91 motifs match “wants”  ·  back to the chapters

• Moon wants to marry his sister the sun. She is angered and throws hot ashes on his face. A751.5.2.1
• Discourteous answer: why cow (horse) is always eating. When God (Peter) wants to use the cow (horse) the excuse is made that she (he) is eating. Curse: "May you always be eating!" (Cf. A2472.1, A2478.) A2231.1.1
• Beetle makes immoderate request; ant moderate: inverse awards. Creator hears wishes of animals. Beetle wants strong, noble appearance. Ant is modest. Beetle punished by being made to creep on ground. Ant is given own castle. (Cf. A2441.3.1.) A2232.3
• Christ puts knots in wood. Peter, angry at carpenters wants Christ to have iron knots in wood. Christ does make hard knots but not iron. (Cf. A2755.4.) A2738
• Animal transformed to man wants to marry woman. B650.1
• Stepson cursed to stick in grave mound till pretty girl wants to substitute for him. D5.1.1
• By means of magic bag it is possible to stay as long on the bottom of the sea as one wants. (Cf. D1193.) D1388.0.5
• By means of magic helmet it is possible to stay on the bottom of the sea as long as one wants. (Cf. D1101.4.) D1388.0.6
• Magic powder makes objects speak what owner wants them to. (Cf. D1246.) D1610.0.1
• Ghosts punish failure to provide for their wants. Haunt man because he does not leave food and drink for them. E245
• Saint after his death gives directions where he wants to be buried. E545.15
• Dwarf can take what shape he wants. F451.3.3.0.1
• Dwarf wants to warm self at fire. F451.5.7.1
• Giant's toy. A young giantess picks up a man plowing. Wants him as a toy. Her mother says, "Take him back. He will drive us away." (Cf. F531.5.1.) F531.5.3
• Devil appears to girl who wants an escort for a dance. G303.10.4.4
• Task: selling three old women. (Devil finds that no one wants them.) H1153
• Monk shames accuser by telling parable. Wind, Water, and Modesty (Sense of Shame). The first two give their addresses but the third says she has no address as no one wants her. J91
• Wisdom from fool: heaven refused. Fool says he does not want to go to heaven for he wants to stay with his master, who everyone says is going to hell. Master repents. J156.4
• Host wants to learn Hebrew even at risk of forgetting his own language. J344.2
• Friendship of snake and frog ceases when snake wants to eat frog. J426.2
• Frog wants to be shod like a horse. J512.12
• Snake wants to act as pet like parrot: killed. J512.14
• Fowler wants two rubies as ransom for a caught goose; loses goose and both rubies. J514.6
• Monk's enemies quarrel and thus save him. Robber who wants to steal monk's cow and devil who wants to steal his soul quarrel as to which shall begin first; they thus awaken him and the neighbors. J581.3
• How he shall be mourned. Women insist on knowing how a man wants to be mourned when he dies. "Mourn me as a man who was tormented by women talking foolishness." J1301
• 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
• The envious accuser. A woman accuses another of being a harlot. The second: "You would like to be in my place but no one wants you." J1351.2
• The cynic wants sunlight. King (to cynic): "What can I do for you?" "Get out of my sunlight. Don't take away from me what you can't give me." J1442.1
• Where his mule will. A man on a runaway mule is asked, "Where are you going?" "Wherever my mule wants to." J1483.2
• Woman repulses ugly husband's advances. He placates her by telling her that he wants a handsome child. J1541.3
• The ass consulted about the loan. A man wants to borrow an ass. The owner goes to see what the ass says. The ass is unwilling. J1552.1
• The ass is not at home. A man wants to borrow an ass. The owner says that the ass is not at home. The ass brays and the borrower protests. "Will you believe an ass and not a graybeard like me?" J1552.1.1
• How much the ass cost. As the fool brings the new ass home everyone wants to know how much it cost. He has all publicly assemble and announces just what it cost. J1601
• The one word petition. A guardian of monks in need of food approaches the prince The prince is busy and says that he will permit the guardian but a single word. The guardian says, "Soup", and secures all the food he wants from the prince. J1618
• Man wants roasted honeycomb. Unwilling to admit that he does not know what a honeycomb is, a stupid man asks the innkeeper's wife to roast a slice of honeycomb. J1731.2
• The old maid answers the owl's hoot, saying "Anybody, Lord!" or giving the name of the young man she wants. (Cf. X750.3.) J1811.1.1
• Jumping into the river after their comrade. Through misunderstanding one of the men jumps into the river. He calls out; the others think that he wants them to follow, and all jump in and are drowned. J1832
• Wants the organ to come and play for her. An old woman enraptured with the sound of a cathedral organ prays for it to come to her house and gives it directions as to where she lives. J1888
• The overfed hen. A woman wants her hen to lay many eggs. Overfeeds her and she stops laying altogether. J1901.1
• Numskull tries to dig up a well (spring). He wants to take it home. J1933
• Stupid giant, seeing how fat he has become, wants to eat himself up. J2119.5
• Peasant no longer wants a horse since the new born foal is so heavy to carry. J2212.8
• Each of two persons wants to sleep in the middle. (Sometimes solved by placing an object on one side of the bed.) J2213.1
• Selling his half of the house. A man owns half a house. He wants to sell his half so as to get money to buy the other half and thus have a whole house. J2213.6
• The bathroom in the minaret. The fool can sing in the small bathroom but cannot be heard from the minaret. He wants a bathroom built on the minaret so that his voice will carry. J2237
• Emperor wants to travel to paradise. Blindfolded and put on an ass. J2326.3
• The judge wants to know how the theft was committed. The witness tells. The judge: "You are wonderful; I have tried it thirty times and succeeded only once." J2372
