• Folktexts, page 1.

• Folk and Fairy Tale Links.

• Germanic Myths, Legends, and Sagas.

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• The Name of the Helper. Folktales of type 500, in which a mysterious and threatening helper is defeated when the hero or heroine discovers his name.
  1. Rumpelstiltskin (Germany).
  2. Doubleturk (Germany).
  3. Mistress Beautiful (Germany).
  4. Dwarf Holzrührlein Bonneführlein (Germany).
  5. Nägendümer (Germany).
  6. Kugerl (Germany).
  7. Hoppentînken (Germany).
  8. Zirkzirk (Germany).
  9. Purzinigele (Austria).
  10. Tarandandò (Italy).
  11. Winterkölbl (Hungary).
  12. Kruzimugeli (Austria).
  13. The Girl Who Could Spin Gold from Clay and Long Straw (Sweden).
  14. Tom Tit Tot (England).
  15. Duffy and the Devil (England).
  16. Whuppity Stoorie (Scotland).
  17. Peerie Fool [Peerifool] (Orkney Islands).
  18. Gwarwyn-a-throt (Wales).
  19. The Rival Kempers (Ireland).
  20. Penelop (Wales).
  21. Silly go Dwt (Wales).
  22. Kinkach Martinko (a Slav folktale).

• Names.
  The Master Who Gave Strange Names to Things in His House, folktales of type 1562A making fun of people who insist on pretentious titles.
  1. The Clever Apprentice (Scotland).
  2. Master of All Masters (England).
  3. Enigmas (India).

• Nasreddin Hodja: Tales of the Turkish Trickster.
  1. About Nasreddin Hodja .
  2. Everyone Is Right.
  3. Walnuts and Pumpkins.
  4. Faith Moves Mountains.
  5. The Smell of Food and the Sound of Money.
  6. The Debt.
  7. The Slap.
  8. The Burqa.
  9. The Wife's Name.
  10. The Older Wife.
  11. The Favorite Wife.
  12. The Contrary Mother-in-Law.
  13. Eat, My Coat, Eat.
  14. A Close Call.
  15. The Robe.
  16. Restoring the Moon.
  17. Flour on the Clothesline.
  18. The Squeaky Shoe.
  19. The Lost Shoe.
  20. Allah's House.
  21. The Cauldron That Died.
  22. The Recipe.
  23. The Last Laugh.

• Nephites.
  The Three Nephites. According to Mormon theology and folklore, for some two thousand years now these three individuals have wandered about the Western Hemisphere doing good and prophesying.

• Nibelungenlied, an English translation of the Middle High German epic, composed about 1200. This is one of the most important sources for Germanic mythology to survive outside of Scandinavia.

• Nigeria.
  
  1. The Disobedient Daughter Who Married a Skull.
  2. The Hippopotamus and the Tortoise.
  3. How the Cannibals Drove the People from Insofan Mountain to the Cross River.
  4. The Leopard Man.
  5. The Twin Brothers.
  6. Why the Cat Kills Rats.
  7. Why Dead People Are Buried.

• Night-Mares, legends about Mares, Alps, and other such spirits that cause nightmares.
  1. Definitions.
  2. The Alp (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. The Alp (Germany, Johann August Ernst Köhler).
  4. Beliefs Concerning Alps and Mares (Germany, Karl Bartsch).
  5. The Mårt (Germany, A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz).
  6. A Mahrt Is Captured (Poland/Germany, A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz).
  7. An Alp Is Captured (Germany, Bernhard Baader).
  8. Charm against Night-Mares (Germany, A. Kuhn).
  9. The Alp (Poland/Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  10. A Charm to Control the Night-Mare (England, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps).
  11. Nightmare Charm or Spell against the Mara (Shetland Islands, Biot Edmonston and Jessie M. E. Saxby).
  12. A Shetland Charm (Shetland Islands, Karl Blind).
  13. Vanlandi, King of Sweden, and Huld, the Witch Woman (Iceland, The Ynglinga Saga of Snorri Sturluson).
  14. Baku, Eater of Dreams (Japan, F. Hadland Davis).

• Njal's Saga.
  The Story of Burnt Njal (Njal's Saga).

• The Njugl (Shetland Islands). Legends about a horse-like water spirit.

• The Norse Creation Myth from the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson.

• Norway.
  Norske Folkeeventyr by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. The classic collection of Norwegian folktales, here in the Norwegian language.

O

• Oisin in Tir na n-Og. Oisin (also spelled Ossian), the legendary Celtic hero and poet, marries a princess who through a Druidic spell has been cursed with the head of a pig.

• Olcott, Frances Jenkins. Good Stories for Great Holidays (1914). From the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.

• Old Dogs Learn New Tricks. Fables of type 101 in which aging animals fake the rescue of a child, thus endearing themselves to their masters.
  1. Old Sultan (Germany).
  2. The Dog and the Wolf (Bohemia).
  3. The Bear, the Dog, and the Cat (Russia).
  4. The sagacious Monkey and the Boar (Japan).

• Old Men and Women.
  Killing of Old Men. Folktales of type 981 and other legends about geronticide.
  1. How the Killing of the Old Men Was Stopped (Serbia).
  2. Grandfather and Grandson (Serbia).
  3. A Story from the Time of the Romans (Romania -- Transylvania).
  4. The Old Man Who Solved Riddles (Macedonia).
  5. Killing of Old Men (Romania).
  6. A Wendish Legend (Germany).
  7. The Old Heathens (Germany).
  8. Bibliography of additional tales of type 981.

• Old Grandfathers and Their Grandsons. Folktales of type 980, 980A, and 980B about old men who are saved by their grandsons.
  1. How an Ungrateful Son Planned to Murder His Old Father (India, The Jataka).
  2. The Aged Father (Korea, Zong In-Sob).
  3. Half a Blanket (Germany, Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
  4. The Old Grandfather and His Grandson (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).

