Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

II – The Complex Tale

11. Realistic tales

B. Cheats

In "Big Claus and Little Claus" Hans Christian Andersen succeeded in writing one of the most popular of his stories without making any significant changes in the tradition as he had learned it. The material itself is so diverting that it has pleased not only the literary audience which he addressed but also the listeners to tales in all parts of the world. We need not inquire too curiously as to why men of all countries and stations delight in the successful accomplishment of a swindle, but the truth seems to be that if the terms of the transaction are clearly understood, a story of clever cheating receives a universal response. This tale of The Rich and the Poor Peasant (Type 1535) has been told in European literature since its appearance in the Latin poem Unibos in the tenth century and has seldom been omitted from any collection where it was at all appropriate. But it is also immensely popular as an oral tale. A hasty survey of easily available versions shows 875. It appears in nearly every collection of stories over the whole of Europe and Asia; it is among the most popular stories in Iceland and Ireland, in Finland and in Russia, in India and the Dutch East Indies. It is well known not only on the North African coast but is also found in many parts of central and south Africa. In the western hemisphere it has been reported all the way from Greenland to Peru. Eleven North American Indian versions show borrowings from the Scandinavians, the French, and the Spanish. It appears in the French tradition of Missouri, Louisiana, and Canada; in the English of Virginia, the Spanish of Puerto Rico and Peru, the Portuguese of Brazil and Massachusetts, and the Negro of Jamaica and the Bahamas.

It is natural that in these hundreds of occurrences considerable variation should appear, both in the order and the nature of the details. But all versions conform sufficiently well to a norm to make identification easy and unmistakable. The story frequently begins with a piece of blackmail. A man is set to watch a chest which is falsely said to be full of money, or he is asked to guard a wooden cow which is supposed to be a real cow. The rascal brings it about that the object is stolen and demands damages. The cheater next takes along a supply of lime or ashes and succeeds in selling this under the pretext that it is gold. Another trick is the sale of some pseudo-magic object—a cow-hide [p. 166] or a bird-skin that is alleged to accomplish marvels. Sometimes this object is exchanged for a chest in which an adulteress has hidden her paramour. The rascal is usually given a large sum of money by the frightened lover in payment for his freedom. These adventures with the adulteress and her lover sometimes occur independently (Motif K1574). The next cheat, the unsuccessful imitation, we have met before in stories of magic or the miraculous. [259] Here, however, there is no magic, but only a pretense of it. The rascal claims to have a flute (or a fiddle or knife, or the like) which will bring people back to life. His confederate, a woman, plays dead, and he apparently revives her. The rich peasant buys the magic object, kills his own wife so as to use it, and then is unable to bring her back to life. Sometimes before and sometimes after this adventure the poor peasant reports the large price that he has received for his cow-hide. The rich peasant is therefore induced to kill all his cows in order to sell their hides. He finds, of course, that it was only the frightened lover in the chest who would pay an exorbitant price for a cow-hide. Eventually the cheater is caught and is placed in a sack or a chest where he must await execution of his sentence. A shepherd finds him there and asks what he is doing. The cheater says that he is the angel Gabriel on the way to heaven or that he has been put in the sack because he will not marry the princess. The shepherd is only too glad to take his place so as to receive the good things he tells about. [260] The rich peasant now sees the escaped cheater and asks him where he came from. He tells him that he has been down in the river where he has acquired many sheep, that the way to get them is to dive down after them. The rich peasant dives off the bridge and kills himself.

As indicated, several of these traits occur independently and may constitute complete anecdotes in themselves. The order in which the incidents occur is also treated with great freedom. Particularly is there a frequent mixture of the elements of this tale with that of Cleverness and Gullibility (Type 1539), if, indeed, the two are actually to be thought of as independent stories. In the latter tale much is made of the sale of worthless animals and objects under the pretense that they are either magic or marvelous. Sometimes a cow is sold as a goat, a rabbit as a letter-carrier, or it may be a magic hat which is supposed to pay all bills, a wand that revives the dead, or a pot that cooks of itself. He also has a horse that is alleged to drop gold. By means of placing a gold coin in the horse's dung, he is able to persuade the buyer. After many such tricks the young man has himself buried alive and when his enemy comes to where he is, stabs him with a knife from out of the ground.

Most reporters of folktales have not distinguished this latter type from [p. 167] the more familiar story of The Rich and the Poor Peasant. It is clear, however, that this particular type is very well known all around the Baltic and in Russia. The tradition seems to center in Finland, where 253 versions are listed.

One difficulty in a comparative study of tales like the two we have just noticed is the fact that they are little more than a loose series of single anecdotes. Types of this kind have a natural instability very baffling to the investigator of folktale origins and dissemination.

A story represented by the old French romance of Trubert of the thirteenth century has some elements in common with The Rich and the Poor Peasant. The Youth Cheated in Selling Oxen (Type 1538) concerns itself with the revenge which the hero takes on his enemies. He masks as a carpenter and persuades the man who has cheated him to go to the woods to look at trees. He gives him a good beating and exacts a large sum of money before he will stop. Later he masks as a doctor and again beats his enemy.

In some versions he also avenges himself on the purchaser's wife. Eventually he is arrested and condemned to be hanged. But he persuades a miller to take his place by the old trick of lying about the good things awaiting him. [261] In some versions the story ends with the youth having himself buried and stabbing his enemy from the ground. [262]

Although this tale has never attained extraordinary popularity in any country, it has been collected orally in every part of Europe. No comparative study of the tale seems to have been made, but it would seem probable that we have here a literary invention which has been taken over into the repertory of oral story-tellers.

The material handled in the tale of The Rich and the Poor Peasant and in the two other related stories just examined has been freely drawn upon to make other combinations. One of these has attained some currency in northern and eastern Europe—The Clever Boy (Type 1542). It will be noted that almost every incident belongs in one of these tales, though the story of The Master Thief (Type 1525) has furnished at least two traits. A brother and sister live together but are poor, and the brother goes out to make a living by Tooling people. He reports to the king that he has some marvelous "fooling sticks," and he gets the king's horse by borrowing it to ride home for them. In other versions he sells the king a wolf to guard his fowls and a bear to keep watch over his cows. He sells the king what he says is a self-cooking kettle and a marvelous staff to hang it on. He feigns to kill and resuscitate his sister with a magic pipe, which the king buys and experiments with disastrously. The hero now puts on his sister's clothes and is taken into the palace as a companion of the princess. A prince comes as a suitor to the supposed maiden, who leaves just in time, but not before the princess is with [p. 168] child. The story may end in several ways: he may be caught and put in a cask or sack, where he exchanges places with a shepherd; he may be condemned to be hanged but again persuades someone to take his place; or the king may be so impressed with his cleverness that he takes him as son-in-law.

We have here about as clear a case of a folktale concocted out of others as it is possible to find. When the incidents from other stories are eliminated, there seems to remain nothing but the brother and sister as confederates in their swindles, and the access to the princess through masking as a girl. Even these motifs can easily be found elsewhere. [263]

A very diverting story which seems to be rather well known in Scandinavia and Finland [264] is The Man Who Got a Night's Lodging (Type 1544). In this tale the rascal feigns deafness and always accepts hospitality before it is offered. He deliberately misunderstands everything. For example, he takes the host's horse out of the stable and puts his own in. He is supposed to pay for his lodging with a goat skin: he takes one of the man's own goats. At the table they put poor food before him but he always manages to get the best. At night he succeeds in sleeping with the wife or the daughter. He eats the food which the wife has put out in the night for her husband. Having seduced the women, he now threatens to tell about it, and they confess. The husband becomes very angry and is going to kill the trickster's horse, but kills his own instead.

The tale of the rascal who seduces his host's wife and then tells on her has many variations in the literature of jests, especially those of the Renaissance. One told by Hans Sachs and by Johannes Pauli, The Parson's Stupid Wife (Type 1750), has received some oral currency in northern and eastern Europe.

A mercenary lover makes the parson's wife believe that chickens can be taught to talk. At her request, he undertakes to hatch out hens' eggs, and he receives a large amount of corn to feed the chickens. When the chickens do hatch, he declares that they sing, "The peasant has slept with the parson's wife." He is allowed to keep the corn.

The four tales of tricksters just considered are all of relatively limited popularity and serve as good examples of the fact that tales of this nature may often be well known in one area without spreading to neighboring countries. But the extreme popularity of The Rich and the Poor Peasant shows that sometimes these stories may be almost universal in currency.

Another trickster tale which is well known both in the Orient and the Occident is The Student from Paradise (Paris) (Type 1540). As told in most of Europe, it begins with a wandering student who tells a woman that he is just back from Paris. She thinks he has said "from Paradise" and she immediately gathers together a sum of money and a quantity of goods for him to take to her late husband. The student has hardly gone with the misappropriated [p. 169] goods when the woman's son returns home. He realizes the cheat and sets out to overtake the student and recover the goods. He finds the student, who tells him that the thief has just escaped through the Woods. They are too thick to ride through, so that the man leaves his horse, which the student rides away. In other versions the student tells him that the thief has gone to heaven by way of a tree. The man lies on his back to look for the ascending thief and meantime the student steals the horse.

