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Motifs
- Sun-snarer: fast sun. The sun goes too fast to dry clothing. The hero snares the sun's legs with a rope as he is climbing up from the underworld. He releases the sun upon the promise to go more slowly. A728.2
- Impounded water. Water is kept by monster so that mankind cannot use it. A hero defeats the monster and releases the water. (The monster is sometimes a giant frog.) A1111
- Lion spared mouse: mouse grateful. Later releases lion from net. (Cf. B363.) B371.1
- Bag of winds. Wind is confined in a bag. Man breaks prohibition against looking into bag and releases winds. C322.1
- Twig of a tree bows down and releases a bag with relics when the man makes a promise. D1648.1.2.2
- A fool releases a bear while the master is away. The bear plays havoc. The master threatens to cut off the ears of the meddler. The fool asks his dog not to tell on him. J2191
- Devil pounded in knapsack until he releases man. K213
- Bribed executioner releases culprit. K513
- Escape by false prophecy: if corpses are buried in city, it will become a ruin: king releases condemned man. K575
- Tiger made to believe that his captor has eaten many crabs. Tiger fears crabs and releases him. K1715.13
- Complacent judge disregards the confession. He has put the criminal to torture without success. When he releases him, the criminal says, "In a moment I should have confessed all." The judge lets him go nevertheless. P521
- Cumulative tale: bird who seeks carpenter to release young caught in closed tree. Beetle bites calf, calf bites cow, cow hoofs carpenter, carpenter beats wife, hunters save carpenter's cow, carpenter releases birds. Z49.7