μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Pumpkin thought to be an ass's egg. Numskull thinks he has hatched out an ass's egg. He thinks that the rabbit which runs out is the colt.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Absurd misunderstandings. · One thing mistaken for another. · Objects with mistaken identity. · view the constellation · filed as J1772.1

Filed across the traditions
  • Breton Sébillot Incidents s. v. "oeuf", "âne" "lièvre"
  • India *Thompson-Balys
  • Chinese Graham.
  • general *Type 1319
  • general *BP I 317ff.
  • general *Köhler-Bolte I 323
  • general *Clouston Noodles 38
  • general *Fb "æg" III 1142a
  • general *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 249 No. 163
  • general Christensen DF XLVII 208 no. 63. Swiss: Jegerlehner Oberwallis 324 No. 157
Within the index

Filed under One object thought to be another.

2 finer motifs beneath it
Boy thinks terrapin hatches from bedbug eggs. Small boy examines bedbug eggs under pillow every morning. One morning he finds a terrapin there. "I don't see how we raised this so quick." Potatoes mistaken for "irregular eggs", or "eggs of the earth."
Filed beside it
Dog mistakes mussel for an egg. Cuts his mouth Coins thought to be red beans Culture hero's pubic hair thought to be bear hair Man puts food bowl on head thinking it a helmet Fish bones in soup thought to be underdone peas Fools think evening star is morning star. Start morning journey evening before Cotton pods knocked off by bullock thought to be lumps of bullock's fat Excrements thought to be meat and therefore eaten Gun thought to be clarinet: one man blows, another presses the "keys". (Cf. K1057.) Boot mistaken for an axe-sheath Foolish tiger thinks dog's tail is a gun Frog thinks cattle are distant country Eight-oared ferry-boat mistaken for an animal which must have long legs to wade the stream

ask the rhapsode about this motif · search the shelf for “numskull” · wander