83 motifs match “across”  ·  back to the chapters

• Five hundred years travel across universe. A658.2
• Charon exacts fee to ferry souls across Styx. A672.1.1
• Charioteer of the sun. Sun drives his horses and chariot across sky. A724.1
• Daily course of sun across sky. A726
• Sun a fat woman walking across sky. A738.1.2
• Tortoise given hard shell when it ferries rice-goddess across stream. A2223.6
• Animal cursed for refusing to carry holy fugitive across stream. (Cf. A2371.2.1.) A2231.7.2
• The courtship of the stork and the crane. Go a-courting one another across the marshes but never come to an understanding, as each time either one or the other changes his mind. (Cf. T91.) B282.23
• Dragon makes bridge across stream for holy man. (Cf. B11.) B549.2
• Animal carries man across water. B551
• Fish carries man across water. (Cf. B541.1, all references in R246.) B551.1
• Aquatic bird carries man across water. B551.2
• Parrots carry couple across the sea. B551.2.1
• Crocodile carries man across river (ocean). B551.3
• Water snake carries boy across river. B551.4
• Turtle (tortoise) carries person across river (ocean). B551.5
• Animals serve as bridge across stream. B555
• Monkeys construct a bridge across the ocean. B846
• Tabu: riding dirty on black-heeled horse across certain plain. C891.1
• Magic wind catches hero up and transports him across immense sea. (Cf. D906.) D1524.9
• Land of dead across water. E481.2
• Dead place net across river to prevent living man from returning to earth. (Cf. F105.) F93.1.1
• Fairies ferried across stream. F213.2
• Water-spirit demands food from those it takes across stream. F420.5.3.6
• Dwarfs pay for being ferried across water. F451.5.10.6
• Frederick the Great drove dwarfs across Black Sea. F451.9.1.13
• Emigrating dwarfs are ferried across water. (Cf. F451.5.10.6.) F451.9.5
• Giant extends across whole island. Head against stone in west and feet against another in east. F531.2.1.4
• Thor carries giant in basket across icy stream. F531.3.1.3
• Giants carry church across a stream. F531.3.6
• Giant allows others to cling to him while he swims with them safely across the rivers. F531.3.13.2
• Precocious hero jumps across river. (Cf. F614.11.) F611.3.2.4
• Strong man jumps across rivers. (Cf. F611.3.2.4.) F614.11
• Strong man throws elephant across sea. F624.1.1
• Bridge of boats across sea. F842.2.3.1
• Ford across impassable river created by saint. F932.9
• Spider spins web across sky. F989.21
• Hero (giant) wades across sea. F1057
• Object across door protects from witch. G272.7
• Beam across door protects from witch. G272.7.1
• Broom across door protects from witch. G272.7.2
• Suitor contest: riding across pit. H331.1.4
• Test of resourcefulness: carrying wolf, goat, and cabbage across stream. Man is to set across a stream, in a boat that will hold himself and only one other object, a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage. He must do this so that the wolf doesn't eat the goat, nor the goat the cabbage. Two solutions: (1) (a) take goat over, (b) take wolf over and goat back, (c) take cabbage over, (d) take goat over; (2) (a) take goat over, (b) take cabbage over and goat back, (c) take wolf over, (d) take goat over. H506.3
• Hare and pig race across ditch. Each fails in his own way, pig behind hare. Which is winner? H625
• What are the most accursed things? A thriftless wife, a baldheaded daughter, a sour-faced daughter-in-law, a crooked axle, and a field which lies across the village road. H659.18.1
• Task: carrying woman across river without wetting feet. Hero fails. H1046
• Task: carrying hundreds of sheep across stream one at a time. H1111
• Task: jumping across river in one bound. H1149.10
• Task: crossing weed-filled stream. Hero spreads cloth on weeds and floats across. H1197
• Quest to bring Soma (a wizard woman) from across the seven seas to a wedding. H1285.1
• Child unwittingly betrays his mother's adultery. Tells father not to step across chalk line drawn around secretary; if he does secretary may do to him what he did to Mother the other day. J125.2.1
• Suit about the ass's shadow. Man hires ass and driver for trip across plain. In the heat the traveler sits down in the ass's shadow. The driver pushes him away. Plea: he didn't hire the ass's shadow. J1169.7
• Turtle released by man to carry him across stream. Threatens him midway. Fox to be judge. Feigns deafness and makes turtle come so near shore man jumps and saves self. J1172.4
