Folklore Database · Browse
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 ▲ |
|---|---|
| J1261.1.4 | Farmer looks at his hay on ground after a rain: "If I was a God, I'd be a God and not a damned fool!" U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2135.1 | Fasting the first month. Numskull having enough food to last him eleven out of the twelve months fasts the entire first month so as to get the ordeal over. He starves with eleven months' supply on hand. Clouston Noodles 89; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1824 | Fatal bread. Numskull refuses communion because his sister died shortly after eating the bread. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 572. |
| J1919 | Fatal disregard of anatomy—miscellaneous. |
| J1910 | Fatal disregard of anatomy. |
| J2401 | Fatal imitation. (Cf. J2411.1, J2411.2, J2413.4.2, J2422.) *Types 1060-1114 passim; Irish myth: Cross; Missouri French: Carrière; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 120 No. 1075; N. A. Indian: *Thompson Tales 353 n. 271b. |
| J157.2 | Fate of parents revealed in dream. Mother shown in Hell; father in Heaven. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J99.2 | Father bequeathes four pots to sons: eldest finds earth in his; second, bones; third, rice husks; youngest, rupees (eldest to get land; second, cattle; third, grain; youngest to keep money). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1561.5 | Father causes inhospitable daughter to spoil her feast by deceptive advice about cooking. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J462.3.1.1 | Father gives son three rings. Only one is good although they all look the same. Same with religions. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J462.3.1 | Father leaves sons three jewels—Christianity, Judaism, Mohammedanism. All to be used. (Cf. J1262.9.) *Zachariae Zs. f. Vksk. XXXIII —XXXIV 70; Boccaccio Decameron I No. 3 (*Lee 6); Italian Novella: *Rotunda; Jewish: bin Gorion Born Judas IV 150, 281. |
| J2484 | Father tells son that he has been scratched by "hairy rascals" (monkeys). Son attacks hairy ascetics. Penzer V 140. |
| J1264.3 | Father wears a crown but is no king. Priest's son is thus taunted. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 161. |
| J244.1 | Father with handsome son and hideous daughter. Advises both to look in mirror daily lest son exchange handsome face for bad character; daughter to triumph over face by good manners. Wienert FFC LVI 83 (ET 494), 149 (ST 536). |
| 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. |
| J1545.3 | Fault-finding husband nonplussed. The wife has cooked so many dishes that when he complains, she can always supply another. Finally he says, "I had rather eat dung." She produces some. *Wesselski Theorie 175; Plattdeutsch: Wisser Plattdeutsche Volksmärchen (Jena 1922, 1927) II 98; India (Kashmir): Knowles 245. |
| J1909.7 | Fear that frog may drown or get dirty. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2634 | Fearing the earthquake. Fool worries lest earthquake make him fall against an open knife. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2465.3.2 | Feeding mother. Fool stuffs and kills her. Espinosa: JAFL XXVII 119. |
| J2465.3 | Feeding the child. Fool feeds it steaming food and kills it. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 212 No. 431. |
| J2465.1 | Feeding the pigs wet meal. The wife throws the meal into the well and the pigs after it. Field Pent Cuckoo 16. |
| J1149.1 | Feigned madness unmasked by threatening man's child. Greek: Fox 123 (Odysseus). |
| 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*. |
| J1022 | Fight of lions and bulls. Lion succeeds only when bulls separate. Wienert FFC LVI *48 (ET 73), *112 (ST 229); Halm Aesop No. 394. |
| 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. |
| J1952 | Fire and water mixed to make sacrifice. Fool told that he needed only the two. Penzer V 68. |
| J834 | Fire burns man who doesn't understand it. Useful when one knows how to use it. Wienert FFC LVI *80 (ET 467), 121 (ST 306). |
| J1772.6 | Fish bones in soup thought to be underdone peas. Nouvelles Récréations No. 73. |
| J1813.5 | Fish dancing about in cooking pot appears to be many. Cook eats one; none left. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J758.3 | Fish refuse fox's invitation to live on dry land and thus escape danger of fishermen. Jewish: *Neuman. |
| J955.1.1 | Fish swells with pride until it bursts. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1761.4 | Fish thought to be chewed sugar-cane. Numskulls therefore throw away their fish. Indonesian: DeVries's list No. 262. |
| J1904.4.1 | Fish will climb trees like buffaloes. Numskull considers what will happen if river burns up. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| 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. |
