45 motifs match “unable”  ·  back to the chapters

• God and the devil torment each other with their creations. Devil pesters God with gnats. God makes a fire and safeguards himself; God plagues the devil with fleas. Devil is unable to find means of protecting himself. A63.4.1
• God does not reveal himself; men unable to endure his glory. A182.0.1
• Human intellect unable to conceive God's essence. A182.0.2
• Talking animal or object refuses to talk on demand. Discoverer is unable to prove his claims: is beaten. B210.2
• Laughing fish reveals unjust judgment. A severe judgment is rendered for a small offence. As the convicted man is being led away, a dead (dried) fish is heard to laugh. The fish reveals that he has laughed at the foolishness of the judge who, while he punishes minor offences severely, is unable to see the capital crimes in his own household. (Cf. D1281.) D1318.2.1
• Horse (ox) unable to move wagon paralyzed by witch. D2072.0.2.1.1
• The unquiet grave. (Cf. D2151.1.2.3.) Dead unable to rest in peace. Aside from the references given in the numbers immediately following, see E200–E399 passim. E410
• Horse unable to draw evil dead man. E411.0.3
• Wraith takes place of person unable to do duty at the necessary time. E723.3
• Wraith does what person wishes to do but is unable to do in the flesh. E723.4
• Fairy unable to pass cross-roads. F383.1
• Fairy unable to cross running stream. F383.2
• Fairy unable to cross plowed ground. F383.3
• Devil becomes heavier and heavier. Animal taken into cart becomes so heavy that horses are unable to pull cart. If it is brought home it turns to stone or tree-stump. G303.3.5.3
• Person disenchanted from animal "unable to hide his tail." H64.3
• Person disenchanted from animal unable to eat after manner of men. H64.4
• Association of swan and swallow: swan unable to fly away from danger. J429.1
• Frog as beauty doctor unable to cure his own ugliness. J1062.1
• Doctor unable to cure himself scorned. J1062.2
• Parrot unable to tell husband details as to wife's infidelity. Wife has parrot describe a storm very realistically. Husband observes contrast in the two tales. (Cf. J1152.) J1154.1
• To return the dead elephant alive. Hired elephant dies. Owner demands the live elephant. The god causes the elephant's owner to break pots of the other. Is unable to make specific restitution. J1191.4
• Christ's disciples did not pass the examination. Ignorant student unable to pass his examination thus consoles himself. J1263.1.4
• Bugs unable to eat honey at banquet of bees, and bees unable to eat dung at bug's dinner. J1565.2
• The penny baked in the wafer. A peasant always puts a bad penny into the offering. The priest has a penny baked in a wafer and gives it to the peasant at communion. The peasant, unable to swallow it, thinks that he is possessed of the devil. The priest asks whether he has ever done wrong with a penny, secures confession and a pledge of reform. J1582.1
• Son of God to see king. When steadily unable to be admitted to presence of a king, a clever man demands an interview saying he is the son of God come down to earth and will condescend to see the king. When asked to show the king Heaven and the path to it, the pretender retorts that when he was sent down by the Father, he was told to look to matters relating to this earth. J1675.8
• Cow tied tight with stones in order not to blow away, but is unable to do all others things too. J2119.8
• Pseudo-magic resuscitating object sold. Dupe kills his wife (mother) and is unable to resuscitate her. K113
• Devil is cheated by giving him task: counting the letters in the church Bible. He is unable to read the holy words. K211.1
• Devil is unable to take man contracted to him when friends pray over the corpse. K218.7
• Trickster reports lost money; searchers leave him in possession of premises. Unable to find a place by the inn fire the trickster mentions that he has lost money on the road. One by one the guests slip out to search and leave him the fire. K341.1
• Woman who tries to push husband into river falls in when he steps aside. She drowns because she has tied his hands and he is unable to aid her. (She also thinks he is blind because she has fed him rich food to induce blindness.) (Cf. Type 1380.) K1652
• King does not want men who are unable to engage in any sport. P14.8
• Unable to hit man himself, enemy kills his foster brother. P273.3
• Poor host and his wife kill themselves because they are unable to entertain expected guests. P336.1
• Thief rendered unable to remove burden of stolen goods from his back. (Cf. Q212.) Q551.2.3
• Priest's concubine is unable to rise from stone. She is finally freed by prayers and repentance. (Cf. Q243.1.) Q551.2.7
• Girl promised to three different suitors; because she is unable to settle the dispute she eats poison and dies. T92.0.1
• Lover becomes friar and sweetheart nun when unable to marry. T93.2.1
• Wife born to be prostitute. Husband unable to change her ways, submits to them. T450.1
• Royalty unable to endure coarse entertainment. U146
• Man unable to persuade wife to confess misdeed to priest succeeds when he makes her drunk. (Cf. J1141.) U181
• Wicked woman unable to endure presence of host at mass. V39.2
• Virgin Mary returns borrowed money and reveals cheat. A man borrows money from a Jew with the Virgin as security. Unable to return the money in time, he commits the money to the sea with a prayer to the Virgin. The Jew receives it but claims that the money is not paid. The Virgin reveals the cheat. V252.1
• Virgin gives private mass to devout lady unable to attend. V255.2
• Man unable to weep for hardness of heart. W155.3