This jest is popular in the joke collections of the Renaissance, and as an oral tale it is related not only in all parts of Europe but in Asia as far east as Indonesia. Antti Aarne has accorded the tale a thorough study based upon more than 300 oral versions. He finds that the play upon words (Paris, Paradise) is essentially a European trait and is absent from the Oriental. In the eastern stories the deceased to whom a present is sent is the woman's son rather than her husband, as in the European. In the latter part of the tale the report that the thief has escaped up a tree is Oriental; the escape through the woods European. Aarne is uncertain as to which of these forms is the earlier. In his discussion of Aarne's work, Kaarle Krohn [265] concludes that an origin in India is very likely. It must be said, however, that the evidence as to the direction in which this tale has moved is inconclusive.

One of the most important elements in many trickster tales is the use made by these rascals of the desire most people have to avoid scandal. Almost as strong is the fear of being haled into a law court. In a story whose oral distribution extends from the British Isles to central Asia—The Profitable Exchange (Type 1655)—both these fears are played upon to the enrichment of the cheater. He has asked hospitality, since he has only one grain of corn left. The corn is eaten by the cock and when he threatens suit, he is allowed to keep the cock as damages. Later he has the same experience when the hog eats the cock, and when an ox eats the hog. The story may very well end at this point, but it frequently proceeds with further profitable exchanges. [266] He barters his ox for an old woman's corpse, which he sets up so that the princess knocks her over (Motif K2152). In order to avoid the scandal that will come from the accusation of murder, she marries the rascal. The ending of the story is often not well integrated with the main plot. Sometimes it is said that he and the princess have a son who surpasses even his father in cunning. In others, he places the princess whom he has won in a bag, but he is at last outwitted, for someone substitutes a worthless object or an animal and lets the princess escape.

In his thorough monograph on this tale, Christiansen, [267] who has started with a discussion of a story from the Scottish island of Barra and one from County Kerry in Ireland, concludes: "So far some main lines in the distribution [p. 170] of the tale emerge. The versions from Kerry and from Barra belong to a chain of tradition running through France to Italy. It is, however, difficult to discern how the further development went. Perhaps the tale is a combination, made in Italy(?) or somewhere in Southern Europe, from those two motifs, the lucky exchanges, and the girl in the bag. Outside of Europe both these incidents occur as separate stories, as some brief references will show." The lucky exchange by itself occurs frequently in African tales, and the substitution of an animal or object in the bag is practically worldwide. [268]

The humor of the folk does not always make close discrimination between stupidity and cleverness. Sometimes a story begins with a series of absurd actions where we are amused at their utter foolishness. But later the fool turns out to be really clever. This pattern is well enough known in romantic stories of the Male Cinderella type; [269] but the mixture is also found in tales designed for humor. [270] Such a tale of mixed motifs is The Good Bargain (Type 1642). It appears in Basile's Pentamerone in the seventeenth century and is known throughout central Europe, both north and south, but has not been reported from either the east or the west of the continent. Many of the separate motifs appear by themselves, so that the tale has no well-integrated plot. A numskull throws money to frogs so that they can count it, [271] or he sells meat to dogs or butter to a signpost. He complains of his losses to the king and thus makes the princess laugh for the first time. Though the king offers her to the boy as a reward, he does not want to marry her. The king therefore tells him to return later for his reward. When he does so, he promises the doorkeeper to share the reward with him. It turns out that the boy is to be rewarded with a beating, which the doorkeeper receives instead. At the end of the tale the boy is summoned before the king on the complaint of a certain Jew. He borrows the Jew's coat and then discredits his testimony by predicting successfully that the Jew would even claim the coat which the boy is wearing.

Tales both of clever tricks and of stupid action are very likely to have extremely loose plots and to be susceptible of easy addition and subtraction. Indeed, for a whole series of such relatively unstable stories, it is much more convenient to examine anecdotes separately with only incidental attention to some of the ways in which they are occasionally combined. Thus a considerable number of incidents listed by Aarne in his type index as having to do with stupid people or with clever tricksters [272] are not mentioned here but will be noticed along with other similar motifs in a later chapter. [273] [p. 171]

[259] See, for example, Type 531 and Type 753.

[260] This incident of the exchange of places in the sack occurs as a separate story, The Parson in the Sack to Heaven (Type 1737).

[261] See Types 1535 and 1737.

[262] Cf. the tale immediately preceding this (Type 1539).

[263] For seduction by masking as a girl, see Motif K1321.1.

[264] A single version each has been reported for Russia, Spain, and Flanders.

[265] See Aarne, Der Mann aus dem Paradiese; Krohn, Übersicht, pp. 155ft.

[266] For a similar story told of animals, see Type 170.

[267] R. Th. Christiansen, "Bodach an T-Sílein," Bealoideas, III (1931), 107-120.

[268] See Motif K526 and references; cf. Type 327C.

[269] See pp. 125ff., above.

[270] This peculiar combination is especially popular in the stories of certain primitive peoples. See pp. 319ff., below.

[271] This motif has been reported from persons of English tradition in Virginia.

[272] Here belong most of the types from No. 1030 to 1335, as well as many more listed between No. 1350 and 2000.

[273] See pp. 188ff., below.

170, 327C, 531, 753, 1030-1335, 1350-2000, 1525, 1535, 1538, 1539, 1540, 1542, 1544, 1642, 1655, 1737, 1750

K526, K1321.1, K1574, K2152

Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

II – The Complex Tale

12. Origin and history of the complex tales

Not every complex tale known to story-tellers of the area we are considering has found a place in the discussion just concluded. But practically all of those omitted are of very limited distribution. [283] With each tale the main facts about its history and its occurrences in oral tradition have been indicated wherever conclusions seemed possible. While discussing each tale, I have had before me a summary of the scholarship which has been devoted to it and a complete list of oral versions insofar as the extensive reference books and regional surveys now available made this possible. Frequently the mere bringing together of this material was sufficient to compel conclusions about the tale which do not seem likely to need revision. But when all tales with such clear-cut histories have been considered, there remain a large number which present problems sufficient to occupy the attention of scholars for many a decade to come.

Of these complex tales, along with a few closely related simple anecdotes, we have examined somewhat over two hundred. The order in which they have been taken up has been determined by their subject matter. And that means that tales about the same kinds of characters or incidents have been brought together, often when there was no organic relationship between them and when they had little if anything in common in their origin and history. When so much remains dark about the beginnings and about the vicissitudes of so large a number of our folktales, no complete account of them can be based upon historical categories.

Nevertheless, in a very tentative way it may be of interest to see which of our tales have a history that can be proclaimed with some confidence, which of them show great probabilities of proper solution, and which of them still present difficult problems.

That many of our European and Asiatic folktales go back to a literary source is as clear as any fact of scholarship can be made. There would thus seem to be no reason to doubt that an Oriental literary text is responsible for the subsequent development of a considerable number of tales which have received oral currency in Europe and sometime in the Orient. In the older Buddhistic sources [284] are found: Death's Messengers (Type 335); Six Go Through the Whole World (Type 513A); The Three Snake Leaves (Type 612); [p. 177] The Two Travelers (Type 613); The Animal Languages (Type 670); "Think Carefully Before You Begin a Task" (Type 910C); The Brave Tailor (Type 1640); and Doctor Know-All (Type 1641). In the Ocean of Story, a Sanskrit collection brought together in the twelfth century but based upon much older material, there appear, as probable originals of the European oral tradition, versions of: Wise Through Experience (Type 910A); The Servant's Good Counsels (Type 910B); and Faithful John (Type 516). From other collections of literary tales originating in India appear to come: The Bridge to the Other World (Type 471); The Four Skillful Brothers (Type 653); The Wise Brothers (Type 655); and One Beggar Trusts God, the Other the King (Type 841). From various literary sources in India the incidents which make up two of our related tales have been taken and unified at some point before they entered into the oral tradition of the west. [285] These two are : The Son of the King and of the Smith (Type 920); and The King and the Peasant's Son (Type 921). Whatever may be the ultimate source of the stories in the Thousand and One Nights, several of our old folktales are found in that work in much the form in which these stories first reached European taletellers. Among these tales appearing in the Arabian Nights are: Siddhi Numan (Type 449*); Aladdin (Type 561); Open Sesame (Type 676); Luck and Wealth (Type 736); Hatch-penny (Type 745); Oft Proved Fidelity (Type 881); The Treasure of the Hanging Man (Type 910D); and The Forty Thieves (Type 954). Finally, of these tales of Oriental origin, may be mentioned one which appears in the Persian collection, The Thousand and One Days. This is The Prophecy (Type 930).

