91 motifs match “remain”  ·  back to the chapters

• Rodent gnaws away ladder to other world and thus ghosts remain on earth. A666.2
• Sun and moon to remain half their time in underworld. A722.10
• Man in moon a frog which has jumped into person's face and remains there. A751.3.1
• Man in the moon: tarring of the moon. Man sets out to tar the moon and remains with his tar-bucket in the moon. A751.4
• Devil throws down quoits when he is told that it is wrong to play on Sunday. They remain as stones to this day. A977.2.3
• Fettered monster questions visitor. He asks "Are lambs still being produced?" or the like; i.e. is nature still normal? He must remain fettered till he hears that nature's laws no longer hold. A1074.3
• Why sheep walk with bowed heads: they have remained so after having bowed to God. A2221.9
• Dog will not help build house: must remain out of doors. (Cf. A2223.1, A2433.3.2.) A2233.2
• Nit tries to bore through man's head: must remain at edge of hair. (Cf. A2433.5.1.) A2236.6
• Where horse got arched neck: arches neck to kick tiger from rear; remains so. A2351.6
• Toad remains still when he hears footsteps (defense). A2461.2
• Why trees remain fixed. A2774
• Horses refuse to remain with owner who has been cursed by clerics. B133.4.1
• Animal's skin revolves while flesh and bones remain stationary. B738
• Girl from elfland must eat earthly food in order to remain. C661
• Tabu: remaining on journey too long. C761.1
• Tabu: angel to remain on earth more than one week. C761.4.3
• Person must remain in other world because of broken tabu. C953
• Person must remain on mountain because of broken tabu. C983
• Disenchantment by hiding skin (covering). When the enchanted person has temporarily removed the covering, it is stolen and the victim remains disenchanted until it is found. D721.2
• Extraordinary flower preserves its freshness so long as it remains unperceived by anyone other than owner. D877.2
• Bell indicates place for settlement. Remains dumb until place destined for saint's final settlement is reached. (Cf. D1213, D1314.1.2, D1314.2.1.) D1314.4
• Palladium. City impregnable while statue remains. (Cf. D1268.) D1380.0.1.1
• Not a drop of water will remain in tank no matter how hard laborers work. (Cf. D921.2.) D1542.3.5
• Magic feather causes chips from tree to return as cut. Thus the tree remains uncut. (Cf. D1021.) D1565.1
• Fiery furnace as a mean of torture for a saint remains ineffective. D1841.3.2.1
• Sleepless watcher magically put to sleep. Usually has a magic watchful eye, which remains awake while his many other eyes sleep. (Argus). D1961
• Resuscitation of wife by husband giving up half his remaining life. (Sometimes vice versa). E165
• Ghost detected by strewing ashes. Their footprints remain in the ashes. E436.1
• Ghost strikes man on face: marks remain permanently. E542.1.4.2
• Soul remains about dead body. E722.3.1.1
• Fairy reveals her true identity when despite heavy rain she remains dry. F259.3
• Fairy grateful for loan of meal causes the vessel to remain full thereafter. (Cf. D1652.1.) F335.1
• Holy man's hair of enormous length, so long has he remained praying at one spot. F555.3.2
• Skillful marksman throws rushes into a curtain. The first remains and each following one lodges in the one before and remains attached to it. F661.7.1
• Man's shout remains in air three days. F688.2
• Fountain jet which remains immovable. F716.4
• Clothes remain ever new. F821.11
• Extraordinary nature phenomena at moving of saint's remains. F960.8
• Devil is killed by hunter. A slake of tar remains. G303.16.19.20
• When devil leaves dead sinner's body, only bones remain. G303.18.0.1
• Stone on which saint was born pours forth water when perjury is committed under it. "But if (the) oath be true, the stone remains in its proper nature." H251.2.3
• Gardener's son to marry princess if he remains in prison twelve years. H317.3
• Shirt as chastity index. Remains white as long as woman (man) is true (Cf. D1056.) H431.1
• Task: collecting firewood quickly, sufficient to last remainder of one's life. H1095.1
• Thumb cut and salt put on it in order to remain awake. H1481
• Continual pricking with pin in order to remain awake. H1484
• Contest in remaining under water. (Cf. H1538.) H1543
• Test of friendship: the half-friend. A man kills a hog and tells his friends that he has killed a man and asks where he can hide the body. All of them drive him away and only his father's half-friend remains true to him in his feigned trouble. H1558.1
• Test of friendship: to go with one to death. Everyman. He calls in Riches, Family, etc. Only Good Deeds remains with him. H1558.3
• Young ass avoids food eaten by animals before being slaughtered. Runs to his mother and asks to have all remains of the hog's food taken out. J12
