58 motifs match “better”  ·  back to the chapters

• Why black bears are better eating than grizzly bears. A2511.1
• King: What is your father doing? Youth: Makes better from good. (Hedges his field.) H583.2.3
• Riddle: two are better than three (two legs better than man with staff in old age). H761.1
• Man gives all his wealth away, for it is better to die than to give up virtue. J211.1.1
• Better send an ugly woman to the devil than a pretty one. Man chooses ugly mistress. J229.4
• The smaller the evil the better. Therefore choose the smallest woman possible for a bride. J229.10
• Peacock and crane in beauty contest. Better be able to soar like crane than to strut about like peacock. J242.5
• Choice of a learned crow: a dead cat better than a golden crown. J242.7
• Usefulness better than speed. J243
• Millstone preferred to jewels. Man shown jewels that cost much money; he replies that he has better stones (millstones) that earn that much. J245.1
• Do not ask: "Why were the former days better than the present ones?" J311.2
• Better be content with what you have, than try to get more and lose everything. J346
• Unnecessary choice of gods. King's sons each choose a god: Jupiter for power, Saturn for wisdom, etc. Father says that a god of all combined would be better. J462.1
• Better to marry ugly than fair wife. Less hard to satisfy. J482.2
• Better to marry a man lacking money than money lacking a man. J482.2.1
• [First Edition (Additions and Corrections): J492. Better be consul in Rome than king elsewhere.] J492[1st ed.]
• Thornbush blamed by fox for wounding him. He should have known better than to lay hold of something whose nature is to lay hold of others. J656.1
• "Better a live confessor than a dead martyr." So answers a preacher when asked whether he preferred to stay at home and confess his flock or go to war against the infidels. J1261.9
• Tailor caught resting his head on royal robe while he rests tells king there is no better resting place for king's robe, for "the head is the king of the body." J1289.19
• Should have brought him drink. Drunkard's wife takes him when he is drunk to a tomb and, masking as a ghost brings him food. "If you had known me better you would have brought me drink." J1323
• Hired man shows in saying grace how better food has resulted from arrival of unexpected guests. Nebraska text: O Lord of Love who art above|Thy blessings have descended:|Biscuits and tea for supper I see|When mush and milk was intended. J1341.12
• Man decides to spend 100 florins to become known. Friend: "You had better spend 200 so as to not be found out." J1369.1
• It's better to fight in the shade. Soldier tells captain that the enemy are so numerous that their arrows darken the sun. Captain: "Good, it will be more comfortable fighting in the shade." J1453
• Not in good form. A duke invites a notorious eater. The latter consumes eight fowls, forty eggs, and other things in proportion. In leaving he apologizes for eating so little as he had not felt well the night before. He will do better next time. J1468
• Husband mistaken for lover in bed. Farmer has whiskers shaved off, hair cut short. He gets home late, slips into bed with his wife. She runs her hand over his face, says: "Young man, if you're goin' to do anything, you'd better be agittin' at it, 'cause Old Whiskers'll be here pretty soon." J1485.1
• Things on highway belong to the public. Man reproves another for picking his cherries that overhang the highway. He is told that things on the public highway belong to no one in particular. He invites the man to climb the tree for better cherries, drives off with his horse and buggy, giving the same answer about things in the public highway. J1511.14
• Better to donate half of what is asked than lend all. Two farmers ask a priest to lend two measures of grain to each of them. The priest refuses to lend them any but donates one measure to each. Thus he saves two measures. J1552.4
• Sulphur in the censer. Parishioners put base money into the collection. The priest burns sulphur instead of incense He tells them that their money will buy nothing better. J1582.2
• One basket of wit better than twelve carloads of it. Female jackal saves herself and husband by quick thinking. (Cf. K622.1.) J1662.1
• A wise man follows a fool against his better judgment. Both are put to death for their foolishness. J1714.1
• Cow punished for calf's misdeeds. Blamed for not teaching calf better. J1863
• The reef is old, the ship new. They think the vessel will endure the shocks better than the reef. J2212.4
• Twenty better than ten. A numskull is asked how many daily prayers (Moslem) there are. "Twenty." – "There are only four." – "I said that there are twenty; that is even better." J2213.5
• She knows best: woman denies accusation of adultery. Husband dismisses the truthful accusers saying that she knows her shortcomings better than anyone else, and she denies it. J2342.3
• Talkative man betrays his companion. When his faults are pointed out he maintains that he is better than his companion, who is immediately investigated. J2352
• Men exchange duties: each wants to get better of the other, but is cheated, finding the other's work more difficult. J2431.1
• Repentant thief pretends to have found stolen cow. Upbraids owner for not guarding her better. K416
• "Let me catch you better game." Captured animal pretends to help captor bring more desirable victim. Escapes. K553.1
• Fairies in animal form persuaded they will hear music better in own shapes. Are killed. K821
• Woman humiliates would-be lover. Knowing that he has deceived another by paying her with gilded coin she answers: "You will have to pay in better coin than is your wont!" K1228
• Queen changes her own ugly twins for slave's pretty son. Later recognizes the better character of the twins, and changes back again. K1921.3
• Better things at home. A poor boy posing as a prince in the king's court always says that he has better things at home. K1952.2
• Maid behind statue of Virgin advises the mistress to give the servants better food. K1971.3.1
• Illness feigned in order to get better food. K2091.1
• Wild animal finds his liberty better than tame animal's ease. L451
• Ass is jealous of the horse until he learns better. L452
• Wager that falsehood is better than truth. Left to unjust umpire, so that falsehood wins. N61
• 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
• Man in hell declares that life there is much better than on earth with his wife. Bargain with the devil: should the latter not be able to endure life with his wife for three years, the man would be released from hell. The devil is the loser. T251.1.2.2
• Woman taught that it is better to pray before Christ's image than before a saint's. V51.4
• Duel (debate) to prove which religion is better. V351
• Prayer-contest to prove which religion is better. V351.4
• Hog tired of his daily food. Goes to the judge and gets better food assigned to him, but the fox cheats him out of it. W128.1
• Stingy man cancels invitations to his guests. "It is better that they speak ill of me on an empty stomach than on a full one." W152.9
• Wife of stingy man prays that her husband become sick so that she can get better food. W152.16
• What makes your ears so big? – To hear the better, my child, etc. Z18.1
• Lending and repaying: progressively worse (or better) bargain. Z41.5
• The old and the new keys. Hero marries his first sweetheart according to the proverb that the old key is better than the new. (Cf. L214.) Z62.1