• Folktexts, page 1.

• Folk and Fairy Tale Links.

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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. Hottetejlil (Denmark).
  14. Gundeli (Denmark).
  15. The Girl Who Could Spin Gold from Clay and Long Straw (Sweden).
  16. Tom Tit Tot (England).
  17. Duffy and the Devil (England).
  18. Whuppity Stoorie (Scotland).
  19. Peerie Fool [Peerifool] (Orkney Islands).
  20. Gwarwyn-a-throt (Wales).
  21. The Rival Kempers (Ireland).
  22. Tríopla Trúpla (Ireland).
  23. Penelop (Wales).
  24. Silly go Dwt (Wales).
  25. 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).
  4. Pre Papiro Makes Pretence of Great Learning, but in Truth Knows Nothing (Italy, Giovanni Francesco Straparola).

• 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. Friday Night.
  10. The Wife's Name.
  11. The Older Wife.
  12. The Favorite Wife.
  13. The Contrary Mother-in-Law.
  14. Eat, My Coat, Eat.
  15. A Close Call.
  16. The Robe.
  17. Restoring the Moon.
  18. The Hodja and His Eight Donkeys.
  19. Flour on the Clothesline.
  20. The Squeaky Shoe.
  21. The Lost Shoe.
  22. Allah's House.
  23. The Cauldron That Died.
  24. The Recipe.
  25. The Last Laugh.

• Nephites.
  The Three Nephites. Legends from Mormon folklore.

• The Nibelungenlied: A Summary.

• Niflungs.
  The Treasure of the Niflungs. An excerpt from the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson.

• 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 Twin Brothers.
  5. Why the Cat Kills Rats.
  6. 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. The Mahr (Germany, Wilhelm Busch).
  9. The Man Who Married a Mara (Denmark, Evald Tang Kristensen).
  10. The Mare (Denmark, Jens Kamp).
  11. Charm against Night-Mares (Germany, A. Kuhn).
  12. The Alp (Poland/Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  13. A Charm to Control the Night-Mare (England, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps).
  14. Nightmare Charm or Spell against the Mara (Shetland Islands, Biot Edmonston and Jessie M. E. Saxby).
  15. A Shetland Charm (Shetland Islands, Karl Blind).
  16. Vanlandi, King of Sweden, and Huld, the Witch Woman (Iceland, The Ynglinga Saga of Snorri Sturluson).
  17. Baku, Eater of Dreams (Japan, F. Hadland Davis).

• 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.

• The Nurse and the Wolf. Fables of type 75* attributed to Aesop, Babrius, Avianus and others, including a modern version by Ambrose Bierce.
  1. The Fable of the Old Woman and of the Wulf (Aesop / Avianus -- printed by William Caxton, 1484).
  2. The Wolf and the Nurse (Babrius -- translated by James Davies).
  3. The Crying Babe (Geffrey Whitney).
  4. The Wolf, the Mother, and Her Child (Aesop -- retold by Jean de La Fontaine, translated by Elizur Wright).
  5. A Nurse and a Wolfe (Aesop -- translated by Roger L'Estrange).
  6. A Nurse and Froward Child (Aesop -- printed by Samuel Richardson).
  7. The Nurse and the Wolf (Aesop -- printed for Thomas Bewick).
  8. The Nurse and the Wolf (Aesop -- translated by Samual Croxall).
  9. The Mother and the Wolf (Aesop -- translated by George Fyler Townsend).
  10. The Nurse and the Wolf (Aesop -- retold by Joseph Jacobs).
  11. The Wolf, the Mother, and Her Child (Aesop -- translated by V. S. Vernon Jones).
  12. The Wolf and the Babe (Ambrose Bierce).

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.

• Old Men, Women, and Animals.
  • 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).
    5. The Old Hound (Aesop).

  • The Bremen Town Musicians and other folktales of type 130, about aging animals who make a new life for themselves.
    1. The Bremen Town Musicians (Germany).
    2. The Robber and the Farm Animals (Germany/Switzerland).
    3. The Sheep and the Pig Who Set Up House (Norway).
    4. The Six Male Animals (Denmark).
    5. The Animals and the Devil (Finland).
    6. The Choristers of St. Gudule (Flanders).
    7. The Story of the White Pet (Scotland).
    8. The Bull, the Tup, the Cock, and the Steg (England).
    9. Jack and His Comrades (Ireland).
    10. How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune, version 1 (USA).
    11. How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune, version 2 (USA).
    12. The Dog, the Cat, the Ass, and the Cock (USA).
    13. Benibaire (Spain).
    14. The World's Reward (South Africa).

  • Old, Older, and Oldest, tales of type 726 about old men, their fathers, and their grandfathers.
    1. The Three Old Men (Germany).
    2. Old Age (Germany).
    3. The Seventh Father of the House (Norway).
    4. The Dwarf of Folkared's Cliff (Sweden).
    5. Harry Jenkins (England).
    6. The Three Old Men of Painswick (England).
    7. Searching for the Kingdom of the Green Mountains (Scotland).
    8. Old, Older, and Oldest (Ireland).
    9. Three Generations (USA).

  • Old Grandfathers and Their Grandsons. Folktales of type 980 about old men who are saved by their grandsons.
    1. How an Ungrateful Son Planned to Murder His Old Father (India, The Jataka).
    2. A Lesson for Fathers (India)
    3. Don't Beat Grandfather (India).
    4. The Old Man, His Son, and His Grandson (Philippines).
    5. The Golden Rule (Philippines).
    6. Respect Old Age (Philippines).
    7. A Wicked Man (France, Jacques de Vitry).
    8. La Housse Partie [The Divided Horse-Blanket, summary] (France).
    9. The Divided Horse-Blanket (France).
    10. Let Him That Does Evil Expect Evil in Return (Italy, Ortensio Lando).
    11. Of the Old Man That Put Himself in His Son's Hands [1] (England.
    12. Of the Old Man That Put Himself in His Son's Hands [2] (England.
    13. Of the Old Man of Monmouth That Gave His Son All His Goods in His Lifetime (England).
    14. Of an Unnatural Son Who Fed His Aged Father upon Oats and Offal (England).
    15. Two Ells of Cloth (Germany, Johannes Pauli).
    16. Old Frühling (Germany, Heinrich Stilling).
    17. Half a Blanket (Germany, Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
    18. The Old Grandfather and His Grandson (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
    19. A Child's Thankfulness and Unthankfulness (Germany, Johann Peter Hebel).
    20. The Son Forgave His Father (Albania).

  • Old Parents and Their Ungrateful Children, folktales of type 980D.
    1. The Ungrateful Son (Europe).
    2. The Ungrateful Son (Martin Luther).
    3. A Terrifying Judgment of God (Croatia).
    4. The Ungrateful Daughter (Ukraine).
    5. The Origin of the Turtle (Russia).
    6. The Snake around His Neck (Germany).
    7. The Stingy Daughter (India).

