μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Master tells servant (sarcastically) to take a year to do errand. Servant stays away a year and then returns to claim salary.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Literal fools. · Literal obedience. · view the constellation · filed as J2461.4

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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.

  • Italian NovellaRotunda.
Within the index

Filed under What should I have done (said)? The mother teaches the boy (the man his wife) what he should say (do) in this or that circumstance. He uses the words in the most impossible cases and is always punished.

Filed beside it
Literal following of instructions about actionsLiteral following of instructions about greetings. Numskull gives wrong greeting and is told how to give the correct one. When he tries it, however, the conditions are wrongLiteral numskull laughs at his child's deathNumskull told not to forget to get the handsel (a little token extra in the bargain); brings it but leaves what he has been sent to buyLiteral fool: fool told to follow his nose in a journey, runs head against tree, climbs itTo sell some cloth for four rupees. Fool refuses to take six rupees for itAsking favor when master is in good humor. Fool waits till master is laughing at servant's stupidityNumskull told to attract girl's attention by throwing pebble at her flings large stone which breaks her head

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