Writing, Films & Other Creative Story-based Projects
We might write a story with a motif as it's seed, develop more interesting aspects to a character in a story, or help develop hidden symbols within a film. We also frequently get asked for consulting help if you'd like help, please let us know.
| X | Code | Original | Cultures |
|---|---|---|---|
| A177.1 | God as dupe or trickster | Ireland | |
| A182.3.0.1.1 | Angel speaks to Patrick from bush that merely seems to burn | Ireland | |
| A521 | Culture hero as dupe or trickster | African, North American, Celtic, Chiriguano, Hawaii, Ireland, New Hebrides, Peru | |
| A1028.1 | Trickster sticks spear in ground and leads water to sea, ending deluge | Chaco | |
| A1071.1 | Underground monster fettered by trick | Lithuanian | |
| A1415.3 | Theft of fire--trick exchange | ||
| A1599.16 | Origin of allusive expression for the story of gods‘ incest and trickery | Marquesas | |
| A2284.4 | Elephant tricked into eating own testicles | Rhodesia | |
| A2731.1 | Trickster’s burnt flesh becomes gum on trees | N. A. Indian | |
| D830 | Magic object acquired by trickery | Buddhist, Iceland | |
| D831 | Magic object acquired by trick exchange | India, Indonesia | |
| D833 | Magic object acquired by tricking giant | ||
| D834 | Magic object acquired by tricking devil | ||
| D835 | Magic object acquired through trickery: child forced to cry till object is given | Iceland | |
| D839 | Magic object acquired by trickery--miscellaneous | ||
| D839.1 | Magic root acquired by tricking mother bird into searching for it in order to disentangle her young | India | |
| D839.2 | Fairy dun acquired by tricking owner | Ireland | |
| D1313.4 | Blinded trickster directed by trees | N. A. Indian | |
| D2034 | Crying induced by magic as trick to force child’s mother | Iceland | |
| D2089.3 | Animals magically stricken dead | Ireland | |
| E464 | Revenant tricked or jeered into a bottle, corked up and put in safe place | England | |
| E692.3 | Tricky potter reborn as crab | India | |
| F369.4 | Fairy tricks mortal | Ireland | |
| F601.4.1 | Extraordinary companion hides behind hero to trick enemy | Chiriguano | |
| F981.3 | Animals killed by trickster‘s breaking wind | Koryak | |
| G303.9.4.5.1 | Devil by trick conjures vision to make idolators of believers | Jewish | |
| G519 | Ogre killed through other tricks | ||
| G519.1 | Ogre’s wife killed through other tricks | ||
| G519.1.4 | Ogress tricked into falling into boiling spring | Maori | |
| G519.5 | Giant ogre tricked into running round a tree the branches of which catch the strokes of his iron bar, until he falls down dead | Iceland | |
| G561 | Ogre tricked into carrying his prisoners home in bag on his own back | Congo | |
| G572 | Ogre overawed by trick | India | |
| H573 | Answer to riddle found by trickery | ||
| H573.2 | Problem of why certain person cannot sleep solved by trickery | Ireland | |
| H962.1 | Task: sitting on eggs without breaking them; hero perceives trick | Ireland | |
| H1182.2 | King asks favorite minister to show him a trick that he has never seen before | India | |
| J217.0.1.1 | Trickster overhears man praying for death to take him; the trickster appears at man‘s house, usually in disguise, says he is God (or the devil) | U.S. | |
| J652.4.2 | Don’t play tricks on Gascons | ||
| J1111.2 | Illegitimate daughter of trickster inherits father‘s ability to dupe others | ||
| J1117 | Animal as trickster | N. A. Indian | |
| J1117.1 | Jackal as trickster | India | |
| J1117.2 | Coyote as trickster | N. A. Indian | |
| J1141.12 | Guilty man freed of murder charge is tricked into making a false accusation for which he is sentenced | Cheremis | |
| J1141.15 | The thief is tricked into revealing himself in church | England | |
| J1141.16 | The thief is tricked into betraying himself in supposed ordeal | Canada, England, U.S. | |
| J1241.1 | Dividing two sheep and a ram: trickster to divide with two friends | ||
| J1282 | Trickster chooses his gift | ||
| J1492 | Trickster artist hoodwinks king: cuckold‘s eyes cannot see picture | Spanish | |
| J1511.13 | Oisin‘s poor diet in Patrick’s house--pancake size of ivy leaf, measure of butter only size of rowan berry | Ireland | |
| J1564.1 | Trickster‘s interrupted feast revenged | ||
| J1662 | The cat’s only trick | Angola, India, Rumanian | |
| J1795.1 | Foolish demon sees his reflection in trickster’s mirror and is convinced he has been captured | India | |
| J1883 | Trickster joins bulrushes in a dance | N. A. Indian | |
| J2131.5.1 | Trickster puts on buffalo skull: gets head caught | N. A. Indian | |
