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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.
Anecdotes and Jokes 1200–1999
| ATU | Title ▲ | Summary | Arne Thompson | Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1807 | The Equivocal Confession | A man makes an equivocal confession to the priest he has robbed, e.g., says that he has saved a man from a bear, (meaning that he stole the priest's furs); asks his confessor for guidance. The priest, misunderstanding the confession, even praises the… | ||
| 1418 | The Equivocal Oath | A husband insists that his wife take oath that she has been intimate with no one but himself. The paramour masks as ass-driver. She hires an ass from him, falls down, and lets him pick her up. She swears no one has touched her except the husband and… | 1418 | K1513. |
| 1940 | The Extraordinary Names | The place where animals and things have extraordinary names. | 1940 | X1506. |
| 1511 | The Faithless Queen | Cf. Type 871A. I. The Queen and the Loathsome Paramour [T232]. (a) A king follows his queen as she slips out of their bedchamber. (b) The queen goes to her lover, a loathsome cripple, beggar, etc., (c) who beats her for coming late to their… | ||
| 1380 | The faithless wife | Asks God how she can fool her husband. The husband from the tree (or rafters) tells her that she can make him blind by feeding him milk-toast. The husband feigns blindness and slays the lover. The body is thrown into the river. Cf. Types 1324*, 1375,… | 1380 | K1553. |
| 1574 | The flattering foreman | A tailor dreams that at Judgment Day he sees a flag made up of all the pieces of cloth he has stolen. Upon waking he asks his servants to warn him if they ever see him tempted to steal again. This happens. He replies, »The piece I am about to steal… | 1574 | J1401. |
| 1600 | The fool as murderer | The brothers put a he-goat in place of the body and thus save their brother. [H472.1, K661.1]. Cf. Type 1381B, C, E. | 1600 | NA |
| 1695 | The Fool Spoils the Work of the Shoemaker, the Tailor and the Smith | Makes shoes for animals as well for men since he expects a cold winter. [J1873.1, W111.5.9]. | ||
| 1685 | The Foolish Bridegroom | Dog »Parsley» in the soup [J2462.1]. Clearing out the room (throws out the stove) [J2465.5]. To »throw good eyes» at the bride (throws ox-eyes and sheep-eyes on the plate) [J2462.2]. Cf. Type 1006. She flees. The he-goat in the bride's place in… | , 1685 | J2462.1., J2462.2., J2465.5. |
| 1725 | The foolish parson in the trunk | The clever rascal gets ready to throw the trunk into the water; see Type 1535, incidents III b, c, 1358. | ||
| 1687 | The forgotten word | No examples in the Database yet | 1687 | D2004.5. |
| 1876 | The Geese on the Line | The hawk flies away with them on it. The geese have been bound together as protection from the hawk. [X1267.1]. | ||
| 1458 | The girl who ate so little | The girl eats lightly and the mother declares this is always so. Next day the suitor sees her baking and discovers that she can eat. [K1984.2]. Cf. Types 1373, 1407. | ||
| 1461 | The girl with the ugly name | Her mother gives her a new one. The girl does not recognize it when she is called in, and her mother must use the old one. [K1984.3]. | ||
| 1642 | The Good Bargain | The fool throws money to the frogs. Sells butter to sign-post and meat to the dogs. Makes the princess laugh. I. Money to the Frogs. The numskull throws money to the frogs so that they can count it. II. Selling to Dogs. (a) He sells meat to dogs, (b)… | , 1642 | H341., J1151.2., J1851.1.1., J1852., J1853., J1853.1., K187. |
| 1202 | The Grain Harvesting | The grain is shot down with guns. When the unknown sickle is bought and tried, one man is cut with it. As punishment it is drowned. Cf. Type 1650. | 1202 | J2196. |
| 1891 | The Great Rabbit-Catch | The rabbits freeze their feet fast to the ice at night [X1115.1]. | 1891B*, 1893A* | NA, X1114.1. |
| 1454 | The greedy fiancee | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 1682 | The groom teaches his horse to live without food | It dies. [J1914]. | 1682 | J1914. |
| 1455 | The Hard-hearted Fiancée | The father-in-law disguised as a beggar. [H384.1]. | ||
| 1615 | The Heller Thrown into Other's Money | A rascal sees robbers dividing their booty. He puts a red string through his only coin (a heller) and slips it into the others' money. He claims the money as his, and says he has marked it with a heller having a red string through it. The robbers… | ||
| 1838 | The hog in church | The hog has been locked by mistake in the church all week. When the congregation comes the hog runs between the parson's legs and carries him out. [X415]. | ||
| 1212 | The Horse is Drawn across the Ice | Its skin is rubbed off [J1972]. | ||
| 1775 | The hungry parson | On the hunting trip. Overnight at the peasant's house. In the night the parson hunts the porridge to satisfy his hunger. (The sexton has given him the end of a rope to guide him) [X431]. Cf. Type 1691. | ||
| 1384 | The husband hunts for three persons as stupid as his wife | Cf. Types 1450, Clever Elsie; 1385, The Foolish Wife's Pawn. The man finds three as foolish [H1312.1]. Cf. Type 1540, The Student from Paradise. This type combines with many others, particularly 1310, 1245, 1265, 1286, 1326, 1371*, 1385, 1386, 1387… | 1384 | H1312.1. |
