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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 |
|---|---|
| J1933 | Numskull tries to dig up a well (spring). He wants to take it home. Köhler-Bolte I 533; Clouston Noodles 67. |
| J1934 | A hole to throw the earth in. Numskull plans to dig a hole so as to have a place to throw the earth from his excavation. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 227 No. 480; Christensen DF XL VII 201 no. 37; Jewish: Neuman. |
| J1935 | Articles sent by telegraph. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1935.1 | Boots sent by telegraph. A peasant hangs boots and an accompanying letter on a telegraph wire, expecting them to reach the city. Type 1710; Christensen DF XLVII 204 no. 50; U.S. (Ozarks): *Randolph Devil's Pretty Daughter (New York, 1955) 195. |
| J1936 | How he looks in his sleep. A man stands before mirror with his eyes shut to see how he looks in his sleep. Clouston Noodles 9. |
| J1936.1 | Man takes mirror to bed to see whether he sleeps with his mouth open. England: *Baughman. |
| J1937 | Absurd ideas about the dead. |
| J1937.1 | Dead man identified by his cough. Numskull asked to identify corpse tries to do so by his cough. Clouston Noodles 15. |
| J1937.2 | A healthy place for a tomb. Numskull objects to unhealthy place for his tomb. Clouston Noodles 9. |
| J1938 | Porridge in the ice hole. They put meal in the boiling current of the ice hole and then, one after another, they jump in to taste the porridge. Type 1260; Clouston Noodles 44; Field Pent Cuckoo 17; Christensen DF XLVII 178; India: Thompson-Balys; Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 255. |
| J1941 | How far his voice will reach. A numskull cries from a tower and then runs away to see how far his voice will reach. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 191 No. 373. |
| J1942 | Holding in the heat. A numskull ties yarn around the stove to keep the heat from escaping. Type 1271B*. |
| J1943 | Examining the sundial by candle-light. Numskull tries to find the time of night. Clouston Noodles 76; England: Baughman. |
| J1943.1 | Sundial covered in order to protect it. Christensen DF XLVII no. 46. |
| J1944 | Trying to get fruit from fruitless tree. |
| J1944.1 | Numskulls try to get pears from an oaktree. They accuse each other of eating all the pears. Wesselski Bebel II 147 No. 149. |
| J1945 | Warming hands across the river. Numskull stretches out his hands toward the fire across the river. Clouston Noodles 68. |
| J1946 | As tired as if he had walked. So says the numskull after riding to town on his stick horse. *Wesselski Bebel II 158 No. 182. |
| J1947 | Drying snow to make salt. Wesselski Bebel II 89. |
| J1952 | Fire and water mixed to make sacrifice. Fool told that he needed only the two. Penzer V 68. |
| J1955 | Demand that murderer restore life to victim. |
| J1955.1 | Woman runs after guest to tell him he must restore her husband whom he has unintentionally killed. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1959 | Absurd disregard of natural laws—miscellaneous. |
| J1959.1 | Simpleton drives goats into a well, because he thinks it would be cooler for them. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1959.1.1 | Hot sickle put into water to cure its fever. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1959.2 | Substitute for the corpse. Fool loses his mother's corpse on way to funeral. Mistakes old woman for mother and substitutes her. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1960 | Other absurd disregard of facts. |
| J1961 | White sheep-skin used as a source of light. Type 1245*. |
| J1961.1 | Trying to catch light in a mouse-trap. Type 1245**. |
| J1962 | The yeast as an afterthought. An old woman who has forgotten to knead it in the dough throws it into the stove. Type 1261*. |
| J1963 | The fool puts but one stick of wood in the stove. "Several others have burned up." Type 1260*. |
| J1964 | Tree-trunks laid crosswise of the sledge. *Type 1248; BP III 302. Cf. Type 801. |
| J1964.1 | Trying to stretch the beam. *Type 1244. |
| J1965 | Protected by the needle. In a storm on the ice, numskulls stick needles into the ice to keep from blowing away. Type 1279. |
| J1966 | The wall accuses the crowbar. But the man who uses the crowbar is to blame for the downfall of the wall. Wienert FFC LVI 75 (ET 400), 123 (ST 319); Halm Aesop No. 402. |
| J1967 | Numskull bales out the stream. He comes to a stream but not wishing to get his feet wet he sits down to wait for the stream to run down. He helps to bale the stream out with a hazelnut shell and keeps it up for months. Italian: Gonzenbach No. 17, Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1968 | Foolish fight with the sea. Absurd attempt to punish sea. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 254. Cf. Yeats's "Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea." |
