Chance and fate

1,013 motifs · page 1 of 6

• Wagers and gambling. N0
• Gamblers. N1
• Gambling caused by possession of men by evil demons. N1.0.1
• Hero makes fortune through gambling. N1.1
• Conquering gambler. Bankrupt gambler gets supernatural power and wins back his fortune. N1.2
• The miracle of broken die at gambling saves man. N1.2.1
• Dice made from bones from graveyard. N1.2.2
• Betting contest between two kings. N1.3
• Extraordinary stakes at gambling. N2
• Play for unnamed stakes. N2.0.1
• Stakes not claimed by winner, who insists on another game. N2.0.2
• Own body as stake: to be taken as slave. N2.1
• Lives wagered. N2.2
• Bodily members wagered. N2.3
• Head wagered. N2.3.1
• Hand wagered. To be cut off. N2.3.2
• Hands and feet wagered. N2.3.2.1
• Eyes wagered. N2.3.3
• Nose wagered. N2.3.4
• Intestines wagered. N2.3.5
• Helpful animals lost in wager. N2.4
• Whole kingdom (all property) as wager. N2.5
• Right of succession to the throne lost in gambling. N2.5.1
• Half kingdom as wager. N2.5.2
• Wife as wager. N2.6
• Sister as wager. N2.6.1
• Daughter as wager. N2.6.2
• Damsel as wager. N2.6.3
• Love wagered in game. N2.7
• Supernatural adversary in gambling (witch or giant). N3
• Gambling with a god. N3.1
• Devil as gambler. N4
• Devil cheated at card playing. N4.0.1
• Devil makes wager with builder of Cologne Cathedral. N4.1
• Playing game of chance (or skill) with uncanny being. N4.2
• Card-playing parson. The parson plays cards all Saturday night, goes to sleep at church, and calls out the names of the cards. N5
• Luck in gambling. N6
• Luck in gambling from compact with devil. N6.1
• Cuckold loses luck. A man's wife is deceived in order that he may lose in gambling. N6.2
• Saint helps gambler. N6.3
• Trained rat upsets pieces in gambling game: trained (or transformed) cat chases it away. N7
• Gambler's attention distracted by women. N8
• Wagers and gambling – miscellaneous. N9
• Gambler loses everything. (Cf. N2.5.) N9.1
• Wagers on wives, husbands, or servants. N10
• Wager on wife's complacency. Though the man has foolishly bargained everything away, she praises him and he wins the wager. N11
• Wager on the most obedient wife. The husband tames his shrewish wife so that he wins the wager. N12
• Wager: raja's daughter will bring servant dinner in field. Merchant ignorant that she is his wife. N12.1
• Husbands wager that they will be able to do what wives tell them to do. One is told to drown himself: loses wager. N13
• Chastity wager. A man makes a wager on his wife's chastity. In spite of unsuccessful attempts to seduce her and of false proofs presented, he wins the wager. N15
• Chastity wager: woman succumbs. N15.1
• Wager on nun's chastity. N15.2
• Wagers on unborn children. N16
• Wager on sex of unborn child. N16.1
• Fathers whose unborn children are affianced wager as to mastery in the house. (Cf. N12.) N16.2
• Wager on truthfulness of servant. The servant is sent to a neighbor's where he is made drunk and is seduced by the neighbor's wife. He tells the master all. N25
• Other wagers. N50
• Wager: who can call three tree names first. The bear names different varieties of the same tree, so that the fox wins the wager. N51
• Wager about tree names: learned and common names. Brahmin gives learned names but servant's common names are confirmed by illiterate peasants. N51.1
• Wager: it is an auspicious day. In spite of all misfortunes wagerer insists that he is right. (Cf. N127.) N53
• Shooting contest on wager. N55
• Loser of shooting wager to go naked into thorns for bird. N55.1
• Wager: woman to turn somersault in middle of public square. It is performed not exactly in the center of the square; hence she loses. N56
• Wager that falsehood is better than truth. Left to unjust umpire, so that falsehood wins. N61
• Wager: more doctors than men of other professions. The trickster feigns toothache. Everyone suggests remedies. He takes down their names as doctors and wins the wager. N63
• Wager: fortune made from capital or from working at vocation. Test: money given to workman is stolen or lost; lead for his work given him is lent to fisherman who rewards him with a fish in which is a diamond. N66
• Wager: woman can be forced to give alms. Trickster announces that only those who have deceived their husbands are exempt. N67
• Wager: to begin sermon with illustration from card-playing. Card-playing parson wins the wager. N71
