Person frightened into falling down a cliff

Motif

Person frightened into falling down a cliff.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Cowardly fools. · Cowardly fool. · view the constellation · filed as J2611

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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 — 2references

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 303 n. 109f.
West IndiesFlowers 492.

Within the index

Filed under Cowardly fool.

Filed beside it

The attack on the hare (crayfish). Seven men make strenuous plans for the attack on the fierce animal. One screams with fright and the animal runs away. (Cf. J1736.1.)Surrender to the rake. Fool steps on a rake and falls down crying, "I surrender!"Fools frightened by stirring of an animal Fright at the creaking of a wheelbarrow The hawk frightened at the snipe's bill. The snipe: "It is a bill, but it is good for nothing (weak)." The hawk is no longer afraid Afraid of his knees. A man awakes with his knees in the air. He thinks the knees are a lion and splits them with his axe The sleeper answers for the dead man. A man falls asleep by a gallows. A company of wags come and invite the dead man on the gallows to accompany them. The sleeper awakes with a start and says, "I'll come at once." The wags flee in terror The dead girl frightens father and lover. The girl dies. The lover, thinking that she is asleep, talks to her. When he hears the father speak of her as dead he is frightened that he has talked to the dead. The father hears the lover talk and thinks that it is the girl's spirit. Both flee Fool frightened by stirring of the wind. Falls on a knife and kills himself Tailor puts on thimble as protection from slug Fright at animals' eyes in the dark Coward is frightened when clothing catches on thistle. (Cf. N384.2.)Coward boasts of what he would have done after danger is over Frightened by fireworks Boastful coward frightened when he sees strong adversaries. Hides in trousers of plowman who fights the men Fools try to frighten one another, but get scared themselves and both flee

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 Trickster joins bulrushes in a dance. He thinks they are dancing when he sees them waving Deceptive scratching contest Thief frightens owner from goods

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