Trickster joins bulrushes in a dance. He thinks they are dancing when he sees them waving

Motif

Trickster joins bulrushes in a dance. He thinks they are dancing when he sees them waving.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Absurd disregard of facts. · Animals or objects treated as if human. · Animals or objects treated as if human – miscellaneous. · view the constellation · filed as J1883

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“She began to sew her moccasins, and all at once she stuck the awl in one of her fingers. The woman threw it away, and it came back and said: “Brother Turtle, I hurt a woman badly. She was using me while she was sewing her moccasins, and I stuck one of her fingers; she threw me away.” “Well done, brothers, now it is my turn,’ said the turtle. The turtle went into camp, and people saw him and said: “What does this mean?”

— Tales of the North American Indians, Tale 38 · served from our shelf receiptuncorrected OCR — being verified against the scan

Attested across traditions

North American IndigenousTales of the North American Indians, Tale 38 receipt

Scholars’ trail — 1reference

The index’s own references — the collections where scholars sighted this story-shape, tradition by tradition. Titles on our shelf are live links; the rest is the frontier, not yet shelved.

N. Am. Indian*Thompson Tales 306 n. 109dd.

Within the index

Filed under Animals or objects treated as if human – miscellaneous.

1 finer motif beneath it

Simpleton addresses a field of reeds

Filed beside it

Animal or object expected to go alone Foolish attempt to educate animals The boat gets tired. The woman tries to tire out her rival's boat so as to win the race, but only tires herself Singing snails rebuked. A boy roasts snails and they make noise in cooking. "Wretches, your house burns and yet you sing!"Hens in mourning. Fool puts black clothes on his hen's necks. He tells people that they mourn their mother The mad wheelbarrow. Fools chain a wheelbarrow, bitten by a mad dog, lest it bite others Wants the organ to come and play for her. An old woman enraptured with the sound of a cathedral organ prays for it to come to her house and gives it directions as to where she lives Object foolishly blamed Preserving the cock's freedom. A boy recently home from school sees his mother trying to catch the cock. "Don't mother, don't break his freedom or we will suffer for it."Scholar speaks Latin on hunt so that the birds cannot understand him Woman thinks calf's bleating has accused her of stealing from harvest. Begs that people not believe what calf said. (Cf. N611.)Objects supposed to be born, grow, and die like animals. (Cf. J1932.)

Keeps company with — shares receipted episodes

Trickster's burnt flesh becomes gum on trees Transformation to be put in food-bag Transformation to seduce Magic treasure animal killed. (Goose that laid the golden egg)Magic garment (robe, tunic)Magic reawakening of memory. (Cf. D1360, D1910.)Killed game revives and flies away Disintegration: man eats himself up or dismembers himself Person eats self up Person frightened into falling down a cliff Deceptive scratching contest Thief frightens owner from goods

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