47 motifs match “nails”  ·  back to the chapters

• Fiery nails in hell. A671.2.4.10
• Beings born in hell have long bodies and cling with long nails to walls. A671.6
• Earth from worm scratched by creator's nails. A828
• Four earth-nails. A841.4
• Origin of fingernails. A1311.3
• Fire carried from heaven in fingernails. A1415.1.1
• Flies on Christ's body rewarded. They look like nails and prevent more nails being driven. They may eat at the king's table. (Cf. A2545.1.) A2221.2.1
• Enmity between cattle and snails. A2494.12.3.1
• Monster with 100 hands, 100 palms on each hand, and 100 nails on each palm. B15.7.15
• Tabu: trimming fingernails. C726
• Transformation: fingernails to gold. D475.1.21
• Transformation: fingernails into jewels. D475.4.6
• Transformation by sticking nails into feet. D582.1
• Magic nails. D1252.1.2
• Dead body incorruptible. Beard and fingernails continue to grow. E182
• Revenant with peculiar nails. E422.1.8
• Ghost laid by burial outside village on far side of stream, with four iron nails driven into the corners of the grave. E442.2
• Person with unusual fingernails. F515.2
• Person with very long fingernails. F515.2.2
• Giant with nails like claws. F531.1.6.1
• Giantess with iron nails. F531.1.6.1.1
• Giant with crooked nails. F531.1.6.1.2
• Giant rooted to ground because his nails and hair have grown into the earth on account of his great age. F531.1.6.9
• Extraordinary fingernails. (Cf. G11.11.1.) F552.1.3
• Magnetic mountain. Pulls nails out of ships that approach it. F754
• Ship Naglfar. Made of parings of fingernails of the dead. F841.1.5
• Ship with gold nails. F841.1.7
• Woman who marries tiger is fed human nails regularly. G11.6.2
• Witch has long nails. G219.3
• Witch's back covered with nails and broken glass. G219.9
• From the parings of man's nails devils make little caps for themselves. G303.25.5.1
• Man pretends to cut toenails of cannibal woman: kills her. G519.1.2
• Teeth and fingernails of slain cyclops taken as proof. H105.5.2
• Bride test: bread-making – dough under fingernails. After three weeks the girl still has dough under her fingernails. H383.1.1
• Test of wife's obedience: finger in hole. Disobedient wife puts her finger into the hole where her husband has fixed sharp nails. H473.1
• Fear test: cutting devil's fingernails. H1422
• Fool thinks gold is being destroyed when snails crawl over it. J1816
• Singing snails rebuked. A boy roasts snails and they make noise in cooking. "Wretches, your house burns and yet you sing!" J1885
• Carpenter blames the nails. On his deathbed refuses to forgive nails which ruined his tools. J1891.2
• Scratching contest: man's wife shows wounds. The man sends his wife to meet the ogre with whom he is to have a scratching contest. She tells the ogre that her husband has gone to have his nails sharpened. She shows him deep wounds that her husband has scratched on her body (obscene). The ogre leaves in terror. K83.1
• Closing the door tight: with iron nails. K1417
• Man slits tongue of magpie so that it can learn to speak. His fingernails grow out like bird's claws as punishment. Q285.1.1.1
• Abduction of girl by half bestial man (hair on body, nails of dog). R11.1.1
• Heron (crane) loses interest in heaven if there are no snails. U125.1
• Smith's wife made nails for the Cross because her husband believed Christ to be a true prophet. V211.2.3.0.2
• Large mosquitoes fly off with kettle. They have drilled through kettle. Their bills are clinched inside like nails. X1286.1.4
• Lies about snails. X1345