• Wager on second marvelous object. First object has proved to be ordinary. King induced to make large wager that second is ordinary. He loses. N72
• Wager: whose hunger is it more difficult to appease – that of man or that of beast? When nuts are strewn before master's well-fed guests, they snatch and eat them. Herdsman wins wager. N73
• Wager: to swallow egg with one gulp. Tricksters give numskull egg with chick in it. Fool hears chick peep as he starts to swallow his egg, but he says that the chick peeped too late. N75
• Wager: bullock to defeat elephant. Elephant is frightened and flees. N77
• Ghoulish wager won. N78
• Wagers and gambling – miscellaneous. N90
• Purchase of box without knowledge of its contents. N91
• Wager to win or lose according to whether jackal howls or ass brays before game is finished. N92
• Father hides wealth to keep son from gambling it away. N94
• Nature of luck and fate. N100
• Inexorable fate. N101
• Inexorable fate: no day without sorrow. A king, who has made decree against sorrow on a certain day is blinded by a swallow in his sleep. N101.1
• Inexorable fate: death from violating tabus. (Cf. C920.) N101.2
• Man cannot die: snake will not bite him though it is provoked by him. (Cf. N146.) N101.3
• Man fated to become king becomes so despite fact he breaks his tooth in which his luck resides. (Cf. N113.2.2.) N101.4
• Fortune comes to deserving and undeserving. N102
• Luck and fate personified. N110
• Fortuna. Luck (fate) thought of as a goddess. N111
• Dwelling place of Fortuna. N111.1
• Home of Fortuna in other world. N111.1.1
• Home of Fortuna on island (in otherworld). N111.1.2
• Appearance of Fortuna. N111.2
• Fortuna blind. N111.2.1
• Fortune has one eye, watches over everybody. N111.2.1.1
• Fortuna with two faces. N111.2.2
• Fortuna half white, half black. N111.2.3
• Fortune's wheel. N111.3
• Fortune's wheel turned by dead king in mountain. N111.3.1
• Fortune with pair of scales in his hands weighs man's balance. N111.3.2
• Fortune's dealings with men. N111.4
• Man thanks earth for saving his life; had he fallen into well he would have blamed Fortune. N111.4.1
• Giant is clerk to God of Destiny and measures out mortals' spans of existence. N111.5
• Bad luck personified. N112
• Bad luck put into a sack. N112.1
• Good luck personified. N113
• Good fortune resides in an object. N113.1
• Casket with Good Luck in it given to men by Zeus. N113.1.1
• Personification of Good Luck lives in man's forehead. N113.2
• Lucky right hand. N113.2.1
• Man's luck resides in his tooth. (Cf. N101.4.) N113.2.2
• Personification of Good Luck leaves palace since king is destined to die that night. N113.3
• Luck can be found in certain place. N113.4
• Fortune as an old woman. N114
• Book of fate. N115
• Issues left to fate (luck). N118
• Ship's course left to the winds that it might be carried where fate wills it. N118.1
• Luck and fate personified – miscellaneous. N119
• Dog tries to catch its fate in its own tail. N119.1
• Buffalo's fate in bamboo growing from head. N119.2
• Ill-omened face of king; harbinger of evil. N119.3
• Determination of luck or fate. N120
• Fate decided before birth. N121
• Child born with objects that indicate fate. N121.1
• Spirit of new-born child in uniform. God has determined fates of everyone. N121.1.1
• New-born child with a weapon and a game animal: fated to be hunter. N121.1.2
• Death forestalls evil fates. Mother shown what would have been the evil fates of her children if they had not died. N121.2
• Newborn girl fated to be a courtesan. N121.3
• Seventh daughter predestined to be magician. (Cf. Z71.5.) N121.4
• Lucky or unlucky places. N122
• The choice of roads. At parting of three roads are equivocal inscriptions telling what will happen if each is chosen. Brothers each choose a different road. N122.0.1
• Unlucky places. N122.1
• Choices by chance. N125
• He upon whom feather (wisp) falls to be king's fool. N125.1
• Luck determined by whether a crooked-necked demigod is looking at one. N125.2
• King to be victorious as long as he rides muzzled gelding. N125.3
• Districts named from first person met in each. N125.4
• Lots cast to determine luck or fate. N126
• Lots cast to determine who shall undertake adventure. N126.1
• Lots cast to determine father of illegitimate child. N126.2
• The auspicious (lucky) day (days). (Cf. N53.) N127
• Different kinds of luck attending persons born on the several days of the week. N127.0.1
