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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 |
|---|---|
| J1811.1 | Owl's hoot misunderstood by lost simpleton. *Wesselski Bebel II 158 No. 183. Cf. BP II 535. |
| J1811.1.1 | The old maid answers the owl's hoot, saying "Anybody, Lord!" or giving the name of the young man she wants. (Cf. X750.3.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1811.2 | Frog's cries misunderstood. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1811.3 | Turkey's gobble misunderstood by man lost in woods. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1811.4 | Rooster's crow interpreted. |
| J1811.4.1 | Henpecked husband leaves home. Hears a rooster crow, saying: "Cocky kuko! It's the same everywhere!" He returns home. England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1812 | Other sounds misunderstood. |
| J1812.1 | Seeds rattling in pods thought to be insults. Numskull burns field. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1812.2 | Rabbits think sound of waves is great danger to them. Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J1812.3 | Fermenting dough: "Woe to you .." The rain drops: "Here he is.." The little bell: "He is hiding here.." Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 1264*; Russian: Andrejev No. 1264 I*. |
| J1812.4 | Hissing of fire thought to be noise of cooking muffins. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1812.4.1 | Noises fire is making misunderstood. Hunchback springs into it to burn to his death. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1812.5 | Snoring sounds misunderstood. (Cf. J1833.) |
| J1812.5.1 | Numskull thief thinks snoring sleeper is asking for food. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1813 | Cooking processes misunderstood. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1813.1 | Mushrooms shrink in water. Fool kills his wife because he thinks that she has eaten part of them. Africa (Ila, Rhodesia): Smith and Dale II 412 No. 11. |
| J1813.2 | Boiling milk thought to be overflowing. Simpleton lets it run over. Type 1328*. |
| J1813.2.1 | Numskull thinks his prayers have stopped milk boiling over. Actually his wife has added cold water. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1813.3 | Boiling pumpkin thought to be talking. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1813.4 | Boiling pot on the floor thought to be self-cooking. Christensen DF XLVII 177 No. 5, cf. 192 No. 18. |
| J1813.5 | Fish dancing about in cooking pot appears to be many. Cook eats one; none left. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1813.6 | Handful of black pepper taken into mouth instead of cooking it in food. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1813.7 | Savory tea. The peasant entertains a priest at tea. Making it, puts in all the tea, six pounds of sugar, a piece of bacon, etc. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2439*; Russian: Andrejev No. 1710*. |
| J1813.8 | Sheep's head has eaten dumplings. Small boy is at home to watch the dinner. Runs into church, calls out to his mother that the sheep's head has eaten all the dumplings (or butted them out of the pot). England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1813.9 | All the beans cooked for one meal. They fill the room. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1813.9.1 | Stupid servant cooks all the rice for one meal. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1813.10 | Numskull thinks boiling pot is threatening him: breaks pot. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1814 | Numskull stays till he has finished. As he is making water he hears a brook flowing and mistakes what it is. He waits for a day and a half. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 210 No. 23; U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1815 | Did the calf eat the man? A fool, liking the shoes on the feet of a man hanged on a gallows, cuts off the swollen feet in order to carry off the shoes. In the room in which he sleeps that night is a newborn calf. The next morning the man takes the shoes but leaves the feet. Peasants agree that the calf has eaten the man all but the feet. They burn the house to destroy the calf. Type 1281; *Wesselski Bebel I 231 No. 144; Danish: Christensen DF L 65, Nyrop Dania I (1890) 283ff., cf. II 68ff.; U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1816 | Fool thinks gold is being destroyed when snails crawl over it. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J1817 | Fool thinks belly is speaking to him; stabs himself. Other animals are shouting at him. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 78. |
