Back to motif List page

Back to Thompson motifs main page

Back to Masa Site

Back to Hebrew Masa site

 

Search the database


Next group

Prevuius group

Group No. 257


Letter

Z. Miscellaneous groups of motifs

Group No.

Z20 – Z59

Group name

Cumulative tales

Description

Z0. Formulas.
 
Z10. Formulistic framework for tales. *Hdwb. d. Märchens s.v. “Formel”; Irish myth: *Cross; India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z10.1. Beginning formulas. *Hdwb. d. Märchens II 161; *BP IV 14ff.; Korean: Zong in-Sob 14 No. 7.
 
Z10.2. End formulas. *BP IV 24ff.; Hdwb. d. Märchens II 164; *Petsch Formelhafte Schlüsse im Volksmärchen (1900); India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z10.3. Transition formulas. Hdwb. d. Märchens II 162; BP IV 20ff.
 
Z11. Endless tales. Hundreds of sheep to be carried over stream one at a time, etc. The wording of the tale so arranged as to continue indefinitely. *Type 2300; *BP II 209; Taylor Hdwb. d. Märchens II 190a; Irish myth: *Cross; Spanish Exempla: Keller; Italian Novella: *Rotunda; India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z11.1. Endless tale: corn carried away grain at a time. England, U.S.: *Baughman.
 
Z11.2. Endless tale: hundreds of birds in snare fly away one at a time. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z12. Unfinished tales. Just as the interest is aroused the narrator quits. “If the bowl had been stronger my tale had been longer.” *Types 2250, 2260; BP II 210, III 455; Taylor Hdwb. d. Märchens II 189b; Köhler-Bolte I 269.
 
Z13. Catch tales. The manner of the telling forces the hearer to ask a particular question, to which the teller returns a ridiculous answer. Type 2200; England, U.S., Canada: *Baughman; West Indies: Flowers 586.
 
Z13.1. Tale-teller frightens listener: yells “Boo” at exciting point. Type 366; Canada, England, U.S.: *Baughman.
 
Z13.2. Catch tale: teller is killed in his own story. Canada, U.S.: *Baughman.
 
Z14. “Runs.” Conventional passages of set form within a tale, usually recited in a different voice from the rest. *Hdwb. d. Märchens II 163; *Campbell-McKay 233ff.; India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z15. Tale avoiding all pronouns. Lang English Fairy Tales 118.
 
Z16. Tales ending with a question. *Type 653; *BP III 45; Basset RTP VII 188; Cosquin Revue d‘Ethnographie et des Traditions Populaires I 62, II 41; Africa: Werner African 359.
 
Z16.1. Four brothers construct a woman. Whose is she? India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z17. Rounds. Stories which begin over and over again and repeat. Type 2350; Taylor JAFL XLVI 88, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 190; U.S.: Baughman; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2300; India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z18. Formulistic conversations.
 
Z18.1. What makes your ears so big? – To hear the better, my child, etc. Type 333.
 
Z19. Formulistic frameworks – miscellaneous.
 
Z19.1. Game-tales. (Used as game.) *BP II 210.
 
Z19.2. Tales filled with contradictions. West Indies: Flowers 587.
 
Z20 – Z59.
 
Z20 – Z59. CUMULATIVE TALES
 
Z20. Cumulative tales.1 Tales arranged in chains. (Kettenmärchen.) **Taylor JAFL XLVI 77ff.; *Types 2000 – 2199; Irish myth: *Cross; Spanish American: Boas JAFL XXV 219ff., 292f., Espinosa JAFL XXVII 222ff.; Indonesia: DeVries’s list No. 316; cf. Nouvelles de Sens No. 31.
 
Z20.1. Cumulative nonsense tales. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z21. Chains based on numbers.
 
Z21.1. Origin of chess. Inventor asks one wheat-grain for first square, two for the second, four for the third, eight for the fourth, etc. The king cannot pay. **Taylor JAFL XLVI 79 No. 2009; *Livingston MLN XLV 246 – 51; Murray History of Chess (Oxford, 1913) 207 – 9, 755; India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z21.1.1. Wages: successive harvests from one grain of rice. Master has no fields left. Chinese: Graham.
 
