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

111 tale types

Sorted by earlier references, ascending

Showing 101–111 of 111 · Page 3 of 3

ATU Title Summary Arne Thompson ▲ Thompson
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.
305 Dragon Blood as Cure No examples in the Database yet 305 D1500.1.7.3.3.1.7.3.3.
318 The Batamärchen Batu: the Egyptian >>Two Brothers>> Tale. Plots with paramour against life of her husband. Cf. Types 303, 315, 590, 590A. I. Rescue of a Princess from a Dragon. [R111.1.3]. II. Treacherous Wife. The hero marries the princess, but she falls in love… 318 K2111.
321 Won Back the Eyes from the Witch A boy takes service with a blind couple. Warned not to let goats (sheep) wander beyond certain point, he does so and there defeats the witch who has stolen the blind couple's eyes. He restores the eyes. [D2161.3.1.1]. 321 D2161.3.1.1.3.1.1.
334 In the Household of the Witch Visit to house of a witch (or other horrible creature). Many gruesome and marvelous happenings. Lucky escape. Cf. Type 327G. 334 G11.3.3.
335 Death' Messengers Death promises the man to indicate his future. He gives him a blow, blindness, etc. But the man does not understand the signs and lives happily throughout. 335 J1051.
363 The Vampire The bridegroom eats corpses in three churches [E251.3.1, G20]. He appears to his bride in the form of her father, her mother, etc. [D40, D610] and when she tells about his habit he devours her. 363 G20.
365 Specter Bridegrooms He carries her behind on his horse. Says, »The moon shines bright, the dead ride fast,» etc. She is pulled into the grave [E2l5]. 365 E215.
366 The Golden Arm A man steals the heart, (liver, stomach, clothing) of one who has been hanged [E235.4, E236.1]. Gives it to his wife to eat. The ghost comes to claim his property and carries off the man. 366 E235.4.4.
532 The Speaking Horsehead The helpful horse. The hero is driven from home by his stepmother [S31]. He acquires a helpful horse which advises him [B401] to dress in poor clothing [K1816] and to answer all questions with "I don't know" [C495.1]. He takes service as gardener to… 532* B411.2.
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.

Showing 101–111 of 111 · Page 3 of 3





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 ORCID iD 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.