68 motifs match “swallows”  ·  back to the chapters

• Theft of light by being swallowed and reborn. The hero transforms himself to a particle. The daughter of the guardian of light swallows him as she is drinking water. He is reborn. As a child in the house he steals light. A1411.2
• Lizard swallows fish bone: hence head bobs up and down. (Cf. A2474.1.) A2211.9
• Cow swallows book; cause of maniplies in stomach. A2219.2
• Swallows lift Christ's crown of thorns from his brow: why their nests are not destroyed. (Cf. A2431.3.5.) A2221.2.4
• Swallows put on mourning at crucifixion: have never taken it off. A2221.2.4.1
• Swallows torment Christ on cross: lose voice. (Cf. A2422.9.) A2231.2.2
• Why swallows lost voice. (Cf. A2231.2.2.) A2422.9
• Why swallows migrate. A2482.1
• Mermaid swallows man. B81.10
• Dragon swallows arrow (thunderbolt) intended for hero. B529.2
• Fish swallows man to rescue him from sea. B541.1.1
• Snake swallows young to protect them. B751.1
• Person drinking from brook swallows animal eggs (frog or newt). B784.1.1
• Person swallows pebble on beach; snake grows in stomach. B784.1.2
• Person swallows snake semen or egg while eating watercress. B784.1.3
• Girl swallows frog spawn; an octopus grows inside her with tentacles reaching to every part of her body. B784.1.4
• Magic gate swallows axes trying to force it open. (Cf. D1146.) D1381.31
• Magic rod swallows other rods. (Cf. D1254.2.) D1693
• Man has magic servants who plow for him; he swallows them each day and keeps them secret. D1719.8
• Sorceress to lose her magic power as soon as one of her transformed husbands seizes her and swallows her. D1749.1
• Giant swallows men. F531.3.11
• God swallows his wife and incorporates her into his own being. (Cf. F1034.2.) F911.1.1
• Animal swallows man (not fatally). F911.3
• Jonah. Fish (or water monster) swallows a man. F911.4
• Fish swallows ship. F911.4.1
• Serpent swallows canoe and occupant. F911.4.1.2
• Giant swallows man. F911.5
• Toad (as man) swallows all women's earthenware. F911.6.1
• Serpent swallows man. F911.7
• Tigress swallows abandoned baby again and again, but it comes out from behind. F914.3
• Monster swallows people through anus. F917
• Man swallows reptiles. F929.2
• Person unwittingly swallows snake, which kills him. F929.2.1
• Ground opens and swallows up person. F942.1
• Ground opens and swallows forest. F947
• Ground opens and swallows heathen idols. F948.1
• Earth swallows up Temple vessels. F948.1.1
• Ground opens and swallows other object. F948.2
• Ground opens and swallows demoniac wasps. F949.1.1
• Star swallows four other stars. F961.2.7
• Pig swallows necklace. F989.22.3
• Gate swallows axes trying to force it open. F1009.2
• As result of fraud, Saturn swallows stone instead of infant Jove. G11.0.1.1
• Devil wooes woman; she discovers identity in time to escape with aid of minister who swallows candle after getting devil to promise she could live as long as the candle lasted. (Cf. K551.9.) G303.12.5.4
• Satan swallows victim. G303.20.7
• Rakshasa hidden in deer's head swallows men. G369.1.6
• Quest for unknown magic words. Hero seeks them on the heads of swallows, the necks of swans, the backs of geese, and the tongues of reindeer. H1382.1
• Old man chooses to be annoyed by occasional and loud chirp of swallows than by never-ending but soft chirp of sandpipers. J215.1.4
• Contest in beauty between swallows and crows (ants and flies): worth lies not in beauty. J242.6
• Swallows warn other birds against roosting in tree with glue. They disregard and are caught. J652.2
• Crocodile swallows water-snake, which kills him. J2137.4
• Man is robbed of gold chain while with prostitute. He swallows her string of pearls in revenge. (Cf. K302.1.) K306.3
• Speaking goat swallows gold coins in temple and voids for master. K366.5
• Thief swallows stolen goods to escape detection. K417
• One animal swallows another to save him from pursuer. K649.1.1
• Serpent asks his victim to feed him with honey, then seizes and swallows him. K815.18
• God swallows his pregnant wife to prevent birth of son whom he fears. M376
• Party of horsemen detained by bad weather vow to reach town whether God will or no. The earth swallows them up. (Cf. Q552.2.3.) Q221.4.3
• Earth swallows man who opposes saint (holy man). (Cf. Q227.) Q552.2.3.1.1
• Earth swallows man as punishment for sacrilege (blasphemy, heresy, etc.). (Cf. Q221.3.) Q552.2.3.1.2
• Earth swallows object as punishment. Q552.2.3.2
• Earth swallows mill in which saint's grain was refused grinding. (Cf. Q227.) Q552.2.3.2.1
• Earth swallows heretical city. (Cf. Q225.1.) Q552.2.3.2.2
• Earth swallows man intending treachery. (Cf. Q261.1.) Q552.2.3.4
• Wife swallows hot coal and dies because her husband is unfaithful. T81.8
• Fish swallows a gourd fruit where people have taken refuge during rain; hawk swallows fish. X1723.1.1
• Person swallows pin or needle; it later emerges through skin of relative. X1739.1
• The little old lady who swallowed a fly. She swallows a spider to eat up the fly, a bird to eat up the spider, a dog to eat the bird, a cow to eat the dog. "The little old lady swallowed a horse – she died, of course." Z49.14