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

Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

III – The Simple Tale

3. Formula tales

B. Cumulative Tales

A much more definite narrative core is found in the cumulative tale. Some thing of the nature of a game is also present here, since the accumulating repetitions must be recited exactly, but in the central situation many of these tales maintain their form unchanged over long periods of history and in very diverse environments. Such tales as The House that Jack Built or The Old Woman and Her Pig are so well known that no reader of the English language needs to have explained to him the way in which a simple phrase or clause is repeated over and over again, always with new additions. Most of the enjoyment, both in the telling and listening to such tales, is in the successful manipulation of the ever-growing rigmarole. The cumulative tale always gradually works up to one long final routine containing the entire sequence. The person examining cumulative tales, therefore, has only to look at this final formula to learn all that is to be learned about the whole tale.

One important group of cumulative tales has to do with the death of an animal, usually a cock or a hen. Perhaps best known of these is The Death of the Cock (Z31.2.1.1; Taylor, Type 2021A). [360] After he has choked to death, the hen goes out and seeks the aid of various objects and persons—stream, tree, pig, miller, baker, etc. This tale is very widely distributed over all of Europe and is known in India, but the problem of its ultimate origin is not easy to solve. Haavio and Wesselski, both of whom have treated the story very thoroughly, disagree as to the importance of the Oriental relationship. Not so well known, but still widely distributed in Europe and occasionally reported in America, is The Death of the Little Hen (Z31.2.2; Type 2022), a [p. 231] tale that seems to go back to the Panchatantra. The hen is mourned by various objects, animals, and persons, each in a characteristic fashion: flea, door, broom, cart, ashes, tree, girl. A slight modification of this tale appears in France and Denmark, where each of the mourners for the little hen performs an action which is described by some unusual or new word. For example, the table untables itself (Z31.2.2.1; Taylor, Type 2022A). In a somewhat less popular cumulative story about the little hen's death, various animals one by one join her funeral procession. Eventually the funeral carriage breaks down, or the whole procession drowns (Z31.2.1; Type 2021).

Several cumulative tales involve the eating of an object, whether as the end result of the series of happenings or the cause of the series. Most popular of these, both in Europe and America, is The Fleeing Pancake (Z31.3.1; Type 2025), frequently known in American collections as The Gingerbread Man. A woman makes a pancake (or gingerbread man) which runs away from her. Various animals try in vain to stop it. Finally the fox eats it up. The conversation between the gingerbread man and the fox has a tendency to become formalized, much like that between Red Riding Hood and the wolf—"What makes your ears so big?", etc. Two other chains of incidents concerning the eating of an object are very similar and perhaps related. The first of these is about The Fat Cat (Z31.3.2; Type 2027). While her mistress is away the cat eats the porridge, the bowl, and the ladle. When the mistress returns, she says to the cat, "How fat you are!" The cat replies, "I ate the porridge, the bowl, and the ladle, and I will eat you." After eating the mistress, the cat likewise meets various animals. Always after the same conversation she eats them. The story ends with her finally eating too many and bursting. This is essentially a Scandinavian tale, though one version has been reported from India. The other is also well known in Scandinavia, but is found in Russia, and an analogue has been taken down in east Africa. This tale is sometimes called The Fat Troll (Z31.3.4; Type 2028), and sometimes The Fat Wolf, for the story may be told of either. A troll (or wolf) eats the watcher's five horses and finally the watcher himself. When the master goes to investigate, the troll says, "I ate the five horses, I ate the watcher, and I will eat you." After he has eaten the master, the same thing happens to the wife, the servant, the daughter, the son, and the dog—always after the same piling up of threats. When he comes to the cat, however, she scratches him open and rescues all the victims.