Z22. Ehod mi yodea (One; who knows?); Le dodici parole della verità, Las doce palabras retorneadas. The numbers from one to twelve are brought into relation with various objects, often of religious significance. **Espinosa Revista de Filologia Española XVII 390ff.; *Taylor JAFL XLVI 79 No. 2010; *Greenleaf Ballads and Sea-songs of Newfoundland (Cambridge, Mass., 1933) 93 No. 41; **Hdwb. d. Märchens II 171ff.; *Newell “The Carol of the Twelve Numbers” JAFL IV (1891) 215 – 220; Köhler-Bolte III 370 n. 2; BP III 15 n. – Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2010*; Russian: Andrejev No. 812B*; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 156 No. 2045*; Jewish: *Neuman.
 
Z22.1. The Twelve Days (Gifts) of Christmas: 1 partridge, 2 turtle-doves, 3 French hens, 4 colly birds, 5 gold rings, 6 geese, 7 swans, 8 maids, 9 drummers, 10 pipers, 11 ladies, 12 lords. **Taylor JAFL XLVI 79 No. 2010A, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 172b; Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 146 – 60 Nos. 337 – 348; Fb “Juledagsgave” I 54, IV 248; T. Norlind Svenska Allmogens Liv@2 612.
 
Z22.2. The Twelve kinds of Food: 1 partridge, 2 turtledoves, 3 woodpigeons, 4 ducks, 5 rabbits, 6 hares, 7 hounds, 8 sheep, 9 oxen, 10 turkeys, 11 hams, 12 cheeses. **Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2010B, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 172b; Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 150 – 54 Nos. 351 – 370.
 
Z23. How the Rich Man paid his Servant (Lönen hos den rike man). A farmer pays his servant in the first year a hen, in the second a cock, goose, goat, cow, horse, .... girl. farmstead. **Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2010 I; Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 168 – 78 Nos. 392 – 418; *T. Norlind Svenska Allmogens Liv@2 (Stockholm, 1925) 612. – Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2010 I*.
 
Z24. The forgetful man counts the days of the week. On Monday they go to mill, etc. (First ed. Z21.4.) He thus discovers that it is Sunday. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2012, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 174b.
 
Z24.1. Widower tells of his courtship, his marriage, and the death of his wife, all in a week. (First ed. Z21.4.1.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2012A.
 
Z24.1.1. Life story in ten hours: “At one I was born .... at ten my child‘s soul was crowned in heaven.” *Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2012B.
 
Z24.1.2. Bird advises man to treat his lazy children as she does her young: “In March I make my nest .... in August I have nothing more to do with my young.” *Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2012C.
 
Z24.1.3. “Solomon Grundy, born on Monday .... buried on Sunday.” *Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2012D; Halliwell Nursery Rhymes of England 33 No. 49.
 
Z25. Fly forgets her name; asks woodcutter, axe, tree, etc., in vain. Finally foal in mare’s belly says her name is “fly”. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z30. Chains involving a single scene or event without interdependence among the individual actors.
 
Z31. Chains involving a wedding. Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 Nos. 2019 – 2020; Hdwb. d. Märchens II 176a.
 
Z31.1. Pif Paf Poltrie. The suitor sent from one relation to the other for consent to the wedding. *Type 2019; *BP III 71; *Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 No. 2019; India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z31.2. Louse and flea wish to marry. Mosquito, toad, ant, etc. volunteer to supply the wedding feast. Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 154 No. 2020*.
 
Z32. Chains involving a death: animal actors.
 
Z32.1. The funeral procession of the hen. Animals one by one join the procession. The funeral carriage breaks down or the procession drowns. *Type 2021; *BP II 147 n. 1; *Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXXII 2ff.; *Taylor JAFL XLVI 82 No. 2021.
 
Z32.1.1. The death of the cock. (Der Tod des Hühnchens.) The cock chokes and the hen seeks aid of objects and persons (stream, tree, pig, miller, baker, etc.). *Taylor JAFL XLVI 82 No. 2021A; BP II 146; **Haavio FFC XCIX; **Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXXII 2ff.
 
