ATU 653 The Four Skillful Brothers

ATU 653

The Four Skillful Brothers

Aarne–Thompson–Uther tale-type index · Tales Of Magic · The full type description is not served here; the number and name are the classification facts.

Motifs the recorded variants carry

Brothers acquire extraordinary skill. Return home and are tested. 32 variants
Skillful tailor sews together scattered planks in capsizing boat. 32 variants
Four brothers. 32 variants
Half of kingdom as reward. 32 variants
Tales ending with a question. 32 variants
Girl rescued by skillful companions: to whom does she belong? 16 variants
Rescue of princess (maiden) from dragon. 16 variants
Joint rescuers quarrel over rescued princess. 16 variants
Brothers having extraordinary skill rescue princess. 16 variants
Person of remarkable sight. (Cf. X938.) 4 variants
Remarkable star-gazer. Sees birds in nest in distant tree. 4 variants
Skillful marksman shoots eggs scattered over table. 4 variants
Skillful tailor sews up broken eggs. 4 variants
Test of skill in handiwork. 4 variants
Task: stealing eggs from under bird. 4 variants
Thieving contest: first steals eggs from under bird; second meantime steals first's breeches. 4 variants

Type numbers and names after Aarne–Thompson–Uther, via Hagedorn, trilogy (2022), CC-BY-NC-SA; motif links weighted by the dataset’s recorded tale variants. Served as classification facts with attribution.