Thompson J1341.2 — Asking the large fish

Asking the large fish. Parents serve boy a small fish and keep back a large one for themselves. Knowing this, the boy puts the fish to his ear. He says that he has asked the fish a question; the fish cannot answer but tells him to ask the large fish under the bed. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 247 No. 158; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 700; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *1565; Italian Novella: Rotunda; L. Schmidt Oesterr. Zs. f. Vksk. 1954, 134.