μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Foolish bridegroom follows instructions literally.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Literal fools. · Literal obedience. · view the constellation · filed as J2462

Filed across the traditions
  • U.S. Baughman
  • Italian Novella Rotunda
  • India *Thompson-Balys
  • Japanese Ikeda.
  • general *Type 1685
  • general *BP I 311
  • general *Fb "brud" IV 64b
  • general Gaster Oldest Stories 167
Within the index

Filed under Literal obedience.

3 finer motifs beneath it
The dog Parsley in the soup. The foolish bridegroom is told to put parsley in the soup. He throws in his dog, which is named Parsley Casting sheep's eyes at the bride. The foolish bridegroom is told to cast sheep's eyes at the bride. He buys some at the butcher shop and throws them at her Foolish husband puts out wife's eyes at night because he heard that a beautiful wife is an enemy
Filed beside it
Disastrous following of misunderstood instructions. (To burn land, then sow seed. Opposite done.) 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 The foolish bride The servant to improve on the master's statements. The wooer makes boasts to the girl and the servant always doubles the master's boast. Finally the master says, "I have poor eyesight." – The servant, "You don't see at all." (Or the master coughs and apologizes; the servant says that he coughs all night.) Disastrous following of instructions Literal following of the count Instructions followed literally – miscellaneous
Carried in tale types

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