247 motifs match “tells” — showing the first 100; narrow the words for the rest  ·  back to the chapters

• Magpie tells man he is to die next day: no tongue and long tail. God pulls out his tongue and makes his tail long for doing this forbidden thing. (Cf. A2344.2.6, A2378.3.1.) A2236.4
• Son accidentally kills father, who returns to life as cuckoo and tells people when to sow grain. A2275.6
• Man tells Jesus he is sowing stones. "You shall get stones." Why peas do not soften in boiling. A2721.3.1
• Farmer tells begging monk that potatoes are hard as stones: why potatoes are hard. A2721.3.2
• Truth-telling dog tells of incest. B134.1.1
• Person frightened by animals successively replying to his remarks. Example: Man riding horse and followed by dog tells horse to jump over a hole. Horse says, "I will not." Man turns to dog and says, "Isn't that strange – a horse talking!" The dog says, "Yes, isn't it." Often the man runs, meeting other animals which answer him, until he falls exhausted. B210.1
• Animal tells hero where to find magic object. (Cf. B560.) B505.2
• Flea's bite alarms king. Robber tells flea of plan to rob king. During the robbery the flea bites and awakens the king. B521.3.3
• Tabu: hunting birds. Supernatural lover (king of birds) tells woman that son must not do so. C841.2
• Magic object tells how another fares. D1310.4
• Magic ring tells how another fares. (Cf. D1076.) D1310.4.1
• Magic speaking reed (tree) betrays secret. King has whispered secret to hole in the ground. Reed growing from this hole tells the secret. D1316.5
• Banana tree tells who cut its branches. (Cf. D950.) D1612.1.2
• Magic object tells where it is hidden. D1612.4
• Magic cloth tells where it is hidden. (Cf. D1051.) D1612.4.1
• Magic shirt tells owner when it is stolen. (Cf. D1056.) D1612.5.1
• Dream tells of safety of absent person who has been in danger. D1810.8.2.4
• Wizard tells location of stolen property. D1817.0.1.2
• Forgotten fiancée reawakens husband's memory by detaining lovers through magic. Heroine takes up residence near home of her forgetful husband. She is apparently going to permit a lover to sleep with her when she detains him by having him try to place some magic birds on their roost. They continue to fall down throughout the night. (Or the lover is left magically sticking to a calf's tail or other object.) The thwarted lover tells of his experience, and in this way the attention of the husband is gained. D2006.1.1
• "If I were not your next of kin." Ghost tells man that otherwise he would tear him into pieces. E229.1
• Ghost tells name of murderer. E231.1
• Speaking skull tells about previous life, reveals future events, etc. E261.1.2
• Dead son tells mother that no mortal escapes death. E361.3
• Dead returns to life and tells of journey to land of dead. E374
• Living man in dead man's shroud. Refuses to let corpse return to grave before he tells how to resuscitate woman living man has killed. E463
• Reincarnation as musical instrument. The Singing Bone. A musical instrument made from the bones of a murdered person, or from a tree growing from the grave, speaks and tells of the crime. E632
• Wraith of murderer tells authorities where to find girl he has murdered. The murderer is in church at the time. E723.4.2
• Fairy breaks leg of servant girl who tells lies about him. F361.17.4
• Camels having fallen from sky into girl's eyes; she tells her mother that some grains of sand have fallen down from sky. F615.3.1.2
• Devil advises young girl not to go to a castle. Later, when she returns pregnant she says that the devil advised her to serve at the castle. He slaps her and tells her she is lying. G303.9.7.1
• Devil disguised as man tells of trip to heaven and hell. Heaven is full of wretches who weep, fast, and pray. Hell is full of wealth, power, and good living. G303.9.7.4
• Giant killed by his own bucket of death water; captive princess tells him to wash. G527
• Ogre tells wife how people may evade his power. G534
• Seller of trinkets tells of heroine's address of son as "tiger's son" and brings about recognition of true bride. H151.15
• Test of wife's ability to keep secret: the buried sheep's head. Husband tells her that he is burying head of murdered man. She is to keep secret. She tells. When head is dug up it is sheep's head. H472.1