| J1818 | Animal's action misunderstood. |
| J1818.1 | Urination of bull thought to be bleeding. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1819 | Physical phenomena misunderstood—miscellaneous. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1819.1 | Fools think thorn bush doesn't sting at night. Christensen DF XLVII 219 No. 80. |
| J1819.2 | Simpleton sleeping in cold room breaks window to let the cold out. (Cf. J2123.) U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1819.3 | Fool wakes with sleeping mat over head and thinks it is still night. Marquesas: Handy 25. |
| J1820 | Inappropriate action from misunderstanding. |
| J1821 | Swimming (fishing) in the flax-field. Peasants go to visit the sea. They see a waving flax-field, and, thinking it is the sea, jump in to swim. *Type 1290; *BP III 205; Köhler-Bolte I 112; Christensen DF XLVII 195 no. 20; Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "lin", "pêche"; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1821.1 | Trying to swim in the mist. Mistaken for sea. Tonga: Gifford 98. |
| J1822 | Sweeping with a stick instead of a broom. Köhler-Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. VI 63 (to Gonzenbach No. 13). |
| J1823 | Misunderstanding of church customs or ceremonies causes inappropriate action. |
| J1823.1 | Misunderstandings concerning images of Christ. |
| J1823.1.1 | Christ accused of trying to fool the people. Fool sees the image of Christ elevated on Ascension Day to the beams of the church. He accuses Christ of having fooled the people into believing that he has gone to heaven. Wesselski Bebel II 158 No. 181. |
| J1823.1.2 | Christ's image has broken his arm. A man refuses to have anything to do with the crucifix because once an image of Christ has fallen on him in church and broken his arm. Reminded that this image is not the same, he replies that it is the son of the other and is just as bad. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 270. |
| J1823.1.3 | The Lord has departed. Maidservant on way to church on Palm Sunday meets priests leading ass on which Jesus rode. The maid runs home and tells her mistress that the Lord has mounted and has just gone away. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 865. |
| J1823.1.4 | Numskull knocks the figure of Jesus from the ass. Sees the waving of palms on Palm Sunday and thinks the people are trying to knock the figure from the ass. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 768; *Wesselski Bebel I 200 No. 78. |
| J1823.2 | Bishop struck for breaking the peace. At a wedding after a period of silent prayer the bishop begins an antiphony. The fools walks up and strikes the bishop: "You have made this shouting in the church." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 49. |
| J1823.3 | Numskull thinks the extinguishing of lights at the church presages a fight. Draws his sword. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 849. |
| J1823.4 | Move away from Moslem land so that Allah need not be feared. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1824 | Fatal bread. Numskull refuses communion because his sister died shortly after eating the bread. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 572. |
| J1824.1 | Other misunderstandings of the communion. Christensen DF XLVII 202f. no. 44. |
| J1825 | Turkish ambassador misunderstands Christian ceremonies. Makes ridiculous report to his king. Bolte Frey's Gartengesellschaft 217 No. 5. |
| J1825.1 | Christian laws are profitless, Turkish ambassador says. Good people do not need them; bad people do not reform as a result of them. Spanish: Childers. |
| J1826 | The falcon not so good as represented. A nobleman praises his falcon. His fool, supposing they were praising the falcon as food, kills the bird, but is disappointed in the taste. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 52; *Wesselski Bebel I 194 No. 64; Alphabet No. 239. |
| J1827 | The king no priest's son. A pope in writing to a king says, "To our dear son Frederick." Upon hearing this the fool cries out, "That is a lie; he is no priest's son. I knew his father and mother and they were both honest people." *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 51. |
| J1828 | The obedient log. A fool sees a boat (with rowers) obedient to commands, "Right! Left!" etc. He asks what kind of wood the boat is made of. Later he gets a log of that wood and tries to make it obey commands. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 258. |