| J1881.2.3 | Fishes to stop at his house. Fool directs them as he places them in stream. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1511.4 | Fits become epidemic. After dinner a servant feigns a fit and goes to sleep. The master thereupon feigns a fit and beats the boy, who is thus cured of his laziness. Type 1572*; Russian: Andrejev No. 1572A*. |
| J814.2 | Flatterer always agrees with king even in opposite opinions; defense: he is king's servant. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J814 | Flattery of the great. |
| J814.4 | Flattery of the wicked to escape death at his hands: "This is an offering to my lord Esau from his slave Jacob". Jewish: Neuman. |
| J612.1 | Flea and fever exchange night-lodgings. Flea had attacked abbess and been chased all night; fever, a washerwoman who nearly froze it to death by going to the river and washing clothes. They exchange and succeed. *Crane Vitry 159 No. 59; *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XV 105; Wesselski Mönchslatein 87 No. 75; Alphabet No. 15; Scala Celi No. 430. |
| J971 | Flies try to drink water from elephant's ears. He kills them. *Chauvin II 89 n. 1. |
| J953.3 | Flute-player thinks song meant for the prince is sung to him. Punished for presumption. Wienert FFC LVI 81 (ET 478), 93 (ST 71). |
| J211.2.1 | Fly jeers at king's elephant for his lack of freedom. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J712 | Food alone keeps off hunger. |
| J1856 | Food given to object. (Cf. J1871.) |
| J2499.3 | Fool admits crime but pleads mistakes in the details of the accusation. Penzer V 117f. |
| J2331.2 | Fool appointed to fictitious office boasts of it. "Administrador de la yesca." Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 138 No. 1689A*; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J1905.4 | Fool asks owner of oxen why he does not milk them since he is not working them. Canada: Baughman. |
| J2012.6 | Fool at baths believes he is someone else. Sees everybody naked. Puts straw on his shoulder to identify himself. Straw floats to another bather. "You are me and I am you!" Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2325.1 | Fool believes gold in bag turns to ashes because of child's urinating on it. Actually bag contained only ashes. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2045 | Fool believes plea of not guilty even though he has seen man injure him. Nouvelles Récréations No. 2. |
| J1849.1 | Fool believes realistic story. Inappropriate action. |
| J1919.7 | Fool believes that he has begot child with his sister by an earbox. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J2285.1 | Fool believing in omens refuses to prepare for death. Bird has chirped five times, which he thinks guarantees him five more years to live. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 289. |
| 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.) |
| J1735 | Fool cannot tell his right hand in the dark. *Clouston Noodles 91. |
| J1745.1 | Fool cannot tell sex of nudes, since they have no clothes on. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2214.8 | Fool carries his wife to the remedy instead of the opposite. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1916 | Fool carries wife across stream head downwards and drowns her. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2412.8 | Fool claims to cure goitre by striking. Has seen melon thus dislodged from camel's throat. (Cf. F952.3.1, F953.1.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2131.3.1.1 | Fool cuts off his arms to wear sleeveless sweater. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J1919.4 | Fool cuts off tails of oxen so that they will look like fine steeds. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 769. |
| J2133.13 | Fool dangling from tree by hands tries to clap them together: falls. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J95 | Fool digs holes in edge of road. Only those departing from straight path will fall in. Truth of principle later seen. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2365 | Fool discloses woman's adultery; lover kills him. Irish myth: *Cross; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1905.1 | Fool does not milk cow for a month so that she will give plenty for a feast. Penzer V 72. |
| J2014 | Fool does not recognize his own house and family. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2081.3 | Fool exchanges his wife with ox; thinks something to be wrong with her head (she has been marked with red at the parting of her hair). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J565.1 | Fool fasts on roof till he becomes so weak he falls off. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2044 | Fool forgets master's message. As result of his absent-mindedness he is given a heavy mortar to take to his master. The latter makes him return it as punishment. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2622 | Fool frightened by stirring of the wind. Falls on a knife and kills himself. Africa (Ibo, Nigeria): Basden 277. |
