Search
Motifs — first 20 of 36
- Numskulls go a-travelling. (Cf. J1742.) J1711
- Numskulls quarrel over a greeting. Three men greeted by a stranger. Quarrel as to whom he greeted. "I greeted the biggest fool among you." A contest is held in which tales are told to decide which is the biggest fool. J1712
- Numskulls surprised at news that God has a son. J1738.3
- Numskulls surprised to hear that God's son has died. J1738.4
- Fish thought to be chewed sugar-cane. Numskulls therefore throw away their fish. J1761.4
- Living toad or beetles thought to be lost food and therefore eaten by numskulls. J1761.7
- Numskulls lose corpse and bury live person instead. J1834
- Gifts to birds. Numskulls hear birds calling and give them gifts. J1851.2
- The homesick wave. Numskulls try to take home a wave of the sea in a bamboo rod. At home when it refuses to wave they say that it is homesick for its mother, the sea. J1875.3
- Marking the place on the boat. An object falls into the sea from a boat. Numskulls mark the place on the boat-rail to indicate where it fell. J1922.1
- Marking the place under the cloud. Numskulls leave a knife in the field, marking the place by putting it under a heavy cloud. Next day the cloud is gone and the knife lost. J1922.2
- Numskulls sow cooked grain. J1932.1
- Numskulls try to get pears from an oaktree. They accuse each other of eating all the pears. J1944.1
- Protected by the needle. In a storm on the ice, numskulls stick needles into the ice to keep from blowing away. J1965
- Numskulls are affected by heat from stove which has no fire in it. J1976
- Numskulls cannot find their own legs. A stranger helps them with a switch. (Usually get them mixed up when they sit down to bathe their feet.) J2021
- Counting wrong by not counting oneself. Numskulls conclude that one of their number is drowned. J2031
- Numskulls count selves by sticking their noses in the sand. They then count the holes. J2031.1
- Numskulls buy things in common: each pays full price. J2037
- Numskulls buy church in common: each pays full price. J2037.1