Similarly, an ultimate origin in European literature seems unmistakable for a dozen or more of the stories current today, whether locally or over the complete European-Asiatic area. Three of the tales which we have noticed certainly go back to Greek literature: Oedipus (Type 931) to Sophocles; Rhampsinitus (Type 950) to Herodotus; and The Wolf and the Kids (Type 123) to the Aesop collection. A fourteenth century Latin poem, the Asinarius, is responsible for the very few oral versions of The Ass (Type 430). Folktales have borrowed very freely from saints' legends: certainly Pride Is Punished (Type 836) is a mere oral treatment of the legend of Polycarp. The great collections of illustrative tales which in the Middle Ages went under the name of Exempla contained a considerable number of folktales. Frequently it is impossible to tell whether they may be reworkings of oral tradition, but sometimes it is quite evident that the oral tale is taken directly from the literary collection. This is clearly true of: Friends in Life and Death (Type 470); The Boy Who Learned Many Things (Type 517); The Three Languages (Type 671); The Angel and the Hermit (Type 759); and Who Ate the Lamb's Heart (Type 785). At least two tales seem to have been learned from the work of the German Meistersinger: The Faithful Wife (Type 888); and [p. 178] The Pound of Flesh (Type 890). Of course, both of these tales were used by Shakespeare, and that fact has doubtless been of influence on their subsequent popularity. Many stories have undoubtedly originated among the people of Italy, and it is sometimes difficult to know whether a tale recounted by those great writers of novelle beginning with Boccaccio was learned from the people or was invented by the author. For at least three of our folktales such literary invention by the novella writer seems the most reasonable hypothesis. The Wager on the Wife's Chastity (Type 882) is in Boccaccio's Decameron; The Luck-Bringing Shirt (Type 844) in the Pecorone of Ser Giovanni; and The Taming of the Shrew (Type 901) in the Nights of Straparola. The Pentamerone of Giambattista Basile of the early seventeenth century is almost completely made up of oral folktales, though transformed into an extraordinary literary style. But it is probable that he invented several tales by freely combining traditional material. Such seems to be the situation with The Forsaken Fiancée (Type 884). Finally, at least one tale given currency by the Grimms, The Two Girls, the Bear, and the Dwarf (Type 426), comes directly from a German literary collection of stories which appeared in 1818.

The fact that one may cite a literary form of a story, even a very old version, is by no means proof that we have arrived at the source of the tradition. Nothing is better authenticated in the study of traditional narrative than the fact that the literary telling of a tale may represent merely one of hundreds of examples of the story in question and have for the history of the tradition no more significance than any other one of the hundreds of variants at hand. Apuleius's telling of Cupid and Psyche and the author of Tobit's version of The Grateful Dead Man tale appear both to be rather late and somewhat, aberrant forms of much older oral tales. With this warning in mind, the careful student should be slow in arriving at the conclusion that a stated literary document is the fountainhead of a particular narrative tradition. For those tales which we have just listed, the actual dependence on the literary source has seemed well established. In addition to these, there are a considerable number for which there is a well-known early literary form to which the weight of evidence would point probably, but not quite certainly, as the actual source. Some of these tales have been very popular among story-tellers, and have spread over two or more continents, and some have had only a very limited acceptance among the people. The degree of popularity and the geographical extent of the distribution is a fact which must be taken into consideration with every tale when we are trying to judge the question of its ultimate literary or oral invention. For this reason, in listing the tales with probable literary sources, it is helpful to indicate briefly what type of oral distribution each has.

At least related to the old Greek story of The Cranes of Ibycus is the tale The Sun Brings All to Light (Type 960; oral: Spain to Russia). From saints' [p. 179] legends at least two oral tales appear to have been taken: Hospitality Rewarded (Type750B; oral: scattered thinly over most of Europe); and Christ and the Smith (Type 753; oral: all Europe, especially the Baltic states). Certainly influenced by some of the legends of the popes, if not directly borrowed from them, is The Dream (Type 725; oral: moderately popular in eastern Europe and the Baltic states). In addition to the folktales which we are sure have come from books of Exempla, there are several where such an origin seems likely: The King and the Robber (Type 951A; oral: Germany and the Baltic states, sporadic in Hungary and Russia); The Old Robber Relates Three Adventures (Type 953; oral: thinly scattered, Ireland to Roumania); and "We Three; For Money" (Type 1697; oral: thinly scattered over all Europe). The influence of the chivalric romance in general is seen in The Bride Won in a Tournament (Type 508) which was told in Straparola's Nights and received frequent literary treatment in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but has been collected orally only in three versions in Lithuania.

The rich prose literature of medieval Iceland has in it many folktale elements, most of which doubtless go back to popular tradition. But this may not have been true in all cases: an Icelandic prose tale of 1339 seems to lie back of the oral tale Godfather Death (Type 332; oral: Iceland to Palestine, especially the Baltic states, but not Russia). A medieval chronicle of 1175 probably forms the beginning of the tradition later carried on through French and German jestbooks and at least one English play, and connected with the name of a famous Lord Mayor of London. This is Whittington's Cat (Type 1651; oral: scattered from western Europe to Indonesia, especially popular in Finland).

The jestbooks of the Renaissance contain a number of folktales. In many cases, these were taken from older literary collections, or indeed from oral tradition. But occasionally they seem to have served as a real source for tales which now belong to the folk. Such would seem to be true of The Wishes (Type 750A; oral: popular throughout Europe, sporadic in China); The Tailor in Heaven (Type 800; oral: scattered thinly over Europe, sporadic among Buryat of Siberia); The Devil as Advocate (Type 821; oral: all Europe, especially Baltic, moderately popular); Sleeping Beauty (Type 410; oral: scattered thinly over Europe, one-third of versions Italian, based on Basile); and The Three Brothers (Type 654; oral: confined to Europe).

A German literary tale of the thirteenth century may well be the beginning of The Frog King (Type 440; oral: Germany to Russia only). The habit of writing literary folktales was carried on into the eighteenth century, both in France and in Germany. Many of these tales never assumed any oral popularity. On the other hand, The Girls Who Married Animals (Type 552), although concocted by Musäus at the end of the eighteenth century of authentic oral material, combined with an analogous tale in Basile, has since entered into the stream of oral tradition in the form he then designed. Its [p. 180] oral distribution shows the greatest inconsistency and indicates frequent direct use of the literary source.

For all the tales mentioned thus far in this summary there seems a strong probability of ultimate literary origin. But it cannot be too frequently repeated that the fact of the appearance of a tale in some literary document is no proof that it did not originate among the people. Oral tales have been a very fruitful source For literary story-tellers everywhere. It thus happens that frequently the literary appearance of a story only represents one of many hundreds of versions and is, of course, less important in the history of the tale than the oral variant from which the story was borrowed. It is not always easy to tell when a story belongs primarily to oral tradition and frequently the problem of priority is quite unsolvable. But a very considerable number of tales appearing in literary collections show such a preponderance of oral variants, as well as other indications of popular origin, that their literary appearance would seem to be purely incidental. There can be little doubt that they are all essentially oral, both in origin and in history.

Several such oral tales have found a place in Oriental literary collections. In the Hindu fable collection, the Panchatantra, occurs a good part of the tale of Luck and Intelligence (Type 945); it also occurs in recent literary form in India, but has a vigorous life in popular tradition of India and the Near East, and sporadically as far afield as Germany and the Philippines. In the Ocean of Story, as well as in the Thousand and One Nights, occur fragments of Devils Fight over Magic Objects (Type 518; oral: all Europe, western Asia, and North Africa) and of The Prince's Wings (Type 575; oral: sparingly over north and eastern Europe). In the Ocean of Story, likewise, there is an analogue of The Girl as Helper in the Hero's Flight (Type 313). This story does not otherwise appear in central Asia but is one of the most popular of all oral folktales in Europe and America; it is no wonder that it has been retold by such story-tellers as Straparola and Basile. Two tales popular in the tradition of the Near East appear in the Persian Tuti Nameh: The Grateful Animals (Type 554; oral: Europe and Asia, especially Baltic countries) and The Magic Bird-heart (Type 567; oral: eastern and southern Europe, and Persia; origin probably in Persian tradition). In an Arabic history of the ninth century appears an abbreviated version of The King and the Abbot (Type 922), though Walter Anderson has shown that the tradition is certainly oral, in spite of frequent literary treatments in Europe. Likewise, the occurrence of the story of The Monster in the Bridal Chamber (Type 507B) in the apocryphal Book of Tobit does not carry the implication that this version is the source of the tradition: it is obviously a late and considerably modified form of the story, which appears to have developed orally in the Near East.

Much more frequently have oral tales found a place in one or more European collections of literary stories. In another place more specific mention [p. 181] is made of popular tales embedded in the Greek or Latin classics. [286] Sometimes these retellings represent rather faithfully what must have been the plot of one of our oral tales at the time and place it was heard, though there may be radical adaptation to literary form or fashion. Such is true of the retelling of the tale of Polyphemus (Type 1137) by Homer, of Cupid and Psyche (Type 425) by Apuleius, and of Perseus and Andromeda (a version of Type 300? ) by various writers of myths.