Z32.2. The death of the little hen. She is characteristically mourned by objects and animals; e.g., flea, door, broom, cart, ashes, tree, girl. (First ed. Z31.2.2.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 82 No. 2022A; *BP I 293; Parsons JAFL XXXIII 37; Missouri French: Carrière; India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z32.2.1. The death of the little hen described with unusual words. Each act of mourning described by a neologism: the table untables itself. (First ed. Z31.2.2.1.) (Cf. X1506.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 82 No. 2022A, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 177a; Tegethoff Französische Märchen II 78 No. 18; Rolland Rimes et jeux d‘enfance (1881) 119f.; Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 98ff. No. 171ff.
 
Z32.3. Little ant finds a penny, buys new clothes with it, and sits in her doorway. Various animals pass by and propose marriage. She asks what they do at night. Each one replies with its characteristic sound, and none pleases her but the quiet little mouse, whom she marries. She leaves him to tend the stew, and he falls in and drowns. She weeps and, on learning the reason, bird cuts off its beak, dove cuts off its tail, etc. (First ed. Z31.2.3.) *Taylor FFC XLVI 82 No. 2023; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 154 No. 2023*; Italian: Crane Italian Popular Tales (1885) 376 – 77.
 
Z32.4. Cumulative: master to kill hen. She begs off; he goes to kill rooster .... goose, rabbit, toad, tiger. Chinese: Graham.
 
Z32.5. Mourning about the dead ass (Tulsi Das): from washerman to the queen. “But who is Tulsi Das?” The report is traced back to the washerman, who says: “He was my ass.” India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z33. Chains involving the eating of an object. (Members of the chain not interrelated.) Taylor JAFL XLVI 83 Nos. 2025 – 2028, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 178b.
 
Z33.1. The fleeing pancake. A woman makes a pancake, which flees. Various animals try in vain to stop it. Finally the fox eats it up. (First ed. Z31.3.1.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 82 No. 2025; *Dh III 272; Fb “pandekage” II 782b; Danish: Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 58f. Nos. 113 – 18; Norwegian: Christensen Norske Eventyr 149; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2025; Russian: Andrejev Nos. 295, 296*.
 
Z33.2. The fat cat. While the mistress is away, the cat eats the porridge, the bowl, and the ladle. When the mistress returns she says, “How fat you are!” The cat: “I ate the porridge, the bowl, and the ladle, and I will eat you.” The cat meets other animals and eats them after the same conversation. Finally eats too many. (First ed. Z31.3.2.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 83 No. 2027; *Fb “kat” IV 255b; Danish: Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 59ff. Nos. 119 – 130.
 
Z33.3. Woman meets a pig. “Good morning.” “Why are you up so early?” “I am not up so early. I have drunk seven vats of milk and eaten seven plates of porridge and I shall eat you.” She ate the pig. (First ed. Z31.3.3.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 83 No. 2027A; Swedish: Norlander “Barnvisor och barnrim” Svenska Landsmålen V No. 5 n. 265.
 
Z33.4. The fat troll (wolf). A troll eats the watcher’s five horses and finally the watcher himself. The master goes to investigate. The troll: “I ate the five horses, I ate the watcher, and I will eat you.” Does so. Likewise the wife, servant, daughter, son, and dog. The cat scratches the troll open and rescues all. (First ed. Z31.3.4.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 83 No. 2028; *Fb “ulv” III 970b, “æde” III 1139b, “bjørn” IV 43b; Danish: Kristensen Dyrefabler 68ff. Nos. 131 – 144; Swedish: T. Norlind Svenska Allmogens Liv@2 (Stockholm, 1925) 613; Russian: Andrejev No. 333B*.
 
Z33.4.1. Louse and crow make covenant of friendship: louse eats crow despite crow saying, “If I strike you once with my beak you will disappear; how then can you talk of eating me?” Likewise louse eats loaf of bread, she-goat, cow, buffalo, five sepoys, wedding procession with one lakh of people, elephant, tank of water. A sepoy cuts louse in two with his sword and rescues all. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z33.4.2. The singing wolf. By his singing the wolf compels the old man to surrender his cattle, his children and grandchildren, and finally his wife. The old woman goes in the wolf’s service. She returns home bringing butter, etc. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 162*; Russian: Andrejev No. 162*.
 