| J2134.1 | Trickster eats scratch-berries | N. A. Indian | |
| J2134.2 | Trickster eats medicines that physic him | California Indian, N. A. Indian | |
| J2136.2 | Trickster gets caught on a fishhook | N. A. Indian | |
| J2136.4 | Trickster pinched by shellfish (crab) | India, Indonesia, Japanese, West Indies | |
| J2173.1 | Sleeping trickster‘s feast stolen | N. A. Indian | |
| J2173.7 | Trickster travels while fish cook: they burn up | California Indian | |
| J2186 | Trickster’s false creations fail him | N. A. Indian | |
| J2347 | Occupational tricks on new employees | U.S. | |
| J2415.6 | Pig sees goat return decked with ornaments and plenty of food; goes out and imitates trick played by goat but is beaten instead | India | |
| J2751 | Trickster’s greed while hunting causes him to be deserted | Jamaica | |
| K11.5 | Race won by deception: sham-sick trickster | N. A. Indian | |
| K16.2 | Diving match: trickster eats food while dupe is under water | Angola, Carolina, Georgia, Jamaica, Kaffir, South Carolina | |
| K18.1 | Throwing contest: trickster shouts | U.S. | |
| K18.1.1 | Throwing contest: trickster addresses Angel Gabriel | Penobscot | |
| K18.1.2 | Throwing contest: trickster addresses Angel Gabriel or St | U.S. | |
| K42.2 | Mowing contest won by trickery | Danish | |
| K69.1 | Contest with magician in bringing grain out of closed bamboo: trickster brings culm-borers to make holes | India | |
| K126 | Trickster, as watchman, exchanges worthless bag for bag of gold at night | India | |
| K134.3 | Trickster grooms master‘s old mule and then sells him back without detection at huge profit | ||
| K134.4 | Trickster in disguise regains possession of his own horse by trading with man whom he has duped once before | ||
| K134.8 | Trickster temporarily lames valuable horse and buys him for trifle | India | |
| K149.1 | Trick exchange: basket of stones for one of bread; a few pieces of money shown through slit in basket-cover to dupe | India | |
| K154 | Trickster feigns ability to influence the sun; sells services | India | |
| K158 | Trickster persuades dupe to sacrifice animal and give it to him as payment for supposed services | Chinese | |
| K196 | Selling by trickery: literal bargain | ||
| K196.3 | Trickster lends bamboo on condition that it is returned exactly as it is | India | |
| K231.6.2 | Trickster gets strong drink by trickery in returning goods | ||
| K231.6.2.1 | Trickster returns a bottle of water instead of the bottle of rum he has just purchased | U.S. | |
| K231.6.2.2 | Trickster fills his gallon jug half full of water, then has it filled with rum at the store | U.S. | |
| K231.15 | Trickster cheats by pretending deafness | African | |
| K233 | Trickster escapes without paying | India | |
| K234 | Trickster summons all creditors at once, precipitates fight, and escapes payment | Jamaica | |
| K237 | Trickster disguises himself and escapes notice of creditors | ||
| K251.2 | Trickster demands return of food guest has just eaten: gets damages | India | |
| K254.2 | Trickster eats sacrifice offerings | India | |
| K1867 | Trickster shams death and eats grave offerings | ||
| K258.1 | Trickster steals farmer’s cow and then sells her to the farmer | ||
| K282 | Trickster sells what is not his to sell | ||
| K283 | Trickster persuades girl to reveal hidden gold by promising to make it into ornaments | India | |
| K314 | Trickster feigns being pursued by drunken husband to obtain entrance | Italian | |
| K331.2.2 | Guards fatigued by trickster so that they sleep while goods are stolen | Kaffir | |
| K331.5 | Trickster steals magic doll while owner is asleep | Italian | |
| K335.0.3 | Trickster quarrels with owner of goods, feigns death, and frightens owner away | Jamaica | |
| K335.0.4.1 | Dupe, made to believe that trickster becomes a wolf when he yawns three times, flees and leaves his clothes behind him | Italian | |
| K335.0.6 | Owner frightened from goods by trickster’s ferocious animal | Rhodesia | |
| K335.0.10 | Trickster lights torches and bluffs old woman into giving him money | India | |
| K335.0.13 | Owner frightened from goods by trickster’s summons of wild buffalo herd | India | |
| K336 | House filled with smoke so that owner gives trickster lodging | ||
| K336.2 | Trickster fills house with smoke so that partner cannot see to eat | Cameroon | |
| K341.1 | Trickster reports lost money; searchers leave him in possession of premises | Italian | |
| K341.8.1 | Trickster pretends to ride home for tools to perform tricks | Estonian, Lithuanian, Rumanian | |