It is sometimes difficult to tell whether such a classical story as that of Perseus is really a version of a folktale now current in Europe. There is little doubt, however, that the appearance of the story of The Dragon-Slayer (Type 300) in connection with that of The Two Brothers (Type 303) in Icelandic saga does represent an actual version of an oral tale, apparently originating in France, and now known by almost every taleteller in the world. In Icelandic saga there also appears a version of The Clever Peasant Girl (Type 875), though this does not represent its source, which is certainly oral and central European. The learning of animal speech by eating the flesh of a serpent occurs in a German and Baltic oral tale (Type 673) and also in the Siegfried story, but this is the only parallel, and the resemblance may not indicate actual relationship.

In other literary forms of the Middle Ages there occasionally appear oral tales. Geoffrey of Monmouth, in telling the story of King Lear, includes the incident of Love Like Salt (Type 923), widely known, not only through Shakespeare's treatment, but also as a part of the Cinderella cycle (Type 510). The chivalric romances, likewise, contain much that must have been taken directly from the people. Marie de France thus tells the tale of The Prince as Bird (Type 432), which, though certainly oral, has been frequently retold by both medieval and Renaissance writers. In some versions of the Tristram story occur elements of The Clever Horse (Type 531; oral: western Europe to the Philippines, origin probably India), and in an Icelandic saga of the fourteenth century there is a much clearer version. In the Fortunatus romance, which occurs in many forms, there is found a version of The Three Magic Objects and the Wonderful Fruits (Type 566), essentially west European folk tradition. The Gesta Romanorum, and later, Hans Sachs, have versions of The Three Doctors (Type 660), a tradition well known from Ireland to Russia. Despite the fact that the French and German fabliaux are usually literary in content, at least two oral tales are used in such collections: The Hero Catches the Princess with Her Own Words (Type 853) and King Thrushbeard (Type 900).

Though the jestbooks which were in vogue during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries normally consist of very simple anecdotes, occasionally they included a complex folk story, like Hansel and Gretel (Type 327A); Master Pfriem (Type 801); One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes (Type 511); The [p. 182] Student from Paradise (Type 1540); or The Three Lucky Brothers (Type 1650). The latter story also appears in a collection of novelle. These prose tale collections, beginning as early as Boccaccio's Decameron, sometimes contain stories which the author had heard, though they are usually much changed in style from what must have been the oral original. Such is true of The Smith Outwits the Devil (Type 330), and of Six Go Through the Whole World (Type 513). The latter tale appears in many other literary collections, both Oriental and European.

For the history of the folktale, two collections in the novella tradition are especially important. Insofar as they contain folktales, they are either purely oral stories or else tales of literary origin which had already become a part of the folklore of Italy. Many of these oral tales have their first literary appearance in these collections. In the Pleasant Nights of Straparola in the sixteenth century are versions of: The Magician and His Pupil (Type 325; apparently of oral origin in India); The Youth Who Wanted to Learn What Fear Is (Type 326); The Youth Transformed to a Horse (Type 314; one of the most popular of oral tales); Cap o' Rushes (Type 510B); The Three Golden Sons (Type 707); Our Lady's Child (Type 710); The Cat Castle (Type 545A); Puss in Boots (Type 545B); and The Lazy Boy (Type 675).

An even longer list of oral tales is found for the first time in the Pentamerone of Basile, 1634-36. Among them are: The Maiden in the Tower (Type 310); The Black and the White Bride (Type 403); The Three Oranges (Type 408); Little Brother and Little Sister (Type 450); The Maiden Who Seeks her Brothers (Type 451); The Spinning-Woman by the Spring (Type 480); The Three Old Women Helpers (Type 501); Dung-beetle (Type 559); The Magic Ring (Type 560); The Louse-Skin (Type 621); The Carnation (Type 652); Snow-White (Type 709); and The Good Bargain (Type 1642).

The folktale collection of Charles Perrault which appeared in 1697 is hardly to be considered as literary at all, but rather as a group of fairly faithful versions of oral tales. The later French collections of Madame D'Aulnoy, on the other hand, were definitely literary, and seldom contained any real folktales which had not already appeared in writers like Straparola or Basile. Exceptions are The Mouse as Bride (Type 402) and The Shift of Sex (Type 514).

Such are the principal collections of literary tales which have given us versions of oral stories. To complete the list, one would have to make several miscellaneous additions. The King and the Abbot (Type 922) appears in a German poem of the thirteenth century and frequently thereafter; the oral tradition of how Peter's Mother Falls from Heaven (Type 804) is given in a fifteenth century German poem; The Monster's Bride (Type 507A) appears in a sixteenth century English comedy; Bearskin (Type 361) is [p. 183] retold by Grimmelshausen in 1670; and Demi-coq (Type 715) is given a French name because of his appearance in a French story written in 1759.

Such is the list of those tales which, although they have appeared in one or more literary collections, seem quite certainly to be oral, both in origin and in history. Sometimes their subsequent popularity has been greatly increased by the fact that they have been charmingly retold by Basile or Perrault. Otherwise, their history is in no essential respect different from that large group of stories to which we shall now turn. These belong to the folklore of Europe and Asia, and have never had the fortune to appeal to any literary story teller. We know them only in oral form and can therefore speak with almost complete certainty of their origin among the people. Here belong some of the most interesting of all folktales.

Most of the European stories which originated in the Orient either go back to literary sources in the East or else, in spite of their origin in popular Oriental tradition, have received literary treatment in Asia or in Europe. Such tales, of literary origin or handling, have just been discussed. There remain a few which seem to have developed orally in Asia and to have reached Europe entirely by word of mouth. Such is true of Three Hairs from the Devil's Beard (Type 461), very often told in connection with the tale of The Prophecy (Type 930). The latter story is Oriental, but is found in early Buddhistic material. [287] The widely diffused tale of The Little Red Bull (Type 511*), while showing relation to several well-known European stories, probably comes from Oriental folk tradition.

By far the largest number of purely oral European and Asiatic tales seem quite certainly to have developed in Europe. The great majority of these are confined to the European continent, but some of them are worldwide in their distribution. Examples of the latter are The Dragon-Slayer (Type 300), John the Bear (Type 301), and The Two Brothers (Type 303). [288] Some European oral tales have traveled far into the Orient: Bluebeard (Type 311); The Journey to God to Receive Reward (Type 460A); The Journey in Search of Fortune (Type 460B); The Wild Man (Type 502); The Speaking Horsehead (Type 533); and The Profitable Exchange (Type 1655). Others have gone no further than the Near East: The Princess Transformed into Deer (Type 401); The Princess on the Glass Mountain (Type 530); Strong John (Type 650); The Juniper Tree (Type 720); and The Greater Sinner (Type 756C).

A considerable number of oral stories have received very wide distribution over the entire European continent but, except for purely sporadic occurrences, they do not appear elsewhere. To this list belong: The Hunter (Type 304); [p. 184] The Dwarf and the Giant (Type 327B); Hiding from the Devil (Type 329); The House in the Wood (Type 431); The Water of Life (Type 551); The Fisher and His Wife (Type 555); The Rabbit-herd (Type 570); The Self-righteous Hermit (Type 756A); The Devil's Contract (Type 756B); The Singing Bone (Type 780); The Peasant in Heaven (Type 802); The Birthmarks of the Princess (Type 850); The Golden Ram (Type 854); The King and the Soldier (Type 952); The Robber Bridegroom (Type 955) and The Clever Maiden Alone at Home Kills the Robbers (Type 956B).

The stories just listed are well represented in all parts of Europe, so that without special investigation it is not easy to say just where the story has developed. With a large number of tales, however, we find that, in spite of occurrences over the entire continent, their area of great popularity is clearly limited, sometimes to a single country, more often to a group of neighboring peoples. Such tales with occurrences primarily in eastern Europe are: The Princess in the Shroud (Type 307); The Faithless Sister (Type 315); and The Prince and the Arm Bands (Type 590). These last two are closely related and seem to have their center in Roumania.

General European tales most popular in eastern and northern Europe are: The Danced-Out Shoes (Type 306); Lenore (Type 365); The Helpful Horse (Type 532); and The Snares of the Evil One (Type 810).

Especially characteristic of Scandinavia and the Baltic states are: The Boy Steals the Giant's Treasure (Type 328, the English story of Jack the Giant Killer); Bear-skin (Type 361); The Man as Heater of Hell's Kettle (Type 475); The King is Betrayed (Type 505); The Spirit in the Blue Light (Type 562—popularly influenced by H. C. Andersen's treatment); The Greedy Peasant Woman (Type 751); Sin and Honor (Type 755; also very popular in Ireland); The Devil's Riddle (Type 812); The Hero Forces the Princess to Say "That is a Lie" (Type 852); The Youth Cheated in Selling Oxen (Type 1538); The Clever Boy (Type 1542); and The Man Who got a Night's Lodging (Type 1544).

Rather widespread traditions having their focus definitely in Scandinavia are: The Man from the Gallows (Type 366); The Princess Rescued from Robbers (Type 506B); The Wonder Child (Type 708); The Princess Confined in the Mound (Type 870); and The Little Goose-Girl (Type 870A).