• Old, Older, and Oldest, tales of type 726 about old men, their fathers, and their grandfathers.
  1. Old Age (Germany).
  2. The Three Old Men (Germany).
  3. The Seventh Father of the House (Norway).
  4. The Pigmy of Folkared's Cliff (Sweden).
  5. Three Generations (USA).

• Old People and Their Ungrateful Heirs. Folktales of type 982 in which old people trick their ungrateful children into caring for them.
  1. How the Wicked Sons Were Duped (India).
  2. How the Daughter-in-Law Got the Coins (Sri Lanka).
  3. The Ungrateful Sons (England).
  4. The Cudgel on the Gate at Jüterbog (Germany).

• Origin of the Underground People. Folk beliefs about the origin of elves and other hidden creatures.
  1. Origin of the Hidden People: Two Legends (Iceland).
  2. Origin of the Underground People in Amrum (Germany).
  3. Origin of the Fairies (Wales).
  4. Origin of the Spirits of the Erzgebirge Mountains (Germany/Bohemia).
  5. When Satan Was Cast out of Heaven (Sweden).

• Ox.
  The Education of an Ox. Folktales of type 1675 in which a man with more money than brains is duped into educating his ox or other dumb animal.
  1. Peter Ox (Denmark).
  2. How an Ox Became Mayor (Netherlands).
  3. The Priest, the Washerman, and the Ass (India).

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• The Panchatantra. Tales from ancient India.
  1. The Foolish Friend.
  2. Dharmabuddhi and Pâpabuddhi.
  3. The Bullock's Balls.
  4. The Gold-Giving Snake.
  5. The Dog That Went Abroad.
  6. The Brahman's Wife and the Mongoose.
  7. The Fish That Were Too Clever.
  8. The Two-Headed Weaver.
  9. The Broken Pot.
  10. The Enchanted Brahman's Son.

• Paradise.
  A Visitor from Paradise and other type 1540 tales about tricksters who claim to bring messages from the dead.
  1. A Visitor from Paradise (Europe).
  2. Jack Hannaford (England).
  3. All Women Are Alike (Norway).
  4. The Man Who Fell from Heaven (Netherlands).
  5. The Clever People (Germany).
  6. The Traveler from Heaven (Germany).
  7. Stupid Gretel (Switzerland).
  8. The Roguish Peasant (Russia).
  9. The Story of the Messenger from Heaven (Moravia).
  10. The Serb from the Other World (Serbia).
  11. The Good Wife and the Bad Husband (India).
  12. The Millet Trader (Sri Lanka).
  13. The Peasant and His Wife (Austria).

• Parrots (and other birds) that talk too much.
  The Parrot That Talked Too Much. Folktales of type 237.
  1. The Parrot (England).
  2. The Indiscrete Magpie (Switzerland).
  
  Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil. Folktales of type 243A.
  1. How a Parrot Told Tales of His Mistress and Had His Neck Wrung (India, The Jataka).
  2. Of Maintaining Truth to the Last (Gesta Romanorum).

• Peacock Plumes. Fables of type 244 about plane creatures in fancy dress.
  1. The Jay and the Peacock (Aesop).
  2. The Jackdaw and the Pigeons (Aesop).
  3. The Vain Jackdaw (Aesop).
  4. The Jay Dressed in Peacock's Plumes (La Fontaine).
  5. The Blue Jackal (Tibet).
  6. The Painted Jackal (Pakistan).
  7. The Jackal King (Kashmir).

• Pear tree.
  The Enchanted Pear Tree. Tales of type 1423.
  1. The Story of Lydia and Pyrrhus (abstracted from The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio).
  2. The Merchant's Tale (abstracted from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer).
  3. The Woman and the Pear Tree (Italy, Il Novellino).
  4. The Simpleton Husband (1001 Nights).
  5. The Twenty-Ninth Vizier's Story (Turkey, The History of the Forty Viziers).

• Perrault, Charles (1628-1703).
  Charles Perrault's Mother Goose Tales. At this site are listed all the stories' titles, in English and in French, plus their Aarne-Thompson-Uther type classification numbers. Included are links to the texts of individual tales.

• Philippines.
  Folktales from the Philippines.
  1. How the First Head Was Taken.
  2. The Man with the Coconuts.
  3. The Boy Who Became a Stone.
  4. Dogedog.
  5. The Carabao and the Shell.

• The Pied Piper of Hameln. The legend of a magic rat catcher, who -- when cheated out of his wages -- steals the town's children. Also included at this site are related legends from other towns.
  1. The Children of Hameln (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Robert Browning).
  3. The Rat Catcher (Charles Marelles).
  4. The Rat Catcher (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  5. Hurdy-Gurdy Player Abducts Children (A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz).
  6. The Rats in Neustadt-Eberswalde (J. D. H. Temme).
  7. The Dancing Children of Erfurt (J. G. Th. Grässe).
  8. The Expulsion of Rats from the Island of Ummanz (A Haas).
  9. The Rat Catcher of Magdalenagrund (Austria).
  10. The Pied Piper of Franchville (England).
  11. Avicenna and the Mouse Plague at Aleppo (Syria).
  12. Ma Hsiang Rids Hangchow of Rats (China).

• Playing Dead. Folktales of type 1, in which a trickster dupes his victim by feigning death.
  1. Reynard Steals Fish (Europe).
  2. Two Foxes Steal Herrings (Scotland).
  3. The Fox and the Lapp (Lapland).
  4. Mr. Fox Goes a-Hunting, but Mr. Rabbit Bags the Game (African-American).
  5. How Brother Fox Was Too Smart (African-American).
  6. The Fox (Palestine).
  7. Mantharaka's Rescue (India).

