The wise and the foolish

3,525 motifs · page 17 of 18

• Fool points out hiding place to evil spirits. J2367
• Inquisitive fool. J2370
• Children ask parents too difficult questions. Get no answers. J2370.1
• Absurd scientific speculations. J2371
• Scientific query: why does not the sea get larger when it rains in it and nothing flows out? J2371.1
• Scientific query: why does the sea stink when it is full of salt? J2371.2
• Scientific query: why don't rats stick their eyes out in the straw? J2371.3
• Scientific query: why don't the poor, being in the majority, kill off the rich? J2371.4
• The judge wants to know how the theft was committed. The witness tells. The judge: "You are wonderful; I have tried it thirty times and succeeded only once." J2372
• The tailless and earless ass. Just lain down to sleep, a man is awakened by a neighbor announcing that his she-ass has borne a young one without ears or tail. The man lies awake all night wondering how the ass will keep the harness on. J2373
• How the first man killed himself. The second fool imitates the first who leaps from a palm tree by means of a looped rope. The first kills himself. The second wants to see just how it happened and kills himself too. J2374
• Curiosity satisfied: riding the ox's horns. As his ox, who has enormous horns, is asleep, the fool gets on the horns. The ox wakes and throws him off. When he comes to his senses, the fool says, "I had a hard time, but my curiosity is satisfied." J2375
• Testing the evidence by experiment: biting the ear off. The accused pleads that the plaintiff bit his own ear off. The judge takes time for consideration, tries to bite his own ear, but falls down and breaks his head. J2376
• The philosophical watchman. A master sets his servant to keep watch over his horse at night. He soon asks the servant if he is asleep. "No, I was thinking of who created so many stars in the sky." The second time the servant answers, "No, I was thinking of who dug the sea. Where did he put the soil?" The third time: "I was wondering who would carry the saddle now that the horse is stolen." J2377
• What will the robber do? A man curious as to what a robber is going to do waits to intervene and goes back to sleep. J2378
• Question: did the man ever have a head? A man's head is snatched off by accident and his companions do not see what has happened. Debate: did he ever have a head? J2381
• How did the cow get on the pole? A fool hides his purse on a pole on a cliff. A rascal substitutes cow-dung for the money. The fool is interested only in how the cow could have reached the purse. J2382
• Pity for the poor Jews. On Good Friday an old woman who has heard the Passion Story exclaims, "How hard it was for the Jews who had to watch all night with Christ!" J2383
• How blind men get about. Fool experiments with shut eyes and gets lost. J2387
• Experiment in gravity. Which has greatest attraction to earth, cup or contents? Father shows great attraction of fool's back and a stick. J2391
• Foolish imitation. J2400
• Fatal imitation. (Cf. J2411.1, J2411.2, J2413.4.2, J2422.) J2401
• Types of foolish imitation. J2410
• Foolish imitation of miracle (magic). J2411
• Imitation of magic rejuvenation unsuccessful. (Cf. J2401.) J2411.1
• Foolish imitation of sham death and return (= resuscitation). J2411.1.1
• Unsuccessful imitation of a god: lions fall out of the furnace instead of men covered with gold and silver. J2411.1.2
• Imitation of miraculous horse-shoeing unsuccessful. Christ takes off a horse's foot to shoe it and then successfully replaces it. (Cf. J2401.) J2411.2
• Unsuccessful imitation of magic production of food. (Cf. J2425.) J2411.3
• Imitation of magician unsuccessful. Person does self injury. J2411.4
• Alleged return from land of dead with bags of gold persuades dupe to try to imitate. J2411.5
• Imitation of jumping into fire without injury: dupe burned up. J2411.6
• Sister of goddess tries to imitate her feat of being cooked without harm and dies in the attempt. J2411.6.1
• Imitation of magic production of garden and lake unsuccessful. J2411.7
• Unsuccessful imitation of magic sewing. J2411.8
• Obedient woman's pestle remains magically suspended in air. J2411.9
• Foolish imitation of healing. J2412
• Hot onion to the eye. A friend has cured his foot with this remedy. J2412.1
• Pulling out the eye so that the pain will cease. He has had a tooth pulled and the pain ceased. J2412.2
• Imitation of the prescription. A peasant envying a doctor's fee for giving him a plaster and predicting a son, poses as a doctor. He predicts a son for a eunuch and gives a plaster for heart disease. J2412.3
• Imitation of diagnosis by observation: ass's flesh. A doctor tells his patient that he has eaten too much chicken, and this the patient confesses. The doctor's son wants to know how the diagnosis was made. The doctor says that as he rode up he observed chicken feathers and made his conclusions. The son imitates. He sees an ass's saddle. Diagnosis: you have eaten too much ass's flesh. J2412.4