  • Killing of Old People. Folktales of type 981 and other legends about geronticide.
    1. A Blessed and Happie People (Pliny the Elder).
    2. Why People Today Die Their Own Death (Retold by D. L. Ashliman).
    3. How the Killing of the Old Men Was Stopped (Serbia).
    4. Grandfather and Grandson (Serbia).
    5. A Story from the Time of the Romans (Romania -- Transylvania).
    6. The Old Man Who Solved Riddles (Macedonia).
    7. Killing of Old Men (Romania).
    8. Duck Under, Duck Under (Germany / Poland).
    9. A Wendish Legend (Germany / Poland).
    10. The Old Heathens (Germany).
    11. Gillings Bluff (Iceland).
    12. Kith-Rocks and Kith-Clubs (Sweden).
    13. The Man with the Hatchet (England).
    14. An Irish Deathbed Scene (Ireland).
    15. The Mountain Where Old People Were Abandoned (Japan).
    16. Bibliography of additional tales of type 981.

  • 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. A Clever Stratagem (Sri Lanka).
    3. How the Daughter-in-Law Got the Coins (Sri Lanka).
    4. Old Mr. Lacy and His Three Sons (England).
    5. The Borrowed Guilder (Germany, Martin Luther).
    6. No Father Should Transfer All His Property to His Children While He Is Still Alive (Germany, Martin Luther).
    7. The Cudgel (Germany).
    8. The Cudgel on the Gate at Jüterbog (Germany).
    9. Grandfather's Bag of Gold (Scotland).
    10. John Bell (Scotland).

• Open Sesame! Folktales of type 676.
  1. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1001 Nights).
  2. The Robbers Robbed (Kashmir, James Hinton Knowles).
  3. The Two Brothers and the Forty-Nine Dragons (Greece, Edmund Martin Geldart).
  4. The Two Brothers (Slavic, Alexander Chodzko).
  5. Dummburg Castle (Germany, Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching).
  6. Simeli Mountain (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  7. Open Simson! (Germany, Ernst Meier).
  8. Ali Baba and Kissem (Jamaica, Martha Warren Beckwith).
  9. How Black Snake Caught the Wolf (USA, Joel Chandler Harris).

• Origin of the Underground People. Folk beliefs about the origin of fairies, elves, trolls, and other hidden creatures.
  Fallen Angels
  1. Origin of the Elves (Iceland).
  2. The Origin of Bergfolk (Denmark).
  3. When Satan Was Cast Out of Heaven (Sweden).
  4. The Origin of Fairies (Scotland).
  5. Angels Who Were Turned Out of Heaven (Ireland).
  6. The Fairy Race (Ireland).
  7. The Fairies as Fallen Angels (Ireland).
  8. The Tylwyth Teg (Wales).
  9. The Origin of the Elves (Switzerland).
  10. Lower Elemental Spirits (Bohemia).
  Eve's Unequal Children (folktales of type 758)
  11. The Genesis of the Hid-Folk (Iceland).
  12. The Origin of the Troll Folk (Denmark).
  13. The Hidden People in Valdres (Norway).
  14. The Origin of Fairies (Wales).
  15. The Baby Farmer (Wales).
  16. A Curious Legend (Slavonic).
  17. The Creation of the Underground People (Germany).
  18. Eve's Unequal Children (Germany).
  19. Eve's Children (Austria / Italy).
  The Offspring of Lilith, Adam's First Wife
  20. The Origin of the Tusser (Norway).

• The Osenberg Dwarfs (Germany). A pitcher received from dwarfs brings prosperity to a family.

• 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. Pope Ox (Germany).
  3. How an Ox Became Mayor (Netherlands).
  4. How the Washerman's Ass Became a Qazi (India).
  5. The Priest, the Washerman, and the Ass (India).

P

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

• 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. An Old Woman (Germany, Heinrich Bebel).
  3. The Travelling Scholar from Paradise (Germany, Hans Sachs).
  4. The Clever People (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  5. The Traveler from Heaven (Germany).
  6. All Women Are Alike (Norway).
  7. The Great Need: A Prankster Tale from Zealand (Denmark).
  8. The Man Who Fell from Heaven (Netherlands).
  9. Stupid Gretel (Switzerland).
  10. The Simple Wife (Italy).
  11. The Beggar from Paris (England).
  12. Jack Hannaford (England).
  13. The Roguish Peasant (Russia).
  14. The Story of the Messenger from Heaven (Moravia).
  15. The Era [Peasant] from the Other World (Serbia).
  16. The Story of a Man Who Had a Stupid Wife (Morocco).
  17. My Son Ali (Armenian-American).
  18. Anansi Seeks His Fortune (Jamaica).
  19. Shaikh Chilli and the Fakir (India).
  20. The Good Wife and the Bad Husband (India).
  21. The Millet Trader (Sri Lanka).
  22. Elova Gohin Melova Ava (Sri Lanka).

• Parrots (and other birds) that talk too much.
  • The Parrot That Talked Too Much. Folktales of type 237.
    1. Of the Woman Who Stole Her Husband's Eel (France).
    2. The Magpie and the Eel (Germany, Hans Sachs).
    3. The Innkeeper and the Magpie (Germany / France, Hans Sachs).
    4. The Shamed Master Baker (Germany).
    5. The Parrot (Germany).
    6. "Bread in the Cupboard" (Denmark).
    7. The Mayor Buys Peat (Poland).
    8. The Parrot and the Servant Girl (Poland).
    9. The Parrot (England).
    10. The Parrot and the Oilman (Iran).
    11. Count Fiesco's Parrot (Italy).

  • Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil. Folktales of type 243A.
    1. A Brahmin Asks Two Parrots to Keep an Eye on His Wife (India, The Jataka).
    2. How a Parrot Told Tales of His Mistress and Had His Neck Wrung (India, The Jataka).
    3. Of Maintaining Truth to the Last (Gesta Romanorum).
    4. The Three Roosters (Germany/France, Johannes Pauli).

  • The Parrot and the Adulterous Woman. Folktales of type 1422.
    1. Example of the Man and the Woman and the Parrot and Their Maidservant (The Book of Sindibâd).
    2. The Tale of the Husband and the Parrot (1001 Nights).
    3. Story of the Confectioner, His Wife, and the Parrot (1001 Nights).
    4. The Second Vezir's Story (Turkey, History of the Forty Vezirs).
    5. The Burgess, His Wife, and the Magpie (Seven Wise Masters).

• Peacock Plumes. Fables of type 244 about plain 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 in the Feathers of the Peacock (La Fontaine).
  5. Jupiter and the Birds (Ambrose Bierce).
  6. The Painted Jackal (India).
  7. The Blue Jackal (Tibet).
  8. The Painted Jackal (Pakistan).
  9. 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. Story of the Credulous Husband (1001 Nights, translated by John Payne).
  4. The Tale of the Simpleton Husband (1001 Nights, translated by Richard Burton).
  5. The Twenty-Ninth Vizier's Story (Turkey, The History of the Forty Viziers).
  6. Husband, Wife, Lover, and Mango Tree (Nepal).
  7. The Fourth Lady, Her Husband, and the Brahmin (India/Persia).
  8. Vibhîtaka Tree (India, The Sukasaptati).

