Deceptions

3,871 motifs · page 1 of 20

• Contest won by deception – general. K0
• Contest won by magic. K1
• Magic animal wins contest for man. K1.1
• Magic bullock wins fight for master. K1.1.1
• Animals help man in contest. K2
• Fortune to go to direction cat jumps. King will give wealth to person toward whom the cat jumps. Clever woman has brought mouse along and thus entices the cat. K2.1
• Substitute in contest. K3
• Relative substitutes in contest. K3.1
• Young knight substitutes for old man in tournament. K3.2
• Supernatural substitute in tournament for pious warrior. K3.2.1
• Woman substitutes for husband in combat. K3.3
• Wise man disguised as monk beats learned heretic in debate. K3.4
• Contest with magician won by deception. K5
• Athletic contest won by deception. K10
• Race won by deception. K11
• Man challenges devil to race. Cheats him. K11.0.1
• Race won by deception: relative helpers. One of the contestants places his relatives (or others that resemble him) in the line of the race. The opponent always thinks the trickster is just ahead of him. (Told of animals or of men; often of the hare and the turtle.) K11.1
• Race won by deception: riding on the back. One contestant rides on the other's back. (Cf. K25.1.) K11.2
• Hare and tortoise race: sleeping hare. In a race between the fast and the slow animal, the fast animal sleeps on the road and allows the slow animal to pass him. K11.3
• Race won by deception: chariot disabled. A rival in a chariot race inserts linchpins of wax instead of those of bronze in the hero's chariot. The latter is dragged to death. K11.4
• Race won by deception: sham-sick trickster. The trickster feigns lameness and receives a handicap in the race. He then returns and eats up the food which is the prize. K11.5
• Race won by deception: rabbit as "little son" substitute. A man challenged by an ogre to a running race persuades the ogre to race with his little son instead. By this he means a rabbit. (Cf. K12.2, K15.1.) K11.6
• Race won by deception: blinding opponent by spitting pepper into face. K11.7
• Race won by deception: bow and arrow. Certain goal to be touched. Man shoots arrow and wins. K11.8
• Obstacle race between deer and hare. Hare accused of removing obstacles from his course. K11.9
• Wrestling match won by deception. K12
• Wrestling match won by deception: where to throw the ogre. The ogre squeezes the man so that his eyes bulge out. The ogre: "Why do you glare so?" – "I am looking to see where to throw you." The ogre flees (Cf. K18.1.) K12.1
• Wrestling match won by deception: bear as "grandfather." A man challenged by an ogre persuades the latter to wrestle with his old grandfather instead. By this he means a bear. (Cf. K11.6, K15.1.) K12.2
• Wrestling match: Antaeus. Giant invincible in wrestling because with each contact with earth his strength is renewed. K12.3
• Wrestling match of man with fever. Man places stone image at wrestling-place; fever enters image and shatters it. K12.4
• Wrestling between porcupine and deer. Deer defeated but always pleads illness. K12.5
• Boxing match: fatal boxer defeated. All comers are challenged and all are killed until the hero defeats the challenger. (Argonauts and Amycus.) K13
• Rowing contest won by deception. The boat is already sawed through. K14
• Rowing contest won by deception: magic boat. K14.1
• Climbing match won by deception. K15
• Climbing match won by deception: squirrel as "child". The ogre agrees to contest against the man's young one, i.e., a squirrel. (Cf. K11.6, K12.2.) K15.1
• Diving match won by deception. K16
• Diving match won by deception: breathing under brush. Trickster comes up and breathes under some floating brush, where he is not detected. K16.1
• Diving match: trickster eats food while dupe is under water. K16.2
• Jumping contest won by deception. K17
• Contest: jumping into the ground. A hole is already dug and covered with boughs. K17.1
• Contest: who can go deepest into the earth? Wren goes into mouse hole. K17.1.1
• Contest in jumping from the church tower. The devil is not to look behind him. The man runs downstairs (or otherwise cheats). K17.2
