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Aarne–Thompson–Uther index
About this index and how to read it
The ATU index classifies international folktales by type. Each row gives the type number, its title and summary, followed by the references it inherits: Arne Thompson is the earlier Aarne–Thompson type number, and Thompson lists the motif references from Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature associated with that type.
Cross-references inside a summary open the relevant tale-type or motif record. Thompson motif references in the final column are linked directly to the corresponding entry in the Stith Thompson Motif Index when that reference exists in the database. Any column heading can be clicked to sort by it, and clicking again reverses the order. Following a type number opens that type on its own page.
Animal Tales 1–299
| ATU | Title | Summary | Arne Thompson ▲ | Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 242 | The Frog Enticed out of his Hole | Crow (or other bird) swears not to eat him. Breaks his oath. | 242 | K815. |
| 244 | Peacock Plumes | No examples in the Database yet | 244, 244A*, 244C* | , J267.1., J951.2. |
| 247 | Every Mother Thinks Her Child Is the Most Beautiful | The snipe asks the sportsman to spare its small ones, easily recognized as being the prettiest in the forest. To be on the safe side the man shoots only the ugliest he can find. They are the young snipes. (Often told of the ape.) | 247 | T681. |
| 248 | The Dog and the Sparrow | A man runs over the dog, friend of the sparrow. The sparrow takes vengeance. The man loses his horse, his property, and finally his life. | 248 | N261. |
| 250 | Swimming Match of the Fish | The perch hangs on to the tail of the salmon and wins. Cf. Types 221, 275. | 250A | A2231.1.2. |
| 253 | The Fish in the Net | The little fish slip through the meshes; the big ones are caught. | 253 | L331. |
| 275 | The Race of the Fox and the Crayfish | The latter hangs on to the fox's tail and wins. Cf. Types 250, 1074. (The Keen Sight of the Dove and the Keen Hearing of the Frog. See Type 238.) | 275, 275A, 275A* | K11., K11.1., K11.3. |
| 278 | Rat and Frog Tie Paws Together | A rat and a frog get their paws entangled and get c arried off by a falcon. | 278, 278A*, Frog | J652.1., J681.1., J752.1. |
| 280 | The Ant Carries a Load as Large as Himself | The contest of the raven (or other bird) with the ant. | 280, 280A | A2251.1., J711.1. |
| 283 | Spider Invites Fly to Rest on her Curtain | Eats her. | 283 | K815.2. |
| 285 | The child and the snake | The snake drinks from the child's milk-bottle. | 285, 285B*, 285D, 285E | B391.1., B784.2.1.1., J15., J552.3. |
| 289 | Bat, Diver, and Thornbush Shipwrecked | Bat brought money, bush put on clothes, and diver brought leather. All shipwrecked. Diver is looking for his leather. Bush looks for his clothes and holds fast to all passers-by. Bat is abroad only at night to escape creditors. (Cf. A2471.4,… | 289 | A2275.5.3. |
| 291 | Deceptive Tug-of-war | Small animal challenges two large animals to a tug-of-war. Arranges it so that they unwittingly pull against each other (or one end of rope is tied to a tree). | 291 | K22. |
| 292 | Ass Tries to Get a Cricket's Voice | Asks cricket what they eat to get such a voice. They answer, >>dew.>> He tries it and starves. | 292 | J512.8. |
| 293 | Debate of the Belly and the Members | Debate as to their usefulness. All are mutually useful. | 293 | J461.1. |
| 294 | The Months and the Seasons | Symbolic actions. | 294 | NA |
| 295 | The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean | The coal burns the straw in two and falls into the water. The bean laughs till it splits. | 295 | F1025.1. |
| 298 | Wind and sun | Sun by warmth causes traveler to remove coat, while the wind by violent blowing causes him to pull it closer around him. | 298, 298C* | J832., L351. |
| 3 | Sham Blood and Brains | The fox covers his head with buttermilk (blood, urine, etc.) and says that his brains have been knocked out. Frightens the bear. | 3 | K473. |
| 30 | The Fox Tricks the Wolf into Falling into a Pit | Race. | 30 | NA |
| 41 | The Wolf Overeats in the Cellar | The fox persuades the wolf to enter a cellar (smokehouse or kitchen) and steal food. The wolf eats so much that he cannot escape through the hole he has entered by. He is killed. Cf. Types 33*, 33**. | 33*, 33**, 41, 41* | K1022.1. |
| 34 | The Wolf Dives into the Water for Reflected Cheese | The wolf and the fox think the reflection of the moon in the water is a cheese. The fox lowers the wold into the water, the wolf fall into the water and the cheese disappears. | 34, 34A | J1791.3., J1791.4. |
| 36 | The Fox in Disguise Violates the She-Bear | The she-bear is caught in a tree cleft or hole in the hedge . To avoid later recognition the fox covers himself with soot and is taken for the pastor. Variant: the hare, the she-fox. | 36 | K1384. |