Much like the tale of The Fleeing Pancake is that of The Goat Who Would Not Go Home (Z31.4.1; Type 2015). One animal after another tries in vain to persuade the stubborn goat to go home. Nothing avails until a wolf (sometimes a bee) bites him and drives him home. This tale of the goat has always been especially dear to children and probably for this reason is extraordinarily popular in Europe. Except in printed children's books, however, it is not known elsewhere. [p. 232]

In the cumulative tales thus far mentioned the structure has been rather simple. There has been a series of events bound together by one slender thread, and the interest has usually been a conversation containing an increasing number of details. The cumulative tale reaches its most interesting development, however, when there is not merely an addition with each episode, but when every episode is dependent upon the last. Perhaps to the English-speaking world the best known of such tales is The Old Woman and Her Pig (Z41.1; Type 2030). It will be remembered that the pig will not jump over the stile so that the old woman can go home. She keeps appealing in vain for help, but the help always depends upon her getting help from someone else. She finally persuades a cow to give her milk. The final formula is: Cow give milk for cat; cat kill rat; rat gnaw rope; rope hang butcher; butcher kill ox; ox drink water; water quench fire; fire burn stick; stick beat dog; dog bite pig; pig jump over style. In the wide extent of its distribution over Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, it is natural that the details should differ a good deal. But the whole pattern is remarkably well kept. If the tale is not actually from India originally, it is at least very well known there. [361]

Whereas The Old Woman and Her Pig has had its greatest popularity with oral taletellers, the chain known as Stronger and Strongest (Z41.2; Type 2031) is essentially literary. It is found in Oriental tale collections and appears frequently in medieval literature. Though nowhere really popular, it has traveled to every continent. The chain may go in either one of two directions. It may start with God and show how he was the ultimate cause of the frostbitten foot. Or it may likewise take the cause to the little mouse who gnawed a hole in the wall. In the first, and more extensive, version, the final formula is: God how strong you are—God who sends Death, Death who kills blacksmith, blacksmith who makes knife, knife that kills steer, steer that drinks water, water that quenches fire, fire that burns stick, stick that kills cat, cat that eats mouse, mouse that perforates wall, wall that resists wind, wind that dissolves cloud, cloud that covers sun, sun that thaws frost, frost that broke my foot.

The peculiar distribution of some of these cumulative tales is nowhere better seen than in the story of The Cock's Whiskers (Z41.3; Type 2032). It is very well known in Russia and Sweden and has been reported twice from France and once from Italy. It seems not to be known anywhere else in the world—with one interesting exception, among the Zuñi of New Mexico. In Europe this tale is about a mouse who throws a nut down and hits the cock on the head. He also steals the cock's whiskers. The cock goes to get an old woman to cure him. The final formula is: Fountain give up water for forest, forest give up wood for baker, baker give up bread for dog, dog give up hairs to cure the cock. Among the Zuñi the story collector Gushing told [p. 233] this tale as he had learned it from Crane's Italian collection, and when he returned the next year the Indians told it to him. It had become so thoroughly adapted to Zuñi ceremonialism, however, that its original cumulative nature was hardly recognizable.

The nut hitting the cock on the head appears also as an introduction to another tale which we have already noticed (Type 20C). When the nut hits him on the head, he thinks that the world is coming to an end. He sends the hen to tell the duck, the duck to tell the goose, etc. The final formula is: Fox, who told you?—Hare.—Hare, who told you?—Goose, etc. (Z41.4; Type 2033). The animals in their fear agree that they shall eat each other up, and the fox persuades them that the smallest should be eaten first. In this story, as in several similar ones, the animals sometimes appear with queer names. The hen is henny-penny; the cock, cocky-locky; the goose, goosey-poosey, etc. (Z21.3.1). This story of the end of the world is certainly as old as the Jātaka. It is most popular in Scandinavia, but has been found in most parts of the world.

Much better known in popular tradition is the formula of How the Mouse Regained Its Tail (Z41.5; Taylor, Type 2034). The cat bites off the mouse's tail and will return it in exchange for milk. The mouse goes to the cow for milk, to the farmer for hay, to the butcher for meat, to the baker for bread. Other persons mentioned are the locksmith and the miner. Not only is this common all over Europe, but there are interesting analogues from all parts of Africa. Sometimes this series of adventures is joined with the anecdote of the man who permits his grain of corn to be eaten by the cock and then demands the cock as damages (Type 1655). It will be remembered that this is essentially a cumulative tale, since the hog eats the cock, the ox eats the hog, etc.