| J1968.1 | Foolish fight with the sun. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1971 | Fools try to use buffalo tongue as a knife. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 253. |
| J1972 | Stupid woman swims on the roof. Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 324 No. 161. |
| J1973 | Tree pulled down in order to give it water to drink. Type 1241; Christensen DF XLVII 179. |
| J1974 | Fool tries to purify cotton by burning it (as the goldsmith does with gold). Penzer V 70; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1976 | Numskulls are affected by heat from stove which has no fire in it. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1977 | Mouth and ears stopped up lest wisdom escape. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2010 | Uncertainty about own identity. |
| J2012 | Person does not know himself. Fb "selv"; L. Schmidt Oesterr. Zs f. Vksk. 1954, 129ff.; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2012.1 | Numskull's beard cut off: does not know himself. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 274 No. 298; Christensen DF XLVII 27, 221 No. 83; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2012.2 | Woman's garments cut off: does not know herself. *Type 1383; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 274 No. 298; Christensen DF XLVII 35. |
| J2012.3 | Woman in tar and feathers does not know herself. *Type 1383; Fb "tjære" III 811a; Christensen DF XLVII 35; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2012.4 | Fool in new clothes does not know himself. Wesselski Mönchslatein 193 No. 152; Christensen DF XLVII 221 No. 83. |
| J2012.5 | Man does not know himself from another identically clad. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 214 No. 43. |
| J2012.6 | Fool at baths believes he is someone else. Sees everybody naked. Puts straw on his shoulder to identify himself. Straw floats to another bather. "You are me and I am you!" Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2013 | Man made to believe that he is someone else. *Chauvin VIII 96 No. 67; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2013.1 | White man made to believe that he is a negro. Sleeps with a negro. His friends blacken him during the night. When he is waked up, he complains that they have waked the wrong man. Clouston Noodles 7; L. Schmidt Oesterr. Zs. f. Vksk. 1954, 130; England, U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2013.2 | Man made to believe that he is a dog. He barks at people. *Type 1406; Bédier Fabliaux 265ff.; *Crane Vitry 227 No. 231. |
| J2013.3 | Pumpkin tied to another's leg. A numskull ties a pumpkin to his leg at night so that he shall know himself in the morning. Someone ties the pumpkin to another's leg and the numskull is not sure of his identity next morning. Clouston Noodles 7. |
| J2013.4 | Numskull made to believe he is an evil spirit. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2014 | Fool does not recognize his own house and family. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2015 | His pupils grab a dog's tail and think it is their master's. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2016 | Man does not recognize his name when it is called: he is accustomed to hear his nickname. (Cf. K1984.3.) U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2020 | Inability to find own members, etc. |
| J2021 | Numskulls cannot find their own legs. A stranger helps them with a switch. (Usually get them mixed up when they sit down to bathe their feet.) Type 1288; BP III 150 n. 1; *Fb "ben" IV 32b; Clouston Noodles 32; Christensen DF XLVII 183. |
| J2021.1 | Numskull asks doctor which leg (own) is hurting him. Italian Novella: Rotunda; Nouvelles Récréations No. 11. |
| J2022 | Numskull cannot find ass he is sitting on. *Type 1288A; *BP III 150; Christensen DF XLVII 182. |
| J2023 | Numskull doesn't recognize his own horse. Finds it only when the rest ride away and he takes the only one left. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 234 No. 100; Italian Novella: Rotunda (J2043). |
| J2024 | Numskull rides backward. "I didn't get on backward but the horse seems to be left-handed." *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 235 No. 100. |
| J2025 | Inability to find object one is carrying. |
| J2025.1 | Man searches for axe which he carries on his shoulder. Africa (Ila, Rhodesia): Smith and Dale II 407 No. 4. |
