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Motifs — first 20 of 65
- Creator's companions: unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, and dragon. A36
- God as tortoise. A132.15
- Tortoise footstool of God. A139.2
- Earth rests on tortoise, serpent, elephant. (Cf. A1145.1.) A844.6
- Origin of lyre. Hermes makes it from a tortoise. A1461.2
- Creation of tortoise (turtle). A2147
- Tortoise left out in rain: hard shell develops. (Cf. A2312.1.) A2211.10
- Tortoise pressed into earth: hence humpy back. (Cf. A2356.2.9.) A2213.2.2
- Tortoise hurled on rock: half falls on land, half in water. Therefore amphibious. A2214.5
- Tortoise dropped by eagle: hence cracks in his shell. (Cf. A2312.1.1.) A2214.5.1
- Bush-rat bites off tortoise's tail: hence tortoise's short tail. (Cf. A2378.4.4.) A2216.4
- Tortoise given hard shell when it ferries rice-goddess across stream. A2223.6
- Discourteous answer: tortoise's shell. Zeus celebrates a wedding and invites the animals. Tortoise is late. Why? "I like my house." "May you bear your house always." (Cf. A2312.1.) A2231.1.4
- Tortoise cursed for going under water while ferrying rice-goddess: people will be able to kill it with iron-made spears. A2231.7.3
- Partridge's voice borrowed from tortoise. A2241.3
- Origin of tortoise's shell. (Cf. A2215.3, A2231.1.4, A2213.3, A2211.10.) A2312.1
- Origin of cracks in tortoise's shell. A2312.1.1
- Why tortoise's neck is outstretched toward the sky: is looking for his wife, the star. A2351.5
- Why tortoise has humpy back. (Cf. A2213.2.2.) A2356.2.9
- Why tortoise has short tail. (Cf. A2216.4.) A2378.4.4