• The Plaisham. A folktale from Donegal, Ireland, told by Seumas MacManaus. A type 571B ("Himp-Hamp") story, this tale tells how a hapless husband deals with a conspiracy between his wife and two other men to get him out of the way.

• Plowman.
  Dishonest Plowman Legends. Folktales about plowmen who encroach upon their neighbors' fields, with uncanny consequences.
  1. Jörle Knix (Germany).
  2. The Dishonest Plowman (Germany).
  3. The Seven Steps (Germany).
  4. Land Plowed Away (Germany).

• Poison. Folktales from Asia about a master who tells his servant that food or drink has been poisoned.
  1. Drinking Poison (Vietnam).
  2. Poisonous Persimmons (Korea).

• The Pot That Died. Folktales of type 1592B, in which a trickster steals a pot by convincing its owner that it has died.
  1. Nasreddin Hodja Borrows a Cauldron (Turkey).
  2. Goha Borrows a Stewpot (1001 Nights).
  3. The Cauldron That Died (Palestine).
  4. The Pot Bears a Son (China).

• The Princess and the Pea. Folktales of type 704 about the search for a sensitive wife.
  1. The Princess on the Pea (Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen).
  2. The Most Sensitive Woman (Italy, Christian Schneller).
  3. The Delicate Wives of King Virtue-Banner: Which Is the Most Delicate? (India, Twenty-Two Goblins).

Q

R

• Rapunzel, a comparison of the Grimm brothers' versions of 1812 and 1857.

• Rat. See Mouse.

• Red Riding Hood and other tales type 333.
  1. Little Red Riding Hood (Charles Perrault).
  2. Little Red Cap (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. Little Red Hood (Germany/Poland).
  4. Little Red Hat (Italy/Austria).
  5. The False Grandmother (France).
  6. The True History of Little Golden-Hood (Charles Marelles).

• Revived from Apparent Death by a Grave-Robber. Folktales of type 990, in which a person in a trance is buried by mistake, but is "brought back to life" when a grave-robber tries to steal a piece of jewelry from the supposed corpse.
  1. A Sign from God (Germany).
  2. Lady Restored to Life (England).

• Rígsþula. The Lay of Rig from the Poetic Edda.

• The Robber Bridegroom and other folktales of type 955. Women are threatened with murder, even cannibalism, by wicked suitors.
  1. The Robber Bridegroom (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, versions of 1812 and 1857).
  2. The Robber's Bride (Germany).
  3. The Story of Mr. Fox (England).
  4. The Oxford Student (England).
  5. The Cannibal Innkeeper (Romania).

• Rübezahl Is Entertained by Musicians. A legend from Silesia by Johann Prätorius (also spelled Johann Praetorius, a pseudonym for Hans Schultze, 1630-1680).

• The Runaway Pancake and other tales of type 2025.
  1. The Pancake (Norway).
  2. The Runaway Pancake (Germany).
  3. The Thick, Fat Pancake (Germany).
  4. The Gingerbread Boy (USA).
  5. The Johnny-Cake (USA).

S

• Saint George and the Dragon. An index page for the legendary saint, including the story "Mar Jiryis (Saint George) and the Dragon" from Palestine.

• The Legend of Saint George, abstracted from The Golden Legend; or, Lives of the Saints.

• The Legend of Saint George as recorded by S. Baring-Gould.

• Saint George Ballads from Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.
  1. The Birth of St. George.
  2. St. George and the Dragon.

• Saint George Legends from Germany and Poland.
  1. Lindorm Legend (Mecklenburg).
  2. Saint George (Mansfeld).
  3. The Dragon (Baden).
  4. The Lindorm (Lusatia).

• Salt.
  Love Like Salt. Contests between sisters as to which one loves her father the most.
  1. To Love My Father All (from The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare).
  2. Cap o' Rushes (England).
  3. Sugar and Salt (England).
  4. As Dear as Salt (Germany).
  5. The Necessity of Salt (Austria).
  6. The Most Indispensable Thing (Germany).
  7. Water and Salt (Italy).
  8. The King and His Daughters (India).
  9. The Goose-Girl at the Well (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).

  Why the Sea Is Salty. Folktales of type 565.

  1. Frodi's Mill (Iceland).
  2. Why the Sea Is Salt (Norway).
  3. The Coffee Mill Which Grinds Salt (Denmark).
  4. Why Sea Water Is Salty (Germany).

• Saxo Grammaticus.
  The Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus, (Gesta Danorum), written in the late 1100s and early 1200s.

• Scandinavia.
  
  1. Project Runeberg. An encyclopedia and library of classic nordic literature and art, including many folklore and mythology texts (for the most part in the Scandinavian languages).
  2. Norwegian Folk Tales. Compiled by Tormod Kinnes.

• The Scorpion and the Tortoise and other tales about unnatural partnerships.
  1. The Scorpion and the Tortoise (Bidpai).
  2. The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk (Aesop).
  3. The Frog and the Rat (Jean de La Fontaine).

• The Silence Wager. Tales of type 1351, in which stubborn individuals (typically husband and wife) attempt to settle a dispute by seeing who can go the longest without speaking.
  1. The Farmer, His Wife, and the Open Door (Pakistan).
  2. The Opium Eaters and the Open Gate (Turkey).
  3. The Wager (Italy).
  4. The Porridge Pot (Flanders).
  5. The Obstinate Shoemaker (Denmark).
  6. The Jamming Pan (England).
  7. A Selfish Husband (Korea).
  8. The Beggar and the Five Muffins (India).