• Perrault, Charles (1628-1703).
  Charles Perrault's Mother Goose Tales. At this external 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: A Child's Story (Robert Browning).
  3. A Miracle of God at Hameln (Graf Froben Christoph von Zimmern).
  4. A Miraculous Passage in Hamelen (James Howell).
  5. The Pide Piper (Richard Verstegan).
  6. The Pyed Piper (Nathaniel Wanley).
  7. A Marvellous Prank Plaid by the Devil at Hamelen, a Town in Germany (George Sinclair).
  8. The Rat Catcher (Charles Marelles).
  9. The Magic Fife (Germany).
  10. The Ratcatcher of Korneuburg (Austria).
  11. The Pied Piper of Newtown [Franchville] (England).
  12. The Rat Catcher (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  13. The Rats in Neustadt-Eberswalde (Germany).
  14. Katzenveit as an Exterminator in Tripstrille (Germany).
  15. The Expulsion of Rats from the Island of Ummanz (Germany).
  16. Rübezahl Becomes a Ratchatcher (Moravia, Johannes Praetorius).
  17. The Ratcatcher of Freistadt (Austria).
  18. The Music Man (Austria).
  19. Mice in Glurns (Austria / Italy).
  20. Angionini the Magician (France).
  21. The Rat Hunter (Denmark).
  22. The Magician and the Rats (Ireland).
  23. Mice in Akureyar (Iceland).
  24. Avicenna and the Mouse Plague at Aleppo (Syria).
  25. The Devil in Hameln (Germany)
  26. The Devil in Likeness of a Pied Piper (Robert Burton).
  27. Hurdy-Gurdy Player Abducts Children (Germany).
  28. Children's Pilgrimage (Germany).
  29. The Children of Erfurt (Germany).
  30. The Dancing Children of Erfurt (Germany).
  31. Tradition's Hoary Legend (Northern Ireland, James Kirkpatrick).

• Plague Legends.
  1. The Black Death in Denmark (Denmark).
  2. Of the Pestilence in Jutland (Denmark).
  3. The Black Death in Iceland (Iceland).
  4. The Coffin (The Netherlands).
  5. The Best Physick Against the Plague (England, Daniel Defoe).
  6. A Most Excellent Preservative Against the Plague (England, Daniel Defoe).
  7. Protection from the Plague (England, Thomas Lupton).
  8. Protections from the Plague (England, John Brand).
  9. Cholera in London (England).
  10. The Monster Fed Felen (Wales).
  11. Sneezing (Scotland, Sir Walter Scott).
  12. The Churchyard of Crail (Scotland).
  13. The Galar Mor -- The Great Disease (Scotland).
  14. The Yellow Plague (Ireland).
  15. Plague Symbols (Cornwall / Poland).
  16. The Plague-Swarm (Poland).
  17. The Plague Maiden (Poland).
  18. The Locked-Up Plague (Poland).
  19. The Plague-Omen (Poland).
  20. The Plague in Hiiumaa (Estonia).
  21. The Plague (Russia).
  22. The Sacrifice (Austria).
  23. The Plague: Six Lusatian Legends (Germany / Poland).
  24. The Burning of the Jews in Strasbourg (Germany / France).
  25. Persecution of the Jews During the Plague (Germany).
  26. The Tall Man in the Murder Lane in Hof (Germany).
  27. The Last Plague Death in Motzlar (Germany).
  28. Mother Gauerken Brings the Plague (Germany).
  29. Plague-Flies (Germany).
  30. The Unfortunate Wedding at Grimma (Germany).
  31. Cholera (Germany).
  32. The Wedged-In Plague Smoke (Switzerland).
  33. The Plague Column in Auer (Italy).
  34. Astrological Portents (Italy / Spain / France).
  35. Amabie: The Ancient Beast Helping Japan Ward Off the Coronavirus (Japan).
  36. The Plague among the Beasts (Robert Dodsley).

• 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. Playing Dead Twice in the Road (Virginia, USA).
  7. The Fox (Palestine).
  8. 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 Surveyor and Plowman Legends. Folktales about dishonest surveyors and plowmen who encroach upon their neighbors' fields.
  1. The Cursed Land Surveyors (Germany).
  2. The Displaced Boundary Stone (Germany).
  3. Jörle Knix (Germany).
  4. The Dishonest Plowman (Germany).
  5. The Seven Steps (Germany).
  6. Land Plowed Away (Germany).
  7. Punishment for Removing Land-Marks (Denmark).
  8. The Glowing Surveyor (Netherlands).
  9. The Boundary Wrongdoer in Siggenthal (Switzerland).
  10. The Boundary Stone (Italy / Austria).
  11. Old Taylor's Ghost (England).

• 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. The Cogia Borrowed a Cauldron (Turkey).
  3. The Cauldron That Died (Palestine).

• 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).

• Puss in Boots. Literary Fairy Tales of type 545B.
  1. Costantino and His Cat (Fiovanni Francesco Straparola).
  2. Gagliuso (Giambattista Basile).
  3. The Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots (Charles Perrault).

• Puss in Boots. Folktales of type 545B.
  1. The Earl of Cattenborough (Europe).
  2. Puss in Boots (Germany).
  3. The Feather King (Transylvania).
  4. Prince Csihan (Nettles). (Hungary).
  5. The Palace That Stood on Golden Pillars (Sweden).
  6. Helge-Hal in the Blue Hill (Norway).
  7. Lord Peter (Norway).
  8. Mighty Mikko (Finland).
  9. Count Martin of the Cat (Italy / Austria).
  10. Don Joseph Pear (Italy).
  11. Boroltai Ku (Mongolia).
  12. Jogeshwar's Marriage (India).
  13. The Match-Making Jackal (India).
  14. The Weaver (India).
  15. The Clever Jackal (Kashmir).
  16. The Monkey and Juan Pusong Tambi-Tambi (Philippines).
  17. Andres the Trapper (Philippines).

Q

R

• Rain or Sunshine? Fables from Aesop and Turkey.
  1. The Father and His Two Daughters (Aesop).
  2. Nasreddin Hodja and His Two Daughters (Turkey).

• The Rabbit Herd, folktales of type 570.
  1. The Rabbit Herd (Europe).
  2. The Hare Herder (Germany).
  3. The Green Fig (Germany).
  4. The King's Hares (Norway).
  5. Jesper the Hare Herder (Denmark).
  6. The Flute (Poland).
  7. The Magic Fife (Ukraine / Russia).
  8. Bibliography of additional tales.

• Rapunzel and other folktales of type 310.
  1. Rapunzel, the Grimm brothers' version of 1857.
  2. Rapunzel, a comparison of the Grimm brothers' versions of 1812 and 1857.
  3. Parsley [Petrosinella] (Italy, Giambattista Basile).
  4. The Fair Angiola (Italy).
  5. Prunella (Italy).
  6. Persinette (France, Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force).
  7. Parsillette (France).
  8. Blond Beauty (France).
  9. Juan and Clotilde (Philippines).

• 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).
  7. Red Ridinghood (Ireland).
  8. The Little Girl and Her Grandmother (Ireland).
  9. Red Riding Hood (Ireland).
  10. The Old Man and the Wolf (Romania).
  11. The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (Beatrix Potter).

• 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. A Terrible Experience (Scotland).
  3. Buried in a Trance (Scotland).
  4. A Ghoul-Like Deed (England).
  5. Lady Restored to Life (England).
  6. Lady Mount Edgcumbe Buried Alive (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 Sweetheart in the Wood (Norway).
  4. The Robber Bridegroom (Denmark).
  5. The Story of Mr. Fox (England).
  6. The Oxford Student (England).
  7. The Girl Who Got Up a Tree (England).
  8. Bloody Baker (England).
  9. Bobby Rag (England).
  10. Captain Murderer (England, Charles Dickens).
  11. Laula (Wales).
  12. The History of Mr. Greenwood (Scotland).
  13. The Cannibal Innkeeper (Romania).
  14. Greenbeard (Lithuania).
  15. Sulasa and Sattuka (India, The Jataka).