| J551.2 | Fool given the truth on his back. He tells his master what the servants have done during his absence. The servants whip him on his bare back, saying at each blow, "That is the truth." When the master returns and tells the fool to tell the truth, the latter replies, "There is nothing worse on earth than the truth." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 1. |
| J2193 | Fool has himself buried because he stinks. Indonesian: DeVries's list No. 271, Coster-Wijsman 53 No. 78. |
| J2091.1 | Fool hides treasure and leaves sign "Here it is." Thief leaves sign "Here it is not." Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 74; Mensa Philosophica No. 141. |
| J2093.3 | Fool ignorant of value of jewel throws it away. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2012.4 | Fool in new clothes does not know himself. Wesselski Mönchslatein 193 No. 152; Christensen DF XLVII 221 No. 83. |
| J2489.1 | Fool interprets metaphors (or slang expressions) about drink. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J163.2.1 | Fool is told to get a pottle of brains. He tries to buy them. He finally learns that advice was to marry a clever girl. England: Baughman. |
| J1732.2 | Fool is unacquainted with bananas, throws away the fruit, finds the rest bitter. (Similar for watermelon, plums.) England, Canada, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J2671.2 | Fool keeps repeating his instructions so as to remember them. (He usually forgets them.) *Clouston Noodles 133. |
| J2173.5 | Fool kills chickens by throwing them off a balcony against a stone. Kites carry them off. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 66 No. 1692. |
| J2518.1 | Fool kills himself in despair because a sparrow has taken one grain from his field. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J2518.2 | Fool kills himself in despair because an ox has been killed. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J2345 | Fool kissed in sleep. Dreams he is being kissed by fairy. Is really a pig. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1769.3 | Fool lays his hand on demon in the dark, believing it is male goat he has come to steal. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2461.2.2 | Fool learns to repeat commonplace expressions: by chance thus scares off wife's suitors. Chinese: Graham. |
| J2176 | Fool lets wine run in the cellar. He (she) falls into a study (or chases a dog) while the spigot is open. *Type 1387; BP I 316, 521ff.; *Fb "tosse" III 832a, "t[ö]nde" III 935a, "[ö]l" III 1175; Christensen DF L 49; Italian Basile Pentamerone I No. 4. |
| J2524 | Fool liking salt decides to eat nothing else. Penzer V 71f. |
| J2332 | Fool locked in dark room made to believe that it is continuous night. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 137 No. 1684; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2355.1 | Fool loses magic objects by talking about them. *Type 563; **Aarne JSFO XXVII 1-96; BP I 349ff.; Italian: Basile Pentamerone I No. 1. |
| J1873.1 | Fool makes shoes for animals as well as men, since he expects a cold winter. *Type 1695. |
| J1761.11 | Fool mistakes dung-beetles for fruit: eats them. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1836 | Fool not recognizing coins lying on roadside leaves them. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2367 | Fool points out hiding place to evil spirits. Banks Islands: Beckwith Myth 442. |
| J2133.14 | Fool re-enacts the accident. Falls and injures self and others. (Cf. J2062.) India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1758.1.1 | Fool rides tiger thinking it to be a big male-goat. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2199.1.1 | Fool rings bell to announce that he has won at chess. No one comes when he rings to save his home from fire. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2171.2.2 | Fool roofs his house on the inside. New Britain: Dixon 123. |
| J1922.2.1 | Fool seeks the ears of grain in the direction of the cloud toward which he has sowed them. Type 1278*. |
| J1791.10 | Fool sees golden-crested bird reflected in water. Thinks it is gold. Penzer V 115 n. 1. |
| J1852.1.1 | Fool sells balls of thread to great lizard. Next day he finds a treasure there. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| 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. |
| J1881.1.7 | Fool sends letter home by a flooded river. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2243 | Fool sleeps so as to avoid idleness. Clouston Noodles 78. |
| J2129.8 | Fool sows his mother's seed rice on other people's fields. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2129.4 | Fool sticks needle in haywagon. He has been told to stick it in his sleeve. It is lost. Type 1696; *BP I 314; Missouri French: Carrière; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 141 No. 1703. |