| K341.10 | Trickster bribes guards to start a fight | Spanish | |
| K341.12 | Trickster falsely announces marriage celebration and distracts owner’s attention | Kaffir | |
| K341.17 | Trickster entices children to dance and steals their food | India | |
| K341.18 | Helpful animal amuses princess with tricks and secures key to treasury | Nub, Swahili | |
| K341.19 | Trickster poses as entertainer: steals meat while host assembles friends | Cameroon | |
| K341.27 | Trickster starts argument and steals from arguers | India, Lithuanian | |
| K344.1 | Trickster gives a woman a knife to cut him a slice of white bread | ||
| K344.1.3 | Trickster cuts up partridges with his knife | Spanish | |
| K344.1.4 | Trickster puts filth in food | India | |
| K345.2 | Thief sent into well by trickster | India | |
| K348 | Trickster causes owner and another to fight over goods | West Indies | |
| K351 | Trickster permitted to try on clothes | ||
| K351.1 | Trickster persuades tailor to leave his goods | Italian | |
| K351.3 | Trickster permitted to try on ornaments | Cook Group | |
| K354 | Trickster asks hospitality: expels owner and appropriates house | ||
| K355 | Trickster pollutes house so that he is left in possession | Bahama, Georgia, West Indies | |
| K355.1 | Trickster pretends to have spit in wine accidentally | Korea | |
| K356 | Tricksters feign death of their father | Italian | |
| K359.3 | Trickster dupes woman into putting him into basket | India | |
| K361.2 | Tricksters eat up food given them for bear | India | |
| K366 | Theft by trickster‘s trained animal | ||
| K371 | Trickster hides in food and eats it | India, Indonesia, Thonga | |
| K371.1 | Trickster throws fish off the wagon | Bahama, Carolina, Georgia, Hottentot, Japanese, Lappish, South Carolina, Virginia, N. A. Indian | |
| K372.1 | Trickster eats food left by tiger (his trapping partner) at snare | India | |
| K374 | Trickster pretends to teach dance: flees with valuables | Hawaii | |
| K439.3 | Thief tricked into robbing himself | Italian | |
| K441.4 | Trickster collects from both husband and wife | Scotland | |
| K443.5 | Trickster entices wolves out of a stable by music: exacts money from their watcher for his carelessness | ||
| K443.6 | Trickster exacts promise of marriage as price of silence after having seen a princess naked | ||
| K443.6.1 | Trickster exacts beautiful wife from curious people | Cheremis | |
| K443.6.2 | Trickster exacts money as price of silence after lying with princess (queen) | India | |
| K451 | Unjust umpire as trickster’s confederate | Iceland | |
| K451.4 | Trickster’s confederate gives fabulous appraisal to worthless piece of glass | Italian | |
| K455.1 | Supper won by trick: the mutual friend | ||
| K455.4.1 | Trickster buys chickens telling owner that priest will pay | Italian | |
| K455.10 | Trickster receives huge sum on trifling credit by chain of borrowings | India | |
| K461 | Trickster takes goods given in charity to his family | Kaffir | |
| K474 | Trickster cheats rescuers into digging his well | ||
| K476.1.1 | Rock substituted for ham by trickster | ||
| K476.6 | Lean geese substituted for fat by trickster | ||
| K477 | Attention secured by trickery | ||
| K482.2 | Trickster reports treasure‘s owner dead: receives it from children | India | |
| K484.1 | Trickster gets money from a bank by raising an alarm and demanding “what is owing to him | ||
| K491 | Trickster paid to educate an ass | India | |
| K491.1 | Trickster paid to teach monkey to talk | India | |
| K495 | Trickster shams sickness so that partner does all the work | India | |
| K499.1 | Trickster sells mother’s wine to merchant without asking her permission | ||
| K499.4 | Trickster breaks cat of taste for milk by overheating its milk | India | |
| K499.8 | Trickster dupes rival by exchanging beds: receives his food | Wute | |
| K522.7 | Sham murder: trickster attacked by angry mother causes her to spear ox guts and believe she has murdered him | India | |
| K547.14 | Trickster claims to be holding up sky | Wute | |
| K551.22.2 | God grants man twenty years more of life provided he plays no tricks | India | |
| K562.1 | Captive trickster persuades captor to pray before eating | Hottentot, Nama | |
| K606.0.3 | Trickster, pretending not to see attacking enemy, sings song of friendship | India | |
| K619.3 | Trickster persuades pursuers to play fatal deceptive game | Ireland | |
| K624 | Abductors tricked into running race while captive escapes | India | |
| K648 | Bird’s call attracts attention of pursuer so that trickster escapes | India | |