• Singing Bones. Folktales about murder victims, whose body parts literally sing out for justice.
  1. The Singing Bone (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. The Singing Bones (French Louisiana).
  3. The Griffin (Italy).
  4. The Dead Girl's Bone (Switzerland).
  5. The Little Bone (Switzerland).
  6. Binnorie (England).
  7. The Silver Plate and the Transparent Apple (Russia).
  8. The Magic Fiddle (India).
  9. The Twin Brothers (Nigeria).

• Sleeping Beauty. Tales of type 410.
  1. The Ninth Captain's Tale (1001 Nights).
  2. Sun, Moon, and Talia (Giambattista Basile).
  3. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (Charles Perrault).
  4. Little Briar-Rose, version of 1812 (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  5. Link to The Glass Coffin (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).

• Sleeping Hero Legends. Migratory legends and folktales of type 766 about heroes who, instead of dying, lie asleep awaiting a time of special need when they will rise up and defeat their nations' enemies.
  1. Geroldseck (Germany).
  2. Frederick Barbarossa in Kyffhäuser Mountain (Germany).
  3. Emperor Karl at Nürnberg (Germany).
  4. Emperor Karl in Untersberg Mountain (Austria).
  5. King Karl and His Army in Odin's Mountain (Germany).
  6. Emperor Heinrich [Henry the Fowler] in Sudemer Mountain (Germany).
  7. The Three Tells (Switzerland).
  8. Holger Danske (Denmark).
  9. The Knights of Ållaberg (Sweden).
  10. The Sleeping Warriors (England/Wales).
  11. The Cave of the Young Men of Snowdonia (Wales).
  12. King Arthur at Sewingshields (England).
  13. The Wizard of Alderley Edge (England).
  14. Then There Are Yet Men in the Isle of Man (Isle of Man).
  15. The Enchantment of Gearoidh Iarla (Ireland).
  16. The Smith's Rock in the Isle of Skye (Scotland).

• Snake and Serpent Husbands.
  1. The Enchanted Brahman's Son (India, The Panchatantra).
  2. The River Snake (India).
  3. The Snake Prince (Burma).
  4. The Water Snake (Russia).
  5. Transformation into a Nightingale and a Cuckoo (Russia)
  6. The Girl and the Snake (Sweden).
  7. King Lindorm (Denmark).
  8. The Silk Spinster (Germany).
  9. The Snake (Germany).
  10. The Serpent (Germany).
  11. Oda and the Snake (Germany).
  12. The Snake and the Princess (Russia).
  13. The Little Girl and the Ungrateful Snake (USA).

• The Snow, the Crow, and the Blood. A Folktale from Donegal, Ireland, told by Seumas MacManus. This traditional story of a young man's quest for the perfect bride includes motifs found in many folktales: A greatful dead man as, a wild man as helper, threatening giants, magic items (cloak, purse, and sword) and a beautiful, but haughty -- even demonic -- princess.

• Snow White. Tales of type 709.
  1. Little Snow-White, version of 1812 (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree (Scotland).
  3. The Young Slave (Italy, Giambattista Basile).
  4. Maria, the Wicked Stepmother, and the Seven Robbers (Italy).
  5. The Crystal Casket (Italy).
  6. The Death of the Seven Dwarfs (Switzerland).

• The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Folktales of type 325* and migratory legends of type 3020.
  1. Eucrates and Pancrates, the Egyptian Miracle Worker (Assyria, Lucian).
  2. Goethe's ballad "Der Zauberlehrling." The original German text with English translations.
  3. The Master and His Pupil (England).
  4. The Schoolmaster at Bury (England).
  5. The Farmer's Wife of Deloraine (Scotland).
  6. Mass John Scott (Scotland).
  7. The Magic Whistle (Iceland).

• Specter Bridegroom Legends. Stories about long-absent bridegrooms who suddenly return to their fiancées. Are they still mortal humans, or are they ghosts?
  1. Sweet William's Ghost (Thomas Percy, Reliques of Ancient English Poetry).
  2. The Specter Bridegroom (England).
  3. The Lovers of Porthangwartha (England).
  4. The Deacon of Myrká (Iceland).
  5. The Abbess and the Devil (from the unpublished papers of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  6. Notes and Bibliography (including sources for additional versions of this folktale type in the English and the German languages).

• Stages of Life. Tales of type 173 (828), plus a Talmudic treatise and a Shakespeare monologue.
  1. The Man, the Horse, the Ox, and the Dog (Aesop).
  2. The Duration of Life (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. Man and His Years (Romania, M. Gaster).
  4. The Seven Stages of Human Life (Talmud).
  5. The Seven Ages of Man (William Shakespeare).

• Stone Monument Legends. Legends about ancient alters, graves, megaliths, menhirs, mounds, pictographs, runestones, picture stones, standing stones, and other such prehistoric monuments.
  1. The Standing Stones of Stenhouse (Orkney Islands, Sir Walter Scott).
  2. The Stone of Odin (Orkney Islands, G. F. Black).
  3. The Temple of the Moon, the Temple of the Sun, and Wodden's Stone (Orkney Islands, G. F. Black).
  4. The Merry Maidens (England, Daniel Bowen Craigue).
  5. The Rollright Stones (England, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps).
  6. Legend of the Rollright Stones (England, Edwin Sidney Hartland).
  7. Druidical Circles and Monoliths (Scotland, Walter Gregor).
  8. The Frau Holle Stone (Germany, J. W. Wolf).
  9. Giants in Denmark (Saxo Grammaticus).
  10. Gloshed's Altar (Sweden, Herman Hofberg).
  11. The Stone of Stolzenhagen (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  12. The Seven Stones of Morin (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  13. The Adam's Dance of Wirchow (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  14. The Giant's Stone near Züschen (Germany, Karl Lyncker).
  15. The Hun Graves at Züssow (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  16. Table-Mên: The Saxon Kings' Visit to the Land's End (England, Robert Hunt).
  17. King Arthur's Stone (England, Robert Hunt).
  18. The Witches of the Logan Stone (England, Robert Hunt).
  19. How to Become a Witch (England, Robert Hunt).
  20. Olaf's Mound and the Raised Stone at Slugan (Scotland, Lord Archibald Campbell).