• Rübezahl Is Entertained by Musicians. A legend from Silesia by Johann Prätorius (also spelled Praetorius, a pseudonym for Hans Schultze, 1630-80).

• 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. Dathera Dad (England).
  5. The Wonderful Cake (Ireland).
  6. The Wee Bunnock (Scotland [Ayrshire]).
  7. The Wee Bannock (Scotland [Dumfriesshire]).
  8. The Wee Bannock (Scotland [Selkirkshire]).
  9. The Fox and the Little Bonnach (Scotland).
  10. The Gingerbread Boy (USA).
  11. The Johnny-Cake (USA).
  12. The Little Cakeen (USA).
  13. The Devil in the Dough-Pan (Russia).

S

• Saint George.
  • 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 Northern Europe.
    1. St. Yegóry the Brave (Russia).
    2. Lindorm Legend (Mecklenburg).
    3. The King's Trophy (Thuringia).
    4. The Horseshoe on the Wall of the Saint Nicholas Church in Leipzig (Saxony).
    5. Saint George's Banner (Saxony).
    6. Saint George (Saxony).
    7. The Knight Saint George at Nauhain (Saxony).
    8. The Dragon at Nebra and the Knight Saint George (Saxony-Anhalt).
    9. The Lindorm in Marktbreit (Lower Franconia).
    10. The Lindorm at Frankenstein Castle (Baden-Württenberg).
    11. The Dragon (Baden).
    12. George's Meadow (Swabia).
    13. The Lindorm (Lusatia).
    14. Saint George and the Uffington White Horse (England).
    15. The Dragon's Well, Brinsop (England).
    16. Saint George in Cornwall (England).

• 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. The Dirty Shepherdess (France).
    5. As Dear as Salt (Germany).
    6. The Most Indispensable Thing (Germany).
    7. The Necessity of Salt (Austria).
    8. The Value of Salt (Italy).
    9. Like Good Salt (Italy).
    10. Water and Salt (Italy).
    11. The King and His Daughters (Pakistan).
    12. The Princess Who Loved Her Father Like Salt (India).
    13. The Goose-Girl at the Well (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
    14. Ass's Skin (Variant, Basque).

  • 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).
    5. Why the Ocean Is Salty (Philippines).

• Scandinavia.
  
  • 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).

  • Norwegian Folk Tales. Compiled by Tormod Kinnes.

  • Scandinavia and Finland: A Digital Library of Folklore, Folktales, and Fairy Tales.

• Scotland.
  Folklore, Folktales, and Fairy Tales from Scotland, a library of books digitized by books.google.com and others.

• 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).

• Self Did It. Fairy legends of type 1137. These stories are reminiscent of the encounter between Odysseus (Ulysses) and the Cyclops Polyphemus.
  1. My Ainsel (Northumberland, England).
  2. My Own Self (Sunderland, England).
  3. The Miller and the Ourisk (Scotland).
  4. The Story of Tam M'Kechan (Scotland).
  5. Mysel' i' da Mill (Shetland Islands, Scotland).
  6. A Donegal Fairy (Ireland).
  7. Legends of the Mill: The Beggar Woman and the Fairy (Norway).
  8. Issi Teggi (Self Did It) (Estonia).
  9. The Fairy in the House (Basque).

• The Shoemaker and the Elves and similar migratory legends of type 7015.
  1. The Elves (Germany).
  2. Shoemaker Jobst and the Elves (Germany).
  3. The Shoemaker and the Dwarf (Germany).
  4. The Dwarf as a Journeyman Shoemaker (Germany).
  5. Mermen (Germany).
  6. The Grinding-Mill Elves (Germany).
  7. The Underground People at Bernstein (Germany / Poland).
  8. The Nisse's New Clothes (Sweden).
  9. The Little Washerwoman (Bohemia).
  10. The Little Wild Man (Austria).
  11. The Dwarfs Depart from Paznaun (Austria).
  12. The Herder Dwarf in Muri (Switzerland).
  13. Now What a Handsome Man Am I (Switzerland).
  14. The Pixies of Devonshire (England).
  15. The Pixie and the Washerwoman (England).
  16. The Hart Hall Hob (England).
  17. The Cauld Lad of Hilton (England).
  18. The Pixy's Clothes (England).
  19. The Pisky Thrasher (England).
  20. The Pixie Thresher (England).
  21. The Brownie's New Coat (Scotland).
  22. Brownies (Scotland).
  23. A Trow Called Broonie (Scotland).
  24. The Kildare Pooka (Ireland).
  25. The Phouka (Ireland).
  26. The Sprite (France).
  27. The Fairy Friar (Spain).

• The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces and other tales of type 306.
  1. The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces (Germany, Georg Schambach and Wilhelm Müller).
  3. The Princess with the Twelve Pair of Golden Shoes (Denmark, Svend Grundtvig).
  4. The Invisible Shepherd Boy (Germany/Hungary).
  5. The Midnight Dance (Russia).
  6. The Three Girls (Gypsy [Slovak, Moravian, and Bohemian]).
  7. The Seven Iron Slippers (Portugal).
  8. The Twelve Dancing Princesses (France/Belgium).
  9. The Slippers of the Twelve Princesses (Romania).
  10. Dorani (Punjab).
  11. Hildur, the Queen of the Elves (Iceland).

• 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 Husband and the Wife Who Made a Wager as to Who Would Eat the Pancake (India / China).
  2. The Beggar and the Five Muffins (India).
  3. Story of the Third Brahman (India).
  4. The Farmer, His Wife, and the Open Door (Pakistan).
  5. The Silent Couple (Syria).
  6. The Opium Eaters and the Open Gate (Turkey).
  7. The Hashish Eater and His Bride (Egypt).
  8. Sennuccio and Bedovina (Italy).
  9. The Wager (Italy).
  10. The Porridge Pot (Flanders).
  11. The First One to Speak (Denmark).
  12. Johnie Blunt (Scotland, Robert Burns).
  13. The Barring of the Door (Scotland).
  14. Gutmann und Gutweib (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -- in German).

• Singing Bones. Folktales of type 780 about murder victims, whose body parts literally sing out for justice.
  1. The Singing Bone (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  2. The Blue Lily (Spain).
  3. The Singing Bones (French Louisiana).
  4. Under the Green Old Oak-Tree (Antigua).
  5. The Griffin (Italy).
  6. The Dead Girl's Bone (Switzerland).
  7. The Little Bone (Switzerland).
  8. Binnorie (England).
  9. Murder Will Out (Iceland)
  10. The Silver Plate and the Transparent Apple (Russia).
  11. Little Anklebone (Pakistan).
  12. The Magic Fiddle (India).

• Singing Thieves. Fables of type 214A.
  1. The Musical Donkey (India, The Panchatantra).
  2. The Ass as Singer (Tibet).
  3. Tit for Tat (India).
  4. The Four Associates (Pakistan).
  5. The Turtle and the Lizard (Philippines).

• Slavic and Other Eastern European Folk and Fairy Tales. A digital library.

• Sleeping Beauty. Tales of type 410.
  1. Sun, Moon, and Talia (Giambattista Basile).
  2. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (Charles Perrault).
  3. Little Briar-Rose, version of 1812 (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  4. Link to The Glass Coffin (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  5. Maruzzedda (Italy).
  6. The Beautiful Anna (Italy).
  7. Sun, Pearl, and Anna (Italy).
  8. An Old Story (Ireland).
  9. The Enchanted Princess; or, The Magic Tower (Greece).
  10. The Ninth Captain's Tale (1001 Nights).

