Men hang down in a chain until top man spits on his hands. They all fall

Motif

Men hang down in a chain until top man spits on his hands. They all fall.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Absurd short-sightedness. · Foolish disregard of personal danger. · view the constellation · filed as J2133.5

Filed across the traditions

Chinese Chavannes II 324.
general *Type 1250
general Köhler-Bolte I 113
general *Wesselski Hodscha Nasreddin I 242 No. 124
general *Bolte Schweiz. Arch. f. Vksk. XXIII (1920-21) 36ff.
general Clouston Noodles 46
general Christensen DF XLVII 179ff., 193 No. 7
general Virginian: Parsons JAFL XXXV 302

Within the index

Filed under Numskull falls.

3 finer motifs beneath it

Wife carried up tree to sky in bag in husband's teeth. She asks question and he drops her when he answers Numskull going to heaven holding on tail of divine elephant, looses his hold to make gesture. He and all holding on to him fall Three men in a tree sing song and clap hands: they fall down and die

Filed beside it

Camel with ass on his back dances. Falls and is killed Monkey jumps over a ravine with his sword girded on. Falls to his death Cat crawls to steeple and tries to fly. Falls Numskull cuts off tree-limb on which he sits Wolves climb on top of one another to tree: lowest runs away and all fall Intruding wolf falls down chimney and kills himself Stargazer falls into well Blind leading blind falls into pit Monkey jumps into water after a butterfly Hedgehog and crab jump from boat after turtle. They fall on floating leather Woman tries to climb rope of excrement and urine. (Cf. H1021.1.) Fool dangling from tree by hands tries to clap them together: falls Fool re-enacts the accident. Falls and injures self and others. (Cf. J2062.)

Carried in tale types

The Human Chain (previously Bringing Water from the Well) · ATU 1250 1 recorded variant

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