| J2025.2 | Woman cannot find pastry which is sticking to her posterior. Mensa Philosophica No. 48. |
| J2026 | Fools try to fight with man inside of drum who seems to make the noise. Are really pounding each other. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2027 | Opium-smoker on journey asks his way about; ends up at his own house. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2030 | Absurd inability to count. Christensen DF XLVII 181ff.; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2031 | Counting wrong by not counting oneself. Numskulls conclude that one of their number is drowned. *Type 1287; *BP III 149 n. 1; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 267 No. 261; *Clouston Noodles 28ff., 192; *Field Pent Cuckoo 8; Köhler-Bolte I 112; Christensen DF XLVII 181ff. — Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 317 No. 153; India: *Thompson-Balys; Indonesia: Coster-Wijsman 66 No. 111. |
| J2031.1 | Numskulls count selves by sticking their noses in the sand. They then count the holes. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 268 No. 261. |
| J2031.2 | There are ten horses; then when he is mounted there are only nine. Why? *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 267 No. 261; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2031.3 | Culture hero throws coconuts to various islands, but forgets one he stands on: hence none now on that island. Cook Islands: Beckwith Myth 104, cf. 270. |
| J2032 | Are there nine or ten geese? Ten men are called in; each is to take a goose. If all have a goose, there are ten. One man is left without one. Numskull: "You should have taken one before they were all gone." Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 246 No. 143. |
| J2033 | Three girls distressed by seemingly impossible task of going and returning together — one in half month, other in fifteen days, other in seven plus eight days. Chinese: Graham. |
| J2035 | The interrupted calculation. While the merchant is making calculations, he asks the age of his youngest daughter, the elder daughter, and the mother, and always adds this to the number he has reached. Type 1592*. |
| J2036 | Keeping the measure by stretching out the arms. Numskull goes to buy goods for his wife. Clouston Noodles 90; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 248 No. 161. |
| J2037 | Numskulls buy things in common: each pays full price. |
| J2037.1 | Numskulls buy church in common: each pays full price. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 1336*. |
| J2037.2 | Three brothers buy cow for common use; each brother pays the farmer full price. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2040 | Absurd absent-mindedness—miscellaneous. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2041 | Actor forgets and speaks in his own person. |
| J2041.1 | In Passion Play the Christ says, "I am thirsty"; the thief on the left speaks up, "I too." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 864. |
| J2044 | Fool forgets master's message. As result of his absent-mindedness he is given a heavy mortar to take to his master. The latter makes him return it as punishment. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2045 | Fool believes plea of not guilty even though he has seen man injure him. Nouvelles Récréations No. 2. |
| J2046 | Law student forgets his speech. Absurd results. Nouvelles Récréations No. 76. |
| J2047 | Hero keeps on leading his horse without discovering that it is dead. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J2048 | Given things for self and relatives, fool forgets to take his own. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2050 | Absurd short-sightedness. *Wienert FFC LVI 108 (15*). |
| J2051 | Wise man short-sightedly scorned for his advice. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| J2052 | God's mercy contrasted with man's short-sightedness. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| J2060 | Absurd plans. Air-castles. *Type 1430; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 249 No. 163; *Chauvin V 162 No. 85. |
| J2060.1 | Quarrel and fight over details of air-castles. *Type 1430; BP III 275; *Gerould MLN XIX 228; India: *Thompson-Balys; Arab: Azov JPASB (n.s.) II 402f.; Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 269, Coster-Wijsman 65f. Nos. 107—110. |
| J2060.2 | Man plants hedge: sheep will leave wool on the thorns and bring riches. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2060.3 | To build a palace in the sky: hawk as architect is let fly in the air. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2060.4 | Fools cast lots for royal purple of queen who is still alive. Jewish: Neuman. |