• Test of wife's obedience: the one command. Upon his wife's insistence that he test her by giving one command the husband tells her not to go into the oven while he is away. She does so and oven falls on her. H473.2
• King and peasant: the plucked fowl. The king gives riddling questions to a peasant, who always interprets them right. The king says that he will send the peasant a fowl which he shall pluck. The king gives the same questions to his courtiers, who cannot interpret them. They pay the peasant good money for the answers. Peasant tells king that he has plucked the fowl. H561.6.1
• Arrested man tells who he is: before his father the great incline the head and give blood and money (barber). H581.1
• Arrested man tells who he is: the hospitable fire of his father is sought (bean merchant). H581.2
• Arrested man tells who he is: father throws himself into the ranks and holds them (weaver). H581.3
• Arrested farmer tells who he is: one son is thief (priest), second beggar (teacher), and third murderer (doctor). H581.4
• Quest for king's joy and woe. (King tells of adventures in which his brothers are all killed. They were a joy to him but their death a woe.) H1378.2
• Which was the most generous – husband, robber, or lover? Woman has promised her lover to go to him on her wedding night. Husband lets her go. On way she meets robbers and tells her story. Robbers take her to her lover. She tells what has happened. Lover returns her immediately to her husband. H1552.1
• Test of curiosity: the clock. A man is promised a beautiful clock if he can mind his own business for a whole year. He does. The giver tells him he is the second man who almost made sure of getting the clock. The man asks how the other missed getting it; he loses the clock himself. H1554.2
• 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
• "Never believe what is beyond belief": counsel proved wise by experience. Man believes when bird tells him that she has a precious gem in her body. (Cf. J21.12, K604.) J21.13
• Ungrateful son reproved by naïve action of his own son: preparing for old age. Man gives his old father half a carpet to keep him warm. Child keeps the other half and tells his father that he is keeping it for him when he grows old. J121
• Undutiful son rebuked by father. Father tells son not to drag him past the threshold, because he had dragged his own father only up to that point when he had thought of putting him out of his house. J121.2
• Child unwittingly betrays his mother's adultery. Tells father not to step across chalk line drawn around secretary; if he does secretary may do to him what he did to Mother the other day. J125.2.1
• Wisdom from fool: the present returned. Nobleman gives fool a present; he is to give it to no one who is not a greater fool. Master is dying; doctor tells fool that master is going to take long journey. Since master is making no preparation, fool gives him the present. Master thus brought to repentance. J156.3
• Trickster overhears man praying for death to take him; the trickster appears at man's house, usually in disguise, says he is God (or the devil). The man tells him to take his wife (or he runs away). (Compare C11 for a similar situation in which Death appears.) J217.0.1.1
• Fool given the truth on his back. He tells his master what the servants have done during his absence. The servants whip him on his bare back, saying at each blow, "That is the truth." When the master returns and tells the fool to tell the truth, the latter replies, "There is nothing worse on earth than the truth." J551.2
• Doctor loses a horse for the sake of the truth. Overlord asks two doctors whether he is entitled to all the possessions of his retainers. One doctor unrighteously answers yes and receives a horse. The other who tells the truth receives nothing. J551.3
• Magpie tells a man that his wife has eaten an eel, which she said was eaten by the otter. The woman plucks his feathers out. When the magpie sees a bald man, she says, "You too must have tattled about the eel." J551.5
• Only youngest son tells king truth when asked where they got their food: banished. J551.6
• Honest servant tells people that shop does not have many customers: dismissed. J551.7
• Wild-boar sharpens tusks when no enemy is in sight. Tells fox that when enemy comes there are other things to do. J674.1
• Man, lion, and bear in pit. Bear tells lion not to eat the man, since he would grow hungry again. Rather they should have the man use his intelligence to get them out. J685.1
