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Motifs
- Why quail has no tail. Tricks crab into pulling out tail instead of killing her. Says that gripping her neck would not hurt but that pulling tail will be fatal. A2378.2.1
- Tabu: pulling nuts. English-Scottish: Child I 360 n. C517
- Magic by creeping (running, pulling) through a hole. D1795
- Life token: dogs pulling on leash. E761.7.5
- Girl summons fairy lover by pulling nuts. F301.1.1.4
- Breaking spell on animal by pulling three hairs from tail. G271.4.9
- How many hairs are there in the head? As many as are in the tail of my ass; if you don't believe it we will keep pulling out one hair from your beard and one from his tail. H703.1
- Test of strength: pulling up tree by roots. H1562.1
- Test of strength: pulling in two iron bars passing through hole. H1562.11
- Wise and foolish wish: keep doing all day what you begin. One begins pulling linen out of a box; other in anger begins throwing water on the pig and must do so all day. J2073.1
- Gray hair cured by pulling it out so that the person is bald. J2112
- Pulling on the shirt. The shirt is sewed together at the neck. The man's head is cut off so that the shirt can be put on him. J2161.2
- Pulling out the eye so that the pain will cease. He has had a tooth pulled and the pain ceased. J2412.2
- Tree-pulling contest. K46
- Contest: pulling on steak with teeth. Two men take an end of a steak in their teeth; each attempts to pull it away from the other. After each has a good hold, the Irishman says (with clenched teeth) "Noo're ready?" The Dutchman says, "Yah!", loses the steak. (Cf. K22, K561.1.) K64
- Deceptive contest in pulling fingers. The man has an iron finger. K74
- Pulling a man's beard as an insult. P672
- Pulling out hair as sign of grief. P678
- Pulling the needle out of the seamstress's hand. Final formula: That was just what the cat was waiting for – it sprang to devour the mouse, the mouse to tear the spider's web, the spider to entangle the dog, the dog to eat the goat, the goat to gnaw the rushes, the rushes to grow in the stream, the stream to quench the fire, the fire to burn the stone, the stone to beat the axe, the axe soon pulled out the needle that was stuck in the seamstress's hand. Z41.8
- Pulling up the turnip. Final formula: The mouse holds onto the cat, the cat holds onto Mary, Mary holds onto Annie, Annie holds onto grandmother, grandmother holds onto grandfather, grandfather holds onto the turnip – they all pull and pull it out. Z49.9