204 motifs match “refuses” — showing the first 100; narrow the words for the rest  ·  back to the chapters

• Sun sets and refuses to rise: must be coaxed back from underworld. A739.6
• Toad refuses to weep over its dead children: dries up when dead. Cursed by Virgin Mary. (Cf. A2234.4, A2468.2.) A2231.8
• Snake refuses to help make road: dies on road. (Cf. A2441.4.1.) A2233.1.2
• Shrew refuses to help make road: dies on road. (Cf. A2468.1.) A2233.1.3
• Sloth refuses to help make road: may not look upon sun. A2233.1.4
• Animal characteristics: borrowing and not returning. Animal borrows a member (or quality) from another and refuses to return it. (Cf. A2242, A2313.3, A2345.1, A2351.3, A2375.2.1, A2421.4, A2435.4.1.) A2241
• Monkey borrows tail from deer and refuses to return it. A2241.11
• Spider hands box to ant and refuses to take it back: hence ants carry huge loads. A2243.1
• Magpie refuses to get into ark, sits around outside, jabbering over drowned world, is unlucky. (Cf. A2232.4.) A2542.1.1
• Horse refuses to carry one who speaks falsehood. B133.4
• Talking animal or object refuses to talk on demand. Discoverer is unable to prove his claims: is beaten. B210.2
• Ass insists upon payment of tithes. When stolen by thieves, the ass refuses to eat for three days because the thieves' provender has not been tithed. B259.1
• Sabbath-keeping cow. Refuses to work on Sabbath. B259.2
• Wedding of fox and hyena. Fox refuses to marry hyena, since, according to belief, hyena yearly changes sex. B281.1
• Crow refuses to marry titmouse, since she is 100 years old. B282.22.1
• Faithful horse refuses to go before its master mounts it, even when already loaded with two chests with gold. B301.4.6
• Faithful cow refuses to move for grief at master's death. B301.6.2
• Tabu: striking monster twice. Though monster begs that hero strike him again, hero refuses. Monster would otherwise revive. C742
• Transformed animal refuses to touch meat of that animal. D686
• Person transformed to animal refuses human food. Will eat only food suitable for his enchanted form. D686.1
• Magic objects acquired by acting as umpire for fighting heirs. When hero gets hold of objects he refuses to return it. D832
• Wagon refuses to move because ghost is sitting in it. (Cf. D1113, D1654.5.) D1317.10
• Ship refuses to move with guilty man aboard. D1318.10.1
• Stolen bell refuses to make a sound. D1602.8.1
• Oracular image refuses information except to hero. (Cf. D1311.7.) D1651.6
• Stone (rock) refuses to be moved. (Cf. D931.) D1654.1
• Wagon refuses to move. (Cf. D1113.) D1654.5
• Chariot refuses to move. (Cf. D1114.) D1654.5.1
• Ship refuses to move. (Cf. D1123.) D1654.6
• Corpse in coffin refuses to be moved in wagon. (Cf. D1654.5, E272.1, E411.0.3.) D1654.9
• Bell refuses to be moved. (Cf. D1213.) D1654.10
• Mill refuses to work on Sunday. (Cf. D1263.) D1676
• Mill refuses to work when saint is ill-treated. (Cf. D1263.) D1677
• Fire turns aside and refuses to catch hold of holy garments, wooden altars and similar sacred things. D2158.1.3.2
• Resuscitation by universal weeping. Return of deity from dead granted if all men will weep. One person refuses. E58.1
• Living man in dead man's shroud. Refuses to let corpse return to grave before he tells how to resuscitate woman living man has killed. E463
• Christianized fairy woman refuses to eat fairy food. F243.0.1
• Raja refuses to marry a Peri. F302.3.0.2
• Fairy kills dog that refuses to let fairy sleep in stack. F361.17.6
• Fairy kills man who refuses his hospitality. Man refuses to visit fairy after being invited. (Cf. F361.15.) F361.17.7
• Marvelous sensitiveness: woman refuses to look at male fish. F647.4.1
• Marvelous sensitiveness: man refuses to eat fifth descendent of stolen cow. F647.10
• Sun refuses to shine when murder is done. F961.1.1
• Grass refuses to grow in certain spot. Extraordinary event has happened there. F974
• Blood of brother and sister (and smoke from their funeral pyres) refuses to mingle. F1075
• Ogre schoolmaster. Girl sees schoolmaster eat human flesh. Refuses to tell him what she saw. He persecutes her. G11.9
• Witch kills balsam plant after owner refuses to give some to the witch. G265.9.1
• Devil marries girl whose rich mother refuses to let her marry common young men of community. G303.12.5.3
• Grass refuses to grow: indication of innocence of man hanged there. (Cf. E631.2, F974.) H215.3
• Test of paternity: shooting at father's corpse. Youngest of supposed sons refuses to shoot and is judged the only genuine son of dead emperor. H486.2
• Husband refuses to murder his wife for high honors; wife agrees to murder husband. H492.1
• Old warrior longs for more adventure. Refuses to rest in old age. H1221.1
• Test of steadfastness of love for God: though warned in dream man refuses to part with sacred stone. H1573.5
• Serpent (bird) having injured man refuses reconciliation. He knows that neither can forget their injuries. J15
• "Don't be too greedy in making a trade": counsel proved wise by experience. Man refuses fifty ducats for horse. Horse suddenly dies. J21.26
• Monotony of restriction to one's favorite food. Counselor refuses to arrange extramarital pleasures for his lord. Ruler feeds him only his favorite food until the counselor protests the monotony. Ruler drives home his point. J81.0.1
• Ass refuses to drink after it has had enough. Thus teaches lesson to master. J133.2
• Don't drive away the flies. Wounded animal (man) refuses to have the flies driven away since they are now sated and their places will be taken by fierce and hungry flies. J215.1
• King refuses to exile gossipers. They would defame him among strangers. At home they serve to test the king's patience and to reform his life. J215.1.2