| J2061 | Air-castle shattered by lack of forethought. |
| J2061.1 | Air-castle: the jar of honey to be sold. In his excitement he breaks the jar. *BP III 261f.; *Chauvin II 101 No. 60; *Gerould MLN XIX 229; B[ö]dker Exempler 300 No. 65; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Italian Novella; *Rotunda; Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas IV 55, 277; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2061.1.1 | Air-castle: basket of glassware to be sold. In his excitement he breaks the glassware. BP III 264. |
| J2061.1.2 | Air-castle: basket of eggs to be sold. In her excitement she breaks all the eggs. *BP III 265; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 520; *Fb "æg" III 1141b; *Gerould MLN XIX 226; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2061.1.3 | Pot of flour to be sold: broken. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2061.1.4 | Air-castle: jar of oil to be sold. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2061.2 | Air-castle: pail of milk to be sold. Proud milkmaid tosses her head (or kicks the pail in her sleep) and spills the milk. *BP III 264; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 520; *Crane Vitry 154f. No. 51; **Gerould MLN XIX 225; Jacobs Aesop 219 No. 77; Nouvelles Récréations No. 12; Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas IV 55, 277. |
| J2061.2.1 | Air-castles: pail of milk to be sold. Old woman thinks about the horse she is finally to get from the sale. In her imagination she spurs it and spills the milk. *Gerould MLN XIX 225. |
| J2061.3 | Air-castle: to sell hide of sleeping deer. In his excitement he wakes the deer, who runs off. *BP III 265. |
| J2061.4 | Toad having found money daydreams and is run over. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2062 | Foolish illustration of argument. |
| J2062.1 | Which way the sheep shall return. One man plans to buy sheep; another says that he shall not drive them across the bridge. They quarrel over the sheep, which have not yet been acquired. A third numskull to convince them of their foolishness pours all his meal out in the water so as to show them the empty sack. "How much meal is in the sack?" he asks. "None." "There is just that much wit in your heads." *Clouston Noodles 26; Field Pent Cuckoo 2; England: Baughman. |
| J2062.2 | Foolish logician upsets ghee in argument. "Does the ghee protect the saucer, or the saucer the ghee?" India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2062.3 | How was the town burned? India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2063 | Distress over imagined troubles of unborn child. (Clever Else.) Girl sent to cellar to get wine to serve the suitor begins weeping over the troubles of the child which she might have if she married the suitor. Her parents join her. Meanwhile the suitor leaves. *Type 1450; *BP I 335; *Clouston Noodles 191; Christensen DF L 35; Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas IV 55, 277; India: Thompson-Balys; Jamaica: *Beckwith MAFLS XVII 285 No. 125. |
| J2063.1 | Queen grieves herself to death over fate of her children after her death. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2064 | Servant plans to deceive his master by refusing to eat. Type 1698**. |
| J2066 | Foolish waiting. |
| J2066.1 | The hungry fox waits in vain for horse's scrotum (lips) to fall off. Type 115. |
| J2066.2 | The daw waits in vain for the figs to ripen in winter. Wienert FFC LVI 45 (ET 25), 119 (ST 288); Halm Aesop 199. |
| J2066.3 | Men (animals) wait in vain for nuts to fall from a tree. Africa (Ila, Rhodesia): Smith and Dale II 410 No. 8; American Negro: Harris Nights 223 No. 38. |
| J2066.3.1 | Waiting in vain for fruit to fall from a non-fruitbearing tree. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2066.4 | Wolf scorns salt meat (etc.) in false expectation of other booty. Wesselski Märchen 250 No. 58; Spanish: Espinosa Jr. No. 3. |
| J2066.5 | Wolf waits in vain for the nurse to throw away the child. She has threatened to throw the child to the wolf. Wienert FFC LVI 68 (ET 320), 102 (ST 156); Halm Aesop No. 275; Jacobs Aesop 211 No. 46; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J2066.6 | Dog waits to be hit with meat. A butcher has threatened to hit him with a piece of meat. Chauvin III 57 No. 16. |
| J2066.6.1 | Dog follows washerwoman with bundle hoping for meat. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2066.7 | Dupe waits for rear wheels of wagon to overtake front wheels. Is told that money is thus made. England, U.S.: Baughman; American Negro: Harris Friends 122 No. 16. |