Z39. Chains involving other events without interrelation of members. (First ed. Z31.4.) Taylor JAFL XLVI 84 No. 2029.
 
Z39.1. The goat who would not go home. One animal after another tries in vain to persuade the goat to go home. Finally a wolf (bee) bites him and drives him home. (First ed. Z31.4.1.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 No. 2015; *BP I 348 n. 1, II 100, 104; Fb “gjed” IV 178a; Swedish: T. Norlind Svenska Allmogens Liv@2 (Stockholm, 1925) 613.
 
Z39.1.1. The goat who would not leave the hazel bush. Final formula: The devil goes to strangle the Jew, the Jew to kill the ox, the ox to drink the water, the water to quench the fire, the fire to burn the stone, the stone to blunt the axe, the axe to cut the rope, the rope to tie the hunter, the hunter to shoot the goat – the goat leaves the hazel bush, the wee goat leaves the hazel bush. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2030.
 
Z39.2. There was a wee wee woman who had a wee wee cow, etc. (First ed. Z31.4.2.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 No. 2016, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 176a; Jacobs English Fairy Tales 57; Danish: Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 122ff. Nos. 230 – 37; Russian: Andrejev No. 2015 I*.
 
Z39.3. The crow on the tarred bridge. His beak and tail alternately stick. (Endless.) (First ed. Z31.4.3.) (Cf. Z11.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 No. 2017, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 190a; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2017.
 
Z39.4. Where have you been, goose? – In the fields. – What have you in your beak? – A knife. – etc. (Tile, water, ox, firewood, old woman, friars, mass, shirt.) (First ed. Z31.4.4.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2011, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 174a; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 154 No. 2018A*.
 
Z39.4.1. Titmouse, what are you eating? – A large turnip – etc. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges.
 
Z39.4.2. Sparrow, where are you going? – To eat seed. – The owner will scold you. – I‘ll sit on a pine tree, etc. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges.
 
Z39.5. The hen lays an egg, the mouse breaks it. Sorrowing over this mishap, all show extraordinary behavior; the master puts an end to it. Final formula: hen strips off feathers, rubbish heap catches fire, oak falls to ground, hare drowns self, magpie twists leg, ox breaks horns, river flows blood, maid breaks pails, housewife scatters dough. Master locks up wife and maid, goes to seek people more foolish. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2022*; Russian: Andrejev No. 241 III*; Rumanian: Schullerus FFC LXXVIII No. 1963*.
 
Z39.6. Mother ties bell on child; cat cuts it off. “Why did you cut off the bell?” – “Why did you lay the block here, etc.” Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges.
 
Z39.7. Girl left in tree by sisters: asks monkey, ape, bear, and tiger to put her down or else bite her. All refuse. Panther comes and devours her. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z39.8. Small grain-measure runs away when her husband beats her: succession of suitors. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z39.9. Series of things acquired by mouse – “You cannot have this but you may have that instead,” etc. Clod – fish – cakes – kid – goat – drum – girl. Girl kills mouse accidentally. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z40. Chains with interdependent members.
 
Z41. The old woman and her pig. Her pig will not jump over the stile so that she can go home. She appeals in vain for help until the cow gives 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 stile. (Various introductions.) (First ed. Z41.1.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 84 No. 2030; *BP II 104, 108; **Goebel Hdwb. d. Märchens s.v. “Birnli” I 256ff.; *Emeneau JAFL LVI 272; Clouston Tales I 289; Köhler-Bolte I 136; Parsons JAFL XXXIII 34; Montet RTP VI 102; *Fb “and” IV 12; – Missouri French: Carrière; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 155 Nos. 2030A, B, C, D; India: *Thompson-Balys; Indonesia: DeVries Volksverhalen I 364 No. 21; Africa (Benga): Nassau 200 No. 30, (Hottentot): Bleek 33 No. 17, (Gold Coast): Barker and Sinclair 177 No. 35, (Ila, Rhodesia): Smith and Dale II 392 No. 17, (Thonga): Junod 223; Jamaica: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 286 No. 138.
 
Z41.1. Woman has meat (liver) stolen by bird. Recovery chain (similar to Z41). *Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXXII 25.
 