| J1831 | Numskull throws the dishes out. A landlord in anger throws a dish out the window. The numskull throws the rest out, thinking that the landlord wanted to eat outdoors. *Wesselski Bebel I 194 No. 65. |
| J1832 | Jumping into the river after their comrade. Through misunderstanding one of the men jumps into the river. He calls out; the others think that he wants them to follow, and all jump in and are drowned. *BP II 556 n. 1; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1833 | Numskull thinks the bishop's snoring is his death rattle. He strikes at a fly on the bishop's nose because it seems to be killing the bishop. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 712. |
| J1833.1 | Numskull shoots grasshopper which lighted on the shoulder of his friend and kills friend. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1833.1.1 | Boy strikes at a fly on his sister's breast: it turns into nipple and girl thinks it due to brother's caress. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1833.1.2 | One man strikes at partridge which has lighted on second man's head. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1834 | Numskulls lose corpse and bury live person instead. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1835 | Goat chewing cud angers fool, who thinks goat is mimicking him. Type 1211; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1836 | Fool not recognizing coins lying on roadside leaves them. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1838 | Man thinks own toe is snake's head and cuts it off. (Cf. J1782.8.) North Carolina: Brown Collection I 699. |
| J1842 | Useless surgical operation from misunderstanding. |
| J1842.1 | Numskull (female devil) thinks her pubic hair has been telling her lies and pulls it out together with the skin. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1842.2 | Fool cannot answer as his mouth is full; thought to have an abscess in cheeks, allows them to be cut open. India: Thompson-Balys. (Cf. W111.5.8.) |
| J1842.3 | Bird protruding from king's stomach cut out with swords: king killed. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1842.4 | Child's stomach split open to cure him of wandering. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1845 | Serfs congratulate their master. The delegate slips and falls, cursing: "The devil may take you!" The serfs outside think this was the congratulation, and all cry in chorus: "You and your family!" Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *1708; Rumanian: Schullerus FFC LXXVIII 98 No. 14. |
| J1846 | Numskull prepares brother's wedding (father's funeral). On the way home from town he destroys his purchases. (Cf. J1851, J1856, J1871.) Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 1677*; Russian: Andrejev No. 1681 I*; Prussian: Plenzat 75. |
| J1849 | Inappropriate action from misunderstanding—miscellaneous. |
| J1849.1 | Fool believes realistic story. Inappropriate action. |
| J1849.1.1 | Story told about a deer: fool starts chase. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1849.2 | Jackdaw tries to swallow sparks from glowworm. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1849.3 | Numskull strikes all matches in order to try them. Christensen DF XLVII 207 no. 60. |
| J1849.4 | Nobody can move it. Foolish soldier at guard by cannon therefore quits. Christensen DF XLVII no. 49. |
| J1850 | Gift or sale to animal (or object). |
| J1851 | Gift to animal or object. |
| J1851.1 | Gifts to frogs. |
| J1851.1.1 | Numskull throws money to frogs so that they can count it. *Type 1642; *BP I 59. |
| J1851.1.2 | Numskull feeds his wheat to frogs. He has been sent to mill to have it ground. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 139 No. *1693, Espinosa III 147. |
| J1851.1.3 | Numskull throws money to frogs to repay them. They have frightened his fleeing ass from the water. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 226 No. 69. |
| J1851.1.4 | Wool taken to pond for frogs and toads to weave. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1851.2 | Gifts to birds. Numskulls hear birds calling and give them gifts. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 260. |
| J1851.3 | Gift to object. |
| J1851.3.1 | Fool stops hole with money. Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "argent". |
| J1851.4 | Thankful numskull puts money in the anus of sheep which he supposes has helped him. Christensen DF XLVII 221 No. 84. |
