μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Man with stolen fig in his mouth submits to having cheek lanced rather than open his mouth. (Cf. J1842.2.)

Traits of character. · Unfavorable traits of character. · Unfavorable traits of character – personal. · view the constellation · filed as W111.5.8

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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 (W111.7).
Within the index

Filed under Other lazy persons.

1 finer motif beneath it
Man is so lazy that he starves rather than open his mouth for food to fall in when it falls from trees
Filed beside it
Lazy mother given shoes of cotton; son knows that she will not wear them outLazy girl does not know where the spring isLazy man asked direction only points with his footLazy dog wakes only for his mealsMan in mud too lazy to take hand extended to help him upLazy son-in-law: afraid of a dogRuler is too lazy to stop quarrels. They lead to his deathLearning a trade in bed. Working independently, the lazy fellow spoils the materials received – starts making something big, which at the end turns to nothing. For example, begins with forging a plough: this becomes an axe, the axe a knife, and knife a needle, the needle – nothing. (Cf. J2080.)Lazy man asks if wood is split before he accepts it as a giftLazy man misses seeing the sheriff's funeral; he is facing the wrong way as the procession passesMan digs three potatoes in one day: one dug, one being dug, one about to be dugMan weeds garden from cushioned rocking chair, using fire tongs to reach weeds
Travels with
Fool cannot answer as his mouth is full; thought to have an abscess in cheeks, allows them to be cut open

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