μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Fly frightens snake; snake frightens rats; rats frighten monkey, etc.

Miscellaneous groups of motifs. · Formulas. · Cumulative tales. · Chains with interdependent members. · view the constellation · filed as Z43.4

Filed across the traditions
  • Africa (Cameroon) Mansfield 228, (Fang): Tessman 79ff., (Duala): Lederbogen Märchen 124, (Swahili): Steere 287ff.
Within the index

Filed under 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.)

Filed beside it
Toad asks magpie in tree to throw down a chestnut. Magpie refuses, saying it might break its beak. Toad promises, if that happens, to get a horsehair to tie it up again. Magpie throws chestnut and breaks beak. Toad asks ass for hair, but ass first demands grass; mower demands sheep; shepherd, pup; mother dog, bread; baker, stumps. Toad cuts the stumps and gets the hair The cock strikes out the hen's eye with a nut. The cock blames the hazel bush for tearing its knickers, the hazel bush the goat for gnawing at it, the goat the shepherd-boy for not tending it, the boy his mistress for not baking him a bun, the mistress the pig for eating up the dough, the pig the wolf for killing its young Nut hits cock in head: he thinks world is coming to an end. He sends the hen to tell the duck, the duck to tell the goose, etc. Final formula: – Fox, who told you? – Hare. – Hare, who told you? – Goose. – etc. For sequel see Type 20C. Sometimes the animals have queer names (cf. Z53) Boy changes self to nut; fowl eats nut; bush cat eats fowl; dog eats cat; dog swallowed by python Man invites animals to come and work in his field. Rooster kills beetle; cat kills rooster; dog kills cat; leopard kills dog; hyena kills leopard; buffalo kills hyena; elephant kills buffalo, and lion chases elephant so that both fall into trap. Man calls wives to see meat he has killed

ask the rhapsode about this motif · search the shelf for “frightens” · wander