| J2066.8 | Hare waits in vain for leaves to fall from palm tree. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2066.9 | Hare waits in vain for man's hand to fall off. He sees it dangling. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2067 | Sacrifice equal to the reward. |
| J2067.1 | Sacrifice of one son to get another. A woman plans to sacrifice her only son so that the gods will permit her to give birth to another son. Penzer V 94. |
| J2070 | Absurd wishes. |
| J2071 | Three foolish wishes. Three wishes will be granted: used up foolishly. *Bédier Fabliaux 212ff., 471; Type 750; *Bolte Zs. f. vgl. Litgsch. VII 453; *BP II 212; *Fb "[ö]nske" III 1179a. — Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "souhaits"; Spanish Exempla: Keller; India: Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda; Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 213, Coster-Wijsman 46 No. 56. |
| J2072 | Short-sighted wish. |
| J2072.1 | Short-sighted wish: Midas's touch. Everything to turn to gold. *BP II 213; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 180; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *775. |
| J2072.2 | Short-sighted wish: grain to grow without beards. Birds eat it up. *BP II 213. |
| J2072.3 | Short-sighted wish: all he pulls on will follow. He blows his nose and it pulls out long. *BP II 213. |
| J2072.4 | A man without a stomach. The man complains that he is a mere slave of his stomach. His wish is granted and the stomach taken away from him. He discovers soon that life has become very uninteresting to him, and recovers his stomach again. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *716. |
| J2072.5 | Short-sighted wish: camel wishes a long neck. Killed by jackals. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2072.6 | Old woman demands something that she would remember all her life: her nose cut off. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2073 | Same wishes used wisely and foolishly. Given to two persons with opposite results. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2073.1 | Wise and foolish wish: keep doing all day what you begin. One begins pulling linen out of a box; other in anger begins throwing water on the pig and must do so all day. *Type 750A; *Fb "[ö]nske" III 1179a; *BP II 214; *Dh II 140ff. |
| J2073.1.1 | Wise and foolish wish: help in whatever one is doing. One gets help in work, other in striking his wife (etc.). *Jamaica: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 262 No. 65. |
| J2074 | Twice the wish to the enemy. (The covetous and the envious). A can have a wish, but B will get twice the wish. A wishes that he may lose an eye, so that B may be blind. *Type 1331; *BP II 219 n. 1; Crane Vitry 212 No. 126; Bédier Fabliaux 457; Wienert FFC LVI 79 (ET 446), 132 (ST 387); Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 647; *Reinhard JAFL XXXVI 383 n. 1; Scala Celi 106b No. 589; Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIX 31.—Spanish Exempla: Keller; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2075 | The transferred wish. A husband, given three wishes, transfers one to his wife, who wastes it on a trifle; in his anger he wishes the article in her body and must use the third to get it out. *Type 750A; *BP II 220, 225; N. A. Indian: Thompson CColl II 454. |
| J2075.1 | Transferred wish wisely used as well as unwisely. (J2075 contrasted with a married couple in which the wish is wisely used by the wife.) *BP II 223. |
| J2075.2 | Two transferred wishes used unwisely: redeemed by wise use of third. Wife uses two transferred wishes selfishly. Husband kills wife and uses remaining wish to his advantage. Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J2075.3 | Woman disdainfully throws away pills; punished with sores on body, must use the pills to restore herself. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2075.4 | Wife granted wish for beauty, elopes with prince. Husband wishes her into a pig; son must use third wish to restore her. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2076 | Absurdly modest wish. Granted any wish, the fool chooses a trifle. Penzer V 96. |
| J2076.1 | Absurdly modest wish: no lights on certain night except in her own house. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2079 | Absurd wishes—miscellaneous. |
| J2079.1 | Wife wishes to be turned to gold. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2079.2 | Foolish wish: to destroy all flies and spiders. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2080 | Foolish bargains. Missouri French: Carrière; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2081 | Foolish bargain: progressive type. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2081.1 | Foolish bargain: horse for cow, cow for hog, etc. Finally nothing left. *Type 1415; *BP II 199; English: Wells 118 (Octovian); India: *Thompson-Balys; Indonesia: Coster-Wijsman 57 No. 84; N. A. Indian (Zuni): Boas JAFL XXXV 74 No. 3. Cf. Africa (Ibo, Nigeria): Thomas 128. |
