84 motifs match “unwitting”  ·  back to the chapters

• Magic object eaten unwittingly. D859.4
• Magic bird-heart eaten unwittingly. D859.4.1
• Magic bird-liver eaten unwittingly. D859.4.2
• Person unwittingly swallows snake, which kills him. F929.2.1
• Human flesh eaten unwittingly. G60
• Relative's flesh eaten unwittingly. G61
• Murderer caused to eat victim's flesh unwittingly. Sickens and dies. G62
• Unwitting cannibalism: scavenger in wedding feast finds basket of noses put there by hero and thinks it full of meat. G63
• Unwitting marriage to cannibal G81
• Brother unwittingly qualifies as bridegroom of sister in test. H310.2
• Tasks assigned at own unwitting suggestion. Jason thus sent for the Golden Fleece. H917
• "Do not walk half a mile with a man without asking his name": counsel proved wise by experience. Man runs race unwittingly with his wife's paramour and loses his wife on the wager. (Cf. J21.8.) J21.11
• 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
• Servants touch cooking pot. Food being considered unclean then, guests depart empty but unwitting of true reason. J1563.5.2
• Deceptive tug-of-war. Small animal challenges two large animals to a tug-of-war. Arranges it so that they unwittingly pull against each other (or one end of rope is tied to a tree). K22
• "Old Saddle" granted by the king. This is the name of an estate, which the king unwittingly gives away. K193.1
• Embarrassing gift. Trickster unwilling to pay for burial fee of aged cow, gives cow to unwitting Brahmin as gift. Cow dies soon and Brahmin must pay. K499.5
• Paramour unwittingly drinks sleeping potion. Is thought dead and placed in a chest. Chest is stolen. When he escapes he is accused of being a robber. He is saved by his mistress's maid who explains all, transferring the role played by her mistress to herself. K675.1
• Message of death. Man carries unwittingly an oral order for his own execution. K978.1
• Hidden paramour taken to his own wife. He hides in a chest. The chest is taken by a creditor who unwittingly delivers it to the paramour's wife. K1216
• Husband unwittingly instrumental in wife's adultery. (Usually shares his bedmate with others, not knowing that she is his wife.) K1544
• Chest containing paramour unwittingly taken away by husband. K1555.0.2
• Cuckold unwittingly lies with wife on chest containing her hidden paramour. K1566.1
• "Shoot any thief who comes." King unwittingly shot. K1612.2
• Man unwittingly sells soul to devil. He jestingly offers to sell his soul. Devil in disguise buys it. M211.1
• Prophecy wittingly fulfilled by wazir that he will murder the raja, but unwittingly causes his own death twelve years hence. M370.1.1
• Person unwittingly killed. N320
• Man unwittingly causes death of daughter. N320.1
• Son returning home after long absence unwittingly killed by parents. (Cf. N338.3.) N321
• Eavesdropping person unwittingly killed. N322
• Eavesdropping man in disguise as devil killed unwittingly by daughter's lover. N322.1
• Eavesdropping wife hidden in bushes killed unwittingly by husband. N322.2
• Parricide prophecy unwittingly fulfilled. N323
• Man unwittingly kills prince. Exiled. N324
• Transformed prince unwittingly killed. N324.1
• Unwitting murder because of insane illusion. N325
• Woman unwittingly poisons her son. Mistakes poison for medicine. N332.5
• Man having purchased stolen ornament unwittingly presents it to owner as gift; is thrown into jail as thief. N347.4
• Money (treasure) unwittingly given away. Unlucky man given a loaf which is filled with gold exchanges it for another loaf. N351
• Man unwittingly commits crime. N360
• Sacred animal unwittingly killed. N361
• Brahmin unwittingly kills calf. N361.1
• King (prince) unwittingly killed. N362
• Incest unwittingly committed. N365
• Boy unwittingly commits incest with his mother. N365.1
• Man unwittingly falls in love with his own mother. N365.1.1
• Unwitting father-daughter incest. N365.2
• Father unwittingly falls in love with daughter. N365.2.1
• Unwitting brother-sister incest. N365.3
• Brother and sister unwittingly in love with each other. N365.3.1
• Man unwittingly lies with mother-in-law. N365.4
• Daughter unwittingly turns her own parents out of doors. N367
• Poor man carries unwittingly in his water jar a large scorpion which brings him fortune. N426
• Giant unwittingly reveals span of life to dwarf, who is thus emboldened to attack him. N484
• Numskull bridegroom unwittingly sings out phrases that thieves mistake to mean he has detected them. N611.3
• Hero unwittingly helps fee's sons: rewarded. N687
• Person reported lost joins unwittingly in search for himself. N692
• Runaway horse carries bride to her lover. Bridegroom unwittingly hires a horse belonging to his rival for his bride to ride to the wedding. A storm arises and the horse carries her to his master. N721
• Father unwittingly buys daughter who has been sold into slavery. N732.1
• Brothers unwittingly fight each other. (Cf. N731.2.2.) N733.1
• Brother unwittingly kills half brother in fight. N733.2
• Joseph and his brethren. Elder brothers unwittingly come to maltreated youngest in great need. Eventual recognition. N733.3
• Two returning brothers unwittingly purchase bird, which is transformed youngest brother, as present intended for him. N733.4
• Accidental meeting of nephew and uncle. Hero takes refuge unwittingly at his uncle's court. N738
• Uncle and nephew unwittingly about to kill one another. N738.1
• Unwitting adultery with blood-brother's wife. N766
• Unwitting combat between sons of friends. Recognition and reconciliation. (Cf. N731.2.) N767
• A wise man (saint, brahmin) recognizes that a man unwittingly carries a venomous serpent in his proviant sack and warns him. N848.2
• Mother lets daughter unwittingly marry own father in order to avenge his raping. P232.2
• Host surrenders his wife to his guest. The guest unwittingly falls in love with the wife. The host, on being informed, out of pure generosity repudiates the wife and has her marry the guest. (Often joined with P315.) P325
• Burning for traitor: unwittingly suggested by culprit. Q414.0.5.1
• The Eaten Heart. Adulteress is caused unwittingly to eat her lover's heart. (Sometimes other parts of his body.) (Cf. Q241.) Q478.1
• Children unwittingly promised (sold). (Cf. S211.) S240
• Girl promised unwittingly by her parents to ogre. S240.1
• Child unwittingly promised: "first thing you meet." (Jephthah's vow.) S241
• Unwitting bargain with devil evaded by driving dog over bridge first. The child has been unwittingly promised (the first thing that goes over the bridge). S241.1
• Princess promised unwittingly to madman: "what you ask for." S241.3
• Child unwittingly promised: "what you have at home." The man thinks it is a cat (dog). S242
• Child unwittingly promised: "What you wife has under her belt." S242.1
• Child unwittingly promised: Nix-Naught-Nothing. The child born while the father is away is named Nix-Naught-Nothing. S243
• Child unwittingly promised: what is born on your farm. Two women agree that what is born on the farm of each belongs exclusively to the owner. The child of one is born on the farm of the other. S245
• Daughter unwittingly promised to dog rescuer. (Cf. B620.1.) Without knowing that a dog has rescued her, the father offers her in marriage to her rescuer. S247
• Man unwittingly ravishes his own sister. (Cf. N365.3.) T471.1
• Animal unwittingly puts tail into man's hands and is caught. X1133.3.1