Folklore Database · Browse
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.
Tales of Magic 300–559
| ATU ▲ | Title | Summary | Arne Thompson | Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 537 | The Flight with the Eagle | I. The Speaking Eagle. A man aims to shoot an eagle, when suddenly the bird begins to speak like a human being [B211.3]. The man spares him. II. The Grateful Eagle. The bird has a wing broken. The man cares for it for three years and wastes all his… | ||
| 540 | The Dog in the Sea | No examples in the Database yet | ||
| 545 | The Cat as Helper | Visit to the castle. Disenchantment. I. The Helpful Cat. (a) A boy or (b) girl inherits nothing but a cat (or fox). II. The Cat at the Palace. (a) The cat takes the girl (boy) to the palace. (b) He tells the king that the boy (girl) is a dispossessed… | , 545A, 545B, 545D* | , B211.1.8., B422., B580., B582.1.1., D711., F771.4.1., G510., K1917.3., K1952.1.1., N411.1.1. |
| 546 | The Clever Parrot | I. The Parrot Wins a Princess for the King. (a) The king wins the gratitude of a parrot. (b) The parrot takes the king to a princess. (c) The parrot brings a princess to the king. II. Separation. On the return trip the king and his bride are… | 546 | B469.9. |
| 550 | The Golden Bird | Quest for the wonderful bird. With the help of an animal (wolf fox) the youngest brother succeeds. On his return he saves his brothers, who betray him. See analysis below: I a, b; II; III a, b; IV; V. ANALYSIS Types 550 and 551. I. Object of the… | , 550 | B184.1., B313., B435.1., B560., H1242., H1331.1., K1932., L13., L161., N711.3., W154.12.3. |
| 551 | The Water of Life | The youngest succeeds with the help of an eagle (dwarf) and various magic objects. The brothers gain possession of the remedy. The princess searches for the father of her child. For analysis see Type 550: I b, (c); II; III c, d; IV; V b. | , 551 | H1210.1., H1242., H1321.1., H1381.2.1., H80., H81.1., K1932., K2211., L161., N711.3., N825.2., T475.2., W154.12.3. |
| 552 | Animals and In-laws | I. Marriage to Animals. (a) A bankrupt man promises his daughters in in marriage in return for safety and money to three animals (bear, eagle, whale); or (b) three girls despairing of marriage say that they will marry any one even if it is an animal… | , 552 | B501., B640., D621.1., S221.1. |
| 553 | The Bird as a Helper | A youth shoots a raven; saving of the princess from a sea-monster. Cf. Type 300. I. The Raven-feather. (a) With a feather of the raven the youth gets magic objects and treasure from the raven's sister. II. Rescue of Princess. See Type 300: IV (rescue… | ||
| 554 | The Grateful Animals | A youth earns the thanks of several animals (ants, fish, etc.) and with their help wins the princess by performing three tasks imposed upon him (brings a ring from the bottom of the sea, etc.). I. The Animals' Gratitude. The hero, (a) the youngest of… | , 553 | B571., B582.2., H982., NA |
| 555 | The Fisherman and his Wife, | The fish fulfills all the wishes of the wife of a poor fisher. I. The Wishes Obtained. (a) A poor fisher catches a fish who is a transformed monster and puts him back in the water; in gratitude the fish grants all the wishes of the wife; - or (b) a… | , 555 | B170., B375.1., C773.1., D1761.0.1., J514., Q338. |
| 559 | The Princess’ Laugh | The princess made to laugh. Making an absurd parade. Later forcing the noble suitor out of his bridal bed. Cf. Types 571-574, 621. I. Making Princess Laugh. (a) A princess has been offered to the man who can make her laugh. (b) The hero accomplishes… | , 559 | B571., B582.2., F591., H341., H982., L161., T171., T68. |
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
0009-0006-1672-4451
Please cite the relevant sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including the Folklore Database, Berezkin-Duvakin Catalogue, ATU, Thompson, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed. Please respect copyright and licenses.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-Duvakin derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.
Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.
Designed and Developed by Jonathan Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.