• "High-born alone recognizes one of equal rank with himself." Jackal sees man with instrument he is unfamiliar with, comes up to him and salutes him "Lord of Delhi." Man calls him Lord of Jungle and tells above. J814.3
• Liar rewarded by the apes. King of apes asks visitors how they like his children (courtiers). Truthful visitor tells that they are very ugly, and is punished. Liar praises their beauty and receives reward. J815.1
• King living apart from wife brought to sense of duty by philosopher. Asks if there is harmony among the cities and republics of Greece: philosopher tells him to ask it of his own house. J816.1.1
• Consolation: priest tells blind man that even flies have eyes but only man has the inner eyes of the soul. J893.1
• Mole pretends that he sees, smells, and hears. His mother tells him to claim no more senses than he has. J958
• Grain will be cut when farmer attends to it himself. Lark leaves her young in the cornfield. They hear farmer tell sons to go to neighbors for help in harvesting. Lark tells young not to worry. Same when he sends for relatives. Farmer decides to harvest it himself. Larks move, for they now know that it will be done. J1031
• Wife dismisses maid who is husband's mistress and tells him she has fled. Husband understands and reforms. J1112.2
• Talkative wife discredited. Husband tells his talkative wife about treasure he has discovered. To discredit her report he tells her also of impossible things (woodcock in the fish net, fish in the bird trap, etc.). She repeats it all and whole story is disbelieved. Husband may keep his treasure. J1151.1.1
• Testimony of unsuccessful suitor discredited. Adulteress is surprised in intrigue by unsuccessful suitor. He threatens to tell her husband. She tells her husband that the scorned suitor has accused her falsely of indiscretion with many men. When the suitor tells the husband he does not believe him. J1151.4
• Man tells servant that he may have anything he can take with his teeth (eat). Servant takes master's cape with his teeth. J1161.10
• Clever pleading: fighting for King of Kings. Knight hailed before king for fighting blasphemer, tells king that he would fight to protect the honor of the king's name so why not for the name of the King of Kings? J1164
• Story told to discover thief. Judge tells story of the lady, her husband, her lover, and the robbers (H1552.1). Which was the most generous? Witness says that robber was. This shows that he has robber's point of view. J1177
• The value of a blow. A judge awards damages of a penny against a friend of his for giving a blow. The defendant goes to get the money and is gone long. Meanwhile the plaintiff gives the judge a blow and tells him to use the penny as damages. J1193.2
• The drunken officer's stolen mantle. Thief confronted by the officer tells all the circumstances of the drunkenness (with many shameful additions). The officer denies the ownership. J1211.2.1
• Will lunch with Christ. Priest tells condemned man after confession that he will dine with Christ that evening. Mule that carries him to scaffold goes very fast and criminal says, "At this rate I shall lunch with Christ." J1261.3
• Acting according to the note. A Jew slaps a Christian and tells him to turn the other cheek. The Christian beats the Jew, who says, "You do not act according to your Gospel." – "I am acting in accordance with the note." – "The note is worse than the text." J1262.3
• Confession made easy. Peasant sees priest at work in the fields. Tells him he wishes to confess. He is told to put money in the box and take the same penance as the year before. J1263.7
• Against his will. A thief condemned to the gallows tells the king, "I do what you do and it is against my will." King: "You shall also be hanged against your will." J1285
• Bishop and prince. Peasant tells bishop, who rides by with forty horses, that he wonders if St. Kilian at Würzburg is also riding with forty horses. Bishop excuses extravagance by saying that he is also a prince and that it is the prince, not the bishop, who is using the horses. "If the prince should become a fool, what would the bishop do then?" J1289.2
• Seek harmony in your own house. King brought to sense of duty by philosopher who tells him to seek harmony in his own house before inquiring about the harmony in his kingdom. J1289.9