• Priest carries the Host across a dangerous stream. Spectators tell him to thank God for not drowning. "I helped Him across!" J1261.2.8
• Sticking to the rules. Merchant at inn deprives monk of fowl. "It's against the rules of your order." Later the monk undertakes to help merchant across stream. In the middle of the stream he asks the merchant if he has any money. "Yes." The monk drops him in the water. "It's against the rules of our order to have any money on us." J1638
• Fool carries wife across stream head downwards and drowns her. J1916
• Where the ducks ford. A fool is asked where the river is fordable. He says, "Everywhere." The man tries to ride across and is almost drowned. The fool, "Those little ducks were able to cross here; why couldn't a big fellow like you?" J1919.2
• Warming hands across the river. Numskull stretches out his hands toward the fire across the river. J1945
• Which way the sheep shall return. One man plans to buy sheep; another says that he shall not drive them across the bridge. They quarrel over the sheep, which have not yet been acquired. A third numskull to convince them of their foolishness pours all his meal out in the water so as to show them the empty sack. "How much meal is in the sack?" he asks. "None." "There is just that much wit in your heads." J2062.1
• Horse drawn across ice till skin is rubbed off. J2129.7
• Servant carrying master across stream answers question with gesture that throws master off. J2133.5.1.1
• Logically absurd defenses. Thief brought to judgment for breaking into house blames mason for building poor house. Mason blames maker of mortar, who blames potter, who blames pretty woman who diverted his attention. She blames goldsmith who caused her to go for her earrings. Goldsmith has no one to blame but he is too old to make a good execution. Hence a shopkeeper across the way is convicted. J2233
• "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
• Thief takes mistress's ornaments across river on pretense of keeping them safe, and then deserts her. K346.6
• Thieves stretch chain across road and evade pursuers. K413
• Watchman outwitted by having rope stretched across the road while fugitives escape. K623
• Trickster agrees to carry old woman and girl across stream: carries girl across and rides off with her leaving old woman on other side. K1339.7
• Long distance sexual intercourse. Trickster by magic has intercourse with woman across stream. K1391
• Minister acts as stepping-stone in midst of flame-filled trench so that king can step across from one side to the other. P116
• Charon's fee: putting coin in dead person's mouth to pay for ferry across Styx. P613
• Reward for carrying Christ across a stream. Christ is in the form of a child. (St. Christopher.) Q25
• Boy risks life to carry leper across stream. Leper is Christ in disguise. Q25.1
• Whale-boat. A man is carried across the water on a whale (fish). (He usually deceives the whale as to the nearness of the land or as to hearing thunder. As a consequence the whale runs into the shore or is killed by lightning.) R245
• Snake king takes fleeing captives across river. R245.2
• Crane-bridge. Fugitives are helped across a stream by a crane who lets them cross on his leg. The pursuer is either refused assistance or drowned by the crane. R246
• Woman promises unborn daughter to snake as wife for ferrying her across stream. S222.2
• Woman gives favors to pay for help across river. T455.5
• Scorpion, in spite of himself, stings the turtle carrying him across the stream. Is drowned. U124
• Ungrateful fox hits with tail the man who carries him across stream. W154.5.1
• Man kills whale which carried him home across sea. W154.5.1.1
• Ungrateful ape plucks feathers from heron who has carried him across water. W154.5.1.3
• Man helping another across stream drops him when he learns that he has lost his high position. W155.2
• Lie: the stretching and shrinking harness. Man driving team with wagon uphill in rain finds on arrival at the top of the hill that the tugs of rawhide or buckskin have stretched and that the loaded wagon is still at the bottom of the hill. He unhitches the horses and throws the harness across a stump. Sometime later, or the next morning, the sun comes out and shrinks the tugs, drawing the load to the top of the hill. X1785.1