Oral tales distributed over all Europe, but especially characteristic of the western countries, are: The Giantkiller and his Dog (Bluebeard) (Type 312); The Nix of the Mill-pond (Type 316); Little Red Riding Hood (Type 333); Bargain of the Three Brothers with the Devil (Type 360); The Healing Fruits (Type 610); and The Presents (Type 620).

Finally, at least two tales seem to be especially characteristic of British tradition: Tom-Tit-Tot (Type 500) and Out-riddling the Judge (Type 927). The special form of Type 328 known as Jack the Giant Killer and that known as Jack and the Beanstalk represent peculiar British developments. [p. 185]

There has been no attempt in this book to give notice to all folktales known in Europe and Asia, especially to the hundreds of oral stories which are told in only a single locality or which have never traveled far from their original home. A considerable number of such stories local to Roumania, Hungary, Wallonia, and Russia may be examined in the excellent folktale surveys of these countries. [289] Of such of them as appear in the Aarne-Thompson Types of the Folk-Tale, it will be noticed that a large number of the local tales are characteristic of the Baltic area. It must be borne in mind that very exhaustive lists have been made of the Finnish and Estonian tales, [290] so that these large numbers are no cause for wonder. Of these oral tales in the main part of the Aarne-Thompson index, the following seem to be confined to the Baltic states: a version of The Black and the White Bride (Type 403C); The Girl in the Form of a Wolf (Type 409); Punishment of a Bad Woman (Type 473); "Iron is More Precious than Gold" (Type 677); The Rich Man's and the Poor Man's Fortune (Type 735); The Cruel Rich Man as the Devil's Horse (Type 761); The Princess who Murdered her Child (Type 781); Solomon binds the Devil in Chains in Hell (Type 803); The Deceased Rich Man and the Devils in the Church (Type 815); The Devil as Substitute for Day Laborer at Mowing (Type 820); The Boastful Deer-slayer (Type 830); The Dishonest Priest (Type 831); The Disappointed Fisher (Type 832); How the Wicked Lord was Punished (Type 837); and The Wolves in the Stable (Type 1652).

Local to the Baltic and Scandinavian countries are: [291] a version of The Children and the Ogre (Type 327C); The Vampire (Type 363); The Prince as Serpent (Type 433); The Raven Helper (Type 553); The Magic Providing Purse (Type 564); The Magic Mill (Type 565; sporadic in Ireland, Greece, and France); Beloved of Women (Type 580); The Thieving Pot (Type 591); Fiddevav (Type 593); The Gifts of the Dwarfs (Type 611); The Beautiful and the Ugly Twin (Type 711); The Mother who Wants to Kill her Children (Type 765); the Prodigal's Return (Type 935); and At the Robbers' House (Type 956A).

A much smaller group are limited to the Baltic states and Russia: The Strong Woman as Bride (Type 519); The Man Who Flew like a Bird and Swam like a Fish (Type 665; also in Bohemia); The Punishment of Men (Type 840); The Bank Robbery (Type 951B); and Cleverness and Gullibility (Type 1539; 253 versions in Finland alone, sporadic in Greece, Turkey, and America).

Though the groups of peoples just noticed are represented by a large number [p. 186] of local stories, some tales of limited dissemination occur almost everywhere. Thus The Faithless Wife (Type 315B*) belongs to the Baltic and Balkan states and Russia. Hans my Hedgehog (Type 441) is known from Norway to Hungary, but depends entirely upon the Grimm version. Born from a Fish (Type 705) seems purely Scandinavian, and four tales apparently are known only in Norway: The Animal Sons-in-law and their Magic Food (Type 552B); The King's Tasks (Type 577); The Children of the King (Type 892); and Like Wind in the Hot Sun (Type 923A). Confined to south eastern Europe is The Serpent Maiden (Type 507C). Primarily Italian, but also known in Russia, is The Wolf (Type 428). Central European, primarily German, are the three varieties of The Serpent's Crown (Types 672A, B, and C). And two tales, except for occasional appearances of the Grimm version in other countries, seem to be limited to German tradition: Jorinde and Joringel (Type 405) and The Girl as Flower (Type 407).

In the rapid summary just completed it seems clear that for most of the complex tales of the European and Asiatic areas some generalizations are safe. Though we may not be able to say just when or just where a tale originated, or whether it was first an oral story or a literary creation, the general probabilities are such as we have indicated. Many questions of detail within the limits of these probabilities will engage the efforts of future scholars.

There still remain a considerable number of these complex tales where the evidence at present available is either insufficient to lead to general conclusions or else is so overwhelming in amount that it has never yet been properly utilized for systematic investigation.

For some tales, when the data are all assembled, the question as to whether they are essentially literary or oral seems quite unsolvable without much further study. Among such tales are: The Gifts of the Little People (Type 503); The Princess Rescued from Slavery (Type 506A); The Jew Among Thorns (Type 592); Tom Thumb (Type 700); The Maiden Without Hands (Type 706); Christ and Peter in the Barn (Type 752A); The Forgotten Wind (Type 752B) ; The Saviour and Peter in Night-Lodgings (Type 791); The Lazy Boy and the Industrious Girl (Type 822); The Princess who Cannot Solve the Riddle (Type 851); and The Parson's Stupid Wife (Type 1750).

In another group the question as to whether the tale is essentially Oriental or European is still not satisfactorily solved: The Ogre's (Devil's) Heart in the Egg (Type 302); The Spirit in the Bottle (Type 331); The Prince as Bird (Type 432); The Man Persecuted because of his Beautiful Wife (Type 465); The Table, the Ass, and the Stick (Type 563); and "All Stick Together" (Type 571).

Finally, a half dozen stories well known over the entire world present major problems of investigation, because of the great mass of materials at [p. 187] hand, much of unorganized. Each of them offers a challenge to scholarship. These six tales The Man on a Quest for his Lost Wife (Type 400); Cinderella (Type 510A); The Bird, the Horse, and the Princess (Type 550); The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn (Type 569); The Master Thief (Type 1525); and the Rich and the Poor Peasant (Type 1535). [p. 188]

[283] An exhaustive treatment would include a considerable number of such tales of purely local development for Lithuania, for Roumania, for Russia, and for India. The material for the first three of these countries may be examined in the surveys of Balys, Schullerus, and Andrejev, respectively (see references on pp. 420f.). No adequate survey of the material for India has yet been made. I have been working upon one for some years and have reasonable hopes of completing it.

[284] These are best represented by (1) Cowell, The Jātaka; (2) Chavannts, 500 Contes.

[285] For a discussion of this point, see p. 160, above.

[286] See pp. 278ff., below.

[287] See pp. I39f., above.

[288] The other tales which are distributed over the world and have received literary treatment have already been discussed.

[289] For Roumania, Hungary, and Wallonia, see FF Communications Nos. 78, 81, and 101 respectively. For the Russian, see Andrejev, Ukazatel' Skazočnich Siuzhetov.

[290] The number of purely Baltic tales would be greatly increased by inclusion of all those listed in Balys' Motif Index, which appeared after the Aarne-Thompson Index, and also by citing many of the "Types not Included" from the Aarne-Thompson Index.

[291] Single sporadic occurrences elsewhere are disregarded.

123, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 315B*, 316, 325, 326, 327A, 327B, 327C, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 335, 360, 361, 363, 365, 366, 400, 401, 402, 403, 403C, 405, 407, 408, 409, 410, 425, 426, 428, 430, 431, 432, 433, 440, 441, 449*, 450, 451, 460A, 460B, 461, 465, 470, 471, 473, 475, 480, 500, 501, 502, 503, 505, 506A, 506B, 507A, 507B, 507C, 508, 510, 510A, 510B, 511, 511*, 513, 513A, 514, 516, 517, 518, 519, 530, 531, 532, 533, 545A, 545B, 550, 551, 552, 552B, 553, 554, 555, 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566, 567, 569, 570, 571, 575, 577, 580, 590, 591, 592, 593, 610, 611, 612, 613, 620, 621, 650, 652, 653, 654, 655, 660, 665, 670, 671, 672A, 672B, 672C, 673, 675, 677, 700, 705, 706, 707, 708, 709, 710, 711, 715, 720, 725, 735, 736, 745, 750A, 750B, 751, 752A, 752B, 753, 755, 756A, 756B, 756C, 759, 761, 765, 780, 781, 785, 791, 800, 801, 802, 803, 804, 810, 812, 815, 820, 821, 822, 830, 831, 832, 836, 837, 840, 841, 844, 850, 851, 852, 853, 854, 870, 870A, 875, 881, 882, 884, 888, 890, 892, 900, 901, 910A, 910B, 910C, 910D, 920, 921, 922, 923, 923A, 927, 930, 931, 935, 945, 950, 951A, 951B, 952. 953, 954, 956A, 956B, 960, 1137, 1525, 1535, 1538, 1539, 1540, 1542, 1544, 1640, 1641, 1642, 1650, 1651, 1652, 1655, 1697, 1750

Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

III – The Simple Tale

1. Jests and Anecdotes

B. Fools and Numskulls

A surprisingly large number of simple tales told by unlettered men everywhere concern fools and their absurdities. This is true just as much of primitive peoples who love to see their culture heroes play the parts of buffoons [295] as it is of an older generation of British or Danish peasants who tell of the actions of the Men of Gotham or the Fools of Molbo. [296] Every generation has its new supply of such stories, though many old ones, sometimes familiar to the Egyptians or the ancient Greeks, are dressed in strange new trappings, and pass for new inventions.