• Crow flying away says, "A wise man remains not in the place of calamity; but a fool stays there, and sups fear and sorrow." J171.3.1
• Rower prefers to be stoned by his master rather than remain out in the storm. J229.7
• One bird escapes as hunter bends his bow; other remains and is shot. (Told also of fish.) J641.1
• Enoch Arden decision. Man believing wife dead becomes a priest. Later finds her alive. Pope's decision: he may remain both a priest and husband but must not consort with any other woman. J1179.10
• Turning the plate around. A cuts the meat and puts all the good things on his side. B turns the plate around: "See how all things turn about in this world." A turns it back: "However the world may turn, with good friends like us the plate will always remain the same." J1562.1
• Two transferred wishes used unwisely: redeemed by wise use of third. Wife uses two transferred wishes selfishly. Husband kills wife and uses remaining wish to his advantage. J2075.2
• Only husband remains ignorant about his wife's infidelity. J2342.5
• Obedient woman's pestle remains magically suspended in air. J2411.9
• Thankful that the recipe is left. A hawk steals the fool's meat. He is grateful that the recipe remains. J2562
• Boots made by two cobblers. Trickster sends one of each pair back to be stretched, leaves town with pair of boots made up of the remaining boots. K233.3
• The priest made sick of his bargain: three words at the grave. A poor man in return for a steer gets permission from the priest to speak three words at the burial of his enemy, the rich man. Priest: "From earth are you come." Man: "Now the steer is dead." Priest: "In earth shall you remain." Man: "Father, do you want the meat?" Priest: "I wish you were in hell!" etc. K262
• The fee used up before the main question is reached. A man with an unsolved question seeks the help of a wit. The latter refuses to answer unless paid. He takes small fees for each easy question leading up to the principal question. Before reaching that point the fee is exhausted, and the question remains unanswered. K265
• Princess has brought ill luck to bridegroom. When palace and retainers disappear after wedding and only humble hut remains, clever fox tells king his daughter's feet have brought ill luck to the groom, his master. King gives half his kingdom in compensation. K443.12
• Devil must wait for man to tie his stocking before the man comes into his possession. It remains untied. K551.4.2
• Proud inscriptions sole remains of powerful king. L413
• Son to be brave and wise but not to remain and cause mother to weep. M365.2
• Girl bewitched so that no man will remain faithful to her. M438.3
• Curse: hero to remain as dead till the curser dies. M438.4
• Curse of a woman against her caste: they should remain unclothed and untaught. M464
• Luck or intelligence? Dispute as to which is the more powerful. Man with intelligence remains poor (is brought into court). Saved by mere luck. N141
• Greedy disciple decides to remain in city despite learned teacher's warning and is condemned to take the place of a thief. N347.7
• Ruler makes ready to abandon barren wife and marry another. He remains with her when he learns that she is with child. N681.2
• Fool passes as wise man by remaining silent. N685
• Faithful servant remains at home and fights for exiled hero. P361.2
• Ferryman puts oar into king's hand and he must remain ferryman. P413.1.1
• Battle-cairn. Losses reckoned by number of stones remaining in pile after each survivor has removed one. P554
• Ashes of murdered person passed through sieve and remains put to manure heap. S139.2.2.8
• Man leaps from vessel into jaws of sea-beast, so as to save remaining passengers. S263.5.3
• Girl may remain virgin for three days after marriage. (Cf. C117.) T165
• Late husband chooses to remain in Purgatory rather than to return to his shrewish wife. T251.1.2
• Man had rather remain transformed to mule than to live with his shrewish wife. T251.1.3
• Woman prefers to remain chaste rather than keep an impotent husband. (Cf. T271.1.) T311.2
• Girl remains a virgin after both her suitors are killed in battle. T311.3
• Monk cures himself of desire for dead sweetheart. He digs up her remains. T334
• Chaste sleeping together to torment woman. Man remains utterly impassive. T354
• Saint remains silent during Lent by holding stone in mouth. V73.6.2
• Saint's body remains unspoiled in the earth for a long time. V229.2.8
• Man leaps from vessel into jaws of sea-beast so as to save remaining passengers. W28.3
• Insult worse than wound. The lion to the man: "The wound has healed, but the pain of harsh words still remains." W185.6
• Fortune-teller shows others how to get rich but remains poor himself. (Cf. J1062.) X461.1