  • Photographs related to the above legends:
    1. Dolmens in Denmark.
    2. Runestones and Picture Stones from Scandinavia.

• Stone Soup. Folktales of type 1548, in which a trickster convinces his victim that he can make soup from a stone or a nail.
  1. "Boil stones in butter, and you may sip the broth." -- English proverb.
  2. Stone Soup (Europe).
  3. The Clever Pilgrim (Switzerland/Germany).
  4. The Old Woman and the Tramp (Sweden).
  5. Limestone Broth (Ireland).
  6. A Pot of Broth (Ireland, W. B. Yeats).
  7. Stone Soup (United States of America).

• Straightening a Curly Hair. Folktales of type 1175, in which a demon is defeated because he cannot straighten a curly hair.
  1. The Brahmarâkshas and the Hair (India).
  2. Tapai and the Brahman (India).
  3. The Devil and the Farmer (England).
  4. Tricking the Devil (Germany).

• Straw, Bean, and Coal, and other fables of type 295. Three unlikely traveling companions suffer mishaps when they try to cross a body of water.
  1. Straw, Coal, and Bean Go Traveling (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, 1812).
  2. Straw, Coal, and Bean (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, 1837).
  3. Mouse, You Go First! (Switzerland).
  4. Someone's Misfortune, Someone's Ridicule (Poland).

• Suitors.
  The Entrapped Suitors, tales of type 1730.
  1. The Lady and Her Five Suitors (1001 Nights).
  2. The Entrapped Suitors (Europe).

• Sun, Moon and Star Legends.
  1. The Night Raven or Eternal Teamster (Germany). A legend about the Big Dipper.

• Superstitions. European supernatural beliefs, gleaned from various 19th-century sources, including Jacob Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie.

• Swan Maidens. Folktales of type 400*.
  1. The Swan Maidens (reconstructed from various European sources by Joseph Jacobs).
  2. The Swan Maiden (Sweden, Herman Hofberg).
  3. The Three Swans (Germany, Ernst Meier).
  4. The Story of the Swan Maiden and the King (Romania, M. Gaster).
  5. The Golden Apple Tree and the Nine Peahens (Serbia, Csedomille Mijatovies).
  6. The Feathery Robe (Japan).
  7. The Peacock Maiden (China).
  8. Prince Bairâm and the Fairy Bride (Pakistan, Charles Swynnerton).
  9. The Tale of the Adventures of Hasan of Basrah (1001 Nights).

T

• Taming a Shrewish Wife. Folktales of type 900, reminiscent of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare.
  1. Pride Punished (Italy, Giambattista Basile).
  2. The Crumb in the Beard (Italy).
  3. King Thrushbeard (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  4. Haaken Grizzlebeard (Norway, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe).
  5. Greyfoot (Denmark).
  6. The Haughty Princess (Ireland, Patrick Kennedy).

• Tannhäuser, the legend of the medieval German knight who found refuge in the Mountain of Venus with the pagan goddess of love.

• Tatterhood, a type 711 tale from Norway about twin girls. The ugly one (our heroine) is spunky and resourceful; the beautiful one is uninteresting.

• Thangbrand the Priest Goes to Iceland. An account of a man-slaying Christian missionary's attempts to convert Icelandic heathens, taken from the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson.

• Thor and the Midgard Serpent, a story abstracted from The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson.

• Thor's Hammer in the Alps. A superstition recorded in 1897.

• Thor in Vinland. A Viking explorer spending a harsh winter in Vinland (America) offers a gift to Thor and is rewarded with a beached whale.

• Three Billy Goats Gruff. Folktales of type 122E.
  1. Three Billy Goats Gruff (Norway).
  2. The Three Goats (Poland/Germany).
  3. How the Goats Came to Hessen (Germany).

• Three Little Pigs. Folktales of type 124.
  1. The Story of the Three Little Pigs (England).
  2. The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf (African-American, Joel Chandler Harris).
  3. The Story of the Pigs (African-American, Joel Chandler Harris).
  4. The Three Goslings (Italy).

• Three Magic Gifts. In these type 563 tales the first two gifts are stolen, but then recovered by the third one, typically a magic stick that beats the thief until he admits his guilt and gives back the stolen items.
  1. The Story of the Ogre (Italy, Giambattista Basile).
  2. The Ass That Lays Money (Italy).
  3. Table-Be-Set, Gold-Donkey, and Cudgel-out-of-the-Sack (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  4. The Lad Who Went to the North Wind (Norway, Peter Christian Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe).
  5. The Wish Rag, the Gold-Goat, and the Hat Soldiers (Austria).
  6. The Good-for-Nothing (Georgia).
  7. The Adventures of Juan (Philippines).
  8. The Magic Tray (Vietnam).
  9. Three Treasures (China).

• Three-Ring Parable.
  1. Melchizedek Avoids a Trap (abstracted from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron).
  2. How the Sultan Sought to Find Occasion to Proceed against a Jew (Il Novellino).
  3. Of the Triple State of the World (Gesta Romanorum).
  4. The Parable of the Three Rings (abstracted from Nathan der Weise, a drama by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing).

• Thrym's Lay from the Poetic Edda. The Norse god Thor recovers his stolen hammer Mjölnir from the giant Thrym.

• Thunderbolts. Legends and superstitions concerning belemnites (fossils known variously as thunderbolts, thunder-arrows, thunder-stones, devil-fingers, elf-bolts, fairy-arrows, toad-stones, cross-stones, and star-stones).