• 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. Emperor Napoleon Is Still Alive (France).
  9. Holger the Dane Under Kronborg (Denmark).
  10. Holger Danske (Denmark).
  11. King Dan (Denmark / Germany).
  12. The Knights of Ållaberg (Sweden).
  13. The Sleeping Heroes in Mątwy (Poland).
  14. The Sleeping Warriors (England/Wales).
  15. Sleeping Warriors (Wales).
  16. The Cave of the Young Men of Snowdonia (Wales).
  17. The Hunter and His Hounds (England).
  18. Some Say That King Arthur Is Not Dead (England).
  19. The Passing of Arthur (England).
  20. King Arthur at Sewingshields (England).
  21. King Arthur in Freebrough Hill (England).
  22. Richmond Castle (England).
  23. The Wizard of Alderley Edge (England).
  24. Then There Are Yet Men in the Isle of Man (Isle of Man).
  25. The Enchantment of Gearoidh Iarla (Ireland).
  26. Thomas the Rhymer (Thomas of Erceldoune) (Scotland).
  27. The Smith's Rock in the Isle of Skye (Scotland).

• Snakes
  • The Person Who Swallowed a Snake, folktales of type 285B*
    1. The Snake in the Prince's Belly (India).
    2. The Man with the Snake (Denmark).
    3. The Alp-Luachra (Ireland).
    4. The Islay Doctor (Scotland / Norway).
    5. Ananzi and Baboon (Africa / West Indies).
    6. The Snake in the Stomach (USA).

  • Snake and Serpent Husbands. Tales of type 433C and similar stories.
    1. The Enchanted Brahman's Son (India, The Panchatantra).
    2. Muchie-Lal (India).
    3. The Snake Prince (India).
    4. The Caterpillar Boy (India).
    5. The River Snake (India).
    6. The Snake Who Became the King's Son-in-Law (Romanian-Gypsy).
    7. The Serpent (Italy, Il Pentamerone).
    8. The Water Snake (Russia).
    9. The Snake and the Princess (Russia).
    10. Transformation into a Nightingale and a Cuckoo (Russia)
    11. The Girl and the Snake (Sweden).
    12. The Snake and the Little Girl (Denmark).
    13. King Lindorm (Denmark).
    14. The Silk Spinster (Germany).
    15. The Snake (Germany).
    16. The Serpent (Germany).
    17. Oda and the Snake (Germany).

• The Snow Child. Tales of type 1362, and related stories about questionable paternity.
  1. The Snow Child (Europe).
  2. Modus Liebinc (Latin, from a tenth-century manuscript).
  3. The Child of Snow (France, Les cent nouvelles nouvelles).
  4. The Ice Child (Germany, Johannes Pauli).
  5. Der Eyszapf (Germany, Hans Sachs).
  6. The Snow Child (England, Thomas North).
  7. A Poor Mariner of Gaeta (Italy, Poggio Bracciolini).
  8. A Twelve-Month Child (Italy, Poggio Bracciolini).
  9. Ten Cradles (England, John Taylor).

• The Snow Maiden. Tales of type 703*, featuring a mysterious maiden, apparently made of snow.
  1. The Snow Maiden (Russia).
  2. The Snow Image: A Childish Miracle (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
  3. The Snow Daughter and the Fire Son (Bukovina).
  4. Yuki-Onna (Japan).

• 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. Magic Book (Germany).
  4. The Book of Magic (Russia).
  5. The Master and His Pupil (England).
  6. The Schoolmaster at Bury (England).
  7. The Farmer's Wife of Deloraine (Scotland).
  8. Mass John Scott (Scotland).
  9. The Magic Whistle (Iceland).

• Spinning
  • 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. Hottetejlil (Denmark).
    14. Gundeli (Denmark).
    15. The Girl Who Could Spin Gold from Clay and Long Straw (Sweden).
    16. Tom Tit Tot (England).
    17. Duffy and the Devil (England).
    18. Whuppity Stoorie (Scotland).
    19. Peerie Fool [Peerifool] (Orkney Islands).
    20. Gwarwyn-a-throt (Wales).
    21. The Rival Kempers (Ireland).
    22. Tríopla Trúpla (Ireland).
    23. Penelop (Wales).
    24. Silly go Dwt (Wales).
    25. Kinkach Martinko (a Slav folktale).

  • The Three Spinning Woman. Folktales of type 501.
    1. The Hateful Spinning of Flax (Germany).
    2. The Three Spinning Women (Germany).
    3. The Three Aunts (Norway).
    4. The Three Spinning Women (Denmark).
    5. Trillevip (Denmark).
    6. The Three Old Grandmothers (Sweden).
    7. Habetrot and Scantlie Mab (Scotland).
    8. The Lazy Beauty and Her Aunts (Ireland).
    9. A Fairy Story (Ireland).
    10. The Lazy Spinning-Girl Who Became Queen (Hungary).
    11. The Lazy Girl (Lithuania).
    12. The Guardian Spirits (Spain).
    13. The Lazy Girl (Greece).
    14. The Beautiful Glutton (Italy).
    15. The Seven Bits of Bacon Rind (Italy).

• Specter Bridegroom Legends. Stories of type 365 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. A Ghost as Husband (Netherlands).
  7. The Pale Lover (Austria).
  8. The Lover at the Bedroom Window (Austria).
  9. The Lover's Ghost (Hungary).
  10. The Girls and Their Suitors (Lithuania).
  11. Siegfried and Chriemhilt (German-American).
  12. The Ghost Husband (Native American).
  13. Notes and Bibliography (including sources for additional versions of this folktale type in the English and the German languages).

• Stages of Life. Fables of type 173 (828) and related tales.
  1. The Riddle of the Sphinx (Greece).
  2. The Man, the Horse, the Ox, and the Dog (Aesop).
  3. The Duration of Life (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  4. The Animals and the Man (Germany, Ludwig Aurbacher).
  5. The Ages of Life (Germany, Ulrich Jahn).
  6. Man and His Years (Romania, M. Gaster).
  7. The Seven Stages of Human Life (Rabbinic literature, Kohelet Rabbah).
  8. Old Age Threatens Our Body Like a Tiger (India, Bhartrihari).
  9. The Seven Ages of Man (William Shakespeare).
  10. There Is No Difference between Youth and Old Age (Nasreddin Hodja).