| J1851.3.1 | Fool stops hole with money. Breton: Sébillot Incidents s.v. "argent". |
| J2465.11 | Fool takes threat to child as an order. Cuts off child's ears. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2565 | Fool thankful that God has built a palace without columns. Else the stones might fall down and kill us. Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 270 No. 272. |
| J2561 | Fool thanks God that he was not sitting on the ass when it was stolen. *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 230 No. 495. |
| J1817 | Fool thinks belly is speaking to him; stabs himself. Other animals are shouting at him. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 78. |
| J1816 | Fool thinks gold is being destroyed when snails crawl over it. Icelandic: Boberg. |
| J1749.1 | Fool thinks that "aforesaid" is a title of honor. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2132.2.1 | Fool ties rope to his leg and to dog. Is dragged. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2176.1 | Fool tries to dry up spilt wine with meal. Type 1387; *BP I 522. |
| J1974 | Fool tries to purify cotton by burning it (as the goldsmith does with gold). Penzer V 70; India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1909.2 | Fool tries to shoot dead antelope until it will come to him. Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 156 No. 3. |
| J1732.1 | Fool unacquainted with sausage. He squeezes the inside out and takes the covering for a sack. Type 1316*; cf. Christensen DF XLVII 216 No. 76. |
| J1919.5.3 | Fool undergoes castration to put on weight. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J2215.4 | Fool waits for God to provide. Nearly starves. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1819.3 | Fool wakes with sleeping mat over head and thinks it is still night. Marquesas: Handy 25. |
| J1746.1 | Fool weeps each time he reads a book to see how small letters have become: at school they were big and fat. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2162.2 | Fool whose house is burning puts wood on the fire. Herbert III 63; Hervieux IV 280 No. 40. |
| J2525 | Fool will not drink from a river because he cannot drink it all. Penzer V 88; Christensen DF XLVII 211 No. 67. |
| J2242.2 | Fool writes letter very slowly: recipient cannot read fast. U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J2311.1.5 | Fool, told yellowing soles of his feet sure sign he is going to die, digs his grave and lies in it. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2346 | Fool's errand. An apprentice, or newcomer or ignorant person, etc., is sent for absurd or misleading or nonexistent object or on a ridiculous quest. Canada, England, U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J2356 | Fool's talking causes himself and companions to be robbed. Thieves stumble over him as he lies on the ground. "What is this, a log?" The fool: "Does a log have five annas in its pocket?" When they have robbed him he says, "Ask the merchant in the tree if my money is good." They rob the merchant. Clouston Noodles 100. |
| J2671.2.1 | Fool's talking to himself thought to be inappropriate greetings. He keeps repeating a word to remember it but changes it so that it seems to refer unfavorably to people whom he meets. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J445 | Foolish association of young and old. |
| J1882 | Foolish attempt to educate animals. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2081.2 | Foolish bargain: good fish for worthless shell; shell with pearl in it for small fish. Chauvin II 83 No. 10, cf. II 89 No. 28. |
| J2081.1 | Foolish bargain: horse for cow, cow for hog, etc. Finally nothing left. *Type 1415; *BP II 199; English: Wells 118 (Octovian); India: *Thompson-Balys; Indonesia: Coster-Wijsman 57 No. 84; N. A. Indian (Zuni): Boas JAFL XXXV 74 No. 3. Cf. Africa (Ibo, Nigeria): Thomas 128. |
| J2099 | Foolish bargain: miscellaneous. U.S.: Baughman. |
| J2081 | Foolish bargain: progressive type. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2080 | Foolish bargains. Missouri French: Carrière; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J954 | Foolish boast of ancestry by lowly. |
| J2353.1 | Foolish boasts get man into trouble. Man boasts to boss that his brother can do twice the work he does. The boss hires him. The two brothers tell him their father can do as much work in a day as the boys can do in a week. The boss fires them, tells them to send their father to work for him. (Cf. H915, H916, N455.4.) U.S.: *Baughman. |
| J2463.1 | Foolish bride gives away dowry. While her parents are away from home, a matchmaker and a suitor come to the foolish girl. By following her mother's advice literally, she gives away her dower to the tricksters. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *1463. |