| 1348 | The Imaginative Boy | No examples in the Database yet | 1348 | W211.2. |
| 1592 | The Iron-eating Mice | The trustee claims that mice have eaten the iron scales confided to him. The host abducts the trustee's son and says that a falcon has carried him off. [J1531.2]. | 1592, 1592B | J1531.2., J1531.3. |
| 1589 | The Lawyer's Dog Steals Meat | The lawyer tells the butcher that the dog's owner (himself) is liable for damages. He asks double the amount of the damages as fee. [K488]. | 1589 | K488. |
| 1405 | The Lazy Spinner | The woman hidden in the bushes calls out to her husband, who is cutting wood: »Whoever cuts wood for a spinning wheel will die; whoever uses the wheel will be destroyed.» The man becomes worried and no longer keeps her at the reel [K1971.4.1]. When… | , 1405 | J2325., K1971.4.1. |
| 1628 | The learned son and the forgotten language | Having left the seminary, a son speaks only Latin, pretending to have forgotten his own language. When a rake strikes him in the forehead, he screams in his own tongue »Devilish rake!» [J1511.11]. Cf. Type 1641 C. | 1628* | J1511.11. |
| 1457 | The lisping maiden | The suitor on a visit. The impediment in speech discovered. The girls have been warned against talking but forget and speak out. [K1984.1]. (Sometimes other impediments or deformities.) | ||
| 1693 | The Literal Fool - the Burning of Lanka | Pots broken; fire set. A fool (or trickster) follows instructions literally and disastrously. He is taken before a judge or rajah, but is freed. (a) An oil seller tells a fool (or a trickster), who has spilled a little oil, that spilt oil brings good… | 1693 | J2450. |
| 1334 | The Local Moon | A numskull greets the old moon as if it were new. »I haven't seen it before, for I have just come to the city.» (Each town thought to have a different moon.) [J2271.1]. | 1334 | J2271.1. |
| 1890 | The lucky shot | Discharge of gun kills the heath-cock, which falls on the sprouts on the tree, which kills the bear, etc. [X1124.3]. | 1890, 1890D, 1890E, 1890F | X1122.2., X1122.3., X1124.3. |
| 1586 | The Man in Court for Killing a Fly | Cf. 1586, 163A* (a) A fool sees a fly light on his mother's (companion's) head and hits it with an axe, etc., killing his mother [J1833.1, N333.1]. (b) When a grasshopper (fly) lights on a hunter's shoulder, his companion shoots it, killing the… | , 1586 | J1193.1., J1833.1. |
| 1894 | The man shoots a ramrod full of ducks | No examples in the Database yet | 1894 | X1111. |
| 1247 | The Man Sticks his Head into the Hole of the Millstone | It rolls into the lake. [J2131.5.4]. Cf. Type 1241. | ||
| 1531 | The Man Thinks he has Been in Heaven | The rich lord puts fine clothes on a drunken peasant and gives him good food and drink. [J2322]. Cf. Types 1313A*, 1526. | ||
| 1645 | The Man Who Became Rich through a Dream | A man dreams that if he goes to a distant city he will find treasure on a certain bridge. Finding no treasure, he tells his dream to a man who says that he too has dreamed of treasure at certain place. He describes the place, which is the first man's… | , 1645, 1645A | E721., E730., N531.1., N531.3. |
| 1408 | The man who does his wife's work | Does everything wrong [J2431]. Lets cow graze on the roof; cf. Type 1210. Ties the rope's end to his foot [J2132.2]. Lets the beer run out; cf. Type 1387. In the chimney. | , 1408, 1408B, 1876 | J1545.3., J1881.1.3., J2132.2., J2176.1., J2431., J2465.4., X1267.1. |
| 1882 | The Man who Fell out of a Balloon | Buried in the earth, he goes to get a spade to dig himself out. | 1882 | X1731.2.1., X1757. |
| 1544 | The man who got a night's lodging | The rascal feigns deafness and eats the best food. He accepts the hospitality before it is offered [K1981.1]. He takes the man's horse out of the stable and puts his own in. He is to pay for his lodging with a goat skin; he takes one of the man's own… | , 1544, 1544A* | K1572., K1981.1., K258., K942., NA |
| 1313 | The Man who Thought Himself Dead | Has the corpse eat bread. (Usually has eaten from a pot of preserves said to be poisoned.) | , 1313, 1313A | J2311.1., J2311.1.4., J2311.2., J2311.4. |
| 1225 | The man without a head in the bear's den | A man's head is snatched off by accident and his companions do not see what has happened. Debate: did he ever have a head? [J2381]. | J2381. | |
| 1543 | The man without a member | No examples in the Database yet | 1543*, 1543A*, 1543C* | J1919.8., NA |
| 1215 | The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey | Asinus Vulgi. Miller blamed when he follows his son on foot; when he takes the son's place on the ass; when he takes the son behind him; and when he puts the son in front of him. [J1041.2]. | , 1215 | J1041., J1041.2. |
| 1568 | The master and the servant at the table | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 1478 | The Meal of Beans | One of the old maid's three teeth breaks off [X754]. | ||
| 1406 | The merry wives wager . . . | No examples in the Database yet | , 1406 | J2013.2., J2301., J2311.0.1., J2312., J2314., J2315., J2316., J2317., J2324., K1545. |
| 1407 | The Miser | Gives his wife too little to eat. On the advice of the servant boy, he spies on her from inside the chimney, under the bolster, etc. Gets burned in the chimney, beaten in the bed. [W153.2]. Cf. Types 1373, 1458. | 1407, 1407A | K1155., W153.2. |
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