• Weaver prefers master with one hedgehog. Insists on his master putting hedgehog out of house. When master refuses, weaver leaves. Next master has two hedgehogs, and next has three. Weaver returns to first master. J229.8.1
• Peasant leaves honey tree standing. Sparrows and crickets ask peasant to leave tree standing. He refuses, but when he finds honey in the tree he consents. J241.2
• Wise man refuses income of half a kingdom since expenses will outweigh gain. J342.2
• Man refuses cure which brings greater inconvenience. J343
• Drunkard refuses cure of fever if it is to take away his thirst. J343.1
• Man refuses vast wealth because with it will come covetousness. J347.1
• Man refuses rich marriage with house filled with dangerous wild animals. J347.5
• Solomon refuses water of immortality for himself when he cannot have it for his possessions also. J369.1
• Bull refuses to fight goat. Bull being pursued by lion tries to go into cave. Goat refuses to let him in. Bull must go on, for with lion pursuing he has no time to fight goat. J371.1
• Boar refuses to fight with lowly ass. J411.1
• Zeus refuses wedding present from snake. Presents to be received only from equals. J411.2
• Prince refuses to play with common children. J411.3
• King refuses to quarrel with bird. J411.9.1
• Rich man refuses to associate with poor sister. J411.11
• Bird refuses to maintain friendship with bird of different habits. J416.1
• Buffalo refuses tiger's invitation to dinner. He sees fire prepared to cook him. J425.2
• Woman refuses second marriage. If husband is good she will fear to lose him; if bad she will repent. J482.1
• Woman refuses second marriage. Her husband abides in her heart. J482.1.1
• Widow refuses second marriage so her brother cannot kill a second husband. J482.1.2
• Unpaid servant refuses to blame master: later rewarded. J571.8
• "Eat small fish now if you wish larger ones later." Bishop refuses to eat small fish as he used to when an abbot. "Then I used small fish to catch big ones I have now!" J703.2
• Fox refuses to mediate between lion and lioness. Lion decides to abandon lioness because of her bad odor. Ass, hog, and fox as judges. Ass says she has bad odor: lioness slaps him. Hog says she has not: lion slaps him. Fox says that he has a bad cold and cannot smell. J811.2
• The king and the cheap slippers. Steward buys the king a pair of slippers. King thinks not enough has been paid for them and refuses them. Steward buys another like the first and charges a good price. Learns that this is the way to deal with kings. J829.1
• King refuses to have fine tomb erected for him since his stay on earth is so unimportant. J912.2
• Ignoring the unpleasant. Wise man refuses to react to unpleasantness. "I don't hear the unpleasant." J1086
• Witness claims the borrowed coat: discredited. Trickster summoned to court on Jew's complaint refuses to go unless he has a new coat: Jew lends him his. In court the trickster says that the Jew is a liar: "He will even claim that I am wearing his coat." The Jew does so and no one believes him. J1151.2
• The woman with bad eyes. Physician called to doctor woman's eyes bandages them and then steals things each day. She refuses to pay fee and is haled to court. She says that her sight is worse than ever for whereas she used to see many things in her house she now sees very little. Theft is thus revealed. J1169.1
• Solomon's judgment: the divided child. Two women claim a child. Judge offers to cut it in two. Real mother refuses. J1171.1
• The woman with two husbands is to be killed. One of the husbands refuses to bury her. She is awarded to the other. J1171.3
• Priest refuses small bribe: only for large sum will he sell himself to devil. J1263.2.3
• The capon and the hen. Bishop refuses a favor to an abbess on the ground that he does not love her. Abbess: "I can well believe that. The capon never loves the hen." J1269.6
• Praying before the King of Kings. Man while praying refuses to salute superior. While standing before the King of Kings he could not show respect to inferiors. J1269.7
• Keeping the secret. Man tells parson secret and asks him to keep it. The parson refuses; "If you can't keep the secret, you must not expect me to." J1482
• Command would become permanent. A ruler receives gifts from his subjects and later demands them as he due. The fool sets the nobleman's bed on fire. When the nobleman commands him to put the fire out he refuses, since he would ever afterward have to be putting out fires. J1521.3
• Man refuses to lend horse: sued for consequent damages. The would-be borrower gets one from another neighbor. He overworks the horse and renders him useless. The owner of the horse sues the man who had refused to lend his animal. Reasoning: "If he had lent his horse this would not have happened to mine." Settled by compromise. J1552.3
• 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
• Ruler refuses hospitality from subject who spends more than he earns. J1566.2
• The rescuers' Sabbath. A Jew, fallen into a pit, refuses to be rescued on Saturday, his Sabbath. The next day he calls for help but the Christians refuse to rescue him on Sunday, their Sabbath. J1613
• When with fools, act foolish. A wise man refuses to join a foolish crowd who stayed out in an unexpected rain after a long drought. He is punished by them for being a fool. J1714.3
• Countryman visiting rich relative in the city refuses to eat dessert: "No, I am not hungry." J1742.3.1
• Countryman misunderstands comforts of city. Thinks latrine is kitchen, refuses to take a walk because he fears high houses will fall upon him, etc. J1742.5