| J2462 | Foolish bridegroom follows instructions literally. *Type 1685; *BP I 311; *Fb "brud" IV 64b; Gaster Oldest Stories 167; U.S.: Baughman; Italian Novella: Rotunda; India: *Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda. |
| J2174 | Foolish demands before death. |
| J1795.1 | Foolish demon sees his reflection in trickster's mirror and is convinced he has been captured. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2130 | Foolish disregard of personal danger. |
| J1061.3 | Foolish dog finds treasure and dies rather than leave it. Wienert FFC LVI 57 (ET 182), 93 (ST 70, 434). |
| J1968 | Foolish fight with the sea. Absurd attempt to punish sea. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 254. Cf. Yeats's "Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea." |
| J1968.1 | Foolish fight with the sun. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1745.2 | Foolish girl ignorant of what is happening at her first menses. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2462.3 | Foolish husband puts out wife's eyes at night because he heard that a beautiful wife is an enemy. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2062 | Foolish illustration of argument. |
| J2413 | Foolish imitation by an animal. Tries to go beyond his powers. |
| J2412 | Foolish imitation of healing. |
| J2417 | Foolish imitation of leader. Christensen DF XLVII 189 No. 14, 194 no. 19. |
| J2415 | Foolish imitation of lucky man. Because one man has had good luck a numskull imitates and thinks he will have equal luck. He is disappointed. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3252, 3255, 3594, 3691; Arab: Azov JPASB II 412; India: *Thompson-Balys; Chinese: Graham; West Indies: Flowers 490. |
| J2411 | Foolish imitation of miracle (magic). |
| J2411.1.1 | Foolish imitation of sham death and return (= resuscitation). India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2420 | Foolish imitation—miscellaneous. |
| J2400 | Foolish imitation. |
| J2143 | Foolish interference in quarrel of the strong fatal to the weak. |
| J2285 | Foolish interpretation of omens. Jewish: Neuman. |
| J1705.4 | Foolish king. Jewish: Neuman. |
| J2062.2 | Foolish logician upsets ghee in argument. "Does the ghee protect the saucer, or the saucer the ghee?" India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1737.1 | Foolish lover does not know that his mistress lacks an eye. Only after his return from an absence does he notice it. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 407; Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J1737 | Foolish lover ignorant of mistress's flaws. |
| J445.2 | Foolish marriage of old man and young girl. Nouvelles Recreations No. 16; Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles No. 99; Panchatantra (tr. Ryder) 341; Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| J1713 | Foolish married couples. (Cf. J1701, J1702.) *Type 1430. |
| J2671.4 | Foolish messenger muddles message. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| 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. |
| J2311.9 | Foolish peasants carry couple to burial; when "corpses" speak they flee in terror. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1116 | Foolish person becomes clever. *Hdwb. d. Märchens I 184ff. nn. 18, 95, 173—176; Irish myth: *Cross. |
| J2412.7 | Foolish physician cauterizes "sick" cartwheel to stop it from creaking; burns it up instead. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1705.3 | Foolish pundits. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2085 | Foolish reward offered. |
| J2136.5.6 | Foolish thief asks help of owner. Caught. (Cf. J2223.) India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J2136.5.5 | Foolish thief cooks food and awakens household. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1772.12 | Foolish tiger thinks dog's tail is a gun. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2066 | Foolish waiting. |
| J1762.9 | Foolish wife believes goats' heads are human heads. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2079.2 | Foolish wish: to destroy all flies and spiders. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2326.1 | Foolish woman gives swindler money for her parents in heaven. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J445.1 | Foolish youth in love with ugly old mistress. Herbert III 39ff.; Hervieux I 188 No. 14a; Heptameron No. 27; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J682 | Foolishness of alliances with the weak. |
| J683 | Foolishness of attacking real allies. |
| J677 | Foolishness of king's taking a washerman for chief minister; washerman makes no preparation for war and kingdom is conquered. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J581 | Foolishness of noise-making when enemies overhear. |
| J582 | Foolishness of premature coming out of hiding. |
| J642 | Foolishness of surrendering weapons. |
| J684.2 | Foolishness of taking on too strong a partner: crow crowds sparrow out of its nest. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1736 | Fools and the unknown animal. |