| J1852 | Goods sold to animals. *Type 1642; *BP I 59f.; *Chauvin VI 126 No. 280; Fansler MAFLS XII 352. |
| J1852.1 | Numskull sells cow to bird. When he comes for his money the bird flies to a trash pile, where the fool finds a treasure. (Cf. J1853.1.1.) *Clouston Noodles 147. |
| J1852.1.1 | Fool sells balls of thread to great lizard. Next day he finds a treasure there. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1852.1.2 | Oil sold to iguana. Treasure found. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1853 | Goods sold to object. *Type 1642; *BP I 59; Köhler-Bolte I 135; Spanish: Espinosa III 147. |
| J1853.1 | Fool sells goods to a statue. He is told not to sell to talkative people. The statue is the only one he can find who is not talkative. *Chauvin VI 126 No. 280; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 211 No. 426; Fansler MAFLS XII 352; Clouston Noodles 144; Spanish: Espinosa III 147; Italian: Basile Pentamerone I No. 4. |
| J1853.1.1 | Money from the broken statue. Fool sells goods to a statue and when it will not pay him knocks it to pieces. He finds a treasure inside. (Cf. J1852.1.) Type 1643; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 211 No. 426; Wienert FFC LVI 80 (ET 459), 138 (ST 430); Halm Aesop No. 66; Chauvin VIII 94 No. 65; Italian: Basile Pentamerone I No. 4. |
| J1856 | Food given to object. (Cf. J1871.) |
| J1856.1 | Meat fed to cabbages. *Type 1386; BP I 520; Indonesia: Coster-Wijsman 60 No. 92. |
| J1860 | Animal or object absurdly punished. |
| J1861 | Thief punishes the escaped ox. An ox strays on the rascal's land but escapes from him. The next week he sees the ox yoked up and gives him a beating. The master is astonished. The rascal: "Let me alone; he knows well enough what he has done." Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 210 No. 20. |
| J1862 | The ass deprived of his saddle. A man's coat is stolen when he leaves his ass for a moment. He takes the saddle off the ass and says that he will give it back if the ass will return the coat. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin *223 No. 61. |
| J1863 | Cow punished for calf's misdeeds. Blamed for not teaching calf better. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 236 No. 108. |
| J1863.1 | Man beats calves because the bull has butted him over the fence. England: Baughman. |
| J1863.2 | Wolf punished for his father's misdeeds. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| J1864 | Man flogs his shot. On a rainy day when shot will not go a man flogs the shot. It goes and he shoots a deer. Africa (Vai): Ellis 189 No. 4. |
| J1865 | Sickle punished by drowning. In a land where the sickle is not known the new sickle cuts off the head of a man. It is drowned. *Type 1202. |
| J1865.1 | Sickle punished by being tied in top of a tree. The men hang themselves in the attempt. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges. |
| J1866 | Man avenges self on animals by wholesale slaughter. |
| J1866.1 | Man avenges brother's death by wholesale slaughter of wild pigs. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1867 | Man punishes offending part of his body. |
| J1867.1 | Man beats his foot for slipping. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1870 | Absurd sympathy for animals or objects. |
| J1871 | Filling cracks with butter. Numskull sees cracks in the ground and feels so sorry for them that he greases them with the butter he is taking home. *Type 1291; BP I 521; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 250 No. 165; Missouri French: Carrière. |
| J1872 | Creaking limbs. Numskull hears limbs creaking in the wind. He is sorry for them and holds them apart. While he is caught between them his enemies take advantage of him. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 297 n. 85. |
| J1872.0.1 | Creaking wagon dies. When the wagon stops its creaking, fool decides it has died; he cremates it. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1872.1 | Helping the cuckoo. A numskull climbs a tree to help a cuckoo so that he may call louder than the one in the neighboring forest. Meanwhile his horse is eaten by a wolf. *Wesselski Bebel I 137 No. 42. |
| J1873 | Animals or objects kept warm. |
| J1873.1 | Fool makes shoes for animals as well as men, since he expects a cold winter. *Type 1695. |
| J1873.2 | Cloak given to a stone to keep it warm. Köhler-Bolte I 71; Christiansen Norske Eventyr 140 No. 1651; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1873.3 | Warming the stove with wool. Type 1271A*. |