• Imitation of diagnosis by observation: stick under table. J2412.4.1
• Healing with the cherry tree. A man whose wife refuses to talk remembers that a priest drank black cherry juice whenever he lost his voice. He cannot get the cordial but concluding that a limb of the cherry tree will have the same effect beats his wife with is. She is cured. J2412.5
• Sick woman hung in well to cool off: drowned. Fool has cooled objects thus. J2412.6
• Foolish physician cauterizes "sick" cartwheel to stop it from creaking; burns it up instead. J2412.7
• Fool claims to cure goitre by striking. Has seen melon thus dislodged from camel's throat. (Cf. F952.3.1, F953.1.) J2412.8
• Foolish imitation by an animal. Tries to go beyond his powers. J2413
• Ass tries to caress his master like the dog. He is driven off. J2413.1
• Ass imitating dog brays so as to wake master when thieves are robbing him. Beaten for his pains. J2413.1.1
• Ass tries to jump on the roof like the ape. J2413.2
• Daw tries to carry off lamb like eagle. Is caught in the lamb's fleece. J2413.3
• Animal dupe cuts off limb. Thinks he is imitating another animal. J2413.4
• Fowl makes another animal believe that he has had his leg cut off. Says that he has received large pay. He has his leg hidden under his wing. The elephant (hippopotamus) cuts his off and bleeds to death. (Cf. J2401.) J2413.4.1
• Fowl makes another animal believe that he has had his neck cut off. He has his neck hidden under his wing. The hare cuts his off and dies. (Cf. J2401.) J2413.4.2
• Monkey cuts his throat, thinking that he is imitating the cobbler. J2413.4.3
• The dog imitates a wolf. Wants to kill a horse. He asks the cat: "Is my back bristled, etc." The horse kills him with a kick. (Cf. K1121.) J2413.5
• Monkey sneezes in king's presence like rabbit. Killed. J2413.6
• Crane tries to catch fish like hawk. Is mired at water's edge. J2413.7
• Jackal tries to roar like lion at elephant. Is killed. J2413.8
• Raven tries to imitate dove's step but breaks his bones. J2413.9
• Foolish imitation of lucky man. Because one man has had good luck a numskull imitates and thinks he will have equal luck. He is disappointed. J2415
• The two presents to the king: the beet and the horse. A farmer takes an extraordinary beet as present to the king and receives a large reward. His companion is eager for a reward and leads a handsome steed to the palace. The king rewards him with the beet. J2415.1
• The gift of the donkey. Ruler rewards the gift of a clever donkey. Greedy nobleman seeking a like reward sends ruler two donkeys in rich trappings. Ruler advises the donor that he is sorry that his gift will deprive him of worthy companionship. J2415.1.1
• The two presents to the king: two poems. A famous poet presented to the king some poems and was richly rewarded. Another poet likewise gave the king some poetry. The king gave him the first poet's verses. J2415.1.2
• Picking the louse and the flea. One man rewarded with forty crowns for picking louse from king's robe. Imitator given forty lashes for picking flea. J2415.2
• Crab tries to imitate bird who lays egg in pot of boiling water. Falls in instead of being rewarded. J2415.3
• Fairies help forgotten child, but strangle child trying to imitate good luck. J2415.4
• Ascetic imitates Brahmin's practices. Brahmin goes to heaven, ascetic to hell. J2415.5
• Pig sees goat return decked with ornaments and plenty of food; goes out and imitates trick played by goat but is beaten instead. J2415.6
• A snake for the real daughter. Stepdaughter, married to a snake, appears decorated with jewels. Stepmother desires a snake be procured for her daughter. She is swallowed instead. J2415.7
• Poor man foolishly imitates rich. J2416
• Foolish imitation of leader. J2417
• Company to sing like leader. When his foot is caught in a wheel, they keep repeating his call for help as a song. J2417.1
• To imitate the leader. He slips and all fall to floor. J2417.2
• Foolish imitation – miscellaneous. J2420
• The fool spits in the hot porridge. He has seen the smith spit on the hot iron. J2421
• The scythe cuts one man's head off. All have theirs cut off. J2422
• The eye-juggler. A trickster sees a man throwing his eyes into the air and replacing them. He also receives this power but he must not use the power beyond a specified number of times. When he does so, he loses his eyes. He usually gets animal eyes as substitutes. J2423
• The sharpened leg. A trickster sees a man with a sharpened leg. He also receives the power of sharpening his leg without harm if he will use it but four times. He breaks the tabu and is left with his leg sticking in a tree. J2424
