70 motifs match “alone”  ·  back to the chapters

• God dwells alone in darkness. A151.13
• Creation because of creator's lonesomeness. Dissatisfied at being alone in center of primeval water, God creates the earth. A832
• Why children are not left alone in the house to sleep. A1579.1
• Animals that live alone. A2433.2.3
• Why leopard walks alone. He killed treacherously his saviors and all animals deserted him. A2433.2.3.1
• Ass alone knows where hidden wind can be found. B133.0.1.1
• Thief lives alone with 20 cats that help him keep intruders away. B292.6.1
• Tabu: eating alone. C284
• Tabu: king traveling alone. C563.1
• Disenchantment by naked virgin undergoing frightful journey at midnight. She must come naked and alone on St. John's night between twelve and one, climb the castle walls, and enter the treasure chamber. D759.3
• Equipment of slain hunter returns alone. (Cf. D1170.) D1602.19
• Jewelry intended by groom for prospective bride strangely disappears and a slip of paper alone is left in box. (Cf. D1071.) D1641.14
• Magic object obeys master alone. D1651
• Invisible arrows. (Cf. D1092.) Visible to one person alone. D1655.1.1
• Magic sight by standing alone for three days. D1821.10
• Ghost visible to one person alone. E421.1.1
• Ghost visible to horses alone. E421.1.2
• Ghost visible to dogs alone. E421.1.3
• Fairies visible to one person alone. F235.3
• Tabu: drinking from certain well in fairyland. Person does, finds himself alone on hillside. (Cf. C260.) F378.4
• Saint visits king of fairies on invitation of fairy king. Saint sprinkles holy water on fairy king, finds himself alone on hill. F379.4
• Wild man. Man lives alone in wood like a beast. F567
• Strong hero fights whole army alone. F614.10
• Bridegroom alone able to pluck flower from bride's grave. H31.12.1
• King: Are you alone at home? Youth: Not now; I see the half of two quadrupeds. (Two legs of the king and the forefeet of his horse.) H583.1.1
• Task: defending oneself alone against fifteen ships, sixty men. (Cf. H915.1.) H1199.8
• Youngest brother alone succeeds on quest. H1242
• Vigil for dead father: youngest son alone endures frightful experiences. Ceiling, floors, and walls knock together. H1462.1
• Watch for devastating monster. Youngest alone successful. H1471
• Monk fails in test of patience. He tries to live alone to test it. One day he loses his temper at a cup which overturns and he breaks it. [Inadvertant duplication of W185.4.] H1553.5
• Test of fidelity by feigning sleep in same bed as calumniated hero or alone in the forest with him. H1556.5
• "Do not trust a ruler who rules by reason alone": counsel proved wise by experience. J21.28
• "Do not go alone on journey": counsel proved wise by experience. Helpful crab saves from attack by crocodile. J21.36
• Rescue alone from shipwreck chosen over drowning with goods. J222
• Hero, despising weapons, fights with fists alone. J246.2
• Monk chooses solitude and loneliness to company and temptation. By living alone he escapes sin. J495
• One should let well enough alone. J513
• Birds seeking richer lands are nearly all killed. Survivors advise their friends to let well enough alone. J513.1
• Advice not to rob women while they are alone, for fear of returning husbands' revenge. J647.2
• Fox with lion protector goes hunting alone and is killed. J684.1
• Food alone keeps off hunger. J712
• "High-born alone recognizes one of equal rank with himself." Jackal sees man with instrument he is unfamiliar with, comes up to him and salutes him "Lord of Delhi." Man calls him Lord of Jungle and tells above. J814.3
• With a silent person one is alone. Angered bishop will not answer when addressed. Relents when priest says, "Since there is no one here I may heed the call of Nature." J817.3
• The one exception. "You are a good man; there is not your equal on the earth. You have everything for yourself alone; only your wife is public property." J1355
• To give the accounting afterward. A nobleman embezzles money from the public treasury. When counsellors urge an accounting, he replies that he is ready as soon as they have themselves made an accounting of all their transactions. They are ready to let well enough alone. J1627
• Thief punishes the escaped ox. An ox strays on the rascal's land but escapes from him. The next week he sees the ox yoked up and gives him a beating. The master is astonished. The rascal: "Let me alone; he knows well enough what he has done." J1861
• Animal or object expected to go alone. J1881
• 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
• Deceptive land bargain: saints agree that the one who casts his staff far enough to reach distant island shall be owner of land. Staff of one contestant transformed to spear (or dart) and so alone reaches island. When saint touches weapon, it becomes staff again. K185.13
• Woman alone in house rolls cheeses down the stairs after calling names of men in the house. Attackers think the men of the house are rushing down the stairs. K548.1
• Holding up the roof. Fox pretends to be holding up the roof; hence cannot help the bear, who must do the threshing alone. K1251.1
• Husband frightened into sleeping alone. Adulteress has servants impersonate demons. K1514.17.2
• King in disguise as one of his own men rescued in fighting alone against four. K1812.19
• Impostor tries to push foster brother into the water and then cuts rope so that he drifts alone out on the sea in boat without oars. K1931.1.1
• Impostor leaves hero alone on island. (Cf. S145.) K1931.6
• Sham wise man stays alone feigning study. Is really killing flies. K1956.5
• Tardy bird alone succeeds at bird convocation. L147.1
• Scorning stops when it turns out that the scorned has saved the king by fighting alone against four. L154
• 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
• Vow to kill wild boar alone at night. M155.1
• Wife chooses father rather than husband or son. (Cf. P253.3.) Only one can be saved; he alone is irreplaceable. P211.1
• Brother chosen rather than husband or son. Only one can be saved; he alone is irreplaceable. P253.3
• Faithful servant wants to follow on dangerous quest, where he alone is killed. P361.1.2
• Abandonment alone on foreign coast. S144.1
• Sultan's daughter demanded by giant ogre as price for letting his subjects alone. S222.4
• Wife alone does not desert leprous husband. T215.7.1
• Men rulers in their house asked to sing. No man in congregation does so. Priest alone sings. Next year he cannot, for then he has a maid. T252.5
• "I am not alone!" Man travelling alone through the forest at night, is afraid of robbers. He hangs his cap on a stick and keeps repeating: "I am not travelling alone, there are two of us." W211.3
• Barber alone praises usurer. Custom not to bury dead until someone has something good to say about him. No one will praise a dead usurer until a barber is willing to say that he had a good beard. X511
• Symbolism: not to fight alone. Various figures employed to show it is not good for one warrior alone to fight the battles of a host. Z161