• Tikki Tikki Tembo. A chain tale from China about a boy with an enormously long name.

• The Tongue-Cut Sparrow. A traditional Japanese fairy tale (type 480), as translated or retold by:
  1. David Brauns (1885).
  2. William Elliot Griffis (1880).
  3. A. B. Mitford (1890).
  4. Yei Theodora Ozaki (1903).
  5. Teresa Peirce Williston (1904).
  6. Lafcadio Hearn (1918).

• Tortoise

  The Talkative Tortoise and other fables of type 225A about a tortoise that attempted to fly.

  1. The Talkative Tortoise (India, The Jataka Tales).
  2. The Disobedient Tortoise (India, The Panchatantra).
  3. The Boastful Tortoise (Tibet).
  4. The Tortoise and the Birds (Aesop).
  5. The Tortoise and the Two Ducks (Jean de La Fontaine).

  The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Races between Unequal Contestants. Folktales of types 275, 275A, 275B, 275C, 275C*, and 1074.

  1. A Hare and a Tortoise (Aesop, translated by Sir Roger L'Estrange).
  2. The Hare and the Tortoise (Aesop, translated by Samuel Croxall).
  3. The Hare and the Tortoise (Aesop, translated by George Fyler Townsend).
  4. The Hare and the Tortoise (Aesop, retold by Joseph Jacobs).
  5. The Hare and the Tortoise (Aesop, retold by William Alexander Clouston).
  6. The Hare and the Tortoise (Aesop, translated by V. S. Vernon Jones).
  7. The Hare and Tortoise (Jean de La Fontaine).
  8. The Fox and the Snail (Switzerland).
  9. The Frog and the Snail (Netherlands).
  10. The Fox and the Crab (Germany).
  11. The Hare and the Hedgehog (Germany).
  12. Why Does the Buffalo Walk Slowly and Tread Gently? The Race of the Buffalo and the Hare (Romania).
  13. How the Hedgehog Ran the Devil to Death (England).
  14. Mister Rabbit Finds His Match at Last (African American).
  15. Keeping Pace (African American).
  16. The Race (African American).
  17. Two Fast Runners (American Indian -- Blackfeet).
  18. The Race (American Indian -- Pueblo).
  19. The Frog and the Antelope (American Indian -- Kootenai).
  20. The Tortoise and the Stag (Brazil).
  21. The Snail and the Deer (Philippines).
  22. Carabao and the Shell (Philippines).
  23. An Unequal Match; Or, Why the Carabao's Hoof Is Split (Philippines).
  24. The Crane and the Crab (Fiji).
  25. The Butterfly and the Crane (Fiji).
  26. The King Crow and the Water Snail (Malaya).
  27. The Frog and the Wild Hog (Madagascar).
  28. The Elephant and the Ants (India).
  29. The Tiger and the Frog (Tibet).
  30. Old Nick and the Girl (Sweden).

• Trading Away One's Fortune. Folktales of type 1415.
  1. Hans in Luck (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. The Story of Mr. Vinegar (England, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps).
  3. Gudbrand on the Hillside (Norway, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe).
  4. What the Old Man Does Is Always Right (Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen).

• Trading Places. Folktales of types 85 and 1408, in which family members exchange jobs with disastrous results.
  1. The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. Six People's Duties (Tibet).
  3. The Husband Who Was to Mind the House (Norway, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe).
  4. There Was an Old Man, Who Lived in a Wood (England, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps).
  5. The Old Man Who Lived in a Wood (England, Sarah Hewett).
  6. Bibliography of related tales.

• Trading Up (1). Folktales of type 170A.
  1. The Rat's Wedding (Northern India).
  2. The Monkey with the Tom-Tom (Southern India).
  3. The Story of a Monkey (Philippines).

• Trading Up (2). Folktales of type 1655.
  1. The Dead Mouse (The Jataka).
  2. All Change (Europe).
  3. The Sexton's Nose (Italy).
  4. With One Centavo Juan Marries a Princess (Philippines).
  5. How the King Recruited His Army (African-American).
  6. The Story of Hlakanyana (Kaffir -- South Africa).

• Travel.
  Folktales for Travelers. Ten stories of people and animals who try their luck away from home.
  1. The Traveler and the Farmer (North America).
  2. The Two Travelers and the Farmer (North America).
  3. The Two Frogs (Japan).
  4. The Talkative Tortoise (The Jataka Tales, India).
  5. The Tortoise That Refused to Leave Home (The Jataka Tales, India).
  6. The Dog That Went Abroad (The Panchatantra, India).
  7. The Man Who Became Rich through a Dream (1001 Nights).
  8. The Pedlar of Swaffham (England).
  9. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse (Aesop).
  10. The Town Mouse and the Field Mouse (Romania).

• Treasure Finders Murder One Another. Folktales of type 763.
  1. The Pardoner's Tale (abstracted from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer).
  2. How Christ Going One Day with His Disciples in a Deserted Place, They Saw Great Treasure (Italy, Il Novellino).
  3. The Punishment of Avarice (Tibet).
  4. Three Corpses, Money, and a Wine Bottle (Korea).

• Trickster Wives and Maids. Folktales of type 1741, in which a woman convinces a guest that her husband (or employer) wants to cut off his ears (or worse!).
  1. The Butcher's Tale (1001 Nights).
  2. Clever Gretel (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. The Good Husband and the Bad Wife (India).
  4. Bibliography of additional tales of type 1741 (English and German texts).

• Tristan and Isolde, a Celtic legend as recorded by Gottfried von Strassburg and Thomas of Britain, and retold by D. L. Ashliman.

• Twigmuntus, Cowbelliantus, Perchnosius. A Swedish folktale of type 1641C about a simple lad who confounds a group of scholars by pretending to know Latin.