| J1873.4 | King orders houses built to keep howling jackals warm in winter. Rascal misappropriates funds. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1874 | Relieving the beast of burden. |
| 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. |
| J1874.2 | Man puts bag of meal on one side of saddle, balances it on the other side with a rock. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J1875 | Objects ascribed human feelings. |
| J1875.1 | Kernel tries to escape death. A fool eats nuts. A kernel slips from him. The fool: "Everything tries to escape from death." *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 183 No. 346. |
| J1875.2 | Complaint of the porridge pot. The woman thinks the boiling pot is complaining. Type 1264*; Russian: Andrejev No. 1264. |
| J1875.3 | The homesick wave. Numskulls try to take home a wave of the sea in a bamboo rod. At home when it refuses to wave they say that it is homesick for its mother, the sea. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 252. |
| J1875.4 | Coin weeps. Numskull thinks money piece covered with perspiration after he has held it for awhile is weeping. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1879 | Absurd sympathy for animals or objects—miscellaneous. |
| J1879.1 | Men drag carts on to roof to shade it from the sun. England: *Baughman. |
| J1880 | Animals or objects treated as if human—miscellaneous. |
| J1881 | Animal or object expected to go alone. |
| J1881.1 | Object sent to go by itself. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 272 No. 281; Missouri French: Carrière; Spanish: Espinosa III 147; Indonesia: Coster-Wijsman 72 No. 130. |
| J1881.1.1 | Cheeses thrown down to find their way home. Clouston Noodles 35; Field Pent Cuckoo 4. |
| J1881.1.2 | One cheese sent after another. Numskull lets one roll down hill; sends the other to bring it back. *Type 1291; BP I 521. |
| J1881.1.3 | Three-legged pot sent to walk home. Clouston Noodles 36; Field Pent Cuckoo 5; *BP I 521 n. 1; England: Baughman; Missouri French: Carrière; Spanish: Espinosa III 147; N. A. Indian: Thompson CColl II 417f. |
| J1881.1.4 | Table thrown out of the sledge; to go home by itself. Type 1291*. |
| J1881.1.5 | Spinning wheel is sent home by itself. The man asks his wife if it has arrived before him, finds that it has not. "I thought not. I came a shorter way." Scotland: *Baughman. |
| J1881.1.6 | Sickle laid in field and told to cut grain. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1881.1.7 | Fool sends letter home by a flooded river. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1881.2 | Animal sent to go by itself. |
| J1881.2.1 | Ass loaded and commanded to go home. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 272 No. 281; Spanish: Espinosa III 147. |
| J1881.2.2 | Fools send money by rabbit. Since he is a swift runner they expect it to reach the landlord in time. Field Pent Cuckoo 6; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J1881.2.3 | Fishes to stop at his house. Fool directs them as he places them in stream. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1882 | Foolish attempt to educate animals. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1882.1 | Teaching chickens to talk. Fool believes they can be taught. *Type 1750; Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 843. |
| J1882.2 | The ass as mayor. Fool made to believe that his ass (ox) has been educated and has become mayor. *Type 1675; *BP I 59; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 224 No. 63; *Fb "tyr" III 908b; Christensen DF XLVII 229; England: Baughman; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1882.3 | Elephant educated as drum beater. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1883 | Trickster joins bulrushes in a dance. He thinks they are dancing when he sees them waving. N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 306 n. 109dd. |
| J1883.1 | Simpleton addresses a field of reeds. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1884 | The boat gets tired. The woman tries to tire out her rival's boat so as to win the race, but only tires herself. Type 1277; Christensen DF XLVII 190. |
| J1885 | Singing snails rebuked. A boy roasts snails and they make noise in cooking. "Wretches, your house burns and yet you sing!" Wienert FFC LVI 65 (ET 291), 135 (ST 413); Halm Aesop No. 214. |
| J1886 | Hens in mourning. Fool puts black clothes on his hen's necks. He tells people that they mourn their mother. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 210 No. 19. |