| K649.12 | Confederate persuades captor to throw away disguised trickster | West Indies | |
| K676 | Trickster persuades pursuers to ride in his basket | Tonga | |
| K711.2 | Leopard persuaded to enter bag in order to see trickster perform marvel | India | |
| K714.1 | Victim tricked into prison and kept there | Ireland, Thonga | |
| K714.1.1 | Trickster persuades policeman to take his place in the stocks | India | |
| K714.2 | Victim tricked into entering box | Carolina, French, Georgia, India, Indonesia, North Carolina, Virginia | |
| K714.2.1 | Victim tricked into jumping in a box by making him think he is going to heaven | Cheremis | |
| K714.3 | Dupe tricked into entering hollow tree | Georgia, India, West Indies | |
| K714.4 | Victim tricked into entering basket | Chinese | |
| K722 | Giant tricked into becoming mouse | French, India, Japanese | |
| K726 | Dupe persuaded to ride on trickster‘s back: captured | Buddhist | |
| K735.5 | Dupe tricked into well: left there | India | |
| K771 | Unicorn tricked into running horn into tree | French, Georgia, N. A. Indian | |
| K773 | Deception by having victim pick trickster‘s teeth | Verde Is. | |
| K810 | Fatal deception into trickster’s power | ||
| K811.0.1 | Animal enticed into palace after it had long fed out of trickster‘s hand | Buddhist | |
| K813.2 | Hare tricks civet cat into being eaten by lion | Dzalamo | |
| K814 | Overcurious dupe enters trickster’s basket and is killed | Angola | |
| K815 | Victim lured by kind words approaches trickster and is killed | Basuto, India, Kaffir, Spanish, West Indies | |
| K815.14 | Fish tricked by crane into letting selves be carried from one pond to another | India | |
| K815.19 | Victim told to stand ready by tree to catch bee nest as it falls; trickster throws club at him instead | Toba | |
| K818.1 | Man killed with sword, which he himself is tricked into passing to captured enemy | Iceland | |
| K827.3 | Dupe persuaded to sing (dance) on trickster‘s body | Bahama, Georgia | |
| K828 | Bloodthirsty animal by trickery admitted to fold: kills peaceful animal | India | |
| K831.1.1 | Trickster sends dupe to well for drink of water; pushes him in | India | |
| K833 | Man lured into aiding trickster who has feigned an accident or needs help | Italian, Toba, Tuamotu | |
| K834.1 | Dupe tricked into sleeping | India | |
| K839 | Fatal deception into trickster’s power--miscellaneous | ||
| K839.6 | Supernaturals tricked into (fatal) exposure to daylight | Marquesas | |
| K841 | Substitute for execution obtained by trickery | India, Spanish, Wachaga | |
| K841.1 | Substitute for execution obtained by trickery | India | |
| K846 | Trickster being attacked by ferocious animal persuades dupe to take his place | India | |
| K863.1 | Jealous husband tricks blind poet into slaying wife‘s lover with infallible spear | Ireland | |
| K890 | Dupe tricked into killing himself | French | |
| K890.1 | Poor man deceives rich man, plays tricks on him, causes his death | Ireland | |
| K891 | Dupe tricked into jumping to his death | ||
| K891.1 | Intruding wolf tricked into jumping down chimney and killing himself | ||
| K891.2 | Ape tricked into jumping on to stakes and killing himself | Indonesia, Melanesia | |
| K891.3 | Monkey tricked into jumping in water and drowning self | India | |
| K891.4 | Dupe tricked into jumping on supposed funeral pyre of beloved | India | |
| K896.1 | Beaver and porcupine trick each other | N. A. Indian | |
| K897 | Dupe tricked on to slippery road lined with knives | Gold Coast | |
| K898 | Dupe tricked into measuring boar whose bristles are poisoned | Ireland | |
| K931.1 | Trickster employed to educate baby crocodiles: he eats them instead | India | |
| K932 | Trickster pollutes nest and brood of bird | N. A. Indian | |
| K933 | Trickster eats all of tiger‘s cubs but one | Jamaica | |
| K941 | Trickster’s false report of high prices causes dupe to destroy his property | ||
| K941.1 | Cows killed for their hides when large price is reported by trickster | India, Indonesia, Japanese | |
| K941.1.1 | Wives killed when large price for his mother‘s (wife’s) corpse is reported by trickster | India | |
| K941.2 | Dupe burns house because trickster reports high price paid for ashes | India, Indonesia, Spanish | |
| K945 | Woman tricked into giving poison to her husband: thinks it a love-philtre | Greek | |
| K952.3 | Animal tricked into seizing hollow log | Ireland | |
| K1013.4 | Trickster to give wings to tiger | India | |