| 37 | The fox as shepherd | Search for a nursemaid (or mourning-woman). Fox takes service and eats up the young bears. | 37, 37* | K931. |
| 38 | Claw in Split Tree | The fox (or man) persuades the bear to stick his claw in the cleft of a split tree. | 38 | K1111. |
| 4 | Carrying the Sham-Sick Trickster | The fox shams sickness and is carried by the wolf. | 4 | K1241. |
| 44 | The Oath on the Iron | In a dispute between the fox, the wolf, and the bear concerning the theft of their winter supplies, the fox denies the guilt and swears by touching iron (a trap). The bear follows his example but hits the iron so hard that his paws are caught. | 44 | K1115. |
| 49 | The bear and the honey | The fox leads the bear to a wasp-nest. | 49 | K1023. |
| 5 | Biting the foot | The fox to the bear, who is biting his foot: »You are biting the tree root.» The bear lets loose. | 5 | K543. |
| 51 | The Lion's share | The ass divides booty equally between himself, the fox, and the lion. The lion eats the ass. The fox then divides: gives the lion meat and keeps bones. | 51 | J811.1. |
| 52 | The Ass without a Heart | The ass as toll-gatherer is killed by the lion for asking for toll. The fox eats the ass's heart. When the lion asks for it, the fox replies that the ass could have had no heart since he was such a fool as to ask the lion for toll. | 52 | K402.3. |
| 53 | Reynard the Fox at Court | The fox is summoned to appear before the court of justice, but he does not come and laughs at the messengers. When he is caught at last and about to be hanged, he escapes again. | 53 | J864.2. |
| 55 | The Animals Build a Road (Dig Well) | The fox as overseer punishes lazy animals. | 55 | A2233.1. |
| 57 | Raven with a Cheese | A raven/crow has some cheese/meat in his mouth. The fox flatters the raven into singing. He drops his food and the fox gets it. | 57 | K334.1. |
| 59 | Fox and the Sour Grapes | Pretends that the grapes he cannot reach are sour. | 59 | J871. |
| 60 | The Fox and the Crane Invites Each Other | The crane (heron) has his food in a deep dish, the fox his on a flat plate. The crane injures his beak. | 60 | J1565.1. |
| 61 | The Fox Persuades the Cock to Crow with Closed Eyes | Captures him. Often followed by: the cock persuades the fox to ask a blessing before eating him. | 61, 61B | K721., K815.15. |
| 62 | Peace Among the Animals – The Fox and the Cock | The fox tries to beguile the cock by reporting a new law establishing peace among the animals. Dogs appear and the fox flees saying that the dogs have not yet heard of the new law. | 62 | J1421. |
| 63 | The Fox (or Jackal) and the Fleas | No examples in the Database yet | 63 | K921. |
| 65 | Mrs. Fox's Suitors | The widowed she-fox proves her faithfulness by rejecting suitors who do not resemble her deceased husband. | 65 | N681. |
| 7 | The calling of three tree names | The bear and the fox wager as to which can name three trees first. The bear names different varieties of the same tree. The fox wins the wager. | 7 | N51 |
| 70 | More cowardly than the hare | The hare finds a (sheep, fish, frog, etc.) who is afraid of him and laughs till his lip splits. | 70 | J881.1. |
| 71 | Contest of Frost and the Hare | The hare lies on the frozen snow and says, »Oh, how warm!» | 71 | H1541.1. |
| 72 | The Rabbit Rides Fox A-Courting | The fox is the favorite suitor of the girl the rabbit wants. The rabbit tells the girl that the fox is his horse. She refuses to believe him. She agrees to marry if he will ride to her house. He persuades fox to carry him—usually by feigning lameness—and wins the girl. (Sometimes told of human beings.) Cf. Type 4. | 72, 72* | J61., K1241. |
| 73 | Blinding the Guard | The rabbit, imprisoned in a hollow tree, induces his guard to look up at him. He spits tobacco juice into the guard's eyes and blinds the guard, and thus effects his escape. | 73 | K621. |
| 75 | The Help of the Weak | The mouse gnaws the net and liberates the captured bear (fox, lion). | 75 | B371.1. |
| 76 | The Wolf and the Crane | The crane pulls a bone from the wolf's windpipe. When he asks for payment the wolf says, "That you were allowed to take your beak from my throat is payment enough." | 76 | W154.3. |
| 77 | The Stag Admires Himself in a Spring | The stag admires himself in a spring. He is proud of his horns, ashamed of his legs. In flight his horns are caught and the dogs overtake him. | 77 | L461. |
| 8 | "Painting" on the Haycock | The bear (wolf) wants to be painted like the birds. The fox persuades him to lie on a haycock and sets fire to it. | 8, 8A | K1013., K1013.2 |
| 85 | The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage | The mouse, the bird, and the sausage keep house together each with appropriate duties. When they exchange roles, all goes ill. | 85 | J512.7. |
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