| J2081.2 | Foolish bargain: good fish for worthless shell; shell with pearl in it for small fish. Chauvin II 83 No. 10, cf. II 89 No. 28. |
| J2081.3 | Fool exchanges his wife with ox; thinks something to be wrong with her head (she has been marked with red at the parting of her hair). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2081.4 | Fools sent to buy cow procure a monkey instead. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2082 | Squaring accounts by shaving the wife. A numskull has paid twice the regular amount for a shave. The barber shaves the wife. Clouston Noodles 180. |
| J2083 | The foolish attempt to cheat the buyer. |
| J2083.1 | One-third for the price of one-fourth. In the grain sale the fool sells a third of a cask for the price of a fourth, thinking that he is cheating the buyer. Type 1266*. |
| J2083.2 | Two for the price of one. The fool sells two fox-skins pulled into each other. Type 1265*. |
| J2083.3 | Seller of fox skins mixes otter skins with them. Thinks to cheat the buyer. Type 1300*. |
| J2083.4 | Ten for the price of nine. A fool buys nine eggs and sells ten for the same price. He says that business is improving. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 209 No. 12. |
| J2083.5 | A heaping measure given for a level measure. *Fb "skjæppe" III 276a. |
| J2083.6 | Selling more yards of goods for the money than they received. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2085 | Foolish reward offered. |
| J2085.1 | Lost ass, saddle, and bridle offered as reward to the finder. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 231 No. 496. |
| J2085.1.1 | Man trades his only horse for a set of harness. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2086 | The foolish pawn. The woman sells cows and gets one of them back as a pledge for the unpaid purchase price. *Type 1385; *BP II 440; Christensen DF L 35. |
| J2087 | The persuasive auctioneer. The auctioneer praises the man's worthless cow so much in his speech that the man takes her back himself. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 276 No. 309; Clouston Noodles 72; U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2088 | The considerate seller. A numskull having an over-short turban for sale at auction warns the prospective buyer that it is too short. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 223 No. 58. |
| J2088.1 | The fool advises the buyer that the horse is worth little or his father would not sell it. *Wesselski Bebel I 208 No. 95. |
| J2088.2 | Seller advises buyer that cow is a thief. Breton: Luzel Legendes chrétiennes de Basse Bretagne (Paris, 1881) I 16. |
| J2091 | Thief warned what not to steal. The numskull tells the thief where his door-key, his cakes, and his roasts are and warns him not to steal them. *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. IX 87. |
| J2091.1 | Fool hides treasure and leaves sign "Here it is." Thief leaves sign "Here it is not." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 74; Mensa Philosophica No. 141. |
| J2092 | The trusted porters. A man finds a treasure, but is robbed by porters whom he has employed to rid him of the trouble of carrying it. Chauvin II 82 No. 2; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 179; B[ö]dker Exempler 272 No. 2; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J2093 | Valuables given away or sold for trifle. |
| J2093.1 | Numskull gives away the old water bag in which the money is hid. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 201 No. 393. |
| J2093.2 | Woman gives a jewel for a salad. The recipient is also a numskull and doesn't know its value. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 30. |
| J2093.3 | Fool ignorant of value of jewel throws it away. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2093.3.1 | Boy refuses pearls for worthless stones; jeweler recognizes them for what they are. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2093.4 | Good timber given for useless because wife says they will have only sickness and trouble. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2093.5 | Sacks of gold and silver traded for sacks of rice. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2093.6 | Gold and jewels sold for trifle. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2094 | Expensive wood burned to make charcoal. Penzer V 67. |
