36 motifs match “difficult”  ·  back to the chapters

• Soul-bridge: easy for righteous to cross, more difficult for others. A661.0.5.1
• Cold before theft of fire impedes speech: explanation of difficulty of certain languages. A1616.1
• Animal cries recall ancient adventure. The ancient animal cries out in difficulty. The present animal has the same cry. (Cf. A2426.1.1, A2426.4.1.) A2275.4
• Why cuckoo flies with difficulty, and sings with wings spread. A2442.2.2
• Birds give hero feather to burn if he is in difficulty. B501.4
• Swan Maiden. A swan transforms herself at will into a maiden. She resumes her swan form by putting on her swan coat. (It is difficult to tell in most Swan Maiden tales whether the primary form is swan or maiden: the incident may belong at D161.) D361.1
• Transformation to reach difficult place. D641
• Transformation to escape difficult situation. D642
• Hairs of lion, when burnt, get owner out of difficulties. (Cf. D1023.) D1390.1
• Dance with the dead. Girl invites dead to come from grave and dance with her. Difficult escape. E238.1
• Mother returns to encourage daughter in great difficulties. E323.6
• Suitor contest: difficult riding. H331.1
• What is the most difficult to find and the most difficult to lose? The truth. H659.19
• Tasks imposed. A person's prowess is tested by assigning him certain tasks (usually impossible or extremely difficult) to be performed either to escape punishment or to receive a valuable reward. H900
• Tasks: other difficult measurements. H1145
• Boy who says "I know" gets into all sort of difficulties; now says "I don't know." J21.52.7
• Difficulty of thinking of God when occupied with worldly affairs. Shown by test: holy man made to carry milk without spilling. So occupied he forgets to think of God. J94
• Stones shaken in jar: difficulty in learning many dialects. J98
• Squirrel tries to dip out lake with his tail: difficulty of reforming the world. J133.5
• Difficult choice between relatives. J226
• Little men preferred to big men. Preacher prefers small men because the intellect has difficulty in reaching to one's heels. J493
• Consider difficulties of course you are about to undertake. J751
• The same company of fools. An abbot calls the monks together and asks, "Whom from all you fools can I appoint as steward?" A monk answers, "That should not be difficult since an abbot was found from the same company of fools." J1265.3
• Not a locksmith. A judge asks a pseudo-prophet to prove his powers by opening a difficult lock. "I am a prophet, not a locksmith." J1289.1
• Treatment of difficult guests. J1563
• Guests make impossible demands of host: host's representative forces guests to leave by sending them on difficult quest. J1563.2
• Children ask parents too difficult questions. Get no answers. J2370.1
• Men exchange duties: each wants to get better of the other, but is cheated, finding the other's work more difficult. J2431.1
• Cheater is forced to eat excrements. Gentleman agrees to exchange his good horse for the peasant's jade, provided the peasant will eat its excrements. The peasant finds no difficulty in the task, whereas the gentleman, put to the same condition when he wants to get back his horse, finds it impossible. K198
• Escape by disarming (making pursuit difficult). K630
• Men too prosperous (happy): things are made more difficult. L482
• Wager: whose hunger is it more difficult to appease – that of man or that of beast? When nuts are strewn before master's well-fed guests, they snatch and eat them. Herdsman wins wager. N73
• Noble person saves self from difficulties by knowledge of a trade. (Cf. P31.) P51
• Difficult language used by poets. P427.7.2.1
• "He that asks shall receive." Hermit wants to prove truth of these words of the Gospel and asks for the hand of the princess. Performs the difficult task imposed upon him. V316.1
• Blind son-in-law visits his wife's family: gets into difficulties. X124.2