The constellation
J2425 The bungling host. A trickster (animal) visits various animals who display their peculiar powers in obtaining food (often magic). He returns the invitation and tries to provide food in similar ways. He fails and usually has a narrow escape from death. (Cf. J2411.3.)
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
● motif
● tale type
● on the shelf
● attested
The same sky, in words
filed under
cross-ref
attested in
- Tales of the North American Indians · Tale 35
filed beside
- The fool spits in the hot porridge. He has seen the smith spit on the hot iron · J2421 entry
- The scythe cuts one man's head off. All have theirs cut off · J2422 entry
- The eye-juggler. A trickster sees a man throwing his eyes into the air and replacing them. He also receives this power but he must not use the power beyond a specified number of times. When he does so, he loses his eyes. He usually gets animal eyes as substitutes · J2423 entry
- The sharpened leg. A trickster sees a man with a sharpened leg. He also receives the power of sharpening his leg without harm if he will use it but four times. He breaks the tabu and is left with his leg sticking in a tree · J2424 entry
- Numskull wants to be shaved too. He sees another man being shaved and thinks that the man is having his ears cut off. He orders his wife to cut off his ears · J2426 entry
- Numskull praises his daughter as being pregnant. He tries in vain to sell his cow and succeeds only when he says that she is with calf. When suitors come wooing his daughter, he tries the same plan disastrously · J2427 entry
- Numskull puts money into the exchange so as to participate in the business. He hears that great lords take a part in the business of the exchange where he sees great heaps of money. He throws down a penny and says, "You may like it or not, but I want money in the exchange, too." · J2428 entry
- A man undertakes to do his wife's work. All goes wrong · J2431 entry
- Man saved from well by rope. Disastrous attempt to save him from tree in same way · J2434 entry
- Protecting as the stork does. Man has had stork protect him from rain by covering him with his wing. Man tries to protect his wife from rain with his arm · J2442 entry