Reversal of fortune

318 motifs · page 2 of 2

• Mouse runs into buffalo's ear and overcomes him. L315.1.1
• Mouse torments bull who cannot catch him. L315.2
• Fox burns tree in which eagle has nest. Revenges theft of cub. L315.3
• Mother ape burns bear. Revenges theft of her young. L315.4
• Lark causes elephant to fall over precipice. L315.5
• Elephant killed by mouse who runs up open end of trunk to head and there smears poison over his brain. L315.5.1
• Insects worry large animal to despair or death. L315.6
• Dungbeetle keeps destroying eagle's eggs. Eagle at last goes to the sky and lays eggs in Zeus's lap. The dungbeetle causes Zeus to shake his apron and break the eggs. L315.7
• Fish pricks monster with fins and defeats him. L315.8
• Falcon attacks eagle repeatedly and defeats him. L315.9
• Mice overcome camel. L315.10
• Lizard defeats leopard. L315.11
• Rabbit slays rhinoceros. L315.12
• Hedgehog defeats tiger by jumping into tiger's mouth and tormenting him. L315.13
• Ants overcome serpent. L315.14
• Small animals dupe larger into trap. L315.15
• Offended rats gnaw saddle girths of king's horses so that he is defeated in battle. L316
• Mice win war with woodcutters. L318
• Easy escape of weak (small). L330
• Little fishes escape from the net. The large are caught. L331
• Mice escape into their holes; weasels cannot follow them. L332
• Hummingbird can see fowler's net; eagle is caught in spite of his boasts of good eyesight. L333
• Mildness triumphs over violence. L350
• Mildness triumphs over violence: queen advises husband to use kindness to enemies. This wins them over where war failed. L350.1
• Saint uses kind words to pagan priest who has just smitten a Christian. This causes pagan to repent. Conversion follows. L350.2
• Contest of wind and sun. Sun by warmth causes traveler to remove coat, while wind by violent blowing causes him to pull it closer around him. L351
• Contest between wind (rain) and sun. Rain also tries unsuccessfully like wind. L351.1
• Sun cursed by man for its burning rays, wind for its hot breath, but moon is blessed for its soft, cool, and beautiful light. L351.2
• Mild brother triumphs over warlike. Survives him and inherits property. L353
• Priest who gives mild penances succeeds where others fail. L361
• Goldsmith gives money to one who addressed him as friend (the goldsmith had no friends because he has cheated everybody). L363
• Triumph of the weak – miscellaneous. L390
• Needle kills an elk. Slips into his stomach. L391
• Reed pricks and drives away dog that urinates on it. L391.1
• Mouse stronger than wall, wind, mountain. L392
• Mosquitoes sting King Pharaoh and show they are stronger than the man who cannot escape them. L392.1
• Only love to offer. Bride asks suitors what they have to offer her. Poor youth who has nothing but love to offer gets her. L393
• Slow flying swan lasts longer than speedy crow in flying. L394
• Frog, tortoise, fish each tell of how long they expect to live. Frog alone does not expect to live to a hundred and ten years and alone escapes fisherman's net. L395
• Pride brought low. L400
• Proud ruler (deity) humbled. L410
• Proud king humbled: realizes that pomp, possessions, power are all of short duration. L410.1
• King, defeated in battle, obliged to flee without money. L410.2
• Boasting king insulted by crow dropping filth on him. L410.3
• Defeated king must be peddler or beggar. L410.4
• King overthrown and made servant. L410.5
• Ruler enslaved. L410.6
• Queen forced to become a courtesan. L410.7
• Proud king displaced by angel. (King in the bath.) While the king is in the bath (or hunting) an angel in his form takes his place. The king is repulsed on all sides until he repents of his haughtiness. L411
• Rich man made poor to punish pride. He boasts that God has no power to make him poor. While he is at church, his property burns and he returns home poor. L412
• Woman casts ring into sea boasting that it is as impossible for her to become poor as for the ring to be found. Ring is found in fish: she becomes poor. L412.1
• Proud inscriptions sole remains of powerful king. L413
• King vainly forbids tide to rise. (Canute.) L414
• King vainly attempts to measure the height of the sky and the depth of the sea. L414.1
• God punishes David for his pride in the number of his subjects. An angel is sent to kill his people. Desists only when David repents. L415
• King commanded to wear enemy's shoes on his shoulders as sign of submission. L416
• Proud king humbled when imprisoned by enemies. L416.1