| J2614.1 | Fools are frightened at the humming of bees. Think it is a drum. *BP II 555; Christensen DF XLVII 194ff. No. 20. |
| J2272.3 | Fools believe sun sleeps at certain woman's house. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2060.4 | Fools cast lots for royal purple of queen who is still alive. Jewish: Neuman. |
| J1736.1 | Fools do not know what a crayfish is. Shoot it and build a rampart around it. *Wesselski Bebel II 114 No. 43. |
| J1736.2 | Fools do not know what an owl is and attack it. BP III 286. |
| J2614.2 | Fools frightened at the flight of a quail. When they hear "whirr!" the army flees. Africa (Thonga): Junod 247. |
| J2614 | Fools frightened by stirring of an animal. Christensen DF XLVII 175, 197 No. 24. |
| J24 | Fools learn to be peaceable. Two fools in the habit of striking people are brought together when they strike each other until they appreciate the value of peace. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 38. |
| J2129.1 | Fools make a boat go over a precipice. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 249. |
| J2254 | Fools reprove each other for speaking at prayers. They speak while doing so. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1791.9 | Fools see bee's nest reflected in water: try to carry off the well. Clouston Noodles 67. |
| 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. |
| J2081.4 | Fools sent to buy cow procure a monkey instead. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2115 | Fools take fatal overdose of medicine. India: *Thompson-Balys. |
| J1772.7 | Fools think evening star is morning star. Start morning journey evening before. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1819.1 | Fools think thorn bush doesn't sting at night. Christensen DF XLVII 219 No. 80. |
| J2026 | Fools try to fight with man inside of drum who seems to make the noise. Are really pounding each other. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2632 | Fools try to frighten one another, but get scared themselves and both flee. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 3444; Legends Nos. 867, 869f. |
| 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. |
| J1905.2 | Fools try to milk male ass. Penzer V 136 n. 3. |
| J1971 | Fools try to use buffalo tongue as a knife. Indonesia: DeVries's list No. 253. |
| J1700 | Fools. **Clouston Noodles; *Field Myth of the Pent Cuckoo; *Types 1200-1349, 1381-1387, 1430, 1450, 1642, 1643, 1653B, 1675, 1680-1696, 1725, 1750, 1775; *Bolte Frey's Gartengesellschaft No. 1; Köhler-Bolte I 135. — Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 299 No. 18; Hindu: Penzer V 67ff., 80ff., 113ff., 117 n. 1; Oceanic (German New Guinea, Banks Is., New Hebrides): Dixon 124f.; N. A. Indian: Thompson Tales 295ff. nn. 81, 84-87, 92, 95, 103, 109f., 109h, 109k, 109y 109bb, 109dd, 270a-270c, 271b, 286. |
| J1511.8 | Forbidden to think. A husband forbids a wife to think. During his absence she roasts a chicken, eats it, and leaves two drumsticks on the table. The husband asks for the chicken. "Since you have forbidden me to think, I did not think of you." The ban is lifted. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 145. |
| J225.7 | Forestman who longs to do evil is sent to hell: writer, who repents, is sent to heaven. God justifies this to his sage. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J689 | Forethought in alliances — miscellaneous. Wienert FFC LVI 48, 59, 60, 66 (ET 77, 205, 218, 302), 101, 102, 114 (ST 142, 153, 242); Halm Aesop Nos. 147, 421. |
| J680 | Forethought in alliances. Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J610 | Forethought in conflict with others—general. |
| J670 | Forethought in defences against others. |
| J620 | Forethought in prevention of others's plans. Icelandic: *Boberg. |
| J730 | Forethought in provision for clothing. |
| J710 | Forethought in provision for food. |
| J700 | Forethought in provision for life (general). |
| J740 | Forethought in provision for shelter. |
| J556.2 | Forget God for five years and you will become wealthy. Nouvelles Récréations No. 53. |
| J461.1.2 | Fortune, Intellect, Knowledge, and Health dispute as to which is the greatest. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1714.3.1 | Forty wise men foretell violent rainstorm. Failing to convince people, they go into a cave. After the shower they come out. The people call them fools. Irish myth: Cross. |
| J210.1 | Four choices, all of which are evil; man to make one choice only. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J1545.2 | Four men's mistress. A husband disguises as a priest to hear his wife's confession. She says that she has been mistress of a servant, a knight, a fool, and a priest; i.e., her husband when he was her servant, and later her knight. He had then been a fool for demanding her confession, and was a priest because he had heard it. *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 793; Wesselski Mönchslatein 109 No. 93; Boccaccio Decameron VII No. 5 (Lee 198); Scala Celi 49a No. 275; *Hibbard 41 n. 12; Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles No 78; Italian Novella: *Rotunda. |