| J1887 | The mad wheelbarrow. Fools chain a wheelbarrow, bitten by a mad dog, lest it bite others. Field Pent Cuckoo 15. |
| J1888 | Wants the organ to come and play for her. An old woman enraptured with the sound of a cathedral organ prays for it to come to her house and gives it directions as to where she lives. Bolte Frey 235 No. 54. |
| J1891 | Object foolishly blamed. |
| J1891.1 | Sickness ascribed to quarreling wines. A man has drunk so much of various wines that he is sick. He says to the wines, "Have peace among yourselves and don't quarrel or I'll throw you out the window." *Wesselski Bebel II 102 No. 14. |
| J1891.2 | Carpenter blames the nails. On his deathbed refuses to forgive nails which ruined his tools. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 702. |
| J1891.3 | Sea foolishly accused of cruelty. Sea says that it is calm itself, but the wind blew it up and broke the ship. Wienert FFC LVI 75 (ET 406), 123 (ST 317); Halm Aesop No. 94. |
| J1892 | Preserving the cock's freedom. A boy recently home from school sees his mother trying to catch the cock. "Don't mother, don't break his freedom or we will suffer for it." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 817. |
| J1894 | Scholar speaks Latin on hunt so that the birds cannot understand him. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1895 | Woman thinks calf's bleating has accused her of stealing from harvest. Begs that people not believe what calf said. (Cf. N611.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1896 | Objects supposed to be born, grow, and die like animals. (Cf. J1932.) Christensen DF XLVII 189—190 no. 15. |
| J1896.1 | Stones thought to reproduce. Hawaii: Beckwith Myth 88. |
| J1900 | Absurd disregard or ignorance of animal's nature or habits. |
| J1901 | Absurd ignorance concerning the laying of eggs. |
| J1901.1 | The overfed hen. A woman wants her hen to lay many eggs. Overfeeds her and she stops laying altogether. Wienert FFC LVI 72 (ET 362), 106 (ST 184); Halm Aesop No. 111. |
| J1901.2 | Numskull feeds hens hot water so they will lay boiled eggs. *Clouston Noodles 120; England: Baughman. |
| J1902 | Absurd ignorance concerning the hatching of eggs. |
| J1902.1 | Numskull sits on eggs to finish the hatching. Cautions people to be quiet and not frighten the eggs. (Sometimes puts on honey and feathers before sitting on the eggs.) Type 650; *BP I 316; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 212 No. 433; *Wesselski Bebel II 146 No. 148; Christensen DF XLVII 210 No. 63; Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "oeuf"; Spanish: Espinosa III 147 Nos. 181—188; Italian: Basile Pentamerone I No. 4. |
| J1902.2 | Numskull tries to hatch out a calf from a cheese. *BP I 317. |
| J1903 | Absurd ignorance concerning animal's eating and drinking. |
| J1903.1 | The water on the calf's back. When the calf will not drink, the peasant woman throws the water on its back. Type 1211*. |
| J1903.2 | Numskull puts the milk back. When the customer refuses to take the milk he puts it back into the goat's mouth so that it will flow back into the udder. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 247 No. 550. |
| J1903.3 | Fattening the pig. A farmer who wanted to fatten a pig fed it only twice a day. When told to feed it three times a day he says, "A working man must have more to eat than a pig." *Wesselski Bebel I 141 No. 56. |
| J1903.4 | How can an elephant eat, having tails at both ends? Decision: it lives on air. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1904 | Absurd ignorance concerning place for animal to be kept. |
| J1904.1 | Cow (hog) taken to roof to graze. *Type 1210; *Köhler-Bolte I 66, 135; *Fb "ko" II 241a, "tyr" III 908b; Christensen DF XLVII 219 No. 81; English: Clouston Noodles 55; Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 295 No. 15; Spanish: Espinosa III 147 Nos. 181—188. |
| J1904.2 | The pent cuckoo. Fools build an enclosure to keep in the cuckoo. She flies over the hedge. They say that they have not built the hedge high enough. **Field Pent Cuckoo; Clouston Noodles 27; England: Baughman. |
| J1904.2.1 | Fools try to hedge the cuckoo so that they will have summer the year round (the coming of the first cuckoo being the sign of the coming summer). England: *Baughman. |
| J1904.2.2 | Deer belled and enclosed like goats jump fence and escape. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1904.3 | Hogs made to sleep in trees to cure their filthy habits. All are killed. England: Baughman. |