Out of the large body of anecdotes based upon absurd misunderstanding there may be mentioned three which have attained considerable popularity in various folk traditions. One of these tales belongs to the general class of objects with mistaken identity (J1750-J1809). A numskull is convinced that the pumpkin which he is sitting upon is an ass's egg which he has hatched out. He believes that the rabbit which runs by is the colt (J1772.1; Type 1319). This anecdote not only appears in Turkish jestbooks, but is told all over Europe, in much of Asia, and among the mountain whites of Virginia Similar stories tell of the servant who is sent to bring in the cows and spend the whole day trying to round up the rabbits (J1757), or about the peasant who first sees a steamship and thinks it is the devil (J1781.1; Type 1315*) Such anecdotes are probably more widespread than collections would indicate. The second of these, for example, was recorded in Virginia only a year or so ago; otherwise we would probably have concluded that the tale was not known outside of Finland.

A second kind of misunderstanding may result in inappropriate and absurd actions on the part of the numskull (J1820-J1849). Best known of such stories is that of the landlubber peasants who go to visit the sea. When they see waving flax-field, they think it is the sea and jump in to swim (J1821; Type 1290). Not so well known, but surprisingly popular for such a foolish tale, [p. 191] is the account of the fool who sees his cow chewing her cud and kills her because he thinks she is mimicking him (J1835*; Type 1211). Though this anecdote has its main popularity in the Baltic countries, it is known as far afield as India.

The fool lives in a mental world of his own, and he may endow objects or animals with any qualities that suit his passing fancy (J1850-J1909). In some of the more complex tales [297] we have seen the fool throwing money to the frogs, so that they can count it, or selling goods to animals or to a statue. Usually the subject of an independent anecdote is the numskull who feeds meat to cabbages which he imagines must be hungry (J1856.1; Type 1386). This story is very old, going back to early Buddhistic literature. Another compassionate fool fills the cracks in the ground with butter (J1871; Type 1291), or puts a cloak around a stone to keep it warm (J1873.2). Of all the anecdotes about objects or animals which are expected to go alone, the most popular is that of the numskull who lets one cheese roll down a hill, and then sends another to bring it back (J1881.1.2; Type 1291).

A much more interesting tale of this general type is The Ox as Mayor (J1882.2; Type 1675). The story consists of the strange results which happen when a peasant is persuaded to send his ox to school to learn to read. The man who is to teach the ox slaughters it, and tells the peasant that it has gone to the city and has become mayor. The peasants go to visit him, meet a man named Peter Ox, or the like, and greet him. He acknowledges the acquaintance and inherits their money. This is primarily a literary anecdote appearing in such Oriental collections as the Thousand and One Nights and the jests of Hodscha Nasreddin. As an oral tale it is popular only in northern Europe, though it has been recorded elsewhere all the way from France to India.

The ascribing of human characteristics to the ox is one example of the widespread misunderstanding which fools are supposed to have concerning the nature of animals. Most of such anecdotes (J1900-J1909) are purely literary, though the tale of the man who takes his cow to graze on the roof (J1904.1; Type 1210) is widely recounted in Europe, and has been heard in America. The numskull usually ties the rope to his leg as the tethered cow grazes on the roof. Of course, she falls down and drags him after.

Our proverb about hunting for a needle in a haystack probably refers to a tale of a fool who did this. For there are many stories of just such vain searches for lost objects. Best known of all such anecdotes is that about the foolish sailors who lose an object from their boat and mark the place on the boat rail to indicate where it fell, so that they can hunt for it later (J1922.1; Type 1278). This anecdote appears in Chinese Buddhistic literature and is told occasionally by people who live as far apart as England, the United States, and Indonesia. [p. 192]

As a part of his general disregard for reality, the fool may overlook elementary natural laws. To the peasant story-teller, some of the most interesting of these have to do with his unsuccessful attempt to grow crops (J1932 and its subdivisions; Type 1200). The fool sometimes sows cooked grain or salt, hoping to produce more of the same. Or he sows cheese to bring forth a cow, or plants an animal tail in order to produce young animals. Most tales of this general type of absurdity seem to be literary, though they have occasional oral versions. This is true of the numskull who tries to dig up a well and take it home, or the one who digs a hole so as to have a place to throw the earth from the excavation he is making, or of the man who stands before the mirror with his eyes shut to see how he looks in his sleep (J1930-J1959). One anecdote reported from widely separated areas must be relatively recent, since it depends upon a modern invention. The fool's son, who is living in a distant city, writes his father requesting a pair of boots. A rascal persuades him that he can save time by sending them by telegraph. The father leaves them hanging on a telegraph pole, but they come into the hands of the trickster rather than the son. [298]

The essential nature of the ego has not only puzzled the great philosophers but has troubled the thinking of fools. Sometimes a man may not know himself because in his sleep his beard has been cut off or his garments have been changed, or he has been smeared with tar and feathers (J2012 and sub-divisions; Type 1383). Or he may be sitting with other fools and they get their legs mixed up, so that they cannot tell whose is whose (J2021; Type 1288). To such persons counting is always a trial. One fool concludes that a member of their party is drowned because he fails to count himself (J2031; Type 1287). The difficulty is sometimes solved by the whole group sticking their noses into the sand, and then counting the holes. Such stories of absurd calculations are essentially literary, though one or another of them is occasionally found in all parts of Europe, in India, and even in European tradition in America.

Any logical arrangement of the activities of numskulls continually breaks down, since their absurdity is not confined to sensible bounds. One can only say that some fools are primarily ignorant and some primarily absent-minded. In this way it is easy to find a group whose chief failing is shortsightedness (J2050-J2199). Two well-known tales are concerned with absurd plans made by such simple souls. One of these has to do with the man and his wife who make plans for the future and eventually quarrel over the details, so that they destroy the very things they are counting on to bring them their wealth. In excitement or under the stress of other emotion, the fool breaks the jar of honey, the basket of glassware, or the eggs he is to sell, or the milkmaid tosses her head and spills her milk (J2060.1, J2061; Type 1430). These tales [193] are very popular in Oriental and medieval literature; and they have been reported with fair frequency by folklore collectors in many parts of Europe and Asia. An Oriental literary origin would seem likely.

Much more popular as an oral tale is the story of Clever Elsie (J2063; Type 1450), who is sent to the cellar to get wine to serve her suitor. She sees the axe above her and begins weeping over the troubles she might have if she married the suitor and had a child who might come down just as the axe falls. Her foolish parents join her and, meanwhile, the suitor goes home. For a simple anecdote, this tale has received a remarkably wide oral distribution. It is probably Oriental and literary in origin.

In a world of shrewd business men, it is remarkable that more stories of foolish bargains have not been told than actually exist. Sometimes, of course, such bargains find their main interest in the sharp dealings of the trickster rather than the stupid actions of the dupe. [299] There is one well-known story, however, where the foolish man plays the leading role (J2081.1; Type 1415). He trades off his horse for a cow, his cow for a hog, and so on with ever smaller results until he has nothing left. But the story-teller does not leave him in defeat. In one way or another luck comes to his rescue. Sometimes he retrieves himself by a series of lucky bargains, but most often he is brought back to prosperity by wagering that his wife will not be angry. She continues to praise his good judgment throughout, and he thus wins back more than he ever lost. Of course, the stupid seller is not always given a last-minute rescue. No help comes to the woman who sells her cows and gets one of them back as a pledge for the unpaid purchase price (J2086; Type 1385).

A favorite theme in the literary jestbooks which is occasionally found in European oral tales is foolish acts in which the remedy is worse than the disease to be cured (J2100-J2119). Fools burn a house down in order to get rid of a cat or of insects, or they chase a rabbit on horseback and ruin the crops they are hoping to protect. Such tales have not often entered the oral tradition, and the same thing is true of the numerous stories of the fool who needlessly risks his life (J2130-J2159). Only two of such seem to be widely told, and both of them certainly go back to Oriental literary sources. One of these is about the fool who cuts off the tree limb on which he sits, and the other about the men who hang down in a chain until the top man spits on his hands and they all fall [300] (J2133.4 and J2133.5; Types 1240 and 1250).

Jestbooks record many another shortsighted act, and most of them have been heard now and again by collectors of folklore. [301] Such is the account of the man who tries to jump into his breeches, pulling on both legs at once; of the people who carry a millstone uphill so that they may roll it down; of [p. 194] those who do not mend the roof when it is fair weather and cannot when it rains; or of the schoolmaster who whips his pupils beforehand to keep them out of mischief. One tale of this kind is well known as an oral anecdote: that of the fool who lets the wine run in the cellar while he falls into a deep study or sometimes while he chases a dog. In the sequel he usually tries to dry up the spilled wine by pouring meal on it (J2176; Type 1387).

