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

• Eldest god born in front, younger at back. (Cf. A112.7.) A161.5
• Old god slain by young god. A192.1.1
• Moon younger brother of the sun. A745.3
• Cuckoo delivers other birds from their cruel king: they agree to hatch out cuckoo's young. A2229.5
• Why young ravens have white feathers. A2313.5
• Mermaid appears once each year, sings in choir, entices young man to follow her. B81.3.2
• Helpful bird hatched by hero. Hero holds eagle's egg in hand and hatches it. Young eagle becomes his helper. B317
• Animal grateful for rescue of its young. B365
• Bird grateful for rescue of its young. B365.0.1
• Saint cures the blind young ones of a hyena or wolf by the sign of the cross and the application of his saliva. (Cf. D1500.1.8.1.) The animal mother is grateful. B384
• Snake grateful because man feeds her young snakes milk. B391.1.2
• Hero kills horse to feed young ravens. B391.3
• Female bears have no breasts to nurse their young – suck paws. B725
• Animal's fanciful treatment of their young. B751
• Snake swallows young to protect them. B751.1
• Pelican kills young and revives them with own blood. B751.2
• Animal neglects its young. B751.5
• Male rabbit bears young. Female rabbit escaped Noah on ark and drowned. B754.4
• Eagle catches gazelle's young as it is born. B754.7.2
• Tabu: giving younger daughter in marriage before elder. C169.2
• Sister-in-law tabu: older brother must avoid younger brother's wife. C172
• Tabu: altar smoke from sacrifice touching young chief. C564.5
• Young man issues from conch-shell every evening. D621.6
• Magic root acquired by tricking mother bird into searching for it in order to disentangle her young. D839.1
• Saint declares that first man to come to certain place shall be his successor. Young cleric comes and is chosen. D1812.5.0.7.2
• Youngest of the three Magi becomes the senior through power of the Savior. D1897
• Forgotten fiancée. Young husband visiting his home breaks tabu and forgets his wife. Later she succeeds in reawakening his memory. (For details of the ways in which the memory is lost and regained see D2004 and D2006. D2003
• The Vanishing Hitchhiker. Ghost of young woman asks for ride in automobile, disappears from closed car without the driver's knowledge, after giving him address to which she wishes to be taken. Driver asks person at address about the rider, finds she has been dead for some time. (Often driver finds that ghost has made similar attempts to return, usually on anniversary of death in automobile accident. Often ghost leaves some item such as a scarf or a traveling bag in car.) E332.3.3.1
• Life in land of dead contrary to ours. People grow younger and smaller till they become nothing and are reborn. E489.2
• Otherworld people ever young, ever beautiful. F167.9
• Fairy in form of beautiful young woman. F234.2.5
• Fairies abduct young woman, return her when fight starts over her. F329.2
• 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
• Hero's precocious strength. Has full strength when very young. F611.3.2
• Devil as a beautiful young woman seduces man. G303.3.1.12.2
• 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 marries girl whose rich mother refuses to let her marry common young men of community. G303.12.5.3
• Test: which of twins is elder. Younger unthinkingly hands chopsticks to elder and thus betrays his junior rank. H255
• Test of paternity: shooting at father's corpse. Youngest of supposed sons refuses to shoot and is judged the only genuine son of dead emperor. H486.2
• Three young men arrested tell who they are. H581
• Enigmatic counsels of older brother. Gray younger brother asks well-preserved older brother for the secret of his good health. Answer: A measured mouth, a close purse, and a knot on the trouser's fly. H596.1.1
• Youth asks for branch of tree; promised root. (Branch = youngest daughter; root = eldest.) H611
• Chief asks another for cutting of yams to complete his yam patch (daughter in marriage). Reply that seed yams for the year are shrivelled and old and it is too early for seedlings (his daughters are too young or too old). H611.3
• Youngest brother alone succeeds on quest. H1242
• Question (propounded on quest): Why is the cow so severely beaten every day by her calf? Answer: in her last birth she had been the young of her present calf and had treated it the same way. H1292.16
• Vigil for dead father: youngest son alone endures frightful experiences. Ceiling, floors, and walls knock together. H1462.1
• Watch for devastating monster. Youngest alone successful. H1471
• Obedience of sons tested by offering them apple. They are each offered a slice of apple. The king says, "Open your mouth and receive what I give you". Eldest son insulted; youngest obeys and receives kingdom as reward. (Cf. H1558.0.1.1.) H1557.1
• Test imposed on young princes as candidates for throne. H1574.3.0.1
• Young ass avoids food eaten by animals before being slaughtered. Runs to his mother and asks to have all remains of the hog's food taken out. J12
• Young sparrows have learned to avoid men. Sparrow quizzes his four young as to how to avoid danger from men. Their year of experience has taught them enough. J13
• "Do not go where an old man has a young wife": counsel proved wise by experience. Discovers a murder in an inn. J21.3
• Precepts of the lion to his sons. Only the younger keeps them and is successful. J22
• Blind man who feels young wolf recognises his savage nature. J33
• Father bequeathes four pots to sons: eldest finds earth in his; second, bones; third, rice husks; youngest, rupees (eldest to get land; second, cattle; third, grain; youngest to keep money). J99.2
• Wisdom of hidden old man saves kingdom. In famine all old men are ordered killed. One man hides his father. When all goes wrong in the hands of the young rulers, the old man comes forth, performs assigned tasks, and aids with his wisdom. J151.1