• Contest in jumping into a trap. K17.3
• Jumping frog contest. Frog filled with shot. K17.4
• Throwing contest won by deception. K18
• Throwing contest: trickster shouts. He is trying to warn the people beyond the sea with his cry. The ogre is intimidated. (Cf. K12.1.) K18.1
• Throwing contest: trickster addresses Angel Gabriel. Offers him the ogre's cane. The ogre is intimidated. K18.1.1
• Throwing contest: trickster addresses Angel Gabriel or St. Peter, warns him to get out of way of missile trickster is about to throw. K18.1.2
• Throwing contest: golden club on the cloud. Trickster shows the ogre the club he has thrown. (Really only a bright spot on the cloud.) (Cf. K1746.) K18.2
• Throwing contest: bird substituted for stone. The ogre throws a stone; the hero a bird which flies out of sight. K18.3
• Deceptive tug-of-war. Small animal challenges two large animals to a tug-of-war. Arranges it so that they unwittingly pull against each other (or one end of rope is tied to a tree). K22
• Deceptive shinny match. K23
• Deception in swinging contest. K24
• Flying contest won by deception. K25
• Flying contest won by deception: riding on the other. Wren hides in eagle's wings. (Cf. K11.2.) K25.1
• Contest in flying with load. One animal chooses cotton; the other, seeing that a rain is coming, chooses salt and wins. K25.2
• Blowing contest won by deception. K26
• Riding contest won by substitution. K27
• Tournament won by deception on borrowed horse. K28
• Hunting contest won by deception. K30
• Shooting contest won by deception. K31
• Contest: shooting an unheard-of bird. The man sends his wife on all fours in tar and feathers. The ogre has never heard of such a bird. K31.1
• Shooting test won by deception: proof of good sight. A man puts a dead hare under a tree and shows it to his dog. He tells people to look at the hare under the tree. At the distance no one can see it. He tells them that he will shoot it. He shoots and has his dog bring the hare. K31.2
• Shooting contest won by deception: bird substituted for arrows. K31.3
• Trapping contest won by deception. K32
• Harpooning contest won by deception. K33
• Labor contest won by deception. K40
• Plowing contest. K41
• Plowing contest won by deception: hare exchanged for horse. God and the devil contest in plowing. The devil plows with a horse, God with a hare. While the devil is asleep, God takes the devil's horse and plows the field. When he wakes, the devil thinks the hare has plowed so much and gladly trades his horse for the hare. K41.1
• Pig and dog as plowmen. Pig plows while dog sleeps. Then dog runs back and forth in furrow to claim victory. K41.2
• Harvesting contest. K42
• Contest: harvesting the hay. The man calls out, "The wolves are coming!" The ogre is intimidated. K42.0.1
• Threshing contest. K42.1
• Mowing contest won by trickery. The man takes the center of the field. The ogre is given a dull sickle and mows around the outside of the field. K42.2
• God cheats devil at mowing. God mows with a chisel, the devil with a scythe. God deceives devil into changing scythe for chisel. K42.2.1
• Deceptive contest in chopping. K44
• Deceptive contest in chopping: iron in bamboo. Hero challenged to cut down bundles of bamboo suspended in air but a strip of iron is treacherously inserted in each. K44.1
• Tree-pulling contest. K46
• Sewing contest won by deception. K47
• Sewing contest won by deception: the long thread. The ogre sews with the whole length of the thread. When he returns from the first stitch, the tailor has his task finished. K47.1
• Contest in bridge-building won by deception. K48
• Endurance contest won by deception. K50
• Waking contest won by deception. K51
• Waking contest won by giving opponent soporific. K51.1
• Contest in seeing sunrise first. K52
• Contest in seeing sunrise first: sun on the trees. The fox places himself on a hill facing the east; the hog in a lower place facing the high trees to the west. The sun shines on the top of the trees, and the hog wins. (Sometimes told with human actors.) K52.1
• Contest in seeing sunrise first: sleeper wins. One keeps awake, the other sleeps. The first thinks that he sees the sun and cries out prematurely, thus waking the other, who wins. K52.2
