Tall Tale: Turning an Animal Inside Out
Folktales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther Type 1889B
translated and/or edited by
D. L. Ashliman
© 2021
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- The Smith of Cannstatt and the Wolf (Germany).
- Baron Munchausen and the Wolf (England / Germany).
- Cougar Tamers (USA -- Idaho).
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Germany
The smith of Cannstatt was going through the woods when a wolf leapt toward him. His jaws were wide open, as though he wanted to swallow the smith whole. To protect himself, the smith pushed his right hand through the wolf's throat and into his body. He grabbed his tail and turned the wolf inside out, just like a cobbler does with a shoe.
- Source (books.google.com): Heinrich Bebel, Schwänke, edited by Albert Wesselski, vol. 2, (Munich and Leipzig: Georg Müller, 1907), p. 51.
- Source (Internet Archive): Heinrich Bebel, Schwänke, edited by Albert Wesselski, vol. 2, (Munich and Leipzig: Georg Müller, 1907), p. 51.
- This tale was also recorded by Hans Wilhelm Kirchhof: Wendunmuth. Darinnen fünff hundert und fünffzig höflicher, züchtiger und lustigen Historien, Schimpffreden und Gleichnüssen begriffen und gezogen seyn auß alten und jetzigen Scribenten (Frankfurt: Georg Raben, 1565), no. 257, p. 263.
- Heinrich Bebel (1472-1518) was German humanist. He is best known today for his Facetiae (1506), a collection of anecdotes recorded in Latin. The above tale comes from this work.
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England / Germany
The fiercest and most dangerous animals generally came upon me when defenceless, as if they had a notion or foresight of it by way of instinct. Thus a frightful wolf rushed upon me so suddenly, and so close that I could do nothing but follow mechanical instinct, and thrust my fist into his open mouth. For safety's sake I pushed on, and on, till my arm was fairly in, up to the shoulder.
How should I disengage myself? I was not much pleased with my awkward situation -- with a wolf face to face -- our ogling was not of the most pleasant kind. If I withdrew my arm, then the animal would fly the more furiously upon me; that I saw in his flaming eyes. In short, I laid hold of his intrails, turned him inside out like a glove, and flung him to the ground, where I left him.
USA (Idaho)
Yup, we usta have quite a bit of trouble with cougars and we wuz pretty keerful to have a gun with us when we ambled out. One time though, I plumb forgot my gun and I had a narrow squeak with one of them-there varmints. 'Twas over to that place I usta have in the valley. I goes out after supper to bring the cows home and I was right dog-eared busy when I happened to look up. There was a cougar comun down the hill after me, and me without a gun. I had to think right smart about it. When the varmint got up to me with wide open mouth I just reached in and grabbed his tail and turned him wrong side out quickern a flash. Of course, he was headed in the wrong direction then, and so doggone surprised that he went lickety-split right back up the hill and out of sight.
- Source (books.google.com): Vardis Fisher, Idaho Lore, prepared by the Federal Writers' Project of the Work Projects Administration (Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, 1939), p. 121.
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fairy tales, and mythology.
Revised June 2, 2022.