• 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. Druidical Circles and Monoliths (Scotland, Walter Gregor).
  5. Olav's Mound and the Raised Stone at Slugan (Scotland, Lord Archibald Campbell).
  6. The Gnoll Fairy Stone (Wales, J. O. Westwood).
  7. Merlin Transports the Giant's Dance [Stonehenge] from Ireland to England (England, Geoffrey of Monmouth).
  8. The White Cow of Mitchell's Fold (England, Charlotte Sophia Burne and Georgina F. Jackson).
  9. The Merry Maidens (England, Daniel Bowen Craigue).
  10. The Rollright Stones (England, James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps).
  11. Legend of the Rollright Stones (England, Edwin Sidney Hartland).
  12. Table-Mên: The Saxon Kings' Visit to the Land's End (England, Robert Hunt).
  13. King Arthur's Stone (England, Robert Hunt).
  14. The Witches of the Logan Stone (England, Robert Hunt).
  15. How to Become a Witch (England, Robert Hunt).
  16. Giants in Denmark (Saxo Grammaticus).
  17. Gloshed's Altar (Sweden, Herman Hofberg).
  18. The Frau Holle Stone (Germany, J. W. Wolf).
  19. The Giant's Stone near Züschen (Germany, Karl Lyncker).
  20. The Stone of Stolzenhagen (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  21. The Seven Stones of Morin (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  22. The Adam's Dance of Wirchow (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  23. The Hun Graves at Züssow (Germany, J. D. H. Temme).
  • 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 Fryr and the Whet-stone (England).
  4. The Clever Pilgrim (Switzerland/Germany).
  5. Pebble Soup (Germany).
  6. The Story of Pebble Soup (France).
  7. Pebble Soup (France).
  8. The Old Woman and the Tramp (Sweden).
  9. A Receipt to Make Stone Soup (Ireland).
  10. Limestone Broth (Ireland).
  11. A Pot of Broth (Ireland, W. B. Yeats).
  12. 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).

• The Strong Boy. Folktales of type 650A.
  1. The Young Giant (Germany).
  2. The Hairy Boy (Switzerland).
  3. Benedict (France).
  4. The She-Donkey's Son (Italy).
  5. Fourteen (Basque).
  6. The Dwarf Who Grew Up (Ireland).
  7. Strong Jack (Wales -- Romani).
  8. The Bear's Son (Serbia).
  9. The Strong Man (India).
  10. The Story of Carancal (Philippines).

• 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. Prince Bairâm and the Fairy Bride (Pakistan, Charles Swynnerton).
  8. The Tale of the Adventures of Hasan of Basrah (1001 Nights).

T

• The Tail-Fisher. Fables of type 2, in which an animal loses his tail by attempting to use it as a fishing lure.
  1. Why the Bear Is Stumpy-Tailed (Norway).
  2. How the Wolf Lost His Tail (Scotland).
  3. Reynard and Bruin (Europe).
  4. Why the Bear Has a Stumpy Tail (Flanders).
  5. The Hare and the Fox (Germany).
  6. The Wolf's Unfortunate Fishing Trip (Germany/Poland).
  7. How Mr. Rabbit Lost His Fine Bushy Tail (USA).
  8. The Frozen Tail (USA).
  9. Fox and Wolf (American Indian).
  10. Why Rabbit Has a Short Tail (Antigua).
  11. Links to additional tales.

• The Tailor in Heaven. Folktales of type 800.
  1. How a Tailor Came to Heaven and Threw Our Lord God's Footstool at an Old Woman (Germany, Jörg [Georg] Wickram).
  2. The Tailor in Heaven (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. The Tailor in Heaven (Germany, Ernst Meier).
  4. A Spanish Cavalryman (Switzerland, Otto Sutermeister).

• Tall Tales: The Big Freeze. Tales of type 1967.
  1. Frozen in the Saddle (Germany).
  2. Baron Munchhausen in Poland (England / Germany).
  3. Paul Bunyan and the Winter of the Deep Snow (North America).
  4. Keeping Paul Bunyan's Bunk Houses Warm (North America).
  5. The Winter of the Blue Snow (North America).
  6. A Big Snow (USA -- Idaho).
  7. The Great Snowfall (Native American -- Alaska / British Columbia).

• Tall Tales: Frozen Sounds. Tales of type 1889F.
  1. Frozen Words (Plutarch).
  2. An Italian Merchant in Poland (Italy).
  3. Unfrozen Words (France).
  4. Frozen Words (England).
  5. Baron Munchausen in Russia (England / Germany).
  6. The Post Horn (Germany).
  7. Paul Bunyan and the Year of the Hard Winter (North America).
  8. Voices in the Frying Pan (African American -- Mississippi).

• Tall Tales: Turning an Animal Inside Out. Tales of type 1889b.
  1. The Smith of Cannstatt and the Wolf (Germany).
  2. Baron Munchausen and the Wolf (England / Germany).
  3. Cougar Tamers (USA -- Idaho).

• Taming a Shrewish Wife. Folktales of type 900, reminiscent of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare.
  1. Cannetella (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. Peter Redhat (Denmark, Evald Tang Kristensen).
  7. The Haughty Princess (Ireland, Patrick Kennedy).
  8. The Hunchback (Spain, Fernan Caballero).

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

• The Tar-Baby, tales of types 175 and 1310A.
  1. The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story (USA, Joel Chandler Harris).
  2. How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox (USA, Joel Chandler Harris).
  3. Buh Wolf, Buh Rabbit, an de Tar-Baby (USA).
  4. Playing Godfather: Tar-Baby: Mock Plea (USA).
  5. The Rabbit and the Frenchman (Native American, Biloxi).
  6. Coyote and Pitch (Native American, Shasta).
  7. B' Rabby an' B' Tar-Baby (Bahamas).
  8. The Story of a Dam (South Africa, Hottentot).
  9. The Dance for Water; or, Rabbit's Triumph (South Africa).
  10. How Prince Five-Weapons Fought the Ogre Hairy-Grip (India, Jataka Tales).
  11. The Demon with the Matted Hair (India, Jataka Tales, retold by Joseph Jacobs).
  12. The Jackal and the Chickens (India).
  13. The Farmer, the Crocodile, and the Jackal (Pakistan).
  14. King Robin (Spain/Portugal).
  15. The Monkey and Juan Puson Tambi-Tambi (Philippines).

• 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.
  • 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.

• 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 Three Little Pigs (England).
  3. The Fox and the Pixies (England).
  4. The Fox and the Geese (England).
  5. The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf (African-American, Joel Chandler Harris).
  6. The Story of the Pigs (African-American, Joel Chandler Harris).
  7. How Come the Pigs Can See the Wind (North Carolina, USA).
  8. Little Pig and Wolf (Virginia, USA).
  9. 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).

• Three-Ring Parable. Folktales of type 920E.
  1. Melchizedek Avoids a Trap (abstracted from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron).
  2. Of the Triple State of the World (Gesta Romanorum).
  3. 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.

• Tom Thumb. Stories of type 700 about tiny heroes.
  1. I Had a Little Husband (England).
  2. The Famous History of Tom Thumb (England, 1775).
  3. The Comical and Merry Tricks of Tom Thumb (Scotland, ca. 1820).
  4. Tom Thumb (Ireland).
  5. A Story (Ireland).
  6. New History of the Life and Adventures of Tom Thumb (USA -- Connecticut).
  7. Thomas of the Thumb (Scotland).
  8. Thumbthick (Germany).
  9. Thumbling's Travels (Germany).
  10. A Story about Palecek, "Little Thumb" ) (Czech Republic).
  11. Thumbikin (Norway).
  12. Svend Tomling (Denmark).
  13. Little Lasse (Finland).
  14. John Bit-of-a-Man (France).
  15. Little Thumb (France).
  16. Little Blue Riding Hood (France).
  17. Jean des Pois Verts (France).
  18. Little Chick-Pea (Italy).
  19. Robber Nut (Albania).
  20. The Little Spirit, or Boy-Man (Native American).
  21. The Transformation of Issunboshi (Japan).
  22. A Man Who Was Only a Finger and a Half in Stature (Bangladesh / India).

