Guilty person deceived into gesture (act) which admits guilt.
The wise and the foolish. · Cleverness. · Clever persons and acts. · Cleverness in the law court. · Cleverness in detection of truth. · view the constellation · filed as J1141.1
Motif
Within the index
Filed under Confession obtained by a ruse.
12 finer motifs beneath it
Largest part of a prize to go to the guilty man. In order to obtain the prize, he confesses the earlier crime "Thief has grease from stolen fowl on him": thief begins to feel his beard and is detected Creditor: "The destroyed bond was a cubit in size." Debtor: "That is a lie; it was only a span." "Guilty man's stick will grow during night." Guilty man chops end off stick "Thief has the feathers sticking on his head": guilty woman immediately passes her hand over her head To decide which is master and which servant they are to put heads through window and servant's head is to be cut off. Servant draws back Which is man and which demon in man's shape? Decision to go to whichever can go through end of reed Accused woman to go three times around building naked: guilty one begins to strip off her clothes Thief persuaded detective can read thoughts: confesses. (Cf. N275.) Queen flogs suspects telling them to produce stolen gem: thief promises to do so Confession of debt secured by having defendant dispute as to whether cat was present when debt was made B warns A not to tie his horse near B's. Horses fight and A's is killed. In court B plays dumb. A says B could talk the day before, and repeats conversation. Judge blames A for not taking advice
Filed beside it
Magician assigned three places at a table. He confesses to carrying two persons in his body Cheaters examined apart; first made to repeat paternoster. Others think that he has confessed and truth is discovered Confession induced by bringing an unjust action against accused. False message to thief's wife to send the stolen jewel case as bribe to the judge. She does Detection of theft by finding bag-repairer. Two men are in a lawsuit and before witnesses seal the documents in a bag to await arrival of the king. One of the men cuts the bag open, changes the documents, and has a repairer sew it up again. On the king's arrival the change is discovered. By having a fine carpet repaired the expert repairer is discovered. Confession follows Thief's money scales borrowed. A man buries gold and a thief steals it. The owner detects the criminal. He takes some money to the thief and borrows money scales "to weigh so as to bury with the other". The thief decides that he is detected and hastens to return the stolen money Thief suspected of crawling through hole must take off clothes. He is full of scratches and confesses Silence points to guilt. Important man quarrels with commoner. Asks bystanders: "Who is right?" Silence. Newcomer states that the important man is wrong. "Had he been right the others would have said so." The guilty protests his innocence. Animals put to graze in man's garden. Owner greets everyone with: "I know about you!" No one pays any attention to him except the guilty one who says: "I did not do it." Confesses. (Cf. N275.) Confession obtained by making thief fear for his life. (Told that crossbow would shoot guilty person as he passed before it.) Detection through ruse. Husbands ask suspected priest to talk to wives on tithing, and thus obtain sufficient evidence to convict him Guilty man freed of murder charge is tricked into making a false accusation for which he is sentenced Witness always to answer "No." Thus gets self condemned Minister threatens divine punishment to thief in congregation. The thief confesses The thief is tricked into revealing himself in church The thief is tricked into betraying himself in supposed ordeal
Carried in tale types
- Cases Solved in a Manner Worthy of Solomon · ATU 926C 1 recorded variant
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