• The bungling host. A trickster (animal) visits various animals who display their peculiar powers in obtaining food (often magic). He returns the invitation and tries to provide food in similar ways. He fails and usually has a narrow escape from death. (Cf. J2411.3.) J2425
• Numskull wants to be shaved too. He sees another man being shaved and thinks that the man is having his ears cut off. He orders his wife to cut off his ears. J2426
• Numskull praises his daughter as being pregnant. He tries in vain to sell his cow and succeeds only when he says that she is with calf. When suitors come wooing his daughter, he tries the same plan disastrously. J2427
• Numskull puts money into the exchange so as to participate in the business. He hears that great lords take a part in the business of the exchange where he sees great heaps of money. He throws down a penny and says, "You may like it or not, but I want money in the exchange, too." J2428
• A man undertakes to do his wife's work. All goes wrong. J2431
• Men exchange duties: each wants to get better of the other, but is cheated, finding the other's work more difficult. J2431.1
• Man saved from well by rope. Disastrous attempt to save him from tree in same way. J2434
• Protecting as the stork does. Man has had stork protect him from rain by covering him with his wing. Man tries to protect his wife from rain with his arm. J2442
• Literal fool. J2450
• Literal obedience. J2460
• Disastrous following of misunderstood instructions. (To burn land, then sow seed. Opposite done.) J2460.1
• What should I have done (said)? The mother teaches the boy (the man his wife) what he should say (do) in this or that circumstance. He uses the words in the most impossible cases and is always punished. J2461
• Literal following of instructions about actions. J2461.1
• Literal numskull drags jar (bacon) on string. He has sent a pig home alone. Told that he should have led it by a string. J2461.1.1
• Literal numskull is gay at a fire. He has wept at a wedding and been told to be gay. J2461.1.2
• Literal numskull sings entertaining songs on approach of death. J2461.1.2.1
• Literal numskull throws water on roasting pig. Told that he should have thrown water in the fire when the house burnt. J2461.1.3
• Literal numskull cuts peas into four parts. Told that he should have cut up the pancakes which he has eaten whole. J2461.1.4
• Literal fool is told to cook a few peas for five persons. Cooks five peas. Next time he is told to cook an abundance. Cooks half-bushel. J2461.1.4.1
• Literal fool puts three empty measures in pot. Told to put in three measures of rice to boil. J2461.1.4.2
• Literal fool strangles the hawk. On last trip he has lost the gloves and has been told that he should have put them in his bosom. He puts the hawk inside his shirt. J2461.1.5
• Literal fool carries the harrow in his hand. He has killed a sparrow by his stupidity and has been told that he should have carried it in his hand. J2461.1.6
• Numskull told to steal something heavy brings millstone. J2461.1.7
• Numskull as thief: tries to carry off grinding-stone when told by confederates to bring out heavy things. Told to bring shiny things; brings out looking glass. J2461.1.7.1
• Literal numskull destroys inherited property since his sister has instructions not to object to his actions. J2461.1.8
• Literal following of instructions about greetings. Numskull gives wrong greeting and is told how to give the correct one. When he tries it, however, the conditions are wrong. J2461.2
• Literal numskull kisses a pig. Told that he should have kissed the old woman. J2461.2.1
• Fool learns to repeat commonplace expressions: by chance thus scares off wife's suitors. J2461.2.2
• Literal numskull laughs at his child's death. J2461.3
• Master tells servant (sarcastically) to take a year to do errand. Servant stays away a year and then returns to claim salary. J2461.4
• Numskull told not to forget to get the handsel (a little token extra in the bargain); brings it but leaves what he has been sent to buy. J2461.5
• Literal fool: fool told to follow his nose in a journey, runs head against tree, climbs it. J2461.6
• To sell some cloth for four rupees. Fool refuses to take six rupees for it. J2461.7
• Asking favor when master is in good humor. Fool waits till master is laughing at servant's stupidity. J2461.8
• Numskull told to attract girl's attention by throwing pebble at her flings large stone which breaks her head. J2461.9
• Foolish bridegroom follows instructions literally. J2462
• The dog Parsley in the soup. The foolish bridegroom is told to put parsley in the soup. He throws in his dog, which is named Parsley. J2462.1
• Casting sheep's eyes at the bride. The foolish bridegroom is told to cast sheep's eyes at the bride. He buys some at the butcher shop and throws them at her. J2462.2
• Foolish husband puts out wife's eyes at night because he heard that a beautiful wife is an enemy. J2462.3
• The foolish bride. J2463