• Deceptive contest in fasting. K53
• Absurd contest won by deception. K60
• Contest in pushing hole in tree: hole prepared beforehand. Hero and ogre to vie in pushing a hole in a tree with their heads. K61
• Contest in squeezing water from a stone. The ogre squeezes a stone; the trickster a cheese or egg. K62
• Contest in biting a stone. The ogre bites a stone; the man a nut. K63
• Hero to eat iron grains. Substitutes soft food. K63.1
• Contest: pulling on steak with teeth. Two men take an end of a steak in their teeth; each attempts to pull it away from the other. After each has a good hold, the Irishman says (with clenched teeth) "Noo're ready?" The Dutchman says, "Yah!", loses the steak. (Cf. K22, K561.1.) K64
• Dream contests. K66
• Absurd contest won by deception – miscellaneous. K69
• Contest with magician in bringing grain out of closed bamboo: trickster brings culm-borers to make holes. K69.1
• Contest in strength won by deception. K70
• Deceptive contest in carrying a tree: riding. The trickster has the dupe carry the branches of a tree while he carries the trunk. He rides on the trunk. K71
• Deceptive contest in carrying a horse. The ogre carries it on his back and soon tires; the man carries it between his legs (rides). K72
• Deceptive contest in squeezing hands. The man has an iron glove on. K73
• Deceptive contest in pulling fingers. The man has an iron finger. K74
• Contests in other physical accomplishments won by deception. K80
• Deceptive eating contest. K81
• Deceptive eating contest: hole in bag. The hero slips his food into a bag and makes the ogre believe that he is the greater eater. (In many versions the hero cuts open the bag; the ogre imitates and kills himself.) (Cf. K82.1.) K81.1
• Deceptive eating contest: relative helpers. Trickster wins with the aid of substitutes. (Cf. K82.2.) K81.2
• Deceptive eating contest: inexhaustible food. Hero can produce unlimited food which opponents must eat. K81.3
• Contest: who will eat least. Food secretly furnished one, but plan detected and foiled. K81.4
• Deceptive drinking contest. K82
• Deceptive drinking contest: hole for water. The trickster lets the water run out through a hole; the dupe drinks himself to death. (Cf. K81.1.) K82.1
• Deceptive drinking contest: rising and falling tide. Buffalo and heron wager as to which can drink the sea until the water falls. The buffalo drinks as the tide is coming in; the heron drinks in the falling tide and wins. K82.1.1
• Attempted intoxication avoided by boring a hole in the bottom of cup. K82.1.2
• Deceptive drinking contest: relative helpers. (Cf. K81.2.) K82.2
• Deceptive contest in drinking whisky. The man drinks water, the devil is given vinegar. K82.3
• Deceptive drinking contest: pretended swallowing. One bullock keeps mouth in water. Other drinks self to death. K82.4
• Deceptive scratching contest. K83
• Scratching contest: man's wife shows wounds. The man sends his wife to meet the ogre with whom he is to have a scratching contest. She tells the ogre that her husband has gone to have his nails sharpened. She shows him deep wounds that her husband has scratched on her body (obscene). The ogre leaves in terror. K83.1
• Scratching contest with devil: man's wife shows scratches in her oak table. K83.1.1
• Contest in scratching skin off each other: covering self with several ox-hides. K83.2
• Deceptive vocal contests. K84
• Contest in shrieking or whistling. K84.1
• Contest in seeing. K85
• Contest in hearing. K86
• Deceptive laughing contest. K87
• Laughing contest: dead horse winner. The ogre tries to laugh as long as the dead horse with a grinning mouth. Laughs till he dies. K87.1
• Other contests won by deception. K90
• Cursing contest. Arrow sent as a curse. K91
• Gambling contest won by deception. K92
• Gambling contest: coin which attracts fly first to win. Winning coin had been rubbed on a pear. K92.1
• Game won with loaded dice. K92.2
• Girl distracts opponent's attention so that gambling lover wins. K92.3