| K1013.6 | Trick: breaking legs for prowess in dancing (or for swiftness) | Zuñi | |
| K1026 | Dupe imitates trickster’s thefts and is caught | Japanese, Nigeria | |
| K1036 | Trickster pretends to give dupe magic power to produce food | Chinese | |
| K1068 | Trickster teaches a dupe a strange language | ||
| K1074 | Dupe tricked into sitting on hot iron | India | |
| K1076 | Dupe tricked into breaking tabu by lying | Ireland | |
| K1077 | Men tricked into bathing in ”disease-water“ | India | |
| K1084.1 | Trickster tells lies to fishes and causes them to fight | N. A. Indian | |
| K1084.3 | Trickster attempts to bring friends to fight | Ireland | |
| K1171 | Dupe tricked in race into falling into a pit | ||
| K1218.1.1 | The entrapped suitors: the chaste wife tricks them into casks | India, Italian | |
| K1218.1.3 | The entrapped suitor: tricked into room where he is left to himself | India, Italian | |
| K1218.9 | Obscene tricks are played on repugnant simpleton who wishes to marry | Italian | |
| K1222 | Woman tricks importunate lover with the head of a pike | Cheremis | |
| K1235 | King tricked into sleeping with hag | Ireland | |
| K1241 | Trickster rides dupe horseback | African, North American, Angola, Carolina, French, Georgia, India, Jamaica, Louisiana, Nigeria, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Indies, Yoruba | |
| K1241.1 | Trickster rides dupe a-courting | Mbundu, Nupe, Nyanja, Xosa, Yoruba | |
| K1252.1 | Dupe persuaded to fight with alleged gold-dropping bear: trickster meantime steals his clothes | India | |
| K1288 | King induced to kiss horse’s rump: trickster then threatens to tell | Russian, Spanish | |
| K1292 | Hostile brother-in-law made king’s inferior by being tricked to hold his sword, while the king arranges his breeches belt | Iceland | |
| K1311.0.2 | Trickster kills husband and puts on his skin so as to seduce wife | Toba | |
| K1315.6.1 | Tricksters persuade women that they must share their marital intimacies with them | Italian | |
| K1318 | Trickster shifts married couples in bed | ||
| K1330 | Girl tricked into man’s room (or power) | ||
| K1339 | Girl tricked into man’s room (power)-- miscellaneous | ||
| K1339.5 | Girl tricked by use of drugs | Italian | |
| K1339.7 | Trickster agrees to carry old woman and girl across stream: carries girl across and rides off with her leaving old woman on other side | India | |
| K1339.8 | Leak in roof over woman‘s bed: in rain must go to bed with trickster | Tenibé, N. A. Indian | |
| K1340 | Entrance into girl’s (man‘s) room (bed) by trick | ||
| K1349.1.3 | Trickster gains access to woman‘s room disguised as peddler | India, Italian | |
| K1349.2 | Trickster gains access to woman‘s room by pretending he has news of her absent lover | Italian | |
| K1349.9 | Trickster pretends to seek lost ball by woman‘s bed: seduces her | California Indian | |
| K1350 | Woman persuaded (or wooed) by trick | ||
| K1353.1 | Trickster offers food for woman‘s favors which will completely satisfy him | India | |
| K1354.1.1 | Trickster masking as girl‘s father advises intercourse with trickster | India | |
| K1354.2.1 | Trickster asks husband for one thing and the wife for another | Italian | |
| K1354.2.2 | Trickster friar seduces woman under pretence of administering forgotten sacrament | Italian | |
| K1354.3.2 | Trickster masking as bridegroom tells bride that he comes at her mother’s request | Italian | |
| K1371.2 | Father tricked into giving away disguised daughter in marriage | Scotland | |
| K1372 | Woman engaged to marry by trick | Iceland | |
| K1372.1 | Princess tricked into engaging herself to suitor rejected by her father | Iceland | |
| K1377 | Incestuous marriage arranged by trick | India, N. A. Indian | |
| K1382 | Trickster pretends lameness and is taken on woman’s back: violates her | Indonesia, Yoruba, N. A. Indian | |
| K1383 | Trickster throws corpse into river and accuses princess of murder: marriage to avoid scandal | Norwegian | |
| K1386 | Man won over by woman’s obscene trick | Italian | |
| K1387 | Lecherous trickster seduces women from tree and loses them | N. A. Indian | |
| K1388 | Trickster sends letter ordering bearer detained and meanwhile steals bearer‘s wife | Spanish | |
| K1392 | Trickster and girls play obscene tricks on one another | N. A. Indian | |
| K1398 | The trickster with painted member | Lithuanian, Livonian | |
| K1399.3 | Seduction: trickster shows girl how to store up warmth for winter | Cheremis | |
| K1431 | Trickster saws legs of table so that it collapses | ||
| K1432 | Fixing fences: trickster cuts fence down | India | |