• Two Travelers: Truth and Falsehood. Tales of type 613 about good and evil.
  1. Dharmabuddhi and Pâpabuddhi (India).
  2. The Speaking Tree; or, The Oak Shall Bear Witness (Jewish)
  3. The Heathen and the Jew (Jewish).
  4. True and Untrue (Norway).
  5. The Two Travelers (Germany).
  6. The Travels of Truth and Falsehood (Hungary).
  7. The Grateful Beasts (Hungary).
  8. Justice or Injustice? Which Is Best? (Serbia).
  9. The Two Brothers (Georgia).
  10. The Outsize Candy Figure (China).

U

• Underground People Disturbed by Farm Waste. Migratory legends of type 5075.
  1. Raginal (Denmark).
  2. The Young Lady of Hellerup (Sweden).
  3. Sir Godfrey Macculloch and the Fairies (Scotland).
  4. Why Deunant Has the Front Door in the Back (Wales).
  5. The Underground People in Stocksee (Germany).
  6. Underground People beneath the Horse Stall (Germany).
  7. A Horse Stall Is Moved (Germany).

• Unfinished Stories. Folktales of types 2250, 2251, 2260, 2271, and 2300.
  1. Three Wise Men of Gotham (England).
  2. The Tail (Scotland).
  3. The Chest With Something Rare In It (Norway).
  4. The Little Story (Poland).
  5. The Golden Key (Germany).
  6. Jack a Nory (England).
  7. The Narrow Bridge (Germany).
  8. A Storyteller of Messer Azzolino (Italy).
  9. The Shepherd (Italy).

• Ungrateful Heirs. Folktales of type 982 in which old people trick their ungrateful children into caring for them.
  1. How the Wicked Sons Were Duped (India).
  2. How the Daughter-in-Law Got the Coins (Sri Lanka).
  3. The Ungrateful Sons (England).
  4. The Cudgel on the Gate at Jüterbog (Germany).

• The Ungrateful Son. A folktale of type 982D by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm about the consequences of neglecting one's aging parents.

V

• Vampire and Ghost Stories from Russia
  1. The Coffin Lid
  2. The Two Corpses
  3. The Soldier and the Vampire
  4. The Shroud
  5. The Dog and the Corpse
  6. Links to related sites

• Vienna, Austria
  The Weathercock on Saint Stephen's Cathedral, an Austrian legend about a prisoner's miraculous escape.

• Volsung Saga.
  The Story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga), with excerpts from the Poetic Edda. This edition belongs to the "Online Medieval & Classical Library" at the Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE.

W

• The Wandering Jew. Legends of type 777.
  1. The Story of Judas (Italy).
  2. Malchus at the Column (Italy).
  3. Buttadeu (Sicily).
  4. The Lost Jew (Germany).
  5. The Eternal Jew on the Matterhorn (Switzerland).

• War between the Village Animals and the Forest Animals. Fables of type 103.
  1. Old Sultan (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. The Dog and the Wolf (Bohemia, Theodor Vernaleken).

• Water Spirit Legends 1. Stories about mermaids, nixies, and other supernatural creatures who live in the water.
  1. Yorkshire Legends and Traditions of Wells (England).
  2. Water Demons (Scotland).
  3. Holy Lake near Neuhoff (Germany).
  4. Brother Nickel (Germany).
  5. Lorelei (Germany).
  6. The Merrow (Ireland).
  7. The Water Snake (Russia).
  8. Melusina.
  9. Mermaid Wives.

• Water Spirit Legends 2.
  1. The Hour Is Come but the Man Is Not (Wales).
  2. The Man with the Green Weeds (Wales).
  3. The Doomed Rider (Scotland).
  4. The Hour Is Here (1) (Germany).
  5. The Hour Is Here (2) (Germany).
  6. Water Will Have Its Sacrifice (Germany).
  7. Time Is Up (Austria/Italy).

• Weather and Climate Legends.
  1. The Thousand Years of Cold Are Coming (Italy/Austria, Joh. Aug. Ernst Köhler).
  2. The Eternal Jew on the Matterhorn (Switzerland, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. Aid and Punishment (Switzerland, Rudolf Müller).

• Weinsberg, Germany.
  The Women of Weinsberg. Clever women rescue their husbands from a besieged castle.

• Werewolf Legends from Germany.
  1. Anonymous.
     • The Morbach Monster.
  2. Asmus, F. and Knoop, O.
     • The Werewolf.
     • A Woman Transforms Herself into a Werewolf.
     • The Werewolf of Alt-Marrin.
  3. Bartsch, Karl.
     • Fox Hill near Dodow.
     • Werewolves.
     • The Werewolf of Klein-Krams.
     • The Werewolf of Vietlübbe.
     • A Witch as Werewolf.
  4. Boren, George (London Chapbook of 1590).
     • The Damnable Life and Death of Stubbe Peeter.
  5. Colshorn, Carl and Theodor
     • The Werewolf.
  6. Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm.
     • Werewolves.
     • Werewolf Rock.
     • The Werewolves Advance.
  7. Haas, A.
     • The Werewolf of Jarnitz.
  8. Kuhn, Adalbert.
     • Werewolf.
  9. Kuhn, A., and Schwartz, W.
     • The Böxenwolf.
     • The Werewolf Belt.
     • The Werewolf Wife.
  10. Lyncker, Karl.
      • The Werewolf.
      • The Werewolf: Another Legend.
      • The Peasant and the Werewolf.
      • The Böxenwolf.
  11. Müllenhoff, Karl.
      • The Werewolf of Hüsby.
  12. Schöppner, Alexander.
      • The Wolf Stone.
  13. Temme, J. D. H.
      • The Werewolves in Greifswald.
      • The Werewolf near Zarnow.
      • Werewolves in Pomerania.
      • The Werewolf in Hindenburg.
  14. Link to a werewolf tale from Croatia: The She-Wolf.
  15. Link to a werewolf story from Luxembourg: The Werewolf of Bettembourg.
  16. Link to a werewolf story from Slovakia: The Werewolf's Daughter.