| J761.2 | Fourth horse must carry all. Miller has four horses to carry grain. He uses only one, so that it soon dies. Four horses are childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. Don't heap all burden of securing salvation on the fourth horse, old age. Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 291. |
| J2413.4.1 | Fowl makes another animal believe that he has had his leg cut off. Says that he has received large pay. He has his leg hidden under his wing. The elephant (hippopotamus) cuts his off and bleeds to death. (Cf. J2401.) Africa (Fang): Nassau 235 No. 4, (Congo): Weeks 205. |
| J2413.4.2 | Fowl makes another animal believe that he has had his neck cut off. He has his neck hidden under his wing. The hare cuts his off and dies. (Cf. J2401.) Africa (Thonga): Junod 216; American Negro: Parsons JAFL XXX 190, 226, MAFLS XVI 34, Work JAFL XXXII 401. |
| J514.6 | Fowler wants two rubies as ransom for a caught goose; loses goose and both rubies. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J864.2 | Fox about to be hanged asks to be allowed to see geese. (Cf. J2174.) Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 29. |
| J1565.1 | Fox and crane invite each other. Fox serves the food on a flat dish so that the crane cannot eat. Crane serves his food in a bottle. *Type 60; Wienert FFC LVI 54 (ET 141), 98 (ST 123); Halm Aesop No. 34; *Crane Exempla 202 No. 165; Africa (Mpongwe): Nassau 64 No. 13. |
| J262.1 | Fox and noisy but empty drum. Chauvin II 86 No. 21; Bødker Exempler 278 No. 20; Spanish Exempla: Keller. |
| J242.3 | Fox and panther contest in beauty. Fox's spirit worth more than panther's skin. Wienert FFC LVI *43 (ET 1), 142 (ST 482); Halm Aesop No. 42. |
| J871.1 | Fox asking for favor set on by dogs. Thankful to have saved life. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J954.2 | Fox claims that certain statues are of his ancestors. Ape shows that he is a liar. Wienert FFC LVI *44 (ET 17), 100 (ST 140); Halm Aesop No. 43. |
| J488 | Fox had rather meet one hen than fifty women. English: Wells 184 (The Fox and the Wolf). |
| J2351.1 | Fox holds conversation with his members, attracts attention, and is caught. He scolds in turn his feet, eyes, ears, and tail. In his excitement he sticks out his tail from his hiding place. *Type 154; **Krohn Mann und Fuchs 11; *BP I 518 n. 1; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 33 No. *135C. |
| J1785.6 | Fox in coffer thought to be devil. Pierre Faifeu No. XXXII. |
| J873 | Fox in swollen river claims to be swimming to distant town. Wienert FFC LVI 62 (ET 244), 125 (ST 339); Halm Aesop No. 30; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 30 No. 66B*. |
| J1075.2 | Fox is terrified on first seeing lion. The third time she meets him she has no fear. Italian Novella: Rotunda. |
| J655.2 | Fox jeers at fox-trap. Is caught. Type 68*. |
| J341.1 | Fox prefers to bear weight of his tail rather than give part of it to ape. *Crane Vitry 204 No. 171; Herbert III 15. |
| J1391.5 | Fox pretends that he has been to the farmyard only to see if any of his kindred were there. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J811.2 | Fox refuses to mediate between lion and lioness. Lion decides to abandon lioness because of her bad odor. Ass, hog, and fox as judges. Ass says she has bad odor: lioness slaps him. Hog says she has not: lion slaps him. Fox says that he has a bad cold and cannot smell. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 29 No. 52*. |
| J644.1 | Fox sees all tracks going into lion's den but none coming out. He saves himself. Wienert FFC LVI *53 (ET 131), 96 (ST 92); Halm Aesop No. 246, cf. No. 262; Jacobs Aesop 217 No. 73; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *50A; India: Thompson-Balys; N. A Indian (Tuxtapec): Mechling JAFL XXV 203; Africa (Angola): Chatelain 189, (Hottentot): Bleek 19 No. 10; Jamaica: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 243 No. 18. |
| J864.1 | Fox stumbles over violin. Chased from chicken coop by dogs. When he stumbles he says, "What a fine opportunity to dance if I had time!" Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 33 No. 135A, Espinosa Jr. No. 24. |
| J953.13 | Fox thinks his elongated shadow at sunrise makes him as large as elephant. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J512.10 | Fox tries to mask as dove, but loses all thoughts of murder. India: Thompson-Balys. |
| J2131.5.7 | Fox trying to drown jug. Sticks his head into it and gets drowned himself. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. *66; Russian: Andrejev No. *64. |
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.