Z41.2. Crow must wash his bill in order to eat with other birds. Asks water; water must first have horn from stag, who must first have milk from cow, etc. *Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXXII 33; India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z41.3. Conflict between fowl and thistle. Wind obeys and breaks the chain. India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z41.4. The mouse regains its tail. The cat bites off the mouse’s tail and will return it in exchange for milk. The mouse goes to the cow for milk, the farmer for hay, the butcher for meat, the baker for bread. Other persons mentioned are the locksmith and the miner. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 86 No. 2034, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 185b; *Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXXII 28; *Newell JAFL XVIII (1905) 34 n. 1; BP II 107 – 8; Basset Contes Berbères No. 45, Nouveaux Contes Berbères No. 168. – England, U.S.: *Baughman.
 
Z41.4.1. Mouse bursts open when crossing a stream. Series of helpers similar to Z41.4. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 86 No. 2034A; *Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXXII 28; BP II 107 – 8.
 
Z41.4.2. My dog picked up a string, but did not wish to give it to me unless I gave her bread. Cupboard did not wish to give bread unless I gave it a key; smith, charcoal; charcoal-burner, calf‘s legbone; butcher, milk; cow, grass; meadow, water; clouds, dove’s feather. Dove gave me a feather which I gave to clouds, etc. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 86 No. 2034B; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 156 No. 2030D.
 
Z41.5. Lending and repaying: progressively worse (or better) bargain. Type 2034C*; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2009*; Africa (Tonga): Torrend Specimens of Bantu Folklore (New York, 1921) 169ff., (Ila): Smith and Dale II 392ff. No. 17, (Pende): Frobenius Atlantis XI 265 No. 4, (Bassari): ibid. 97ff. No. 12, (Ashanti): Rattray 268 No. 73.
 
Z41.6. Bird‘s pea gets stuck in socket of mill-handle. She goes to carpenter, king, queen, who refuse to help. She asks snake to bite queen, stick to beat snake, fire to burn stick, etc. Final formula: cat eats mouse, mouse cuts plant creeper, creeper snares elephant, elephant drinks up sea, sea quenches fire, fire burns stick, stick beats snake, snake bites queen, queen speaks to king, king chides carpenter, carpenter cuts mill handle, and pea is extracted. Questions in rhyme. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z41.6.1. Gram (parched grain) sticks in post; parrot goes to raja, etc., for help. Final formula: at last creeper took pity on birds, and elephant feared creeper, and ocean feared elephant, and fire feared ocean, and stick feared fire, and snake feared stick, and carpenter feared snake; and carpenter split post which gave up the grain to the birds, who went away. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z41.7. The wormwood does not want to rock the sparrow. Final formula: the worms begin to gnaw the rods, the rods to beat the oxen, the oxen to drink the water, the water to quench the fire, the fire to burn the hunters, the hunters to shoot the wolves, the wolves to kill the goats, the goats to gnaw the wormwood, the wormwood to rock me – it rocked and rocked me to sleep. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2003*.
 
Z41.7.1. Boy dirties his shoe and asks the hay stack to wipe it clean. Cheremis: Sebeok-Nyerges.
 
Z41.8. Pulling the needle out of the seamstress’s hand. Final formula: That was just what the cat was waiting for – it sprang to devour the mouse, the mouse to tear the spider‘s web, the spider to entangle the dog, the dog to eat the goat, the goat to gnaw the rushes, the rushes to grow in the stream, the stream to quench the fire, the fire to burn the stone, the stone to beat the axe, the axe soon pulled out the needle that was stuck in the seamstress’s hand. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2005*.
 
Z41.9. The lazy servant and the grain. “Lentils, lentils, get into my sack!” Final formula: the hungry hawk attacks the hens, the hens the worms, the worms the stick, the stick the ox, the ox runs to the water, the water attacks the fire, the fire the hunters, the hunters the wolf, the wolf the goat, the goat the willow, the willow the cat, the cat the mice, the mice the lentils, the lentils go whoosh whoosh into the sack. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2011*.
 