| J1904.4 | Nest built in tree for fish. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1904.4.1 | Fish will climb trees like buffaloes. Numskull considers what will happen if river burns up. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1905 | Absurd ignorance about milking animals. (Cf. J1903.2.) |
| J1905.1 | Fool does not milk cow for a month so that she will give plenty for a feast. Penzer V 72. |
| J1905.2 | Fools try to milk male ass. Penzer V 136 n. 3. |
| J1905.3 | Divided ownership of cow. The brother who owns the front end tries to drive the cow and will not let the owner of the rear end milk her. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1905.4 | Fool asks owner of oxen why he does not milk them since he is not working them. Canada: Baughman. |
| J1905.5 | Trying to have cows make curds before being milked. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1905.6 | Cow killed in order to get all the milk at once. (Cf. J2129.3.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1906 | Absurd ignorance about slaughtering animals. |
| J1906.1 | Bullock struck on hindquarters instead of head in attempt to kill it. (Only frightens it.) India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1908 | Absurd attempt to change animal nature. Wienert FFC LVI 45ff. (ET 31, 37, 38, 39, 54, 241, 420, 422), 87ff. (ST 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 504); Halm Aesop Nos 149, 360, 373, 374, 375; Pauli (ed. Bolte) Nos. 427, 430. |
| J1908.1 | The cat and the candle. A man has a cat trained to hold up lighted candles on its head. The king has a mouse let loose. The cat drops the candle and chases the mouse. *Type 217; **Cosquin études 403ff.; *Fb "kat" IV 255a; *Wesselski Arlotto II 238 No. 131; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1908.2 | Cat transformed to maiden runs after mouse. *Hertel Zs. f. Vksk. XXII 244; **Rohde Kleinere Schriften II 212ff.; Wienert FFC LVI *45, 71, 78 (ET 34, 351, 444), 86 (ST 1); Halm Aesop No. 88; Jacobs Aesop 218 No. 76; Spanish: Espinosa III 275-277; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1908.3 | Frog-woman betrays self by croaking. Africa (Nama): Des Schwartzen Menschen Märchenweisheit (Stuttgart, 1929) 140f. No. 27. |
| J1909 | Absurd disregard of animal's nature or habits—miscellaneous. |
| J1909.1 | Fisherman fails to make fish dance to his flute. Later in his net they jump about without the aid of the flute. Wienert FFC LVI *66 (ET 301), 117 (ST 275); Halm Aesop 27. |
| J1909.2 | Fool tries to shoot dead antelope until it will come to him. Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 156 No. 3. |
| J1909.3 | Numskull tries to shake birds from tree like fruit. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 238 No. 526. |
| J1909.4 | Breeding fine horses from an ass. Fool says, "Just as soon as the body of a colt bred from this mare is in proper proportion to its ears you will have a fine horse." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 763. |
| J1909.5 | Sheep licking her lamb is envied by the wolf. He says, "Such is bad conduct. If I were to do that they would say that I was eating it." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 587; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 33 No. 129*. Cf. Wienert FFC LVI *69 (ET 335), 94f. (ST 81); Halm Aesop Nos. 282, 330. |
| J1909.6 | Numskull tries to wash black hen white. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 246 No. 142. |
| J1909.7 | Fear that frog may drown or get dirty. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1910 | Fatal disregard of anatomy. |
| J1911 | Nature of a baby misunderstood. |
| J1911.1 | Numskull does not understand about baby's skull. Sticks needle through it. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 215 No. 445; Spanish: Espinosa III 147; West Indies: Flowers 486. |
| J1911.2 | Foolish mother does not understand how babies cry. Wrings the child's neck. Africa (Ila, Rhodesia): Smith and Dale II 406 No. 3. |
| J1914 | Horse taught to live without food. Dies. Type 1682; Wienert FFC LVI 72 (ET 364), 129 (ST 370); Halm Aesop No. 176. |
| J1914.1 | The underfed warhorse. Fails in the war. Wienert FFC LVI 72 (ET 363), 129 (ST 369); Halm Aesop No. 178. |
| J1914.2 | Three brothers take turns using mule. None of them feeds him, supposing that the others have. The mule dies. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 575. |