• The Tongue-Cut Sparrow. A traditional Japanese fairy tale (similar to 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 Tortoise That Wanted to Fly, fables of types 225 and 225A.
    • Type 225
      1. An Eagle and a Tortoise (Aesop or Anianus).
      2. The Tortoise and the Eagle (Aesop).
      3. The Turtle and the Eagle (Leo Tolstoy).
      4. When Mr. Terrapin Went Riding in the Clouds (USA).
    • Type 225A
      1. The Talkative Tortoise (India, The Jataka Tales).
      2. The Disobedient Tortoise (India, The Panchatantra).
      3. The Tortoise and the Two Swans (India, The Kathá Sarit Ságara).
      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. Turtle's Race, two versions (American Indian -- Ojibwa).
    20. The Race Between Turtle and Frog (American Indian -- Sanpoil).
    21. The Tortoise and the Stag (Brazil).
    22. The Snail and the Deer (Philippines).
    23. Carabao and the Shell (Philippines).
    24. An Unequal Match; Or, Why the Carabao's Hoof Is Split (Philippines).
    25. The Crane and the Crab (Fiji).
    26. The Butterfly and the Crane (Fiji).
    27. The King Crow and the Water Snail (Malaya).
    28. The Frog and the Wild Hog (Madagascar).
    29. Tortoise in a Race (West Africa).
    30. The Elephant and the Ants (India).
    31. Old Nick and the Girl (Sweden).
    32. The Hare and the Tortoise [1] (Ambrose Bierce).
    33. The Hare and the Tortoise [2] (Ambrose Bierce).

• Trading.
  • 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).
    2. Little Mouse and Little Sausage (East Prussia).
    3. Mouse, Sausage, and Pea (Denmark).
    4. The Husband Who Was to Mind the House (Norway).
    5. The Husband at Home (Denmark).
    6. Nature's Order (Germany).
    7. There Was an Old Man, Who Lived in a Wood (England).
    8. The Old Man Who Lived in a Wood (England).
    9. A Change of Work (Ireland).

  • 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 Boy Who Was Called Thick-Head (Native American).
    7. The Story of Hlakanyana (Kaffir -- South Africa).

• Travel.
  Folktales for Travelers. 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).
  11. The Citizen of the World (Jewish).

• Treasure Finders Murder One Another. Folktales of type 763.
  1. Vedabbha-Jataka: Misguided Effort (India, The Jataka).
  2. The Reward of Covetousness (India).
  3. The Punishment of Avarice (Tibet).
  4. Jesus and the Three Blocks of Gold (Arabic).
  5. Story of the Three Men and Our Lord Jesus (1001 Nights).
  6. The Merchant and the Two Sharpers (1001 Nights).
  7. The Pardoner's Tale (abstracted from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer).
  8. The Hermit and the Three Ruffians (Italy).
  9. The Three Crosses (Germany).

• 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 Woman Who Humored Her Lover at Her Husband's Expense (1001 Nights).
  2. Clever Gretel (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. Clever Molly (Jamaica).
  4. The Good Husband and the Bad Wife (India).

• 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 Two Peasants (Sri Lanka).
  3. The Two Brothers (Tibet).
  4. The Heathen and the Jew (Jewish).
  5. True and Untrue (Norway).
  6. The Two Travelers (Germany).
  7. The Travels of Truth and Falsehood (Hungary).
  8. The Grateful Beasts (Hungary).
  9. Honesty and Dishonesty (Russia).
  10. Justice or Injustice? Which Is Best? (Serbia).
  11. The Two Brothers (Georgia).

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. The Tulman (Scotland).
  5. Why Deunant Has the Front Door in the Back (Wales).
  6. Why the Back Door Was Front (Wales).
  7. The Underground People in Stocksee (Germany).
  8. The Stallion and the Underground People (Germany).
  9. Underground People beneath the Horse Stall (Germany).
  10. The Underground People (Germany).
  11. A Horse Stall Is Moved (Germany).

• Unfinished and Endless Stories. Folktales of types 2250, 2251, 2260, 2271, 2300, and 2301.
  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. Mary Morey (USA).
  8. The King and His Storyteller (Petrus Alphonsi, Disciplina Clericalis).
  9. The Narrow Bridge (Germany).
  10. The Story That Never Ends (Czechoslovakia).
  11. A Storyteller of Messer Azzolino (Italy).
  12. The Treasure (Italy).
  13. The Shepherd (Italy).
  14. The Endless Tale (England).
  15. Sancho's Story from Cervantes' Don Quixote.

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

• Volsung Saga.
  The Saga of the Volsungs: A Summary.

W

• Wales
  Folklore, Folktales, and Fairy Tales from Wales, a library of books digitized by books.google.com and others.

• The Wandering Jew. Legends of type 777.
  1. Of the Jew Who Is Still Alive (Roger of Wendover).
  2. The Wandering Jew (from Reliques of Ancient English Poetry).
  3. The Wandering Jew (retold by Horace E. Scudder).
  4. Shoemakers Are a Poor Slobbering Race (England).
  5. The Mysterious Stranger (England).
  6. The Eternal Jew (Belgium).
  7. The Jerusalem Showmaker, or Wandering Jew, in Jutland (Denmark).
  8. The Story of Judas (Italy).
  9. Malchus at the Column (Italy).
  10. Wodan as the Wandering Jew (Germany).
  11. Buttadeu (Italy).
  12. The Lost Jew (Germany).
  13. The Eternal Jew on the Matterhorn (Switzerland).
  14. The Wandering Jew on the Grimsel Pass (Switzerland).
  15. The Wandering Jew in New York City (USA).
  16. The Wandering Jew in Harts Corners, New York (USA).

• 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. The Merrow (Ireland).
  6. The Water Snake (Russia).
  7. Melusina.
  8. Mermaid Wives.

• Water Spirit Legends 2. Migratory legends of type 4050.
  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 Ryå River in Vendsyssel (Denmark).
  5. The Hour Is Come, but Not the Man (Denmark).
  6. The Hour Is Here (1) (Germany).
  7. The Hour Is Here (2) (Germany).
  8. Water Will Have Its Sacrifice (Germany).
  9. 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 and other legends of type 875*.
  1. The Women of Weinsberg (Germany).
  2. Weibertreue Castle (Germany).
  3. A City Is Captured, from Which the Women Carry Their Husbands and Children (Germany).
  4. The Siege of Gelsterburg Castle (Germany).
  5. The Siege of Weidelburg Castle (Germany).

• 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. Silly Matt (Norway).
  4. Stupid's Mistaken Cries (England).
  5. The Forgetful Boy (England/USA).
  6. Lazy Jack (England).
  7. Jock and His Mother (Scotland).
  8. I'll Be Wiser the Next Time (Ireland).
  9. The Fool's Good Fortune (Georgia).
  10. 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. The Inconsolable Widow (Italy, Laurentius Abstemius).
  2. The Woman and the Farmer (Aesop).
  3. Mrs. Fox's Wedding (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  4. Chuang-tzu and His Wife (China).
  5. Zadig's Nose (France, Voltaire).
  6. The Widow of Ephesus (Rome, Petronius).
  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. How Long Master Hobson's Daughter Mourned for Her Husband's Death (England).
  10. He That's Dead Can Do No Hurt (Ireland, J. M. Synge).
  11. Widow and Soldier (USA, Ambrose Bierce).
  12. The Devoted Widow (USA, Ambrose Bierce).
  13. The Inconsolable Widow (USA, Ambrose Bierce).
  14. The Crimson Candle (USA, Ambrose Bierce).