Z42. Stronger and Strongest. The frost-bitten foot. Mouse perforates wall, wall resists wind, wind dissolves cloud, cloud covers sun, sun thaws frost, frost breaks foot. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 84 No. 2031, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 182ff.; **DeCock Volkssage 22 – 36; BP I 148 n. 2; Haavio FFC LXXXVIII 20; Köhler-Bolte II 47; Stiefel Zs. f. Vksk. V 448 – 50; Benfey Panchatantra I 373 – 78, II 264; Chauvin II 97f.; DeVries Volksverhalen I 1 – 3 No. 1, 356; Voorhoeve 166 No. 176; Clouston Tales I 309. – India: Thompson-Balys; Africa (Ekoi): Talbot 384, (Zanzibar): Bateman 67 No. 5.
 
Z42.1. The Esdras chain: stronger and strongest, wine, king, woman, truth. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 85 No. 2031A, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 184b; DeCock Volkssage 35f.; Oesterley No. 258; Köhler-Bolte II 55. – Jewish: Neuman.
 
Z42.2. Abraham learns to worship God. At nightfall Abraham worships a star, then the moon, then the sun, and finally gives up idolatry. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 85 No. 2031B; Hdwb. d. Märchens II 184b; Köhler-Bolte I 578; Koran Surah 6, 75 – 78; *Basset RTP VII 397; Jewish: Neuman.
 
Z42.3. Brahmin worships idol and sets sacrifices before it daily. Rat devours offerings and he sets it up as his idol as a being more powerful than his idol. When cat devours rat, he worships it instead. His wife accidentally kills the cat, so he sets her up to worship. He happens to slap her and she loses consciousness. Thereafter he worships himself as most powerful after all. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z43. The cock‘s whiskers. A mouse 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. (Variant: mouse loses tail.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 85 No. 2032; *BP II 107; Norlind Svenska Allmogens Liv@2 (Stockholm, 1925) 613 “Tupen och hänen”; Haavio FFC LXXXVIII 89 n. 1; RTP XV 220. – Russian: Andrejev No. 241 I; N. A. Indian (Zuñi): Cushing 411.
 
Z43.1. Toad asks magpie in tree to throw down a chestnut. Magpie refuses, saying it might break its beak. Toad promises, if that happens, to get a horsehair to tie it up again. Magpie throws chestnut and breaks beak. Toad asks ass for hair, but ass first demands grass; mower demands sheep; shepherd, pup; mother dog, bread; baker, stumps. Toad cuts the stumps and gets the hair. *Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk XXXII 24; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 156 No. 2032A*.
 
Z43.2. The cock strikes out the hen‘s eye with a nut. The cock blames the hazel bush for tearing its knickers, the hazel bush the goat for gnawing at it, the goat the shepherd-boy for not tending it, the boy his mistress for not baking him a bun, the mistress the pig for eating up the dough, the pig the wolf for killing its young. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2030G; Livonian: Looritz FFC LXVI No. 241@1; Russian: Andrejev No. 241 II*.
 
Z43.3. Nut hits cock in head: he thinks world is coming to an end. He sends the hen to tell the duck, the duck to tell the goose, etc. Final formula: Fox, who told you? – Hare. – Hare, who told you? – Goose, etc. For sequel see Type 20C. Sometimes the animals have queer names (cf. Z53). Taylor JAFL XLVI 85 No. 2033, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 185a; *Wesselski Hessische Blätter XXXII 19; Cowell Jataka III 49 No. 322; Fb “høne” I 750. – Danish: Danske Dyrefabler 103ff. Nos. 177 – 85; Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2033; Africa (Kaffir): Kidd 240 No. 9; American Negro (Georgia): Harris Nights 108 No. 20.
 
Z43.4. Fly frightens snake; snake frightens rats; rats frighten monkey, etc. Africa (Cameroon): Mansfield 228, (Fang): Tessman 79ff., (Duala): Lederbogen Märchen 124, (Swahili): Steere 287ff.
 
Z43.5. Boy changes self to nut; fowl eats nut; bush cat eats fowl; dog eats cat; dog swallowed by python. Africa: Weeks Jungle 462.
 
Z43.6. Man invites animals to come and work in his field. Rooster kills beetle; cat kills rooster; dog kills cat; leopard kills dog; hyena kills leopard; buffalo kills hyena; elephant kills buffalo, and lion chases elephant so that both fall into trap. Man calls wives to see meat he has killed. Africa (Wute): Sieber 60ff.
 
