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Motifs — first 20 of 39
- Why one presents stranger with first fish caught. A1528
- Tabu: speaking to strangers. C492
- Tabus of strangers. C576
- Tabu: entertaining strangers. C745
- Tabu: stranger to play with someone without asking permission. C892
- Brass (copper) statue at city gates blows on trumpet at stranger's approach. D1317.9.1
- Magic knowledge of identity of stranger. D1810.0.13
- Raja told in a dream the stranger he seeks to destroy is his own son. D1810.8.2.5
- Stranger dies from joy on being rewarded by ruler. F1041.1.5.2
- Cycnus. Cuts off heads of strangers in order to build temple of heads. G315
- Task performed by mysterious stranger. H976
- Strangers umpire beauty contest. H1596.2
- "A stranger does not close his eyes in sleep lest he close them in death": counsel proved wise by experience. J21.41.2
- King refuses to exile gossipers. They would defame him among strangers. At home they serve to test the king's patience and to reform his life. J215.1.2
- Choices: kind strangers, unkind relatives. J390
- One's own kind preferred to strangers. J416
- Futility of expecting stranger to have one's interest at heart. J1087
- 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
- Standing up for the friendless. Preacher in backwoods asks congregation members who are friends of Jesus to rise. No one rises. "What, are there no friends of Jesus in this house?" A cowboy rises to his feet: "Stranger, I don't know who this man Jesus is. I never heard of him before, but I'll stand up for any man who hasn't got any more friends than he has." J1738.5
- 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
Tale types