• God finds that his statue sells at low price. He prices it in a statue shop and finds that his price is lower than other gods. L417
• King shown he is less powerful than God. In spite of all his plans, his servant recovers the lost (exchanged) treasure. L418
• Proud ruler (deity) humbled – miscellaneous. L419
• Goose boasts superiority to mushroom. Both served up at same meal. L419.1
• King (prince) becomes beggar. L419.2
• Overweening ambition punished. L420
• Overweening ambition punished. Man sets self up as a god. L420.0.1
• Attempt to fly to heaven punished. Car supported by eagles. L421
• Attempt to climb to heaven punished. L421.1
• Peter acts as God for a day: tires of bargain. A girl takes her goat to pasture and leaves him: "My God care for you!" Peter must run everywhere after the goat. L423
• Man who has never known unhappiness or want is swallowed up by earth with all his household. L424
• Dream (prophecy) of future greatness causes banishment (imprisonment). L425
• Poor man aspires to high office: made a cook. L427
• Arrogance repaid. L430
• Arrogant mistress repaid in kind by her lover. L431
• Haughty mistress makes extravagant demands of lover: repaid. (Glove and the Lion.) L431.1
• Scorned lover poses as rich man and cheats his scornful mistress. L431.2
• Sneering princess is impregnated by magic. L431.3
• Impoverished husband begs from wife's new husband. He has formerly refused this man charity. L432
• Cruel brothers brought to beg charity from abused sister. L432.1
• Impoverished father begs from daughter he has banished: recognized. L432.2
• Impoverished father begs from his prosperous daughter whom he has made to marry a poor man. L432.2.1
• Impoverished husband begs from wife he has formerly expelled. L432.3
• Impoverished youngest brother comes to elders in search of work. L432.4
• Arrogant farmer allows none to ride his precious horse without permission. He kills the man who does it, but is in revenge deprived of most of his goods. L434
• Self-righteousness punished. L435
• Self-righteous hermit must do penance. He has said of a condemned man that he deserves his punishment. L435.1
• Self-righteous monk rebuked by abbot. Abbot tells him to search his own heart to see if he is free of sin before attacking others. L435.1.1
• Self-righteous woman punished. She has passed judgment on a girl who has a bastard. L435.2
• Woman with three hundred sixty-five children. Punished for self-righteous condemnation of unchaste girl. L435.2.1
• Self-righteous tailor in heaven expelled. Throws God's footstool at an old woman thief on earth. L435.3
• The beggar on the cross in place of Christ. Is made to leave the cross for his impatience concerning the sinners. L435.4
• Proud animal less fortunate than humble. L450
• Wild animal finds his liberty better than tame animal's ease. L451
• Tame bird and wild bird. The tame bird tells the wild one to look about him. He is shot. L451.1
• Wild ass envies tame ass until he sees his burdens. L451.2
• Wolf prefers liberty and hunger to dog's servitude and plenty. L451.3
• Parrot prefers cold wet nest in freedom to luxury in royal palace. L451.4
• Ass is jealous of the horse until he learns better. L452
• Ass jealous of horse, but sees horse later working in a mill. L452.1
• Ass jealous of war-horse until he sees him wounded. L452.2
• Mule carrying corn escapes while one carrying gold is robbed. L453
• Lean dogs envy arena-dog his fatness. Later see their error. L455
• Calf pities draft ox: is taken to slaughter, ox spared. L456
• Pride brought low – miscellaneous. L460
• Stag scorns his legs but is proud of his horns. Caught by his horns in trees. L461
• Fox destroys nest of bird who boasts of nest's warmth. L462
• The mule's double ancestry. When well fed says, "My mother was a thoroughbred horse." Later, hard worked, says, "My father was a miserable ass." L465
• The man scorns the storm: killed by it. L471
• Zeus smites Capaneus while he is climbing a ladder. L472
• Pride or wealth of man brought low by actions of gods. L473
• Oil lamp blown out: had thought that it outshone stars. L475
• Jackal singing about his deeds falls down from tree and is eaten by alligator. L476
• Gnats having overcome lion are in turn killed by spider. L478
• Men too prosperous (happy): things are made more difficult. L482
• Men are too rich: greedy gods created to impoverish them. L482.1
• Men are too rich: gold sent below ground. L482.1.1
• Men are too rich: weeds created to spoil their harvests. L482.2
• Men are too proud: snakes created. L482.3
• Men are fearless: tiger made to frighten them. L482.4
• Men enjoy themselves too much: disease created. L482.5