28 motifs match “beetle”  ·  back to the chapters

• Beetle as creator. A13.3.2
• Creation of beetle. A2021
• Beetle's special sacredness. A2021.1
• Beetle cursed for betraying Holy Family on way to Egypt; beetle now has its eyes always on the ground. A2231.7.1.1
• Beetle demands return of gold from God: must hum. In his overweening pride he hits fence and ever afterward has hummed. (Cf. A2426.3.1.) A2231.11
• Beetle makes immoderate request; ant moderate: inverse awards. Creator hears wishes of animals. Beetle wants strong, noble appearance. Ant is modest. Beetle punished by being made to creep on ground. Ant is given own castle. (Cf. A2441.3.1.) A2232.3
• Beetle's hum. (Cf. A2231.11.) A2426.3.1
• Why beetles live in manure. A2433.5.4
• Why beetle creeps on ground. (Cf. A2232.3.) A2441.3.1
• Friendship between grasshopper and dungbeetle. A2493.21
• Enmity between hen, beetle, and duck. A2494.13.10.2
• Helpful dungbeetle. B482.2
• Swallowed blackbeetle reproduces inside person's body. B784.1.5
• Transformation: man to beetle. D184.1
• Soul in form of beetle. E734.6
• Witch in form of beetle. G211.5.3
• Witch recognized by seeing wasp (beetle) enter her mouth while asleep. Only when it enters can she be awakened. G251.1
• Dungbeetle thought to be bee. "I know you well enough, you have put on a blue coat." J1751
• Living toad or beetles thought to be lost food and therefore eaten by numskulls. J1761.7
• Fool mistakes dung-beetles for fruit: eats them. J1761.11
• Beetles and barley introduced into wounds on pretence of healing them. K1016
• King has wounded ally attended by leeches, but bribes them to introduce beetles, awns of barley, etc. into the wounds. K2014.1
• 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
• Dungbeetle prefers his dunghill to all other smells. U122
• Beetles treated with as much honor as oxen will not learn to act as oxen. U122.1
• The over-hasty toad (beetle). Is years ascending steps. On last step falls and curses haste. X1862
• Man invites animals to come and work in his field. Rooster kills beetle; cat kills rooster; dog kills cat; leopard kills dog; hyena kills leopard; buffalo kills hyena; elephant kills buffalo, and lion chases elephant so that both fall into trap. Man calls wives to see meat he has killed. Z43.6
• Cumulative tale: bird who seeks carpenter to release young caught in closed tree. Beetle bites calf, calf bites cow, cow hoofs carpenter, carpenter beats wife, hunters save carpenter's cow, carpenter releases birds. Z49.7