• What Should I Have Said (or Done)? Folktales of type 1696.
  1. Going Traveling (Germany).
  2. What You Deserve (Germany).
  3. Lazy Jack (England).
  4. The Fool's Good Fortune (Georgia).
  5. A Stupid Boy (Kashmir).

• Whittier, John Greenleaf (1807-1892).
  Folklore Ballads of John Greenleaf Whittier.
  1. The Norsemen.
  2. The Brown Dwarf of Rügen.
  3. The Changeling.
  4. Kallundborg Church.

• Widows in (Short-Lived) Mourning. Folktales of types 65, 1350, 1352*, and 1510.
  1. Mrs. Fox's Wedding (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. Chuang-tzu and His Wife (China).
  3. Zadig's Nose (France, Voltaire).
  4. The Widow of Ephesus (Rome, Petronius).
  5. Here It Is Told of a Gentleman Whom the Emperor Had Hanged (Italy, Il Novellino).
  6. The Perfidious Widow (Jewish).
  7. A Widow Digs Up Her Deceased Husband and Hangs Him on the Gallows (Germany, Conrat Purselt).
  8. Wooden Johannes (Germany, Hans Wilhelm Kirchhof).
  9. He That's Dead Can Do No Hurt (Ireland, J. M. Synge).

• Wife.
  The Falsely Accused Wife, a tale of type 882.

• The Wife Who Could Not Keep a Secret and other folktales of type 1381. A man finds a treasure, but nearly loses it because of his talkative wife.
  1. How a Fish Swam in the Air and a Hare in the Water (Ukraine).
  2. The Found Money (Netherlands).
  3. The Treasure (Denmark).
  4. The Iron Chest (Germany).
  5. How a Woman Could Not Keep a Secret (India).
  6. The Wife Who Could Not Keep a Secret (India).
  7. Link to Of Women, Who Not Only Betray Secrets, but Lie Fearfully, a folktale of type 1381D from the Gesta Romanorum.

• Wild Huntsman Legends. Some of these widely disseminated tales may be survivals of stories about Odin (also known as Wodan) from Germanic mythology.
  1. Wod, the Wild Huntsman (Germany, Carl and Theodor Colshorn).
  2. The Wild Huntsman and the Mine-Monk (Germany, August Ey).
  3. The Night Huntsman at the Udarser Mill (Germany, A. Haas).
  4. The Wild Huntsman on Buller Mountain (Germany, J. D. H. Temme and W. A. J. Temme).

• Wind and Sun. Fables of type 298, in which the wind and the sun dispute about which of them is more powerful, plus a related African-American tale.
  1. The Wind and the Sun (Aesop).
  2. The Wind and the Sun (India).
  3. Brer Rabbit Treats the Creatures to a Race (Joel Chandler Harris).

• The Witch That Was Hurt. Migratory Legends of Type 3055.
  1. The Miller Boy and the Cat (Austria, Ignaz and Joseph Zingerle).
  2. The Witch (Germany, J. G. Th. Grässe).
  3. The Haunted Mill (Germany, Karl Gander).
  4. Trudd as Cat (Germany, Karl Reiser).
  5. The Girl Who Transformed Herself into a Hare (Germany, A. Haas).
  6. Witch as Hare (Germany, Bernhard Baader).
  7. Witch as Goose (Germany, Bernhard Baader).
  8. Witch as Fox (Germany, Karl Reiser).
  9. A Witch Is Recognized (Germany, J. W. Wolf).
  10. A Witch Is Recognized (Germany, A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz).
  11. Witches as Cats in Manternach (Luxembourg, N. Gredt).
  12. The Blacksmith's Wife of Yarrowfoot (Scotland, George Douglas).
  13. The Black Dog (Shetland Islands, G. F. Black).
  14. Witch and Hare (England, Edwin Sidney Hartland).
  15. The Weaver's Wife and the Witch (England, Sidney Oldall Addy).
  16. The Old Hare (Ireland, D. Knox).

• Witchcraft Legends.
  1. The Witches' Revenge (Germany, J. G. Th. Grässe).
  2. Frau Trude (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. Two Eyes Too Many (Germany, Carl and Theodor Colshorn).
  4. The Witch of Treva (England, Robert Hunt).
  5. Ridden by a Witch (Germany, August Ey).
  6. The Dark Daughter of the Norse King (Scotland, John Gregorson Campbell).
  7. The Witches' Excursion (Ireland, Patrick Kennedy).
  8. The Trip to the Brocken (Germany).
  9. The Witch Ride (Germany, Adalbert Kuhn).

• Wolves in Aesop's Fables.

• Woman
  The Old Woman as Devil's Helper. Folktales of type 1353, in which the devil recruits an old woman to sow discord in a happy marriage.
  1. An Old Woman Is Worse Than the Devil (Germany, Martin Luther).
  2. An Old Woman Worse Than the Devil (Germany, Karl Bartsch).
  3. Katie Grey (Sweden, G. Djurklo).

X

Y

• Yggdrasil. A short poem by H. C. Andersen about the mythical ash tree beneath which the Norse gods held court.

Z

• Folk and Mythology Electronic Texts, page 1.

• The home page of D. L. Ashliman.

• Folk and Fairy Tale Links.

• Germanic Myths, Legends, and Sagas.

• Yahoo! index Society and Culture: Mythology and Folklore.

• the top of this document.

Tabulation by WebCounter.

Revised November 19, 2008.