μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

The old woman and her pig. Her pig will not jump over the stile so that she can go home. She appeals in vain for help until the cow gives her milk. The final formula is: cow give milk for cat; cat kill rat; rat gnaw rope; rope hang butcher; butcher kill ox; ox drink water; water quench fire; fire burn stick; stick beat dog; dog bite pig; pig jump over stile. (Various introductions.)

Miscellaneous groups of motifs. · Formulas. · Cumulative tales. · Chains with interdependent members. · view the constellation · filed as Z41

Filed across the traditions
  • Missouri French Carrière
  • Spanish Boggs FFC XC 155 Nos. 2030A, B, C, D
  • India *Thompson-Balys
  • Indonesia DeVries Volksverhalen I 364 No. 21
  • Africa (Benga) Nassau 200 No. 30, (Hottentot): Bleek 33 No. 17, (Gold Coast): Barker and Sinclair 177 No. 35, (Ila, Rhodesia): Smith and Dale II 392 No. 17, (Thonga): Junod 223
  • Jamaica Beckwith MAFLS XVII 286 No. 138.
  • general *Taylor JAFL XLVI 84 No. 2030
  • general *BP II 104, 108
  • general **Goebel Hdwb. d. Märchens s. v. "Birnli" I 256ff.
  • general *Emeneau JAFL LVI 272
  • general Clouston Tales I 289
  • general Köhler-Bolte I 136
  • general Parsons JAFL XXXIII 34
  • general Montet RTP VI 102
  • general *Fb "and" IV 12
Within the index

Filed under Chains with interdependent members.

9 finer motifs beneath it
Woman has meat (liver) stolen by bird. Recovery chain (similar to Z41) Crow must wash his bill in order to eat with other birds. Asks water; water must first have horn from stag, who must first have milk from cow, etc Conflict between fowl and thistle. Wind obeys and breaks the chain The mouse regains its tail. The cat bites off the mouse's tail and will return it in exchange for milk. The mouse goes to the cow for milk, the farmer for hay, the butcher for meat, the baker for bread. Other persons mentioned are the locksmith and the miner Lending and repaying: progressively worse (or better) bargain Bird's pea gets stuck in socket of mill-handle. She goes to carpenter, king, queen, who refuse to help. She asks snake to bite queen, stick to beat snake, fire to burn stick, etc. Final formula: cat eats mouse, mouse cuts plant creeper, creeper snares elephant, elephant drinks up sea, sea quenches fire, fire burns stick, stick beats snake, snake bites queen, queen speaks to king, king chides carpenter, carpenter cuts mill handle, and pea is extracted. Questions in rhyme The wormwood does not want to rock the sparrow. Final formula: the worms begin to gnaw the rods, the rods to beat the oxen, the oxen to drink the water, the water to quench the fire, the fire to burn the hunters, the hunters to shoot the wolves, the wolves to kill the goats, the goats to gnaw the wormwood, the wormwood to rock me – it rocked and rocked me to sleep Pulling the needle out of the seamstress's hand. Final formula: That was just what the cat was waiting for – it sprang to devour the mouse, the mouse to tear the spider's web, the spider to entangle the dog, the dog to eat the goat, the goat to gnaw the rushes, the rushes to grow in the stream, the stream to quench the fire, the fire to burn the stone, the stone to beat the axe, the axe soon pulled out the needle that was stuck in the seamstress's hand The lazy servant and the grain. "Lentils, lentils, get into my sack!" Final formula: the hungry hawk attacks the hens, the hens the worms, the worms the stick, the stick the ox, the ox runs to the water, the water attacks the fire, the fire the hunters, the hunters the wolf, the wolf the goat, the goat the willow, the willow the cat, the cat the mice, the mice the lentils, the lentils go whoosh whoosh into the sack
Filed beside it
Stronger and Strongest. The frost-bitten foot. Mouse perforates wall, wall resists wind, wind dissolves cloud, cloud covers sun, sun thaws frost, frost breaks foot The cock's whiskers. A mouse throws a nut down and hits the cock on the head. He also steals the cock's whiskers. The cock goes to get an old woman to cure him. The final formula is: Fountain give up water for forest, forest give up wood for baker, baker give up bread for dog, dog give up hairs to cure the cock. (Variant: mouse loses tail.) The house that Jack built. Final formula: This is the farmer that sowed the corn that fed the cock that crowed in the morn, that waked the priest all shaven and shorn, that married the man all tattered and torn, that kissed the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with a crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that caught the rat, that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built The Horseshoe Nail. For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for the want of a horse the rider was lost .... and all for the want of a horseshoe nail The climax of horrors. The magpie is dead? – Overate on horseflesh. – Horses dead? – Overworked at fire. – House burned down? – etc Series of trick exchanges Miscellaneous interdependent chains
Carried in tale types

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