A frequent theme in jestbooks is the tale of the man who believes that he is dead (J2311 and subdivisions). Most frequently this is the result of a deception practiced by the wife (Type 1406). In one particular variety of this tale she lies to him and tells him that a certain pot of preserves has been poisoned. He decides to kill himself, and eats the preserves. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, he thinks himself poisoned and lies down for dead (Type 1313). Similar tales, primarily literary and seldom of interest to the unlettered story-teller, tell of how a naked person is made to believe that he is clothed, a layman that he is a monk, a well man that he is sick. One of these tales has, however, received some oral currency, that of the parson who is made to believe that he will bear a calf. The doctor makes a mistake and examines a cow's urine instead of the man's and predicts the birth of a calf. The man is later persuaded that he has actually borne a calf (J2321.1; Type 1739).

As a part of stories concerning the saints or gods who wander on earth, we frequently find a foolish mortal attempting unsuccessfully to perform a miracle in imitation of these supernatural beings. [302] Tales of foolish imitation on a purely human level are also very popular in jestbooks and collections of medieval tales. There is, for example the anecdote about the doctor's son who has heard his father tell his patient that he has eaten too much chicken. The son wonders how the diagnosis was made, and the father tells him that as he rode up he had observed chicken feathers and had made his conclusions. The son tries the same method and sees an ass's saddle in front of a house. He diagnoses the ailment as due to the eating of ass's flesh. Another literary tale of this class, occasionally told by story-tellers, is that of the two presents to the king. A farmer takes an extraordinarily large beet as a present to the king and receives a reward. His companion is eager for an even larger reward and leads a handsome steed to the palace. The king presents him with the huge beet. Though these two tales [303] are certainly literary, one anecdote of foolish imitation has had wide acceptance both as a popular tale and, especially in English-speaking countries, as a folk ballad. A husband is scornful of his wife's labors and, at her suggestion, agrees to exchange tasks. While she succeeds with his work in the fields, he makes an utter failure in his attempt at housekeeping (J2431; Type 1408). The details of his awkwardness furnish the amusement for the story, and these may be expanded at will. [p. 195]

The fool is frequently so literal-minded that he follows instructions even in the most inappropriate situations. The best-known tale of this kind has to do with the mother who tells her son what he should do in various circumstances (J2461 and subdivisions; Type 1696). For instance, he has tried to send a pig home alone. His mother tells him that he should have led it by a string. The next time he drags the bacon home by a string. Or he has killed a sparrow by his stupidity and has been told that he should have carried it in his hand. Accordingly, on the next trip he carries a harrow in his hand. These details are multiplied with considerable ingenuity. The story seems to go back to a Chinese Buddhistic source and appears in a number of Renaissance jestbooks. It has been collected not only all over Europe, where it appears in more than two hundred versions, but also in Indonesia, Japan, and all parts of Africa. In America it is told by the Indians of Nova Scotia and Ontario and by the French of Missouri.

What is really a somewhat specialized form of this same anecdote concerns the foolish bridegroom who follows his instructions to the letter. He is told, for example, that he should cast sheep's eyes at his bride. He buys some at the butcher shop and throws them at her. When he is told to put parsley in the soup, he throws in his dog, who happens to be named Parsley. When he is to clear out the room, he throws out all the furniture. In the end, of course, the bride becomes disgusted and leaves, but not before she has put a goat as substitute in the bed (J2462, J2465.5, K1223.1; Type 1685). Though this tale has a rather wide currency in Europe and has been found in the British tradition of Virginia, it is certainly literary in origin. Its earliest known telling is by Hienrich Bebel in his jestbook at the beginning of the sixteenth century.

Only one of the frequent literary tales of foolish extremes has become very popular in folklore. This is The Silence Wager (J2511; Type 1351). A man and his wife make a wager as to who shall speak first. They both hold out for a long time but finally the wife makes the husband so jealous that he cannot forbear scolding her, and loses the wager. This story, which depends upon a literary Buddhistic source, has been the subject of literary jests and of popular comedies and ballads. As an oral tale it is nowhere very popular, but it has been occasionally collected all the way from England to Japan.

Perhaps no peoples have been so interested in anecdotes of fools and their actions as the countries around the Baltic. Scores of other tales than those suggested here are well known in this area. In Finland, particularly, a favorite cycle of stories concerns a bungling fool who has a succession of accidents. When he goes to get a midwife, he accidentally strikes the dog dead, drowns the midwife, and kills the child (J2661.2; Type 1680). In another tale he foolishly kills his horse, and throws his axe into the lake to hit a duck. When he undresses to recover the axe, his clothes are stolen. [p. 196] Then when he goes into a barrel of tar to hide, he gets covered with tar and feathers (J2661.4; Type 1681). [304]

In general, it will be noticed that while a number of stories of numskulls are handed down by tradition, either as anecdotes or as songs, they flourish most in written collections of jests. In the Middle Ages these were included in books of exempla, but beginning with the Renaissance there has been an unbroken series of literary jestbooks containing hundreds of such anecdotes. The jokes in these books may appear to be new, but they are nearly always constructed on some ancient pattern. With jests and anecdotes much more than with the serious folktale, the literary collections have directly influenced traditional story-tellers and ballad singers. This close relation between literature and folklore is nowhere better seen than in numskull tales such as those we have just noticed.

[295] For these trickster tales, see p. 319, below.

[296] An excellent recent treatment of these stories is Christensen's Molboernes Vise Gerninger. For such tales in another quarter of the world, see Coster-Wijsman, Uilespiegel-Verhalen in Indonesië.

[297] Especially Type 1642.

[298] J1935.1; Type 1710*. It is reported in only a single version from Livonia, but I have heard of it as current in Span, Italy, Lithuania, and Russia.

[299] For such deceptive bargains, see K100-K299, below.

[300] There is also a similar animal tale known over much of Europe about wolves who climb on top of one another to a tree, and when the lowest runs away all fall (J2133.6; Type 121).

[301] For this group of stories, see J2160-J2198.

[302] See Types 531 and 753.

121, 531, 753, 1200, 1210, 1211, 1240, 1250, 1278, 1287, 1288, 1290, 1291, 1313, 1315*, 1319, 1351, 1383, 1385, 1386, 1387, 1406, 1408, 1415, 1430, 1450, 1642, 1675, 1680, 1681, 1685, 1696, 1710*, 1739

J1750-J1809, J1757, J1772.1, J1781.1, J1820-J1849, J1821, J1835*, J1850-J1909, J1856.1, J1871, J1873.2, J1881.1.2, J1882.2, J1900-J1909, J1904.1, J1922.1, J1930-J1959, J1932, J1935.1, J2012, J2021, J2031, J2050-J2199, J2060.1, J2061, J2063, J2081.1, J2086, J2100-J2119, J2133.4, J2133.5, J2133.6, J2160-J2198, J2176, J2311, J2321.1, J2431, J2461, J2462, J2465.5, J2511, J2661.2, J2661.4, K100-K299, K1223.1

Number of Borrowing of European-Asiatic Tales by Indonesians, African, and American Indians