• Wisdom from young man. J175
• The years not counted. Man says that he is the youngest present, for he does not count the years before he became monk (or the like). J181
• Angel in form of young man shows skeptical hermit that ways of providence are inscrutable. J225.0.3
• In dividing property clever younger brother takes hind part of buffalo, upper part of tree, and use of curtain during night. J242.8
• Raven drowns his young who promise to aid him when he becomes old. He saves one who admits he will not help, because he will have to carry his own young. J267.1
• Association of young and old. J440
• Profitable association of young and old. J441
• Old ox yoked with young ox. Thus kept in order. J441.1
• Foolish association of young and old. J445
• Foolish marriage of old man and young girl. J445.2
• Young man advised to choose as wife a girl whose mother was chaste. J482.3
• Only youngest son tells king truth when asked where they got their food: banished. J551.6
• Dervish who stops work. Sees bird feed its young and decides that God takes care of everyone without work. He is shown his mistake. J702.1
• Titmouse ruffles feathers to seem big as a bear. Her young ones know her. J955.1.2.1
• 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
• Clever younger generation. J1122
• Young crow's alertness. Crow advises young ones to fly away if they see man stooping for a stone to throw. Young crows: "What if he already has stone in hand?" J1122.1
• The girl screams when she is robbed. Accuses young man of raping her. When he tries to rob her of money she summons help. Decision: if she had shouted as loud before, the man could not have raped her. Youth acquitted. J1174.3
• Girls must pay for young man's virginity. Girls repulsed by man climb in his window at night. Become pregnant and demand marriage. Branded as prostitutes and must pay the man. J1174.4
• The funeral for the ineligible husband. A king awards a young woman to a gardener, who is already married. The young woman performs a funeral ceremony for him. The king is pleased with the jest and takes her into the harem. J1191.3
• Old man in love with young woman puts his critics out of countenance. J1221
• Unequal returns. Man at his lady's funeral says to priest: "You enjoy them when they are young and then give them to us to bury. J1264.8
• His father has been in Rome. A young man comes to Rome who looks like the emperor. Latter asks him if he mother has ever been in Rome. No, but my father has been here often. (Not son but brother.) J1274
• Plea for a good father. Mother of twelve on deathbed explains to family that not all her children are legitimate. Gives the paternity of each child. Youngest leaves his food to say: "Please, mother, give me a good father!" (Cf. J325.) J1279.1
• Age is relative. Young rival derides old one for his age. Oldster: "An ass of twenty is older than a man of seventy." J1352.2
• 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
• The fairest thing in the garden. Three brothers asked by princess what is the most beautiful thing in the garden. The youngest replies, "Yourself." He wins the princess. J1472
• Husband mistaken for lover in bed. Farmer has whiskers shaved off, hair cut short. He gets home late, slips into bed with his wife. She runs her hand over his face, says: "Young man, if you're goin' to do anything, you'd better be agittin' at it, 'cause Old Whiskers'll be here pretty soon." J1485.1
• The pot has a child and dies. A borrower returns a pot along with a small one saying that the pot has had a young one. The pots are accepted. He borrows the pot a second time and keeps it. He sends word that the pot has died. J1531.3
• God as surety; the abbot pays. A young man is ransomed by giving God as surety for the ransom money. He fails to return as agreed. The creditor sees a wealthy abbot, who says that he is a servant of God. He robs the abbot and when the young man finally appears he tells the latter than the debt is already paid by God's servant. J1559.2
• 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
• Planting animal's tail in order to produce young animals. J1932.4.1
• The interrupted calculation. While the merchant is making calculations, he asks the age of his youngest daughter, the elder daughter, and the mother, and always adds this to the number he has reached. J2035
• Young wife pulls out his gray hairs; old wife his black. Soon all are gone. J2112.1
• Men hang old bedridden weaver instead of young, valuable member of colony after the young man has accidentally killed an Indian. The Indian tribe demands punishment. J2233.1.1
• Young heir too frank in celebrating his father's death. He says to the mourners, "When your fathers die, I too will come and lament their departure." They brand him as a fool. J2358
• The tailless and earless ass. Just lain down to sleep, a man is awakened by a neighbor announcing that his she-ass has borne a young one without ears or tail. The man lies awake all night wondering how the ass will keep the harness on. J2373
• Young knight substitutes for old man in tournament. K3.2
• Climbing match won by deception: squirrel as "child". The ogre agrees to contest against the man's young one, i.e., a squirrel. (Cf. K11.6, K12.2.) K15.1
• Finger-drying contest won by deception. Three daughters are to wet hands; the first to have hands dry is to be the first to marry. The youngest waves her hands, exclaiming, "I don't want a man!" She wins. K95
• Peace between sheep and wolves. As hostages the dogs are handed over to the wolves; the young wolves to the sheep. The wolves then attack and kill the sheep. K191
• Crow demands young swan in payment for helping swan find feed for its young. K255.3
• Youngest brother surpasses elder as thief. K308
• Crow asks hospitality of sparrow and gradually takes possession of nest and kills young. (Often told of camel and tent.) K354.1