μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Bungling fool has succession of accidents.

The wise and the foolish. · Fools (and other unwise persons). · Bungling fool. · Bungling fool. · view the constellation · filed as J2661

Filed across the traditions
  • Irish myth Cross
  • India *Thompson-Balys.
Within the index

Filed under Bungling fool.

4 finer motifs beneath it
The fool accidentally kills his child and loses the body The fool seeks a midwife. Accidentally strikes the dog dead, drowns the midwife, and kills the child One woman to catch squirrel; the other to get the cooking pot. One falls from the tree and kills herself; the other breaks the pot The boy's disasters. Foolishly kills his horse and throws his axe into the lake to kill a duck. Undresses to recover axe. Clothes stolen. Goes into barrel of tar to hide. In tar and feathers
Filed beside it
Sent back for the rest of the money. A fool finds a treasure and takes some of it to a judge so as to purchase influence. The judge sends him back for the rest The awkward servant The bungling speaker The fool testifies: "I had been drinking and was lying on the bench asleep. I saw him hit him over the head with an axe but don't know whether he hit him or not." The fool betrays his brothers. They escape but he is captured and stupidly betrays their hiding places The forgetful fool The stolen bedcover. A man hears a noise outside the house at night. He wraps a bed cover about him and goes to investigate. The robbers take the bed cover and flee. The wife asks what the debate was about. "About the bed cover. When they got it, the quarrel was over." Bungling rescuer caught by crab. He tries to rescue woman caught by crab. Is caught himself and found in embarrassing position Buyer draws picture of grindstone on his order list. The grocer sends him a cheese. The buyer has forgotten to draw the hole

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