| J2095 | To eat a hundred onions. Choice of eating 100 onions, receiving 100 blows, or paying 100 coins. Fool tries onions in vain, then the blows, and finally must give the coins. *Zachariae Kleine Schriften 170; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 349; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2096 | Stupid boy convinced that trading all his silver for worthless cup will gain people's respect. Chinese: Graham. |
| J2099 | Foolish bargain: miscellaneous. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2099.1 | Woman exchanges a horse for a sack of bones. She has been falsely told that the sack is filled with gold. Type 2007*. |
| J2100 | Remedies worse than the disease. |
| J2101 | Getting rid of the cat. In a land in which cats are not known, one is bought at a great price. It eats many mice. By misunderstanding, they think the cat is a monster. In order to get rid of it they set the house on fire. *Type 1281; BP II 72 n. 1; Christensen DF XLVII 219ff. no. 82. |
| J2101.1 | Lighting the cat's tail. Woman wishing to punish a cat fastens cotton to its tail and lights it. The whole village is burnt. Clouston Noodles 65; Wesselski Märchen 251 No. 59; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2102 | Expensive means of being rid of insects. |
| J2102.1 | Sleeping in shoes to avoid insect bites. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 237 No. 524. |
| J2102.2 | Snake rids himself of wasps: he lets himself be run over by a cart wheel along with them. Wienert FFC LVI 49 (ET 49), 128 (ST 363); Halm Aesop No. 393. |
| J2102.3 | Bald man aims at a fly: hurts his head. Jacobs Aesop 204 No. 18; Wienert FFC LVI 67 (ET 313), 128 (ST 361). |
| J2102.4 | House burned down to rid it of insects. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 37; *BP III 288; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 244 No. 137; Christensen DF XLVII 219ff. No. 82; India: Thompson-Balys; Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 267. |
| J2102.4.1 | House burned down to get rid of lizard. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2102.5 | Burning the wasp nest. The house catches fire and burns. Clouston Noodles 40 n. 1; England: Baughman. |
| J2102.6 | Clothes burned to rid them of insects. Wienert FFC LVI 65 (ET 288), 128 (ST 362); Halm Aesop No. 411. |
| J2102.7 | Crop burned to rid it of insects. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2102.8 | Frogs to eat insects, snakes to eat frogs. Snakes eat numskull's family. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2103 | Expensive extermination of rodents. |
| J2103.1 | The cat to guard the cheese. A farmer troubled with mice eating his cheese places a cat in the tub with the cheese. She eats the mice and the cheese. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 35; *Crane Vitry 138 No. 11; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J2103.1.1 | The cat and the eel-pie. Woman puts cat in flour bin to catch a mouse. The cat eats the pie in the bin and loses interest in the mouse. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2103.2 | Pursuing the rabbit who harmed the garden. Peasant asks a nobleman's help against a rabbit. The nobleman chases the rabbit on horseback for five days and ruins the peasant's crop. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 25. |
| J2103.2.1 | King ruins his garden to get rid of viper. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2103.3 | House burned down to get rid of rats. (Cf. J2102.4.1.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2104 | Moving the fireplace. When it gives too much heat numskulls decide to move it instead of putting out the fire. Type 1325*. |
| J2104.1 | Cleaning the church by moving it. A cow fouls a church. Numskulls try to move the church with ropes. Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 293 No. 4. |
| J2105 | Protecting the prince's slumber. To keep croaking frogs from disturbing him, the fools shoot at the frogs all night. Type 1329*. |
| J2106 | Man kills self to make quarrelsome wife a widow. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2107 | Taming the bull by cutting off his horns. It makes him the more violent. *Wienert FFC LVI 71 (ET 360), 116 (ST 263). |
| J2108 | Punishing the dog by feeding him. A man is bitten by a dog. On the advice of an old woman he rubs bread on the wound and gives it to the dog. All dogs will bite him if they thus get double reward. Wienert FFC LVI 85 (ET 520), 116 (ST 265); Halm Aesop No. 221. |