• Foolish bride gives away dowry. While her parents are away from home, a matchmaker and a suitor come to the foolish girl. By following her mother's advice literally, she gives away her dower to the tricksters. J2463.1
• Marrying a stranger. The girl shortly to be married complains: "It was all very well for you, mother, to marry father, but I am to marry a complete stranger." J2463.2
• The servant to improve on the master's statements. The wooer makes boasts to the girl and the servant always doubles the master's boast. Finally the master says, "I have poor eyesight." – The servant, "You don't see at all." (Or the master coughs and apologizes; the servant says that he coughs all night.) J2464
• Disastrous following of instructions. J2465
• Feeding the pigs wet meal. The wife throws the meal into the well and the pigs after it. J2465.1
• Watering the cow (by pouring water on it). J2465.1.1
• Piling up the pottery. The woman breaks the pots into fragments and piles them up. J2465.2
• Feeding the child. Fool feeds it steaming food and kills it. J2465.3
• Shoving the child. Numskulls, told to shove the boy along if he is lazy about weeding, do so with their weeding-knives and kill him. J2465.3.1
• Feeding mother. Fool stuffs and kills her. J2465.3.2
• Washing the child. Fool uses boiling water and kills it. J2465.4
• Heating water for woman to wash in. Boiling water poured over her. J2465.4.1
• Clearing out the room. Fool throws out all the furniture. J2465.5
• Washing the room. Fool floods it. J2465.6
• Oh bother! put it on my head! Numskulls asking old woman where to put grain obey and smother her. J2465.7
• Cutting at the plow. Literal fool told to cut at plow if it sticks on roots cuts at bullock's legs. J2465.8
• "Sew shirts for servants." Fool sews them to trees. J2465.9
• "Collect goats under tree." Fool piles up their carcasses. J2465.10
• Fool takes threat to child as an order. Cuts off child's ears. J2465.11
• Plowing above the tree. Told to plow above a certain tree (on the hillside), numskulls haul oxen and plow into tree and destroy them. J2465.12
• "Plowing out potatoes." Fool plows them out of ground. J2465.13
• Literal following of the count. J2466
• A pebble for each sin. A man cannot remember the number of his sins. The priest has him put a pebble in a sack for each of his sins. He comes to confession with three large sacks of pebbles. J2466.1
• The reckoning of the pot. A man counts the days of the fastmonth by throwing a pebble each day into a pot. His daughter throws a handful of pebbles in. Asked the day of the month, he says that it is the 125th. J2466.2
• The long day. If the clock is still striking it must be 50 o'clock. J2466.3
• Instructions followed literally – miscellaneous. J2469
• A lentil in the soup. You said you wished a lentil soup; so I put one in. If you had wished more lentils you should have said so. J2469.1
• Taking the prescription. The fool eats the paper with the prescription on it. J2469.2
• Dividing all they have. So advised, they cut their beds, houses, etc. in two. (Cf. M241.) J2469.3
• Man gives up half property. Slave cut in two. J2469.3.1
• Boy asked to do something to cool women's ears breaks vessels they carry so milk in them can cool their ears off. J2469.4
• Literal fool – something you have never experienced. J2469.5
• Literal fool feeds dogflesh to visitor to follow father's advice: "Feed him on food you have never eaten in your life." J2469.5.1
• Literal obedience: soldier breaks woman's oil pot in two with sword when she asks him to show her something she never has seen in life. J2469.5.2
• Metaphors literally interpreted. J2470
• "Taking a pattern (picture) of conduct" from other people. Fool steals a picture from the church. J2471
• "Skinning farmers". A master tells his servant that he is going to skin some farmers (i.e., cheat them). When a farmer inquires for a tanner, the servant directs him to his master. J2472
• Peasant opens his mouth. He tells his wife about the good things he gets to eat at the rich man's house. The wife says, "Open your mouth for me once so that I may get some too." The peasant gets up after the next large meal and opens his mouth to the astonishment of all present. J2473
• The hunter's mass. A count instructs his chaplain to read a hunter's mass (i.e., a short one). The chaplain searches the prayerbook in vain for a hunter's mass. J2474
• "Greasing the judge's palms." The woman puts butter on his hands. J2475
• The literal host: bread and salt. Guest finds that his host spoke literally when he invited him to share his bread and salt. Later, when the host threatens an importunate beggar, the guest advises the beggar to flee since the host means what he says. J2476
• Christ has too many debts. St. Peter is to give Christ to a woman as husband. She hears people say, when they are asked for money, "When Christ pays me, I will pay you." The woman says that Christ has too many debts. J2477