Z44. The house that Jack built. Final formula: 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 a 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. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 86 No. 2035; *BP II 108; Köhler-Bolte I 517f.; Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 132ff. Nos 272, 295; *Fb “hus” I 687a, IV 229. – India: Thompson-Balys; Africa (Fang): Nassau 245ff. No. 11, (Zulu): Callaway 38.
 
Z44.1. The house the old man was to build. The woman for whom he is to build the house has some beans for him. The goat eats these up. Cumulative search. Final formula: Smith give me my iron, iron which belongs to the man, man who ate up my fish, fish which belongs to the sea .... sea – shirt – washerwoman – soap – woman – wood – press – grease – herder – cheese-frame – fig-tree – horn – goat – beans. *Taylor JAFL XLVI 86 No. 2035A; *Parsons JAFL XXV 219, XXVII 222, XXXIII 40, MAFLS XV (1) 207 n. 1.
 
Z45. The Horseshoe Nail. For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for the want of a horse the rider was lost .... and all for the want of a horseshoe nail. (First ed. Z41.9.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 87 No. 2039; *BP III 335 – 37.
 
Z46. The climax of horrors. The magpie is dead. Overate on horseflesh. – Horses dead? – Overworked at fire. – House burned down? – etc. (First ed. Z41.10.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 87 No. 2040; Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin II 203; Wesselski Mönchslatein 25 No. 20; **Zachariae Kleine Schriften 191ff.; *Crane Vitry 216ff. No. 205; *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. VII 99 n. 5. – Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2040*; Russian: Andrejev No. 2014 I*; Spanish Exempla: Keller; India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z47. Series of trick exchanges. India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z47.1. Series of trick exchanges: razor – pot – bride – drum by tricky fox. Fox sings formula of exchanges. India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49. Miscellaneous interdependent chains.
 
Z49.1. “I killed my grandmother because she refused to cook a hare. I killed a priest because he said my crime was bad. A friar absolved me to avoid being killed.” (First ed. Z41.7.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 87 No. 2037; Spanish: Boggs FFC XC 155 No. 2026*.
 
Z49.2. Cumulative pursuit. Boys get help. One of them injures the helper. Pursued. Hidden by kind hen. One injures the hen. Hen pursues, etc. (First ed. Z41.8.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 87 No. 2038; Jamaica: Beckwith MAFLS XVII 264f. No. 70.
 
Z49.2.1. Fat mouse cannot get into hole. “Carpenter, please pare off a little flesh from my ribs.” Refused. Final formula: the scythe cuts the creeper loose. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.3. The bird indifferent to pain. A man catches a mango-bird eating mangoes and strikes it against the roots of a mango-tree. The bird cannot be made to say it suffers from the blow. In turn, he puts it in water, strikes it on the ground, a stile, a door-frame, singes its feathers, cuts it up, cooks it, and eats it. The bird always expresses indifference in a cumulative rhyme. At last the bird asks him to look out of the window, whereupon it flies out of his nose and the man dies. (First ed. Z41.11.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 87 No. 2041.
 
Z49.4. There was once a woman; the woman had a son; the son had red breeches; etc. – At last: “Shall I tell it again?” (First ed. Z41.12.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 No. 2013.
 
Z49.5. Where is the warehouse? – The fire burned it down. – Where is the fire? – The water quenched it. (First ed. Z41.13.) Type 2018.
 
Z49.5.1. “Where is that grain?” – “The cock snatched it.” – “Where is that cock?” – “He drowned in the sea.” – “Where is that sea?” – “It is grown over with reeds.” – “Where are those reeds?” – “The maids have cut them down”, etc. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2018.
 
Z49.5.2. The wolf who wanted to make bread. The farmer explained to him how bread is made. He keeps on asking: “Shall I then be able to eat?” Decides he will not have enough patience to make bread. (Cf. K555.1.2.) Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 164*.
 
