The constellation
J1625 Armies like seeds and peppercorns. One king sends large sack of seed to the other to represent the number of his soldiers. The second replies with a small bag of peppercorns: "My army is small compared to yours but has all the power of the peppercorn compared to your lifeless seed."
A constellation is one motif’s neighborhood in the record — the story-shapes filed around it, the tale types that carry it, and the texts where it is witnessed, every line a receipted link. Click a motif to travel. Click a text to read it. The entry · wander
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● tale type
● on the shelf
● attested
The same sky, in words
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filed beside
- How much the ass cost. As the fool brings the new ass home everyone wants to know how much it cost. He has all publicly assemble and announces just what it cost · J1601 entry
- Throw at a rich man. Philosopher gives a penny to a man who throws stones at him but advises him that it will be wiser to throw at one who can afford to give more. The advice is followed and the rascal is arrested and hanged · J1602 entry
- Eyes treated for the stomach ache. A man who has stomach ache from eating bad bread is treated for his eyes so that he will thereafter be able to tell good bread from bad. [Inadvertant duplication of X372.3.] · J1603 entry
- The fish in the sleeve. A particularly obnoxious man delays others while he haggles over prices with a butcher. Meanwhile a parson takes the three fish the man has laid down and puts them into his large sleeves. The man is angry and searches in vain for them. The parson then shows them and advises him not to let people cheat him · J1604 entry
- One wrong and five hundred good deeds. A man steals a large sum, keeps half and distributes the rest among five hundred persons. He says that he has committed one wrong but has done five hundred good deeds · J1605 entry
- Two monks renew their appetites. Entertained by a lord, they say that they are going to certain waters to recover their appetites. They are taken to a chamber and locked in for a day They recover their appetites without further journeying. (Cf. K1955.1.1.) · J1606 entry
- The testament of the dog. The owner of a dog has him given Christian burial. The bishop thereupon pretends that the dog has left the church a large legacy · J1607 entry
- Ass's charter in his hoof. The ass absents himself from the parliament of beasts. The lion sends the fox and the wolf to summon him. He pleads his charter of exemption and invites the fox to read it in his hoof. (Cf. K551.18.) · J1608 entry
- The stolen meat and the weighed cat. A man buys three pounds of meat. His wife eats it and says that the cat ate it. The man weighs the cat and finds that it does not weigh three pounds · J1611 entry
- The lazy ass repaid in kind. Loaded with salt, he falls down in the river and lightens his burden. His master then loads him with sponges so that the next time the ass tries the trick he increases his load · J1612 entry