre RTP II 74ff.; Slavic: Máchal 259. |
| F301.8 | Fairy runs away from wedding with mortal girl. Irish myth: Cross. |
| D1731.2.1 | Fairy seen in dream. (Cf. F471.2, K2035.) Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F346.0.1 | Fairy serves mortal. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F244.2 | Fairy shows hiding place of treasure in return for freedom. (Cf. N538.) Ireland: Baughman. |
| F273.1 | Fairy shows remarkable skill as marksman. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F273.2 | Fairy shows remarkable skill as runner. Irish myth: *Cross. |
| F273 | Fairy shows remarkable skill. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F343.3 | Fairy smith gives knight a magic sword. English: Wells 32 (Layamon's Brut); Scotch: Campbell Tales III 122. |
| F385.1 | Fairy spell averted by turning coat. This is supposed to reverse the spell. *Kittredge Witchcraft 215, 523 n. 21. |
| F321 | Fairy steals child from cradle. Hartland Science 98—106 passim; Irish myth: *Cross; Lappish: Qvigstad FFC LX 43 No. 35; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| F365.0.1 | Fairy steals on Hallowe'en. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F222.2 | Fairy stronghold. Irish myth: Cross. |
| F302.3.4.4 | Fairy takes lover back to fairyland in magic sleep. *Krappe Romania LX (1934) 79ff. |
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.