46 motifs match “sometimes”  ·  back to the chapters

• World-fire. A conflagration destroys the earth. Sometimes (as with the flood legends) the tradition is somewhat local and does not refer to an actual destruction of the whole earth; sometimes the fire marks the end of the world. A1030
• Underground monster fettered by trick. Is persuaded to try on fetters. (Sometimes told of fettering Satan, who plays same role.) A1071.1
• Impounded water. Water is kept by monster so that mankind cannot use it. A hero defeats the monster and releases the water. (The monster is sometimes a giant frog.) A1111
• Origin of clouds: creator ornaments the sky with clouds so that the mountains are sometimes shaded. A1133.2
• Insects from body of slain monster. Usually the monster is burnt; sometimes the insects come from his head, sometimes from his body as it burns. (Cf. A1716.1.) A2001
• Flying horse. Sometimes represented as having wings, sometimes as going through the air by magic. B41.2
• Medicine shown by animal. It heals another animal with a medicine (herb, water, etc.) and thus shows the man the remedy. Sometimes the medicine resuscitates the dead. (The animal is most frequently the serpent. (Cf. B491.) B512
• The one compulsory thing. Unless one does this one thing, misfortune comes. (Sometimes one is under magic compulsion.) C650
• Magic results of reversing a spell. Formula said backward will sometimes undo the work performed by the formula. (Cf. D1273.) D1783.1
• Resuscitation by arrangement of members. Parts of a dismembered corpse are brought together and resuscitation follows. (Sometimes combined with other methods.) E30
• Resuscitation with misplaced head. (Cf. M221.) In restoration of several persons simultaneously through reassembling of members, the heads are placed on the wrong bodies. Sometimes the damage is repaired, sometimes not. E34
• Resuscitation of wife by husband giving up half his remaining life. (Sometimes vice versa). E165
• The Dead Rider (Lenore). Dead lover returns and takes sweetheart with him on horseback. She is sometimes saved at the grave by the crowing of the cock, though the experience is usually fatal. E215
• Ghosts haunt house. (It is sometimes hard to tell whether haunters are supposed to be ghosts or familiar spirits of some kind.) E281
• Revenant as hen. Sometimes with chickens. E423.3.6
• Wild hunt avoided by keeping on one's road. Sometimes in middle of road or on right side of road. E501.17.5.1
• Fairy presides at child's birth. Sometimes the Norns, the Fates, etc. F312
• Trolls. Sometimes underground spirits, sometimes also thought of as mountain-spirits. In many tales trolls are ogres. (Cf. G100, G400–G599.) F455
• Poltergeist. Invisible spirit (sometimes identified as ghost or witch) responsible for all sorts of mischief in or around a household. F473
• Poison damsel. Woman nourished on poison is fatal to her husbands. Sometimes the poisoning is from fatal look or breath, sometimes from intercourse. F582
• Wandering island. Moves about at will and sometimes appears and disappears from sea. F737
• Three witch sisters. Sometimes simply three hags. G201
• Witch kills with aid of witch-ball (hair rolled in beeswax). The ball is sometimes found in the mouth of dead victims. G262.4
• Sucking monster. Giant (sometimes a giant hall or cave) sucks in victims. G332
• King: What is your father doing? Youth: He is in the vineyard and is doing good and bad. (He prunes vines and sometimes cuts good and sometimes lets bad ones stay.) H583.2
• Skillful companions create woman: to whom does she belong? Woodcarver carves a doll, tailor clothes her, gardener gives her speech (or the like). (Answer sometimes given: her father, her mother, or her husband). H621
• Numskull sits on eggs to finish the hatching. Cautions people to be quiet and not frighten the eggs. (Sometimes puts on honey and feathers before sitting on the eggs.) J1902.1
• Each of two persons wants to sleep in the middle. (Sometimes solved by placing an object on one side of the bed.) J2213.1
• Contest in seeing sunrise first: sun on the trees. The fox places himself on a hill facing the east; the hog in a lower place facing the high trees to the west. The sun shines on the top of the trees, and the hog wins. (Sometimes told with human actors.) K52.1
• Trickster fills his gallon jug half full of water, then has it filled with rum at the store. When seller refuses credit, he pours back half gallon of the liquid – now half rum and half water. Sometimes trickster repeats operation, getting richer mixture with each transaction. K231.6.2.2
• Executioner kept busy or interested until rescue comes. Sometimes until he changes his mind. K555
• "Noman." Escape by assuming an equivocal name. (Sometimes "myself.") K602
• Sleeping potion given to man who is to pass the night with a girl. (Sometimes magic pillow or magic sleeping card.) K675
• Lover given rump to kiss. Sometimes the trick is played by a rival lover. (Chaucer's Miller's Tale). K1225
• Holding up the rock. Trickster makes dupe believe that he is holding up a great rock and induces him to hold it for a while. (Sometimes steals the dupe's goods.) K1251
• Holding down the hat. Dupe persuaded to guard hat supposed to cover something valuable. It covers a pile of dung. (Dupe's goods are sometimes stolen.) K1252
• Husband tricks wife into riding a mule which has been denied water. On fording a stream the mule plunges into the water. Wife drowns. (Sometimes also paramour.) K1567
• Modest request: present from the journey. Asked what her father shall bring her as a present, the heroine chooses a modest gift. It is usually a flower but sometimes does not turn out to be such a simple gift after all (golden cloak, golden apple). L221
• The cadaver arm. Medical students (or student nurses or hospital employees) play trick on one of their number by suspending a cadaver arm or leg from the light cord in the person's room (sometimes the object is placed in the person's bed). Some circumstance keeps them from being on hand to observe the person's reaction; the next day they remember the joke and go to the victim's room to investigate. They have to break down the door. They find the victim sitting on the bed – her hair is snow white – and she is gnawing on the cadaver arm. N384.0.1.1
• Unintentional injuries bring unfortunate consequences. (Sometimes the injuries are mere breeches of tabu.) N385
• The Eaten Heart. Adulteress is caused unwittingly to eat her lover's heart. (Sometimes other parts of his body.) (Cf. Q241.) Q478.1
• Bankrupt father sells his daughters in marriage to animals. (Sometimes to pay gambling debt.) (Cf. S215.) S221.1
• Virgin Mary prevents (retards) death so as to save sinner's soul. Permits time for repentance and absolution. (Sometimes resuscitation.) V251
• Nut hits cock in head: he thinks world is coming to an end. He sends the hen to tell the duck, the duck to tell the goose, etc. Final formula: – Fox, who told you? – Hare. – Hare, who told you? – Goose. – etc. For sequel see Type 20C. Sometimes the animals have queer names (cf. Z53). Z43.3
• Red as blood, white as snow. Often from blood on snow as a suggestion, a wish is made for a child (wife) with skin like snow and cheeks like blood, etc. (Sometimes black as a raven.) Z65.1
• Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away as joint adventurers. Of brothers (sometimes twins taken from body of slain mother) one is abandoned and becomes wild. Later he joins his brother. Z210.1