Biblical Repartee. A man (Jew, robber, farmer) praises a sermon on the theme [Matthew 7,2], “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek to him also.” He gives the clergyman a blow on the ear to see if he will act as the Bible…
The Student as Healer. A student comes to a village and promises to cure a calf (donkey) that belongs to an old woman (to cure the old woman herself). He writes, “If he does not live, let him die,” on a piece of paper which he puts in a bag and tells…
The Clergyman Visits the Sick. This miscellaneous type consists of various anecdotes, e.g. a clergyman eats beside someone’s sickbed (deathbed). The sick person hears him and complains, “How he gnaws away!” The clergyman answers, “Yes, illness is…
The Stolen Bicycle. A clergyman intends to pay a visit to a man whose wife has recently died, but he comes to the wrong house where a man lives whose bicycle has been stolen. The clergyman expresses his condolences, and the man answers, “She was not…
The Clergyman Visits the Dying. This miscellaneous type consists of various anecdotes in which a clergyman goes to someone’s deathbed, with absurd results.
The Clergyman’s Nights. A clergyman (rector) invites an acquaintance to dinner and shows him his house. The guest takes a silver spoon and hides it in the clergyman’s (cook’s) bed. Some time later the clergyman asks his guest about the spoon, which…
The Dog’s Legacy (previously The Testament of the Dog). The owner of a faithful dog (donkey, goat, hog) wants the animal to be buried in the churchyard with a proper burial service. The clergyman refuses. After the owner explains that the animal left…
Grace before Dinner (previously Grace before Meat). A clergyman asks a boy how his family says grace. The boy does not understand, so the clergyman asks what his father says before they eat. The boy answers, “Come here, children!” (“Come and get it,…
The Stolen Ham (Goat). A clergyman steals something but promises to pray for the man from whom it was stolen. However, he accuses the man who was stolen from, and absolves the man who stole.
At the Blessing of the Grave, the Clergyman’s Ox Breaks Loose. (Including the previous Type 1745.) While officiating at a burial (church service), the clergyman observes that his ox has broken its tether. He curses it (says it is possessed by the…
Sermon Illustrated. A card-playing clergyman makes a bet that he will be able to call out a trump suit during his next sermon. In his sermon, he declares that a certain card is trump but adds that God is a better trump than any card [N71]. Cf. Types…
The Clergyman Calls Out Cards. (Including the previous Type 1839.) This miscellaneous type consists of various anecdotes about drunkenness and card playing in church. In many variants a clergyman falls asleep in the church. When he wakes up (is…
Not Often Seen in Church. A church officer wants to make some farmers (a woman) come to church more often. He scatters millet outside the church and treads it down after it sprouts. Then he accuses the farmers of having dropped it. They reply that it…
The Hog in Church. A sexton accidentally locks a hog in the church. He hears a noise and alerts the clergyman, who puts on his vestments, takes the Bible, and asks the sexton to open the church door. The hog runs between the clergyman’s legs and…
A Pet Dove Drops Excrements in the Clergyman’s Soup. A clergyman (shoemaker) has a tame bird. When his cook (wife) brings the soup, the bird sits on the edge of the bowl and lets droppings fall into the soup. Everyone laughs, or the cook fishes the…
Holy Ghost in the Church (previously The Parson to Let a Dove Fly in the Church). (Including the previous Type 1839*.) A clergyman who wants to perform a miracle for his congregation arranges for the sexton (his cook, servant girl) to let loose a…
The Drunken Clergyman: “Do as I Say, Not as I Do.” (previously The Drunken Parson: “Do not Live as I Live.”). A clergyman who has many vices admonishes his congregation to follow his words rather than copy his actions. Sometimes the clergyman blames…
Wager: Clergyman to Read Prayer Without Thinking of Anything Else. A man (St. Bernard) promises a clergyman (chattering woman, hermit, man) a horse (pig) if he can say a prayer (the Lord’s prayer) without thinking of anything else. While praying, the…
The Pasted Bible Leaves. During the service, a clergyman reads directly from the Bible. Two pages stick together (he turns two pages by accident) so he is suddenly in the middle of another story and reads an absurd sentence. Or, the clergyman’s…