| K1433 | Twisting twine: trickster cuts it | India | |
| K1446 | To drive cattle to jungle: trickster kills a bull every day | India | |
| K1447 | Tying the cattle: trickster ties them so tightly they are strangled | India | |
| K1456 | Trickster exchanges master‘s tame horse for vicious bullock | India | |
| K1464 | Trickster deceives dupe into killing his own children | Chinese | |
| K1554.1 | Trickster sets fire to barrel of tow in which paramour is hidden | England, U.S. | |
| K1567 | Husband tricks wife into riding a mule which has been denied water | Italian | |
| K1570 | Trickster outwits adulteress and paramour | ||
| K1571 | Trickster discovers adultery: food goes to husband instead of paramour | India, Lithuanian, Rumanian, Russian | |
| K1571.0.1 | Trickster discovers adultery: gets food prepared for paramour | India | |
| K1571.1 | Trickster as sham magician makes adulteress produce hidden food for her husband | Japanese | |
| K1572 | Trickster makes woman believe that her husband is coming to punish her adultery | ||
| K1573 | Trickster sends his master running after the paramour | ||
| K1574 | Trickster as sham magician buys chest containing hidden paramour | India | |
| K1574.2 | Trickster discovers woman‘s paramour and hides him in outhouse: rewarded by husband | India | |
| K1637 | Flattering foreman tricked by his master | ||
| K1641 | Ambushed trickster killed by intended victim | Ekoi, India, Ireland, Jamaica | |
| K1642 | Mole as trickster killed in his own tunnel | Angola | |
| K1664 | Trickster eats his own dog | U.S. | |
| K1682 | Disguised trickster beaten by man he is trying to frighten | Spanish | |
| K1693 | Trickster‘s eggs become an omelet | Italian | |
| K1696 | Trickster makes believe he has found a purse (which he had filled with lead) | Italian | |
| K1715.6 | Trickster pretends to hunt certain tree with which his ancestors have killed tigers | India | |
| K1715.9 | Trickster purports to be deity‘s messenger to procure demon-skins for his drum | India | |
| K1721 | Hero proves himself a cannibal by trick vomit-exchange | India, Rhodesia, N. A. Indian | |
| K1746 | Trickster threatens to throw weight into a cloud: ogre intimidated | Cheremis | |
| K1766 | Trickster‘s boasting scares his powerful opponent from contest | India | |
| K1784.1 | Trickster falsely reports impending invasion from his own people | India | |
| K1825.1.3 | Trickster masks as doctor and punishes his cheaters | ||
| K1837.5 | Wife disguises as a man and outwits landlord of inn when he tries same trick he has played on her husband to get all of his goods, etc | India | |
| K1838.1 | Tricksters change man‘s furniture | Italian | |
| K1867 | Trickster shams death to get food | ||
| K1867.1 | Trickster feigns death and eats the ripe fruit from the tree | Hottentot | |
| K1867.2 | Trickster shams death and eats grave offerings | N. A. Indian | |
| K1883.7 | Deception: mirror-reflection convinces dupe he is trickster‘s captive | India | |
| K1892.1 | Trickster hides in bag in order to be carried | Indonesia | |
| K1892.1.1 | Trickster hides in box in order to be carried | Western Sudan | |
| K1892.1.2 | Trickster hides in basket and is carried | India | |
| K1942 | Impostors tricked into carrying hero in box | India | |
| K1963.3 | Master posing as magician plays tricks on his servant | Italian | |
| K1963.5 | Trickster impersonates necromancer to seduce latter’s wife | Italian | |
| K1971.1.1 | Trickster hides in hollow tree and eats food he has persuaded his wife to bring to feed a bird | India | |
| K1971.10 | Trickster concealed in sacred tree advises that he is to marry the princess | India, Indonesia, Japanese | |
| K1971.11 | Trickster in tree advises that tree and fruit belong to him | Rhodesia | |
| K1975 | Sham miracle: may the grass grow up! Tricksters who have done no mowing say to their master when he angers them, ”May the grass grow up again!“ He finds it is full height | ||
| K1981.1 | Trickster feigns deafness and gets hospitality from miser | ||
| K1983 | Trickster poses as helper and eats women‘s stored provisions | N. A. Indian | |
| K2033 | Trickster makes basket for his partner tiger to carry meat, but does not sever bamboo from roots | India | |
| K2111.4 | Adulteress tricks husband into killing allegedly importunate lover | ||
| K2131 | Trickster makes two friends each suspicious of the other’s intentions | Buddhist, India, Ireland, Wakweli | |
| K2131.4 | Trickster fills supposed treasure box with trash | India | |