| J2112 | Gray hair cured by pulling it out so that the person is bald. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 504; U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2112.1 | Young wife pulls out his gray hairs; old wife his black. Soon all are gone. *Chauvin II 128 No. 134; Fb "hеr" IV 241b; Crane Vitry 215 No. 201; *Herbert III 16; Wienert FFC LVI 82 (ET 489), 129 (ST 372); Halm Aesop No. 56; Jewish: Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2113 | Getting the calf's head out of the pot. A calf gets its head caught in a pot. A fool cuts off the calf's head and then breaks the pot to get it out. Clouston Noodles 89; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2113.1 | Man strikes off donkey's head to punish it. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2114 | Snakes in pond to be killed: eels also killed. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2115 | Fools take fatal overdose of medicine. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2119 | Remedies worse than the disease—miscellaneous. |
| J2119.1 | Nose cut off to get it out of the light. Koryak, Eskimo: Jochelson JE VI 364. |
| J2119.1.1 | Improving the wife's face by cutting off her nose. Penzer V 68f.; *Krappe Bulletin Hispanique XXXIX 21 No. 76. |
| J2119.2 | Straight path not always shortest. (Cf. J21.5.) |
| J2119.2.1 | Taking the short-cut. Farmer takes a few feet off his journey and lifts a wheelbarrow over 22 stiles in so doing. Clouston Noodles 54; England: Baughman. |
| J2119.2.2 | One contestant chooses straight path through stones; other circles about and wins. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2119.3 | Noodles push parents over a rock as a favor to them. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J2119.4 | Numskulls bore hole in boat in order to make water run out. Christensen DF XLVII no. 45. |
| J2119.5 | Stupid giant, seeing how fat he has become, wants to eat himself up. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2119.6 | How to save the rice. Boy has rice in joined hands and arms around a pillar. Afraid to move lest rice be lost. Roof is removed and boy lifted over pillar. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2119.7 | Stupid cowherds apply hot iron to temples of unconscious man to revive him. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2119.8 | Cow tied tight with stones in order not to blow away, but is unable to do all others things too. Christensen DF XLVII 216 no. 76. |
| J2119.9 | Hero beheads old woman who asks him to cure her of old age. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J2120 | Disregard of danger to objects (or animals). |
| J2121 | Drying snow on the stove. Type 1272*. |
| J2122 | Candle put in the stove to dry: melts. Type 1270. |
| J2123 | Sunlight carried into windowless house in baskets. When this plan does not succeed, they gradually pull down the house to get light. Type 1245; *Fb "lys" II 483b; Clouston Noodles 58, 64; Christensen DF XLVII 215 No. 74, ibid. DF L 49. |
| J2124 | Putting the fish aside for Easter. They are put in one big pool, but an eel eats them up. Clouston Noodles 34. |
| J2124.1 | Numskull sends meat home through kite (bird); kite devours it. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2125 | Guarding chickens from the fox. Numskull ties their beaks and weights them down in the river with stones. BP III 337ff.; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 139 No. 1692. |
| J2126 | Numskull to water roots of tree. Digs up the tree to find the roots. Von der Leyen Das Märchen 78 and Herrigs Archiv CXIV 20 n. 2. |
| J2126.1 | Trees cut down to gather fruit. Penzer V 70f. |
| J2127 | Looking for the hole. Numskull is to carry a can of oil with especial care since it has a little hole in it. In order to find the hole he turns the can about and lets all the oil run out. Penzer V 84; Von der Leyen Das Märchen 78 and Herrigs Archiv CXIV 20 n. 2; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2129 | Disregard of danger to objects or animals—miscellaneous. |
| J2129.1 | Fools make a boat go over a precipice. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 249. |
| J2129.2 | Quarreling heirs destroy the entire property involved. Clouston Noodles 119; West Indies: Flowers 487f. |
| J2129.3 | Getting all the eggs at once. A peasant kills his hen so that he can immediately get all the eggs she will lay during the next year. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 53; Scala Celi 4b No. 21. |
| J2129.4 | Fool sticks needle in haywagon. He has been told to stick it in his sleeve. It is lost. Type 1696; *BP I 314; Missouri French: Carrière; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 141 No. 1703. |
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