• Tuesday as auspicious day. N127.1
• Wednesday as auspicious (inauspicious) day. N127.2
• Thursday as lucky day. N127.3
• Friday as auspicious day. N127.4
• Unlucky days ("cross-days"). N128
• Days of the week on which certain tragic deaths occurred. N128.0.1
• National disasters occur always at the same date. N128.1
• Monday and Wednesday as unlucky days. N128.2
• Changing of luck or fate. N130
• Acts performed for changing luck. N131
• Luck changing after cohabitation. N131.1
• Turning right-handwise in certain place brings luck. N131.2
• Spilling salt brings bad luck. N131.3
• Judas Iscariot spills salt at the Last Supper. N131.3.1
• Luck changing after change of name. N131.4
• Luck changing after change of place. N131.5
• Persons effect change of luck. N134
• Persons bring bad luck. N134.1
• Unlucky to have man in house while cloth is being dyed. N134.1.1
• Wife brings bad luck to the husband's family. N134.1.2
• Persons lose luck as punishment. N134.1.3
• Spirit of adversity brings bad luck to house. N134.1.4
• Passenger brings bad luck to ship. Cast overboard. Jonah. (Cf. S264.1.) N134.1.5
• Objects effect change of luck. N135
• Thirteen as unlucky number. N135.1
• Possession of money brings luck. Nothing escapes a mouse as long as she has in her hole a purse of money. N135.2
• Discovery of treasure brings luck. N135.2.1
• The luck-bringing shirt. The king is to become lucky when he puts on the shirt of a lucky man. The only man who says that he is lucky has no shirt. N135.3
• Feast for those who have not known sorrow. Dying Alexander's letter to his mother orders such a feast. No one comes. N135.3.1
• Lucky marks on body. N135.4
• The judge's bad-luck bringing boots. The wealthy merchant becomes a beggar, due to the judge's boots he acquired through exchange (theft). N136
• Philosopher conquers evil fate. N137
• Nature of luck and fate – miscellaneous motifs. N140
• Luck or intelligence? Dispute as to which is the more powerful. Man with intelligence remains poor (is brought into court). Saved by mere luck. N141
• Which is more important, learning or wit? N141.1
• Which is more powerful, wealth or wisdom? N141.2
• Which is more beautiful, nymph of Luck or of Ill-Luck (Luck when coming, Ill-Luck when going). N141.3
• Weaver married by Wealth to a princess to show Wisdom that he is the more powerful. N141.4
• Destiny better than work, show, or speculation. A peasant makes a little by his work; a nobleman more by his outward show; a merchant still more by speculation; but a prince most of all by his destiny. N142
• Luck only with money that is earned honestly. N143
• Cast-out princess prospers because of Good Luck. N145
• Man not fated to die cannot be killed. (Cf. N101.3.) N146
• The capriciousness of luck. N170
• Unprotected son makes fortune; protected son has bad luck. N171
• Prodigal as favorite of fortune. N172
• Prodigal son favored over faithful son. N172.1
• Disagreeable and disliked youth as favorite of Fortune. N173
• Careful builder outside when storm comes is killed; careless builder saved. N174
• Beggar escapes from fire. Refused hospitality, he must sleep outdoors. The house burns down. N177
• Loss of eye saves man from execution. Man to be buried with king. Gets off because he lacks an eye. N178
• Broken leg saves man from fatal fight. King has ordered that he be killed in a fight. He breaks his leg and cannot take part. Meantime the king learns of his innocence. N178.1
• Man chosen for execution because he is fat. N178.2
• King's counselor expelled from a court thereby escapes accompanying the king, who is killed by robbers. N178.3
• Only crippled cow not driven away by robbers. N178.4
• Fortunes of the rich man and of the poor man. The Fortune of the rich brother tells the poor brother to seek his luck under a bush. The poor man goes there and Fortune tells him to become a merchant. He becomes rich. N181
• Snake turns to gold in answer to dream. Woman tells dream of pot of gold. Robbers overhear but finding only snake in pot turn it loose on woman's bed. It turns to gold. N182
• Money lost twice: recovered third time. N183
• Fugitive woman burdened with child saved; childless woman killed. N185
• Man who derided another's faith in the stars becomes respected astrologer. (Cf. P481.) N186
• Hero fails to meet the man he seeks, though they are close to one another. N187
• The good gifts of fortune. N200