| K2151.1 | Live man thought to be returning corpse pleads with trickster to save him | India | |
| K2153 | Trickster wounds self and accuses others | India, Marquesas | |
| K2213.10 | Faithless wife tricks husband into setting lover free | Ireland | |
| K2213.11 | Treacherous queen tricks king into bestowing kingdom upon her son | Ireland | |
| K2335 | Parson is tricked into giving up his room | Italian | |
| K2366.1 | Trickster admits defeat: enemy and friends invited to fort for ceremony and then attacked | India | |
| K2371.1 | Heaven entered by a trick | India, Jewish, Spanish | |
| K2371.1.1 | Heaven entered by trick: permission to pick up cap | Spanish | |
| K2371.1.2 | Heaven entered by trick: demanding back the charity gift | ||
| K2371.1.3 | Heaven entered by trick: ”wishing sack“ thrown in | ||
| K2371.1.4 | Heaven entered by trick: sitting on Peter‘s chair | Spanish | |
| K2371.1.5 | Heaven entered by trick: slipping in along with holy person | Spanish | |
| K2371.1.6 | Heaven entered by trick: angel tricked by drink into telling woman how to enter | ||
| K2371.2 | Gods tricked into help in escaping one’s fate | India | |
| K2384 | Man tricked to be one‘s sworn brother in order to secure his help against his mother | Iceland | |
| M291 | Trickster undertakes impossible bargains and collects his part | ||
| M300.1 | Prophecy by Jesus that certain people shall live ”till coming of Patrick | Ireland | |
| N465.1 | Secret of person’s sleeplessness discovered by trickery | Ireland | |
| Q45.1.2 | King refuses to invite Patrick to feast | Ireland | |
| Q222.5.3 | Bold woman who danced naked in church is stricken with leprosy | ||
| Q451.3.3.1 | Son stricken dumb as punishment for father’s opposition to holy person | Ireland | |
| Q551.6.0.1 | Punishment: men stricken with leprosy | India | |
| Q558.1 | Scoffing priest mysteriously stricken dead | ||
| Q558.2 | Perjurer stricken dead | Finnish-Swedish, Iceland, Swedish | |
| Q558.4 | Blasphemer stricken dead | England, Ireland | |
| Q558.7 | Slave-driver mysteriously stricken dead | Ireland | |
| Q558.11 | Animals which eat of saint’s body stricken dead | Ireland | |
| Q558.14.1 | Animals stricken dead for desecration of holy places | Ireland | |
| Q559.2 | Punishment: man stricken blind | Finnish-Swedish, Iceland, India, Ireland, Jewish, Swedish | |
| Q583.2 | Man stricken dumb for surly speech | Ireland | |
| Q591.1.1 | King tests saint by having man feign death; saint perceives trick and causes man to be dead | Ireland | |
| Q595.4.1 | Tribute as punishment for trickery | Ireland | |
| S327.3 | Half-wit abandoned because of his tricks | Kodiak | |
| S345 | Parents trick children into going on hunt, and then abandon them in forest | India | |
| T88 | Woman stricken by plague and forsaken by her husband is sought out by unsuccessful lover and dies in his arms | Italian | |
| T92.4.3 | In darkness of night trickster instead of her chosen lover elopes with girl | Tonga | |
| T165.5 | Three years asked before consummation of marriage as trick | Iceland | |
| T257.10 | Trickster sends jealous wife after husband: steals food | India | |
| T411.1.1 | Father by trickery secures priest’s advice to marry his own daughter | ||
| U111.1 | Many books do not make a scholar: youth tricks mother by carrying many books | ||
| V135.1 | Poverty-stricken couple wrap newly-born child in altar-coverings | Italian | |
| V352 | Pagan disputant with Christian stricken dumb | England | |
| X613 | Trickster breaks up Jewish marriage ceremony and seduces the bride | Italian | |
| X909.2 | The liar outdoes the tricksters who try to catch him in a lie | U.S. | |
| X1153 | Lie: fish caught by remarkable trick | U.S. | |
| Z47 | Series of trick exchanges | India | |
| Z47.1 | Series of trick exchanges: razor--pot--bride--drum by tricky fox | India |
About StorySearch
The Project
This website is a search engine of almost 50,000 patterns within stories world over called "Motifs" and several projects fueled by this search engine.
The Motif Collection
The work comes from a folklorist named Stith Thompson who spent his life reading and cataloging these stories which he published as the Motif Index of Folklore and Literature. You can read more about his work here: Wikipedia page for Stith Thompson
The Goal
While we have Mr. Thompson's motifs, we have yet to track down all of the stories he read, which is our ultimate goal. We then will provide the stories for all to read, explore and see the connections and commonalities between these stories which we hope to further understandings between cultures and deeper into ourselves.