| J1916 | Fool carries wife across stream head downwards and drowns her. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1919 | Fatal disregard of anatomy—miscellaneous. |
| J1919.1 | The remodelled stork. A trickster cuts off the bill and legs of a stork to make him look more like a real bird. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 213 No. 37. |
| J1919.2 | Where the ducks ford. A fool is asked where the river is fordable. He says, "Everywhere." The man tries to ride across and is almost drowned. The fool, "Those little ducks were able to cross here; why couldn't a big fellow like you?" Wesselski Bebel II 146 No. 146. |
| J1919.3 | The two extra pounds. A dog has eaten 14 pounds of butter; the fool squeezes 16 pounds from him. Fb "sm[ö]r" III 412b. |
| J1919.4 | Fool cuts off tails of oxen so that they will look like fine steeds. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 769. |
| J1919.5 | Genitals cut off through ignorance. |
| J1919.5.1 | Ignorant bride castrates groom when jokingly told to do so. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1919.5.2 | Nun tells friar to get rid of offending member. He does so. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1919.5.3 | Fool undergoes castration to put on weight. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1919.6 | Simpleton's ignorance of anatomy leads him to share his wife with a priest. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1919.7 | Fool believes that he has begot child with his sister by an earbox. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J1919.8 | The man without a member: foolish wife gives her husband money to buy himself one. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *2911; Estonian: Aarne FFC XXV No. 1543*. |
| J1919.9 | Cowboy shoots his wife when she breaks her leg (or is injured in another way). U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1920 | Absurd searches for the lost. |
| J1921 | The needle (or the like) falls into the sea: sought the next summer. Type 1280. |
| J1922 | Marking the place. Christensen DF XLVII 177ff. |
| J1922.1 | Marking the place on the boat. An object falls into the sea from a boat. Numskulls mark the place on the boat-rail to indicate where it fell. *Type 1278; *Fb "bеd" IV 87a; *Clouston Noodles 99; Penzer V 92f.; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1922.2 | Marking the place under the cloud. Numskulls leave a knife in the field, marking the place by putting it under a heavy cloud. Next day the cloud is gone and the knife lost. Clouston Noodles 53; England: Baughman; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1922.2.1 | Fool seeks the ears of grain in the direction of the cloud toward which he has sowed them. Type 1278*. |
| J1922.3 | Marking the place in the sand. Vessel left under mound in sand while owner is swimming. Others make similar mounds so that it is lost. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1923 | The rejected bread resought. Numskull looks for bread that he threw away a year before. Africa (Zulu): Callaway 359. |
| J1924 | Numskull forgets name of certain food and thinks that it has fallen into sand. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1930 | Absurd disregard of natural laws. |
| J1931 | Money tested by throwing it into a stream to see if it will swim. Good coins are supposed to swim, counterfeit to sink. *Type 1651; BP II 75; *Fb "penge" II 804a; Russian: Andrejev No. 842*. |
| J1932 | Absurd practices connected with crops. Christensen DF XLVII 207. |
| J1932.1 | Numskulls sow cooked grain. *DeVries FFC LXXIII 246; *Fb "sе" Penzer V 67 n. 3; India: *Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J1932.2 | Sowing cheese to bring forth a cow. *Type 1200; *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 209 No. 423; *Fb "sе". |
| J1932.3 | Sowing salt to produce salt. *Type 1200; Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 209 No. 423; Christensen DF XLVII 206, 231 no. 57; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1932.4 | Planting a hog in order to grow pigs. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 209 No. 423. |
| J1932.4.1 | Planting animal's tail in order to produce young animals. Type 1200. |
| J1932.4.2 | Planting bones to produce animal. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1932.5 | Sowing needles (like seed). Köhler-Bolte I 135. |
| J1932.6 | Harvesting early for half a crop. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1932.7 | Stones watered to make them grow. (Cf. J1896.1.) Hawaii: Beckwith 88. |
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