Type

Indonesianx

Africanx

Americanx Indianx

1. The Theft of Fish		5	7
2. Tail-Fisher		3	13
4. Carrying the Sham-Sick Trickster		5
5. Biting the Foot	13	16
6. Inquiring about the Wind		2
7. Calling of Three Tree Names		1
8. The Painting	2	7
9A. The Unjust Partner: Bear Threshes		7
9B. The Unjust Partner: Corn and Chaff			2
15. Theft of Butter (Honey) by Playing Godfather		13	2
21. Eating His Own Entrails	1	1
30. Fox Tricks Wolf into Falling into a Pit		1
31. Fox Climbs from Pit on Wolf's Back	15
33. Fox Plays Dead and is Thrown out of Pit and Escape	20	5
36. Fox in Disguise Violates the She-Bear	1
37. Fox as Nursemaid for Bear	7	30
38. Claw in Split Tree	11	2
47A. Fox Hangs by Teeth to Horse's Tail		2	1
49. Bear and the Honey			2
50. Sick Lion	1
55. Animals Build a Road		18	1
56. Fox Steals Young Magpies		7
60. Fox and Crane			3
62. Peace Among Animals			1
72. Rabbit Rides Fox a-Courting	1	6	7
73. Blinding the Guard		2	2
100. Wolf as Dog's Guest Sings			1
101. Old Dog as Rescuer of Child			1
104. Cowardly Duelers			3
105. Cat's Only Trick		2
111. Cat and Mouse Converse	3
122A. Wolf Seeks Breakfast		2
122B. Cat Washes Face before Eating		5
123. Wolf and Kids			1
125. Wolf Flees from Wolf-Head		12
130. Animals in Night Quarters			1
154. "Bear-Food"		6	1
155. Ungrateful Serpent Returned to Captivity	12
156. Splinter in Bear's Paw		1
157. Learning to Fear Men		1	1
175. Tarbaby and Rabbit	2	39	23
210. Cock, Hen, etc. on Journey	10
221. Election of Bird King	2
222. War of Birds and Quadrupeds		4
225. Crane Teaches Fox to Fly	4	3	43?
228. Titmouse Tries to be Big as Bear	1	8
235. Jay Borrows Cuckoo's Skin	3
248. Dog and Sparrow	1
249. Ant and Cricket			3
275. Race of Fox and Crayfish	26		1
295. Bean, Straw, and Coal			3
300. Dragon-Slayer	1		14
301. Three Stolen Princesses			16
302. Ogre's Heart in Egg	2		1
303. Twins or Blood-Brothers	3		3
307. Princess in the Shroud		2
311. Rescue by Sister (Girls in Sacks)		5	1
313. Girl as Helper in Hero's Flight		2	33
314. Youth Transformed to Horse (Goldener)	24	4	15
325. Magician and Pupil	1
326. Learning What Fear Is			2
327A. Hansel and Gretel	6	8	10
327B. Dwarf and Giant	3
327C. Devil Carries Hero in Sack		9	6?
328. Boy Steals Giant's Treasure			6
331. Spirit in Bottle			1
333. Red Ridinghood; Six Little Goats		16
400. Quest for Lost Wife	37	11	29
401. Princess Transformed into Deer		1
402. Mouse (Cat, etc.) as Bride	1
403. Black and White Bride	1	15	6
408. Three Oranges		1
425. Search for Lost Husband (Cupid and Psyche)	5	5	1
432. Prince as Bird		1
450. Little Brother and Little Sister		3
451. Maiden Who Seeks her Brothers			1
461. Three Hairs from Devil's Beard	17	1	1
471. Bridge to Other World	1	1	1
480. Spinning Woman by the Spring	6		3
506. Rescued Princess: Grateful Dead	6		1
507. Monster's Bride: Grateful Dead			1
510A. Cinderella	2	3	4
510B. Cap o' Rushes		2	1
511. One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes	3
513. The Helpers (Extraordinary Companions)		2	3
514. Shift of Sex	1
516. Faithful John		1
518. Devils Fight over Magic Objects		2
531. Clever Horse		3	2
533. Speaking Horse-head		6
545. Cat as Helper (Puss in Boots)	2	10
550. Bird, Horse, and Princess	4	4
551. Sons on Quest for Remedy		4
552A. Three Animal Brothers-in-Law			1
554. Grateful Animals	11
555. Fisher and His Wife	5
559. Dungbeetle		1	4
560. Magic Ring	36	8	2
561. Aladdin	1		2
563. Table, Ass, and Stick	7	14	4
566. Three Magic Objects and Wonderful Fruits	2		1
567. Magic Bird-heart	13	1	1
569. Knapsack, Hat, and Horn	5		5
570. Rabbit-herd	1	1
571. "All Stick Together"		1
590. Prince and Arm Bands			1
592. Jew Among Thorns	1
612. Three Snake-Leaves	2
613. Two Travelers		5	1
621. Louse-Skin	3
650. Strong John	27	3	4
653. Four Skillful Brothers	8	12
655. Wise Brothers	1	2
670. Animal Languages	6	23
671. Three Languages		2
675. Lazy Boy	2
676. Open Sesame	1	9
700. Tom Thumb		5	1
706. Maiden Without Hands		6	2
707. Three Golden Sons		8	1
709. Snow White		6
750. The Wishes: Hospitality Rewarded	1	1	3
780. Singing Bone		8
781. Princess Who Murdered her Child		12
785. Who Ate the Lamb's Heart?	1
851. Princess who Cannot Solve Riddle	3	2
852. Princess Forced to Say, "That is a Lie."	1	2
853. Princess Caught with her own Words			2
854. Golden Ram			1
875. Clever Peasant Girl	3	3
882. Wager on Wife's Chastity	2
900. King Thrushbeard		1?
901. Taming of the Shrew			1
910. The Good Precepts		2
921. King and Peasant's Son	1	2
922. King and Abbot	1
923. Love Like Salt		1
930. Prophecy for Poor Boy		1	1
931. Oedipus	1
935. Prodigal's Return			1
945. Luck and Intelligence	8	1
950. Rhampsinitus	1
1000. Anger Bargain	5		2
1004. Hogs in Mud, Sheep in Air	2	3	4
1012. Cleaning the Child	1
1015. Whetting the Knife	2
1030. Crop Division	1
1031. Roof as Threshing Flail			2
1060. Squeezing the Stone	1	1	1
1061. Biting the Stone		1	1
1062. Throwing the Stone	1		1
1063. Throwing Contest with Golden Club			1
1074. Race with Relatives in Line	6	38	12
1085. Pushing Hole in a Tree			1
1088. Eating Contest: Food in Bag			20
1115. Attempted Murder with Hatchet		10
1119. Ogre Kills Own Children: Substitutes in Bed		14	5
1149. Children Desire Ogre's Flesh	10	4
1157. Gun as Tobacco Pipe		1
1200. Sowing of Salt		1
1250. Bringing Water from Well: Human Chain		1	2
1260. Porridge in Ice Hole	1
1276. Rowing without Going Forward	4
1278. Bell Falls into Sea: Mark on Boat	2
1310. Crayfish as Tailor: Drowned	18	22	31
1319. Pumpkin as Ass's Egg, Rabbit as Colt			1
1350. Loving Wife: Man Feigns Death		1?
1360C. Old Hildebrand			1
1380. Faithless Wife: Husband Feigns Blindness		1
1384. Quest for Person Stupid as Wife		2
1386. Meat as Food for Cabbage	7
1415. Lucky Hans	2		1
1430. Man and Wife Build Air Castles	7	1
1525. Master Thief	2		6
1528. Holding Down the Hat	2		1
1530. Holding up the Rock		11	3
1535. Rich and Poor Peasant	10	16	11
1537. Corpse Killed Five Times	3		2
1539. Cleverness and Gullibility	7		3
1540. Student from Paradise (Paris)	3
1541. For the Long Winter			2
1542. The Clever Boy: Fooling-Sticks			8
1563. "Both?"			3
1585. Lawyer's Mad Client			1
1590. Trespasser's Defense			1
1610. To Divide Presents and Strokes		2
1611. Contest in Climbing Mast			1
1612. Contest in Swimming			1
1640. Brave Tailor	3		4
1641. Doctor Know-All	21	3
1642. The Good Bargain: Money to Frogs			4
1651. Whittington's Cat	2	2
1653. Robbers under Tree	2	1	5
1655. Eaten Grain and Cock as Damages		10	1
1685. Foolish Bridegroom	6	1
1696. "What Should I Have Said?"	6	4	2
1698A. Search for Lost Animal: Deaf Person	1
1698B. Travelers Ask the Way: Deaf Peasant		1
1730. Three Suitors Visit Chaste Wife	2	3
1737. Parson in Sack to Heaven		1
1775. Hungry Parson			3
1920A. Lying Contest: "Sea Burns"	1
1930. Schlaraffenland		3
2028. Troll (Wolf) Cut Open		1
2030. Old Woman and Pig	2	4
2031. Frost-bitten Foot	4	3
2033. Nut Hits Cock's Head		3
2034C. Lending and Repaying, Progressive Bargains		22
2035. House that Jack Built		4
2400. Ground Measured with Horse's Skin			1

1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9A, 9B, 15, 21, 30, 31, 33, 36, 37, 38, 47A, 49, 50, 55, 56, 60, 62, 72, 73, 100, 101, 104, 105, 111, 122A, 122B, 123, 125, 130, 154, 155, 156, 157, 175, 210. 221, 222, 225, 228, 235, 248, 249, 275, 295, 300, 301, 302, 303, 307, 311, 313, 314, 325, 326, 327A, 327B, 327C, 328, 331, 333, 400, 401, 402, 403, 408, 425, 432, 450, 451, 461, 471, 480, 506, 507, 510A, 510B, 511, 513, 514, 516, 518, 531, 533, 545, 550, 551, 552A, 554, 555, 559, 560, 561, 563, 566, 567, 569, 570, 571, 590, 592, 612, 613, 621, 650, 653, 655, 670, 671, 675, 676, 700, 706, 707, 709, 750, 780, 781, 785, 851, 852, 853. 854. 875, 882, 900, 901, 910, 921, 922, 923, 930, 931, 935, 945, 950, 1000, 1004, 1012, 1015, 1030, 1031, 1060, 1061, 1062, 1063, 1074, 1085, 1088, 1115, 1119, 1149, 1157, 1200, 1250, 1260, 1276, 1278, 1310, 1319, 1350, 1360C, 1380, 1384, 1386, 1415, 1430, 1525, 1528, 1530, 1535, 1537, 1539, 1540, 1541, 1542, 1563, 1585, 1590, 1610, 1611, 1612, 1640, 1641, 1642, 1651, 1653, 1655, 1685, 1696, 1698A, 1698B, 1730, 1737, 1775, 1920A, 1930, 2028, 2030, 2031, 2033, 2034C, 2035, 2400