The Stories
Of course, since there are a current total of 46,248 motifs, we've estimated there to be as many as 51,822 stories which might take some time to collect.
The Strategy
For now, we are working to build a crowdsourcing application to help us collect, organize these stories along with tagging the motifs within them.
Until then, please use the following FAQ.
Frequently Asked Questions about Story Search
What do you use this site for?
We use it to find stories, or to know there are stories worldwide with patterns in them. From there, we've found three common uses:
Lectures, Professional & other Metaphor Development
Another common request is from people wanting to tell better stories in their work. This might be someone trying to communicate a tricky idea which is in need of a good metaphor. Since we know these "story seeds" have proven themselves to be quite memorable, we try to adapt motifs to fit as a solid and simple metaphor. We've helped Scientists, Lawyers, Medical Organizations, and even those in the Financials Industry to help better convey what they are doing by telling a better story.
Storytelling, Mentoring & Narrative Therapy
And last (usually the most important in the story world) but not least, we do a lot of work with how people can grow and develop parts of who they are and the connection therein through story. So, we might tell research specific stories to tell a child or youth who is working through an issue, such as dealing with anger, attention issues, or life changes by carefully choosing a motif which can help them understand what they're dealing with. (This works well for adults too.)
If you find a new usage for these, please tell us.
What exactly is a Motif?
A Motif is a trait common between two stories. They can be from nearby places, but the interesting ones (we find) are from very different parts of the world. That is to say, two ideas that simultaneously erupted most likely independently. This is because we can then develop a theory about well, pretty much anything.
Let's give you an example of two excerpts from stories so you can spot their motifs.
Sedna - Eskimo
In this mortal peril the father determined to offer Sedna to the birds and flung her overboard. She clung to the edge of the boat with a death grip. The cruel father then took a knife and cut off the first joints of her fingers. Falling into the sea they were transformed into whales, the nails turning into whalebone. Sedna holding on to the boat more tightly, the second finger joints fell under the sharp knife and swam away as seals; when the father cut off the stumps of the fingers they became ground seals.
Handless Maiden - Germany
The devil still could not approach her, he was very angry, and ordered the miller, "Chop off her hands, so I can get to her."
The miller was horrified and answered, "How could I chop off my dear child's hands? No, I will not do it."
"Then do you know what? I will take you, if you don't do it!"
That frightened the miller terribly, and driven by fear he promised to do what the devil had ordered. He went to his daughter and said, "My child, the devil will take me if I don't chop off both your hands, and I have promised him that I will do it. I beg for your forgiveness."
"Father," she said, "do with me what you will," stretched forth her hands, and let him chop them off.
Interpretations
What could we infer about this story? Well, we might use it to interpret a major plot point in another storyline such as Star Wars, Winter's Bone or Game of Thrones.
We might see it as a symbol for the the loss of ability, that is to say, the loss of the ability to do things.
And so, it might be a useful story to tell someone who has issues with motivation, or the lack of the ability to do things.
We'd also be very curious what the relationship between the symbolic "father" is in each of these stories is, including the three newer stories we mentioned.
Where did you get all of the info about Motifs and Stories?
This search engine is a digitized version of the life work comes of a folklorist named Stith Thompson who spent his life reading and cataloging stories which he published as the Motif Index of Folklore and Literature. This book is very hard to come by, as are many of the books Mr. Thompson referenced. We will be collecting the stories (with the help of folks on the internet) to allow everyone to enjoy and educate themselves about this work.
I have a story I'd really like to find. Can you send it to me?
If we can find it, yes, we will definitely try to so you're always welcome to ask. We don't have digital copies of all of the books referenced in the search engine yet, but we currently have more than two thirds of the 800 or so. Feel free to use the contact form, and we will let you know what we can do.
When I be able to read all of the stories online?
That is hard to tell because it is dependent on two things: our helpers and funds.
Feedback - If you have feedback to offer as far as features you'd like, or requests for stories, this helps us polish the new systems we are putting in place in order to collect all of Stith's stories. Don't hesitate to use our contact form.
Donate Time - If you would like to donate some of your time to help comb stories, please fill out the form below.
Donate Funds - Or, you can use the fully tax deductible donation to our 501(c)3 non-profit hosting organization the Center for Symbolic Studies via a form at http://symbolicstudies.org
How can I help?
We've created a twitter feed for StorySearch, and since it is using his work, we've put the feeds under the name @StithThompson.
Every 15 minutes, a new random motif is tweeted. Below are the 20 most recent tweets:
Twitter Feed for @StithThompson
Updated every 15 minutes with a new random motif.
Video
Writing
TEDx - Lower East Side
Here is a talk by the creator of the Story Search, Richard Schwab, did on myth featuring stories about ways we use this site. October 25th 2013.