• Wife.
  • An Adulterous Wife Locks Her Husband Out of Doors, folktales of type 1377.
    1. Dschoha's Wife Locks Him Out (from the Arabic).
    2. The Unfaithful Wife (India).
    3. The Ancient Knight Who Married a Beautiful Young Wife (The Seven Wise Masters).
    4. Tofano Shuts His Wife Out of Doors (Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron).
    5. A Tyrannical Husband (England).
    6. The Well (Petrus Alfonsi, The Disciplina Clericalis).

  • The Contrary Wife, tales of type 1365A, 1365B, and 1365C.
    1. Of a Woman Who Persisted in Calling Her Husband Lousy (Italy).
    2. Of One Who Sought His Wife Who Had Drowned in a River (Italy).
    3. Scissors They Were (Italy).
    4. Scissors (Europe).
    5. Of Hym That Sought His Wyfe against the Streme (England).
    6. How Madde Coomes, When His Wife Was Drowned, Sought Her against the Streame (England).
    7. The Woman Who Called Her Husband a Louse-Pincher (Germany).
    8. The Woman Drowned (Jean de La Fontaine).
    9. The Contrary Woman (Norway).
    10. Mary, Mary, So Contrary! [The Pig-Headed Wife] (Finland).
    11. Scissors or Knife? (Russia).
    12. The Contrary Wife (Spain).
    13. The Baneyrwal and His Drowned Wife (Pakistan).

  • 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 or Wuotan) from Germanic mythology.
  1. King Herla (England).
  2. The Wild Huntsman (England).
  3. The Devil and His Dandy-Dogs (Cornwall).
  4. Dando and His Dogs (Cornwall).
  5. The Wild Hunt (Netherlands).
  6. The Wild Huntsman's Present (Netherlands).
  7. The Eternal Huntsman of Wynendael (Netherlands).
  8. Wod, the Wild Huntsman (Germany).
  9. The Wild Huntsman and the Mine-Monk (Germany).
  10. The Night Huntsman at the Udarser Mill (Germany).
  11. Löwenberg: The Wild Hunt (Germany).
  12. Odin the Hunter (Denmark).
  13. Odin the Hunter (Denmark).
  14. The Wild Huntsman on Buller Mountain (Poland).
  15. The Wild Huntsman (Bohemia).
  16. The Wild Hunt near Schwarzkosteletz (Kostelec nad Černými lesy) (Bohemia).
  17. The Headless Horseman of Cumberland Mountain (USA).
  18. Links to additional texts.

• The Wild Man As Helper. Folktales of type 502.
  1. Guerrino and the Savage Man (Italy, Giovanni Francesco Straparola).
  2. Iron Hans (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).
  3. The Iron Man (Germany).
  4. The King's Wild Man (Germany).
  5. The Wild Man of the Marsh (Denmark).
  6. The Tsarevich and Dyad'ka (Russia).
  7. Story of Bulat the Brave Companion (Russia).
  8. The Hairy Man (Hungary).
  9. One Good Turn Deserves Another (Serbia).
  10. The Wild Man (Greece).

• Will-o'-the-Wisp: Ignis Fatuus. Legends about fiery fairies.
  1. The Ignisfatus (England).
  2. Jack o' Lantern (Ireland).
  3. The Will-o'-the-Wisp (Scotland).
  4. Lantern Jack (Wales).
  5. The Ellylldan (Wales).
  6. The Origin of the Jack-o'-Lantern (Wales).
  7. The Jack o' Lantern (Denmark).
  8. Will-o'-the-Wisps (Netherlands).
  9. Jack o' Lanterns Baptized (Netherlands).
  10. The Will-o'-the-Wisps (Estonia).
  11. The Will-o'-the-Wisp (Germany / Poland).
  12. The Cursed Land Surveyors (Germany).
  13. The Will-o'-the-Wisp (Germany).
  14. Will-o'-the-Wisps with Long Legs (Germany).
  15. Will-o'-the-Wisps Banned with a Curse (Germany)
  16. The Heerwisch (Germany).
  17. Godorf: The Will-o'-the-Wisp (Germany).
  18. Links to additional texts.

• 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. Phœbus and Boreas (Jean de la Fontaine).
  3. The Wind and the Sun (India).
  4. The North Wind and the Sun (Ambrose Bierce).
  5. Brer Rabbit Treats the Creatures to a Race (Joel Chandler Harris).

• Witchcraft.
  • 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 as Cat (Bohemia, Josef Virgil Grohmann).
    3. The Witch (Germany, J. G. Th. Grässe).
    4. The Haunted Mill (Germany, Karl Gander).
    5. Trudd as Cat (Germany, Karl Reiser).
    6. The Girl Who Transformed Herself into a Hare (Germany, A. Haas).
    7. Witch as Hare (Germany, Bernhard Baader).
    8. Witch as Goose (Germany, Bernhard Baader).
    9. Witch as Fox (Germany, Karl Reiser).
    10. A Witch Is Recognized (Germany, J. W. Wolf).
    11. A Witch Is Recognized (Germany, A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz).
    12. A Witch Burnt (Netherlands, Benjamin Thorpe).
    13. Witches as Cats in Manternach (Luxembourg, N. Gredt).
    14. The Blacksmith's Wife of Yarrowfoot (Scotland, William Henderson).
    15. Ridden by a Witch (Scotland, John Francis Campbell).
    16. The Witch of Lorn (Scotland, John Gregorson Campbell).
    17. The Silver Button (Scotland, John Gregorson Campbell).
    18. The Farmer and the Witch (Scotland, Eve Blantyre Simpson).
    19. The Black Dog (Shetland Islands, G. F. Black).
    20. The Severed Hand (Norway, Peter Christian Asbjørnsen).
    21. The Witch and the Hunter (Denmark, J. M. Thiele).
    22. The Witch in Hare-Skin (Denmark, Jens Kemp).
    23. An Old Witch (England, Anna Eliza Bray).
    24. The Weaver's Wife and the Witch (England, Sidney Oldall Addy).
    25. The Shot Hare (Wales, D. E. Jenkins).
    26. The Two Cat Witches (Wales, William Elliot Griffis).
    27. The Witch Hare (Ireland, William Butler Yeats).
    28. Witches (Ireland, Patrick Bardan).
    29. The Old Hare (Ireland, D. Knox).
    30. The Woman-Cat (USA, Elsie Clews Parsons).
    31. The Severed Hand (USA, J. Hampden Porter).

  • 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, Women
  • 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. The Devil's Tyranny Against a Married Couple (Germany, Martin Luther).
    2. An Old Woman Worse Than the Devil (Germany, Karl Bartsch).
    3. Katie Grey (Sweden, G. Djurklo).

  • The Woman Who Did Not Know Herself. Folktales of type 1383.
    1. Hans's Katie (Germany).
    2. Clever Elsie (Germany).
    3. Admann and His Wife (Germany).
    4. Lazy Catherine (Germany).
    5. How the Shoemaker Got Rid of His Hussy (Denmark).
    6. All Women Are Alike (Norway).
    7. Gidske (Norway).
    8. There Was an Old Woman (England).

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.

• the top of this document.

Revised June 19, 2024.