• Tailor caught resting his head on royal robe while he rests tells king there is no better resting place for king's robe, for "the head is the king of the body." J1289.19
• Tide inquires whether moon is up. Minnow seeing absurdity of question (since tide could not be up without the moon) tells the tide to wait till he gets a drink and he will tell. J1292
• Sleeping on salt. Priest blamed for large amount of wine he drinks tells people to consider his great thirst. He has slept on a sack of salt and has enough thirst for a week. J1322.2
• Stung by the goblet. Doctor tells drunkard, "The goblet has stung you." "If I had known that I would have drunk out of a glass." J1324
• Beggar wants bread. A numskull tells his mother that a beggar is below asking for bread. Mother: "Tell him I am not at home." Numskull: "He doesn't want you, he wants bread." J1332
• Beggar tells stingy to go beg. They say they have no meat, no bread, no wine, etc. "Then go beg; you have more need than I." J1334
• Asking the large fish. Parents serve boy a small fish and keep back a large one for themselves. Knowing this, the boy puts the fish to his ear. He says that he has asked the fish a question; the fish cannot answer but tells him to ask the large fish under the bed. J1341.2
• Hungry shepherd attracts attention. He tells of a cow with four teats who bore five calves. They ask what the fifth calf does while the other four are nursing. "It looks on just as I am doing now." J1341.6
• Unwelcome guest tells about the hidden food. Having seen his hostess hide it, he tells about it in the form of a tale. J1344
• No thanks to the messenger. A messenger tells a man that he has a newborn son. "Thanks are to God, but I am not beholden to you for it." J1358
• Where you got it last year. Parson tells borrower to get the corn at the same place as he got it last year. There is none there. "Then you didn't return it as you said you would, and there is none to lend you this year." J1381
• The cost price recovered. A man takes a shirt to market for a friend who has stolen it. At market it is stolen from the seller. He tells his friend that the market was bad and that he was able to get back only the cost price (nothing). J1397
• Cynic praises power of reason. Tells Alexander that the power of reason makes even a poor man as great as a king. J1442.1.1
• The cynic and the fig tree. Man tells friend that his wife has hanged herself on a fig tree. Friend: "Give me a shoot of that tree!" J1442.11
• It's better to fight in the shade. Soldier tells captain that the enemy are so numerous that their arrows darken the sun. Captain: "Good, it will be more comfortable fighting in the shade." J1453
• The gray fox. An old husband tells his young wife, who is concerned about his gray hair, "A gray fox is as good as a red one." "But an old gray fox is not so good as a young red one." J1457
• Is ready to go. A peddler scolds the dog who is waiting and tells him to get ready to go with him. The dog replies that he has nothing to carry, that it is the peddler who is late. J1475
• Keeping the secret. Man tells parson secret and asks him to keep it. The parson refuses; "If you can't keep the secret, you must not expect me to." J1482
• The porter's revenge for the three wise counsels. A man offers a porter three wise counsels for carrying his goods. "When anyone tells you that hunger and satisfaction are the same, don't believe him." The second and third are similar and equally valueless. The porter throws down the load: "When anyone tells you that any part of this load is not broken, don't believe him." J1511.6
• Wife surrendered to king. Vizier advises doctor to give up his wife to love-sick prince since everything belongs to a sovereign. Doctor then tells him prince is in love not with his (the doctor's) wife but with the vizier's. J1511.19
• The dog-eating bugs. Man keeps dog for boy, tells him when he comes for it that the chinch bugs have eaten it. The boy borrows a mule from the man, later tells him that a buzzard has carried it away. He gets his dog back. J1531.2.1
• Scholar given third egg. A scholar, showing his skill in logic, proves that two chickens (or eggs) on the table are really three. His father (or host) takes one chicken for himself, gives the other to the mother, tells son that he can have the third one. J1539.2