58 motifs match “strikes”  ·  back to the chapters

• Raising the sky: striking with broom. Old woman's hump strikes clouds as she sweeps. She strikes at sky with broom and thus raises it. A625.2.3
• Spring breaks forth where magic spear strikes ground. (Cf. A941.5.1.) A941.3.1
• Many-colored fountain breaks forth where saint strikes earth with his foot. A941.5.2
• Woodpecker from devil's herdsman transformed. The devil strikes his herdsman so that he turns into a bird who continually calls after his beloved cow. (Cf. A1710.) A1957.1
• Grasshopper builds no house for winter; ant strikes him blind: therefore born blind. (Cf. A2332.6.3.) A2233.4
• Helpful cow strikes at flies, while boy eats. B579.2
• Log of wood animated by spirit of malignant holy man strikes left and right to kill offending villagers. (Cf. D956.) D1401.8
• Magic stone kills person whom it strikes. (Cf. D931.) D1402.21
• Man strikes stone: wine flows. (Cf. D1472.1.23, D1567.6.) D1472.1.2.1
• Rock produces wine. Herder sees resemblance of stone to wine cask. He strikes it and wine flows. (Cf. D931, D1472.1.2.) D1472.1.2.2
• Axe will not cut man, however much he strikes himself. D1841.5.3
• Ghost strikes man in face, making his mouth crooked. E265.1.3
• Ghost strikes man on mouth; leaves his mouth crooked. E542.1.3
• Ghost strikes man on face. E542.1.4
• Ghost strikes man on face: cancer grows there. E542.1.4.1
• Ghost strikes man on face: marks remain permanently. E542.1.4.2
• Fairy ravished by mortal strikes flesh from his ear. F304.4.1
• Fairy mistress strikes her disobedient human lover on the face and predicts death. F361.17.9
• Dwarfs request that cow stable be moved because it is above their home and the seepage strikes their dining table. (Cf. F381.7, F451.4.1.5.) F451.4.4.3
• Giant thinks hammer-blow on head is a nut falling. Man strikes with all his might. F531.5.4
• Spear bends as it strikes hero on chest and he survives ordeal. F615.4
• Flowers spring up when saint strikes ground. F971.6
• Sick child from witchcraft is put on anvil; smith strikes violently but brings hammer down gently, three times. G271.9
• Devil strikes man dead with iron bar. Two men are fighting and devil thus kills one of them. G303.20.3
• Devil strikes man dead with disease. G303.20.4
• The Court keeps the change. Man is fined half-ducat. Judge has no change. Defendant strikes judge for the change. J1193.2.1
• Aaron's censer. A man strikes a priest with a cane: "This is Moses' staff." The priest shoots with a pistol: "This is Aaron's holy censer." J1446
• Simpleton thinks his reflection in jar of melted butter is thief; strikes at the jar and breaks it. J1791.7.1
• Bishop struck for breaking the peace. At a wedding after a period of silent prayer the bishop begins an antiphony. The fools walks up and strikes the bishop: "You have made this shouting in the church." J1823.2
• Numskull thinks the bishop's snoring is his death rattle. He strikes at a fly on the bishop's nose because it seems to be killing the bishop. J1833
• Boy strikes at a fly on his sister's breast: it turns into nipple and girl thinks it due to brother's caress. J1833.1.1
• One man strikes at partridge which has lighted on second man's head. J1833.1.2
• Numskull strikes all matches in order to try them. J1849.3
• Man strikes off donkey's head to punish it. J2113.1
• Wolf (bear) boasts of having eaten horses. When the horse strikes sparks with his hoofs the lion is frightened and picks up the boastful wolf to show him the horse. He squeezes the wolf to death. J2351.4
• The fool seeks a midwife. Accidentally strikes the dog dead, drowns the midwife, and kills the child. J2661.2
• In order to save child from death, maid substitutes block dressed to resemble it. Enemy strikes block. K525.1.3
• Capture by tarbaby. An image covered with tar (or other adhesive substance) captures the intruder who addresses it and finally strikes it so that he sticks to it. K741
• Bird flies on head of dupe's child. Dupe strikes at bird and kills child. K946
• The fox suggests eating his own brains. The wolf, wanting to get brains, strikes his head against a tree. K1025.1
• Serpent's jewel is covered with spiked helmet so that when he tries to recover it he strikes and is spiked to death. K1058.1
• Ogres (large animals, sharp-elbowed women) duped into fighting each other. Trickster strikes one so that he thinks the other has done it. K1082
• Adulteress pretends to faint when her husband strikes her with a rose. She has allowed her lover to abuse her. K2051.2
• Fish (whale) carrying man through water shakes him off when man strikes him with coconut. M205.1.1.1
• Knife accidentally strikes girl's throat and kills her. N331.1.1
• Hound strikes unique vulnerable spot. N335.5
• Angry man strikes king just in time to save his life. N656
• Lightning strikes monk who despises humility. (Cf. Q331.) Q552.1.1
• Cattle thief calls on God to strike him with lightning if he has ever stolen a cow or calf. Lightning strikes him. Q552.1.8.1
• Snake strikes person for opposing saint. (Cf. Q227.) Q557.6
• Lightning strikes branch on which man is being hanged. Delay gives him chance to prove his innocence. (Cf. R175.) R341.1
• Girl strikes man who tries to kiss her. T322
• Lightning strikes excommunicated person who enters church. V84.1
• Blind man strikes woman thinking she is buffalo. X124.1
• Snake strikes object, causing it to swell. X1205.1
• The cock strikes out the hen's eye with a nut. The cock blames the hazel bush for tearing its knickers, the hazel bush the goat for gnawing at it, the goat the shepherd-boy for not tending it, the boy his mistress for not baking him a bun, the mistress the pig for eating up the dough, the pig the wolf for killing its young. Z43.2
• The bird indifferent to pain. A man catches a mango-bird eating mangoes and strikes it against the roots of a mango-tree. The bird cannot be made to say it suffers from the blow. In turn, he puts it in water, strikes it on the ground, a stile, a door-frame, singes its feathers, cuts it up, cooks it, and eats it. The bird always expresses indifference in a cumulative rhyme. At last the bird asks him to look out of the window, whereupon it flies out of his nose and the man dies. Z49.3
• Man sharpening his dao is bitten by a prawn. He cuts down a big bamboo; a fruit falls from bamboo and strikes a bird on the nape of the neck; the bird scratches up an ant's nest with his feet; the ant bites a wild boar in the eye; and the boar bears down upon a plantain tree where a bat dwells under a leaf; the bat seeks refuge in the ear of an elephant, and the elephant kicks down the house on an old woman. She rushes out and falls into a well. Z49.6.3