• Finger-drying contest won by deception. Three daughters are to wet hands; the first to have hands dry is to be the first to marry. The youngest waves her hands, exclaiming, "I don't want a man!" She wins. K95
• Duel won by deception. K97
• Boar in duel with tiger cakes mud on body: defeats tiger. K97.1
• Combat won by means of substituted weapons. K97.2
• Beauty contest won by deception. K98
• Beauty contest won by deception: other contestants covered with leaves. K98.1
• Deceptive bargains. K100
• Sale of pseudo-magic objects. K110
• Pseudo-magic treasure-producing objects sold. K111
• Alleged gold-dropping animal sold. K111.1
• Alleged bill-paying hat sold. K111.2
• Pseudo-magic wealth-providing bag sold. K111.3
• Pseudo-magic formula for making gold sold to king. Gold required for its manufacture carried off by manufacturer. K111.4
• Pseudo-magic food-producing object sold. K112
• Alleged self-cooking kettle sold. K112.1
• "Soup stone" sold. It needs only the addition of a few vegetables and a bit of meat. K112.2
• Alleged soup-making pot sold. It already has the ingredients in it. K112.2.1
• Sale of pseudo-magic cake tree. K112.3
• Pseudo-magic resuscitating object sold. Dupe kills his wife (mother) and is unable to resuscitate her. K113
• Seven devils' wives imitate ritual of death and resuscitation done over hero; not having the real water of life and death, the seven enemy devils are killed. K113.0.1
• Alleged resuscitating bone sold. (Cf. D1013.) K113.1
• Alleged resuscitating whistle sold. (Cf. D1225). K113.2
• Alleged resuscitating book sold. (Cf. D1266.) K113.3
• Alleged resuscitating wand sold. (Cf. D1254.1.) K113.4
• Alleged resuscitating fiddle sold. (Cf. D1233.) K113.5
• Alleged resuscitating knife sold. (Cf. D1083.) K113.6
• Alleged resuscitating horn sold. K113.7
• Alleged resuscitating bugle sold. K113.8
• Pseudo-magic oracular object sold. K114
• Alleged oracular cow-hide sold. K114.1
• Alleged oracular horse-hide sold. K114.1.1
• Alleged oracular bird-skin sold. K114.2
• Alleged oracular pill sold. K114.3
• Virtue of oracular pill proved. The dupe takes it. "It is dog's dung," he says and spits it out. The trickster says that he is telling the truth and demands pay. K114.3.1
• Sale of alleged oracular bamboo cup. K114.4
• Pseudo-magic healing objects sold. K115
• Alleged healing letter sold. Woman sold a letter to wear around her neck which will prevent eye trouble. It helps only so long as she believes in it. K115.1
• Alleged healing letter (charm) sold: to aid in childbirth. Actually works. When opened it contains nonsense. K115.1.1
• Pseudo-magic letter is found to contain insulting remarks. K115.1.2
• Pseudo-magic charm (letter): to ward off plague. Obscene contents. K115.1.3
• Pseudo-magic letter (charm): to aid in engendering offspring. Obscene contents. K115.1.4
• Alleged healing stone sold. A sailor boy sells a seasick Jew "Babylon stones" as a cure. They are pieces of coal. K115.2
• Pseudo-magic potion: to induce pregnancy. Found to contain snake's eggs. K115.3
• Alleged rejuvenating object sold. (Cf. D1338.) K116
• Betrayal through pretended fountain of youth. K116.1
• Alleged rejuvenating stick sold. K116.2
• Alleged inexhaustible vessel sold. K117
• Alleged inexhaustible bottle sold. K117.1
• Sale of tree with alleged magic fruit. K118
• Sale of tree alleged to produce clothes. K118.1
• Sale of other pseudo-magic objects. K119
• Alleged automatic object sold. K119.1
• Fishing-rod alleged to take fish to fisherman's home. K119.1.1
• Sale of reputed self-operating sickle. K119.1.2
• Pseudo-magic acorns: to protect holder's pigs. K119.2
• Sale of false treasure. K120
• Lime (ashes) sold as gold. K121
• Sale of gilded mudcakes. K122
• Sale of gilded (plated) ware as gold or silver. K123
• Trickster, as watchman, exchanges worthless bag for bag of gold at night. K126
• Sale of worthless animals. K130
• Animal sold as messenger. K131
• Rabbit sold as letter-carrier. Alleged to be a swift deliverer of letters. K131.1
• Alleged speaking hare sold as messenger. K131.1.1
• Bird sold as messenger. K131.2
• Wolf sold as a goat (sheep). K132
• Wild animal sold as watch-dog. K133
• Wolf sold as watch-dog. K133.1