To the English-speaking reader perhaps the most familiar of all cumulative tales is The House That Jack Built (Z41.6; Type 2035), but it is not frequently told on the continent of Europe. Some analogues appear from Africa, though they are not exact. The standard form is that with which English and American readers are acquainted. Its final formula is: This is the farmer that sowed the corn, that fed the cock that crowed in the morn, that waked the priest all shaven and shorn, that married the man all tattered and torn, that kissed the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with the crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that caught the rat, that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

Such are the principal cumulative tales, but this list by no means exhausts the whole store of those current in one or another part of the European and Asiatic areas. There remain, for example, the German tale of Pif Paf Poltrie (Z31.1.1; Type 2019) in which the suitor is sent from one relation to the other for consent to the wedding; and the train of troubles which come from a lost horseshoe nail (Z41.9; Taylor, Type 2039). [p. 234]

Not all chain-tales are actually cumulative, but may consist of a simple series, verbal or actual. Such, for example, are the chains which are based upon a series of numbers, like that of the origin of chess (Z21.1; Taylor, Type 2009). The inventor asks one wheat-grain for the first square, two for the second, four for the third, eight for the fourth, etc. The amount is so large that the king cannot pay. This is essentially a literary story, as are also a group of chains concerning special meanings or objects brought into relation with the numbers one to twelve" (Z21.2 and subdivisions). One of these, Ehod mi yodea (Taylor, Type 2010), has a long history in Hebrew ritual and frequently appears as a carol.

There remain two chain stories having to do with the houses that have burned down. One of them is a foolish tale in which the whole point is the difficulty of making a satisfactorily conservative answer. The usual formula is: My house burned down.—That is too bad.—That is not bad at all, my wife burned it down.—That is good.—That is not good, etc. (Z23.1; Type 2014). Though this story is not widely disseminated, it is apparently independent of literary tradition. In this respect it is quite the opposite from the almost purely bookish anecdote of the servant who broke the news of the fire to his master, a tale usually known as The Climax of Horrors ((Z41.10; Type 2040). The details of the conversation vary much in the different tellings. The servant meets his returning master and tells him that the magpie is dead. When the master inquires why, the servant says that it had overeaten on horseflesh. As the chain proceeds, it turns out that the horses have died at the fire which burned the house. Usually the man's family has burned with the house, or other dire misfortunes have overtaken him. This story was used by the medieval priests to illustrate their sermons, and drew from it incredibly strange lessons of morality and piety.

Formula tales, especially chains and cumulative stories, though they have about them many qualities which belong to games and are therefore amusing to children and to those who never grow up, have aesthetic value of their own. Their essential formal quality is repetition, usually repetition with continuing additions. This is what students of the popular ballad call "incremental repetition," a stylistic feature which adds much to the appeal of many of our finest old ballads.

[360] See definitive studies on this tale by Haavio (Kettenmärchenstudien) and Wesselski (Hessische Blatter fur Volkskunde, XXXII, 2ff.). They also discuss the anecdote, "What should I have said?" (Type 1696) which is really a cumulative tale as well as a story of stupidity.

[361] See Murray B. Emeneau, Journal of American Folklore, LVI, 272ff., who discusses twelve Indic versions of the tale.

20C, 1655, 1696, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2021A, 2022, 2022A, 2025, 2027, 2028, 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2035, 2039, 2040

Z21.1, Z21.2, Z21.3.1, Z23.1, Z31.1.1, Z31.2.1, Z31.2.1.1, Z31.2.2.1, Z31.2.2, Z31.3.1, Z31.3.2, Z31.3.4, Z31.4.1, Z41.1, Z41.2, Z41.3, Z41.4, Z41.5, Z41.6, Z41.9, Z41.10

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