Z49.6. Trial among the animals. Deer steps on kitten: cat investigates. Deer has been frightened by bird, this bird by another bird .... by crab’s pointed claw, crab by mouse in his hole. Cat eats mouse. (Frog croaks because turtle carries his house on his head; turtle carries house because firefly is bringing fire; firefly brings fire because mosquito tries to bite him, etc.) (First ed. Z41.14.) India: Thompson-Balys; Indonesia, Malaya: Dixon 202; Philippine: Fansler MAFLS XII 390.
 
Z49.6.1. Birds fight and cause series of accidents to other animals and people. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.6.2. Bite (prick) causes series of accidents. India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.6.3. Man sharpening his dao is bitten by a prawn. He cuts down a big bamboo; a fruit falls from bamboo and strikes a bird on the nape of the neck; the bird scratches up an ant‘s nest with his feet; the ant bites a wild boar in the eye; and the boar bears down upon a plantain tree where a bat dwells under a leaf; the bat seeks refuge in the ear of an elephant, and the elephant kicks down the house on an old woman. She rushes out and falls into a well. India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.7. Cumulative tale: bird who seeks carpenter to release young caught in closed tree. Beetle bites calf, calf bites cow, cow hoofs carpenter, carpenter beats wife, hunters save carpenter’s cow, carpenter releases birds. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.8. Biting a grain in half. Final formula: Forester attacks bear, the bear the wolf, the wolf the dog, the dog the cat, the cat the mouse, the mouse the grain – the grain is bitten in two. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2006*.
 
Z49.9. Pulling up the turnip. Final formula: The mouse holds onto the cat, the cat holds onto Mary, Mary holds onto Annie, Annie holds onto grandmother, grandmother holds onto grandfather, grandfather holds onto the turnip – they all pull and pull it out. Lithuanian: Balys Index No. 2008*; Russian: Andrejev No. 1960G*.
 
Z49.10. Lizard eats cricket, frog eats lizard, snake eats frog, eagle eats snake, man shoots eagle; animals escape except lizard. Man takes eagle home. U.S.: Baughman.
 
Z49.11. Who is guilty of the accident. (One person blames another who blames another, etc.) India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.11.1. Wall in construction collapses. Finally the king finds out that the sea is guilty. (The chain: mason – cement mixer – beautifully singing woman – pearl necklace – jeweller – diver – sea.) India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.11.2. Thief breaks foot climbing wall to rob. Suit against owner for dangerous wall. India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.12. Hermit must get cat to kill rats in hunt, cow to give cat milk, etc. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.13. Chain of killings: bulbul destroys flower and is killed by cat; cat shaken by dog; dog killed by boy; boy sentenced to death by king. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z49.14. The little old lady who swallowed a fly. She swallows a spider to eat up the fly, a bird to eat up the spider, a dog to eat the bird, a cow to eat the dog. “The little old lady swallowed a horse – she died, of course.” U.S.: *Baughman.
 
Z50. Cumulative tales – miscellaneous.
 
Z51. Chains involving contradictions or extremes. (First ed. Z23.) *Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 No. 2014, Hdwb. d. Märchens II 175b.
 
Z51.1. The house is 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. (First ed. Z23.1.) Type 2014; *Taylor JAFL XLVI 81 No. 2014; Nouvelles Récréations No. 75.
 
Z52. Bird avenges caged mate. Builds cart, yokes frogs to it, arms himself with piece of reed, and proclaims war with king. Collects cat, ants, rope, club, and river. He is put by king into fowl house; cat eats up fowls. In stable rope and club beat up horses. In elephant-house ants get into their brains and kill them all. Tied to king‘s bed, river floods king in his bed. King gives bird back his mate. India: Thompson-Balys.
 
Z53. The animals with queer names: as hen (henny-penny), cock (cocky-locky), goose (goosey-poosey). (First ed. Z21.3.1.) (Cf. Z32.2.1.) *Wesselski Hessische Blätter f. Vksk. XXXII 55; *Taylor JAFL XLVI 80 No. 2010 IA; Jacobs English Fairy Tales 118; *T. Norlind Svenska Allmogens Liv@2 (Stockholm, 1925) 612; Kristensen Danske Dyrefabler 182 Nos. 431 – 32. – Antigua (British West Indies): Johnson JAFL XXXIV 68 No. 24.

Next group

Previous group