The Folktale
Stith Thompson
Strokes shared. The boy promises the soldier what the king has promised to give him. The soldier receives a beating in place of the boy. *Type 1610; **Reinhard JAFL XXXVI 380; *BP I 62; *Basset 1001 Contes I 321; Köhler-Bolte I 495; *Chauvin V 282 No. 166; *Wesselski Märchen 202 No. 13; *Pauli (ed. Bolte) No. 614; Hibbard 80 n. 3; Wesselski Mönchslatein 161 No. 122. – English: Wells 161 (Sir Cleges); Italian Novella: *Rotunda; India: *Thompson-Balys. |
Part Two The Folktale from Ireland to India III – The Simple Tale 1. Jests and Anecdotes D. Deceptive Bargains |
The joy in a shrewd deal is by no means confined to the world of good business and does not depend upon modern capitalistic society. The principle of caveat emptor is only a codification of an idea already very old and very widespread. Especially if the cheater is naturally weaker or poorer than his adversary, the interest in the swindle is heightened. Several of the well-known complex folktales, such as The Rich and the Poor Peasant ( A seemingly simple agreement may lead to a kind of blackmail. Thus the trickster and his superior, usually a parson, have a quarrel over some property. They agree that the first of them to say "Good morning" the next day is to have the property. The trickster is early on the scene and witnesses the other's adultery. He may keep the property without saying "Good morning" ( One of the oldest records of deceptive bargains in the world is that connected with the legend of Dido. In its most usual form this anecdote tells about the purchase of as much land as can be surrounded by an oxhide. [p. 199] The hide is cut into very small strips so as to include a large territory ( If the tale of Dido is primarily a legend, the story of the strokes which were shared ( Many anecdotes of such deceptive bargains find their place in jestbooks, or in the folklore of a single country or area. Such of those as concern transactions with the devil have already been noticed in connection with one of the complex tales. [307] The idea of a bargain of this kind appears with a slight variation in an anecdote extremely popular in northern and eastern Europe and recorded by Hans Sachs. This tells of the man who is to receive as payment all the money his hat will hold. He has a hole in his hat and the hat is over a pit ( |
[306] For these, see pp. 165 and 166f., above. [307] See pp. 42ff., above. |
Types: 9B, 1030, 1036, 1037, 1130, 1535, 1539, 1610, 1735, 2400 |
Motifs K171.1, K171.4, K171.5, K176, K185, K187, K275 |