62 motifs match “attention”  ·  back to the chapters

• Owl saves man from plunging over cliff. Flaps wings and arrests man's attention. B521.5
• Owl saves man from drowning: flaps wings to call attention to direction of land. B527.3
• Enchanted person attracts attention of rescuer. D794
• Enchanted person attracts attention by dancing. D794.1
• Forgotten fiancée reawakens husband's memory by detaining lovers through magic. Heroine takes up residence near home of her forgetful husband. She is apparently going to permit a lover to sleep with her when she detains him by having him try to place some magic birds on their roost. They continue to fall down throughout the night. (Or the lover is left magically sticking to a calf's tail or other object.) The thwarted lover tells of his experience, and in this way the attention of the husband is gained. D2006.1.1
• Forgotten fiancée attracts attention by magically stopping wedding carriage of new bride. D2006.1.5
• Mortal mother pays no attention to changeling; the mortal child is returned. F321.1.4.7
• Ogre attracts attention by whistling. G653
• Recognition by overheard conversation (usually with animals or objects). Person not daring to reveal self directly thus attracts attention and recognition. H13
• Attention drawn and recognition follows. H151
• Attention drawn by magic objects: recognition follows. H151.1
• Attention drawn by playing marbles with remarkable jewel. H151.1.1
• Attention drawn by gold and silver decorated mouse: as princess turns after it, suitor recognizes her. H151.1.2
• Attention drawn by helpful animal's theft of food from wedding table; recognition follows. H151.2
• Attention attracted by hints dropped by heroine as menial: recognition follows. H151.5
• Apple thrown in race with bride. Distracts girl's attention and as she stops to pick it up, suitor passes her. (Atalanta.) H331.5.1.1
• Don't set a hungry guard over food. Parrot set to guard figs eats his fill. When replaced he calls attention to the fact that he is now full and therefore safer than another hungry parrot. J215.1.1
• Count only the waves before you. Fox sees man trying to count the waves. Advises him to count only those immediately before him and to pay no attention to those which have already passed. J311.1
• Inattention to danger. J651
• Throstle giving all attention to sweet fruits is caught by bird catcher. J651.1
• Inattention to warnings. J652
• Attention to warnings. J1050
• Woman tests enduring power of gossip by having a servant ride through streets on a flayed ass. By the third day he has ceased to attract attention. She concludes that it will be the same way in connection with her intended marriage. J1075.1
• The guilty protests his innocence. Animals put to graze in man's garden. Owner greets everyone with: "I know about you!" No one pays any attention to him except the guilty one who says: "I did not do it." Confesses. (Cf. N275.) J1141.9
• Priest who never reads mass. Peasants complain of his ignorance. He says that they stand so close to him that he is afraid they might memorize and then pay no attention to his reading of it. J1263.1.3
• Hungry apprentice attracts master's attention by telling lies on him. J1341.5
• Hungry shepherd attracts attention. He tells of a cow with four teats who bore five calves. They ask what the fifth calf does while the other four are nursing. "It looks on just as I am doing now." J1341.6
• Hungry student gets meat. By telling a mewing cat that it could not yet have the bones because no meat has been served him, a collegian calls attention to an oversight on the part of a servant. J1341.10
• Clever ways of attracting the king's attention. J1675.1
• King's attention attracted by fighting when it cannot be otherwise gained. J1675.1.1
• 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
• Fox holds conversation with his members, attracts attention, and is caught. He scolds in turn his feet, eyes, ears, and tail. In his excitement he sticks out his tail from his hiding place. J2351.1
• Numskull told to attract girl's attention by throwing pebble at her flings large stone which breaks her head. J2461.9
• Girl distracts opponent's attention so that gambling lover wins. K92.3
• Thief distracts attention by apparently hanging (stabbing) himself. K341.3
• Shoes dropped to distract owner's attention. The thief drops two shoes in different places and steals a ram while the shepherd goes after the shoes. K341.6
• Animal's cry imitated to distract owner's attention from his goods. Meantime rascal steals an animal. K341.7
• Baby's cry imitated to distract owner's attention from his goods. K341.7.0.1
• Cattle let loose so as to distract owner's attention from his goods. K341.7.1
• Cat made to mew so as to distract owner's attention from his goods. K341.7.2
• Owner's attention distracted by man fishing in street. Meanwhile the man's confederates rob the dupe. K341.11
• Trickster falsely announces marriage celebration and distracts owner's attention. K341.12
• One thief distracts attention of owner while other steals. K341.15
• Stone thrown to attract attention of shark guardians. Man then slips in cave and steals lobsters. K341.16
• Fire set in order to distract attention. K341.23
• Man stands on pillory to attract attention. Confederate picks pockets of men who come to jeer. K341.24
• Attention secured by trickery. K477
• Deception into listening to speaker. He secures the audience's attention by beginning a tale. He then launches into his speech. K477.2
• Monkey attracts attention of mowers until young birds can fly away from the harvest field. K644
• Bird's call attracts attention of pursuer so that trickster escapes. K648
• Fencer calls opponent's attention to something behind him: when opponent looks around he cuts off his head. K832.2
• Unjust official outwitted by peasant who quarrels with him and thus turns the attention of the ruler to the abuses. K1657
• Disguise as a weeping woman to attract attention. K1836.4
• True bride takes house near husband. Thus eventually secures his attention. K1911.3.2
• Man leaves his sweetheart in charge of friend. He tries to force his attentions upon her and then claims it was a test of fidelity. K2297.1
• Ruler diverts attention from misgovernment by beginning a war. K2381
• Gambler's attention distracted by women. N8
• Woman who disrobes to attract attention of hostile fighter killed. Q411.4.2
• Attention distracted by sight of beloved. T26
• Woman swims nightly to husband's prison and arranges his escape. Spurns the attentions of treacherous suitor. (Cf. R152.) T215.6
• King's wives jealous of his attention to pet animal. T257.1.1
• The audacious water and the continent husband. A woman with a continent husband (lover) splashes water on her thighs as she crosses a stream and then reproves it for being bolder than her husband. She thus calls attention to her situation. T315.2.1