• The numskull buys water at market. He looks at bread. The merchant: "It is as good as butter." He decides on butter. The merchant: "It is as sweet as oil." He decides on oil. The merchant: "It is as clear as water." He decides on water. J2478
• The horse that went like a ship. Men have been assured that a horse will "go like a ship". When they spur the horse, it will not move. A man takes a pole and hits the horse. It goes. "See, it goes like a ship. It is started by a pole, not by spurs." J2481
• The fool is told that his son has given up the ghost. He wonders. He didn't know that the son had a ghost to give up. J2482
• The house without food or drink. A fool and his son meet women mourning a dead man. "He goes to the place where there is darkness and nothing to eat or drink." The son: "They must be coming to our house." J2483
• Father tells son that he has been scratched by "hairy rascals" (monkeys). Son attacks hairy ascetics. J2484
• What is behind you. Woman tells husband she has cooked what is behind him. He sees the door there and tries to cook it. J2485
• Numskull wants to see an abstract quality. J2488
• Numskull dragon wants to see courage. J2488.1
• Sultan tries to prove to Adversity he cannot be seized at specified time and hides in a sewer. He thus experiences adversity in his very effort to avoid it. J2488.2
• Metaphors literally interpreted – miscellaneous. J2489
• Fool interprets metaphors (or slang expressions) about drink. J2489.1
• "Keep locks of everyone in your hand" (keep control of them). Fool interprets literally. J2489.2
• "Bite the ear" (speak secretly). Fool interprets literally. J2489.3
• "Cutting the paper of the accounts" (falsifying accounts). Fool cuts up account books. J2489.4
• "Quieting the patient." Fool does so by killing. J2489.5
• Giving half of savings away: "Whoever gives charity gets double in return." J2489.6
• "Have a black look" (i.e., frown). Fool blackens face with charcoal. J2489.7
• "Cover with straw." Fool covers his mistress with straw and suffocates her. Should have thatched roof. J2489.8
• "Stick fast to everything you undertake." Foolish son seizes an ass by tail and gets kicked. J2489.9
• Payment with "something or other." Offered money, fools insist on "something or other." J2489.10
• "Don't allow paint to wear off my daughter's feet." Bridegroom carries her upside down across river and drowns her. (Cf. J2412.6.) J2489.11
• Making money. "Rupees make more rupees." Stupid peasant sticks his sole rupee in hole and loses it. J2489.12
• "Never show your head again." Jester soon appears with large pot over head. J2489.13
• Literal fool – miscellaneous. J2490
• Clothing the servant. The master is to clothe the servant (at his expense). The servant insists that his master shall put on his clothes for him. J2491
• Putting fear into him. A plaintiff insists that the judge shall put some fear into the defendant debtor. The judge puts his fingers over the eyes of the defendant and cries, "Boo! Now give him his money." J2492
• Names of dogs literally interpreted. The names are "The Shepherd" and "Get the stick". When the man calls his dogs to dinner, the thief thinks that he is telling the shepherd to get a stick. J2493
• Getting a box on the ears. The man, advised to cure his wife with a box on the ears, goes to the pharmacy and gets one. He cures his wife. J2494
• Religious words or exercises interpreted with absurd literalness. J2495
• Praying to the nearer virgin. One man prays to the Virgin of Aix-la-Chapelle. The other: "That place is too far away; she can't be here in time to help." He prays to the Virgin of a nearer town. J2495.1
• Debtors do not forgive. "The Lord's Prayer has little power. I forgive my debtors but my debtors do not forgive me." J2495.2
• Did not want to be Christ. An actor representing Christ in a Passion Play is beaten by Jews. He throws the cross down: "The devil may be God; I won't." J2495.3
• Peasants want a living God. An artist, ordered to make a crucifix, asks peasants if they want a living God. They say yes. "If we don't like him we can kill him ourselves." J2495.4
• Numskulls believing that God has reposed on a leaf want to cross river on one. J2495.5
• "I don't know" thought to be a person's name. A man in a country that cannot speak his language hears "I don't know" so frequently that he thinks it must be the name of the owner of all the places he inquires about. J2496
• Boy who worked for "nothing at all" goes to town and demands "nothing at all." (Cf. J2489.10.) J2496.1
• Misunderstandings because of lack of knowledge of a different language than one's own. J2496.2
• "Honey is sweet." A wayward son, asked by his mother to give her a sweet word, thus answers. J2497
• Repeating the ceremony. Fool told to repeat part of the ceremony at baptism persists absurdly in repeating every remark. J2498