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Motifs
- Animal characteristics: attack and defense. A2460
- Animal's means of defense. A2461
- Hare sleeps with open eyes as defense. A2461.1
- Toad remains still when he hears footsteps (defense). A2461.2
- Why deer run, stop, and run on again (defense). A2461.4
- Druid's knot: magic defense. D1282.1.1
- Metal as defense against spirits. (Cf. D1252.) D1385.5
- Copper as defense against ghosts and magic. (Cf. D1252.2.) D1385.5.1
- Magic defense in battle. (Cf. K2350.) D2163
- Magic mist as defense in battle. (Cf. D902.1.) D2163.4
- Defense against ghosts and the dead. E430
- Flatterer always agrees with king even in opposite opinions; defense: he is king's servant. J814.2
- Trespasser's defense: standing on his own land. Man has earth from his own land in his shoes. J1161.3
- Nun claims her child is by the Holy Ghost. Defense accepted. J1264.6
- Robber's defense for stealing from rich. God will not permit them to enter heaven unless we take their ill-gotten goods from them. J1269.8
- Trumpeter's false defense. A trumpeter captured pleads that he did not fight. Answered: "You may not fight, but you encourage your men to do so." J1465
- The eunuch's defense. Reproached with his mutilation, the eunuch says that his ill fortune is no shame. The only shame is to merit what you suffer. J1471
- Logically absurd defenses. Thief brought to judgment for breaking into house blames mason for building poor house. Mason blames maker of mortar, who blames potter, who blames pretty woman who diverted his attention. She blames goldsmith who caused her to go for her earrings. Goldsmith has no one to blame but he is too old to make a good execution. Hence a shopkeeper across the way is convicted. J2233
- Wolf unjustly accuses lamb and eats him. When all the lamb's defenses are good the wolf asserts the right of the strong over the weak. (Usually accused of stirring up water from lower in stream.) (Cf. U141.) U31
- Cat unjustly accuses cock and eats him. Although all the cock's defenses are good the cat tells him that she can no longer go hungry and eats him. U31.1