μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Religious words or exercises interpreted with absurd literalness.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Literal fools. · Literal fool – miscellaneous. · view the constellation · filed as J2495

Filed across the traditions
  • West Indies Flowers 491
  • Irish Beal XXI 333, O'Suilleabhain 105.
Within the index

Filed under Literal fool – miscellaneous.

5 finer motifs beneath it
Praying to the nearer virgin. One man prays to the Virgin of Aix-la-Chapelle. The other: "That place is too far away; she can't be here in time to help." He prays to the Virgin of a nearer town Debtors do not forgive. "The Lord's Prayer has little power. I forgive my debtors but my debtors do not forgive me." Did not want to be Christ. An actor representing Christ in a Passion Play is beaten by Jews. He throws the cross down: "The devil may be God; I won't." Peasants want a living God. An artist, ordered to make a crucifix, asks peasants if they want a living God. They say yes. "If we don't like him we can kill him ourselves." Numskulls believing that God has reposed on a leaf want to cross river on one
Filed beside it
Clothing the servant. The master is to clothe the servant (at his expense). The servant insists that his master shall put on his clothes for him Putting fear into him. A plaintiff insists that the judge shall put some fear into the defendant debtor. The judge puts his fingers over the eyes of the defendant and cries, "Boo! Now give him his money." Names of dogs literally interpreted. The names are "The Shepherd" and "Get the stick". When the man calls his dogs to dinner, the thief thinks that he is telling the shepherd to get a stick Getting a box on the ears. The man, advised to cure his wife with a box on the ears, goes to the pharmacy and gets one. He cures his wife "I don't know" thought to be a person's name. A man in a country that cannot speak his language hears "I don't know" so frequently that he thinks it must be the name of the owner of all the places he inquires about "Honey is sweet." A wayward son, asked by his mother to give her a sweet word, thus answers Repeating the ceremony. Fool told to repeat part of the ceremony at baptism persists absurdly in repeating every remark Literal fool – additional motifs
Carried in tale types

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