44 motifs match “sings”  ·  back to the chapters

• Why cuckoo flies with difficulty, and sings with wings spread. A2442.2.2
• Mermaid appears once each year, sings in choir, entices young man to follow her. B81.3.2
• Mermaid sings divinely in church (before enticing man away). B81.13.6
• Boar sings song. B211.1.4.1
• Dog sings song. B211.1.7.1
• Animal whistles (sings, etc.) B214
• Crab sings about his captivity. B214.1.8.1
• Bird sings to console man. B292.5
• Fish bears men-children. Has swallowed rinsings of man's mouth. B631.3
• Swan song. Swan sings as she dies. B752.1
• The one compulsory song. Beer cannot be brewed until an old man sings the song of the origin of beer. C671
• Knife sings as warning of fraud. (Cf. D1083.) D1317.17
• Magic hymn assures heaven for person who sings it. (Cf. D1275.3.) D1588.3
• Headless body sings. D1615.8
• Poet sings day after his death. (Cf. E342, E546.) E371.3
• Ghost sings. (Cf. E546.) E402.1.1.4
• Mistreated boy sings unto water spirits to take him: waters rise up in tank to engulf him. F420.5.2.2.2
• Giantess sings so that it gives echo in all cliffs. F531.3.8.4
• Devil becomes an angel. Forced by monk, devil sings a hymn and becomes a white angel as he was before the sin. G303.8.1.2.1
• Devil sings (dances) on grave. G303.9.8.3
• The devil tries to learn a trade; he fails miserably at all but versemaking. He now loiters in alehouses, sings songs. G303.13.4
• Recognition of captive's voice brings about rescue from ogre. Usually captive sings in the bag. G556
• Ogre sings constantly, usually own name. G652
• Wolf as dog's guest sings. He has drunk too much and sings in spite of the dog's warning. He is killed. J581.1
• Two eggs. Widow serves tailor one egg. He sings, "One egg, one egg." She decides one egg is not enough and serves him two next time. He then sings "Two eggs are two eggs." He is next given two eggs and a sausage, etc. J1341.4
• 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
• The minstrel repays the cobbler. The cobbler learns the minstrel's songs and sings them so that the minstrel loses his trade. He in turn sews the cobbler's leather into crazy shapes. He has done no worse than the cobbler, who marred his songs. When they sing together the people realize the contrast and patronize the minstrel. J1632
• Literal numskull sings entertaining songs on approach of death. J2461.1.2.1
• The imitative choir. Minister tells congregation that he has forgotten his spectacles, that he cannot line out the hymn as he customarily did. The choir sings his words. He tries to explain, apologizes. The choir repeats the apology in song. J2498.1
• Respite from death while one sings song. K551.3.2.1
• Trickster, pretending not to see attacking enemy, sings song of friendship. K606.0.3
• Confederate sings and delays pursuers so that fugitive escapes. K643
• The bribed boy sings the wrong song. The sexton steals the priest's cow. The next day the sexton's son sings, "My father stole the priest's cow." The priest pays the boy to sing the song in church. But the sexton teaches the boy a new song, "The priest has lain with my mother," and this is sung in church. K1631
• Favorable prophecies: blessings, beatitudes. M393
• Numskull bridegroom unwittingly sings out phrases that thieves mistake to mean he has detected them. N611.3
• Three Nephites give blessings as reward for hospitality. (Mormon tradition.) Q45.1.1
• Blessings. Q195
• Men rulers in their house asked to sing. No man in congregation does so. Priest alone sings. Next year he cannot, for then he has a maid. T252.5
• Fool laughs at the absurdities he sees about him. (1) Sees a man who is to die that day buy shoes. (2) Sees sheriff leading a man to the gallows: a big thief leading a little one. (3) Sees farmer weeping at funeral of his child, while priest (the real father) sings. U15
• Crow exercises rights of strong over dove who cannot defend self. Dove at crow's request sings to save her brood which crow kills after song. U31.2
• At a funeral of a child a satyr reveals that the real father (officiating priest) sings while the cuckold weeps. (Cf. U15.) U119.1.1
• Murdered boy still sings "Ave" after his death. (Chaucer's Prioress's Tale.) V254.7
• The parson sings like a goat. The parson sees an old woman weeping and believes that she is touched by his singing. When spoken to she says that she has been reminded of her old goat which she has lost. X436
• Series of trick exchanges: razor – pot – bride – drum by tricky fox. Fox sings formula of exchanges. Z47.1