• How the first man killed himself. The second fool imitates the first who leaps from a palm tree by means of a looped rope. The first kills himself. The second wants to see just how it happened and kills himself too. J2374
• Imitation of diagnosis by observation: ass's flesh. A doctor tells his patient that he has eaten too much chicken, and this the patient confesses. The doctor's son wants to know how the diagnosis was made. The doctor says that as he rode up he observed chicken feathers and made his conclusions. The son imitates. He sees an ass's saddle. Diagnosis: you have eaten too much ass's flesh. J2412.4
• The dog imitates a wolf. Wants to kill a horse. He asks the cat: "Is my back bristled, etc." The horse kills him with a kick. (Cf. K1121.) J2413.5
• Numskull wants to be shaved too. He sees another man being shaved and thinks that the man is having his ears cut off. He orders his wife to cut off his ears. J2426
• Men exchange duties: each wants to get better of the other, but is cheated, finding the other's work more difficult. J2431.1
• Numskull wants to see an abstract quality. J2488
• Numskull dragon wants to see courage. J2488.1
• Deceptive bargain: as much bread as he wants to eat. The baker fixes his price at the rate for twenty loaves. The trickster eats thirty. K173
• Cheater is forced to eat excrements. Gentleman agrees to exchange his good horse for the peasant's jade, provided the peasant will eat its excrements. The peasant finds no difficulty in the task, whereas the gentleman, put to the same condition when he wants to get back his horse, finds it impossible. K198
• The dog refuses to help the wolf. A farmer plans to kill a faithful old dog. The wolf makes a plan to save the dog. The latter is to rescue the farmer's child from the wolf. The plan succeeds and the dog is rewarded. The wolf in return wants to steal the farmer's sheep. The dog refuses his assistance. K231.1.3
• Give him what he wants. (Cf. K437.5, K1354.1.) Thief sent to man's house for water, demands money. Man's wife refuses and thief shouts to the husband who replies, "Give him what he wants." K362.10
• The devil gets into the ark. The devil wants to know what Noah is doing when he is building the ark. He forbids Noah's wife to enter the ark until Noah has also invited him. K485
• Pursuer persuaded to put oil on a tree when he wants to climb after fugitives. K619.2
• Deceptive game: fox wants to be frightened; titmouse whistles for dogs and the fox is nearly caught. K869.1
• Leopard wants teeth filed: large stone dropped from tree knocks all leopard's teeth out. K1015.2
• Trickster asks husband for one thing and the wife for another. The husband's order: "Let him have what he wants." K1354.2.1
• The trickster with painted member. The father wants his daughter's child to be a bishop. K1398
• Sham dream prophesying shipwreck makes people leave ship so that there is room enough for man who wants to go. K1771.8
• Deception by substitution: wife substitutes calf for beggar whom drunken husband wants to catch and abuse. K1846
• Sham physician: making the girl grow up. A king wants his daughter to grow up quickly. The physician says that he must send away for the medicine; meantime she must be shut up. After several years they show her to the king. She has grown. K1955.5
• Husband answers behind the statue when wife wants to know how to fool him. He says to feed him well. K1971.1
• Sick crew accused of being magicians so that nobody wants to have anything to do with them. K2129.2
• The falcon of Sir Federigo. An impoverished suitor has only a falcon to catch birds with. His lady's sick son wants the falcon and she goes to ask for it. The suitor serves dinner for her – his falcon. When she makes her request it is too late. N345
• King banishes nobleman whose castle he wants. P12.8
• Mother commits suicide when son wants to marry foreigner according to foreign rites. P231.7
• Faithful servant wants to follow on dangerous quest, where he alone is killed. P361.1.2
• Banishment because of disobedience. Maiden wants to become nun and not marry. (Cf. Q325.) Q431.3
• Father wants to kill son because of foolish boasting. S327.1
• Person wants to learn art of love. T4
• Girl wants to marry lover even if he is mutilated. T99.2
• The curious wife: wait and see. A man and his wife overhear thieves planning to rob the house, put the man out of the way, and have their will of the wife. The man wants to raise an alarm. She says, "Wait and see." T258.1
• Master discovers that slave girl he wants to marry is a near relative. T410.1
• Lecherous father. Unnatural father wants to marry his daughter. (Manekine.) T411.1
• Lecherous brother. Wants to seduce (marry) his sister. T415.1
• Bird wants sunshine, worm clouds. U148.1
• Dying hero wants to be buried in the clothes of his brother who killed him. V68.3
• "He that asks shall receive." Hermit wants to prove truth of these words of the Gospel and asks for the hand of the princess. Performs the difficult task imposed upon him. V316.1
• Hunter wants to be shown lion tracks, not lion himself. W121.1
• Sparrow dissatisfied with pond water wants to go to sea. W128.6
• Look! look! she cries from the barrel. A nobleman has arranged for a peasant girl to become his mistress. When he comes to take her away he cannot find her. Disappointed, he is about to depart when the girl, who has hidden in a barrel, calls out "Look!" She really wants to be found. W136.1
• Eats up the money. Old man before dying eats his money. In church, son wants to cut corpse open and get the money. The devil: "Don't spoil the skin." Shakes money out of the corpse's throat and takes the skin. W151.7
• Raven wants to be as white as a swan. W181.3
• Parson rides ox into church. He wants to show how Christ rode into Jerusalem. Sexton sticks ox with needle. X414
• Drunk man goes to the king and wants to buy an island. X812