Sexton’s Own Wife Brings her Offering. A clergyman and a sexton agree that the sexton may have all money given as offerings by the women who have slept with the clergyman. When a woman whom he has slept with comes with an offering, the clergyman…
“l Can’t Hear You.” A sexton confesses to a priest, who wants him to admit that he stole from the priest’s wine cellar (communion wine, field) when the priest was away. The sexton pretends not to understand what the priest means. Intending to…
The Sexton Falls into the Brewing Vat. A sexton goes to steal some beer from a clergyman. He hides and observes the clergyman in intimate relations with the maid (his wife). The sexton falls from his hiding place into the brewing vat. The couple…
The Hungry Clergyman. This type combines one of two introductory episodes with a common main part. Introductory episodes: (1) Cf. Type 1691. (2) Master and servant (clergyman and sexton) go hunting (in the forest). The servant brings food but the…
Teaching the Donkey to Speak. A ruler (landlord) wants his donkey (camel, dog, calf) to learn to speak (read, pray), but cannot find anyone who will teach it [H1024.4]. He offers a big salary to any teacher who can do this in ten (25, etc.) years’…
Sending a Dog to Be Educated. A clergyman (farmer) wants his dog to learn to speak. His servant offers to bring the dog to the schoolmaster (to teach it himself). The clergyman gives the servant money for the dog’s education. Cf. Type 1675. After…
The Hen Learns to Speak (previously The Parson’s Stupid Wife. ). A mercenary lover makes the clergyman’s foolish wife (a neighbor woman who has discovered the liason) believe that a hen (chickens) can be taught to talk (sing) [J1882.1]. The woman…
In Purgatory. (Including Type 1833G.) This tale exists chiefly in two different forms: (1) A clergyman demands repeated payments from a dying man (the man’s relatives) who wants to buy his way out of Purgatory. The man asks if his place in heaven is…
The Promised Gift. A woman (man) confesses her sins to the priest. The priest admits to her that he has committed similar sins himself. In return for her absolution, the woman promises to give the priest a turkey (fish). During the sermon, the priest…
The Sausage Tax (previously The Parson is Dissatisfied with his Share). At Christmas, every farmer must bring the clergyman a sausage. One poor man’s horse dies, so he has a huge intestine to use for sausage. He fills it with mashed potatoes,…
The Priest’s Guest and the Eaten Chickens. A man (priest) directs his wife (cook, maidservant) to cook two chickens (geese, hares, fish) for a dinner to which he has invited a guest (the clergyman). The wife and her lover secretly eat (nibble at) the…
Thieves as Ghosts. Miscellaneous type. Thieves (tricksters) disguise themselves out of various intentions and in various ways as supernatural figures. Either they succeed in their tricks, or they are exposed. Cf. Type 1676.
Candles on the Crayfish. At night (Halloween) a man (rascal, thief, trickster, clergyman) sticks lights (candles) on the backs of living crayfish (crabs, beetles) and sets the animals loose in a room (the graveyard). Gullible people take them for…
A Miser Gives Birth to a Child (previously Man Thinks he has Given Birth to a Child by Letting Wind). A miserly man who has been married many times will not give his wife anything that she can cook to make a meal. Then, to punish her for not…
The Clergyman and the Calf. A man (usually a clergyman) who has a stomachache sends his servant (maid) to the doctor with a sample of his urine. On the way the bottle breaks, and the servant fills a new bottle with urine from a pregnant cow (mare).…
Alone in Heaven. A man (Catholic) comes to heaven and St. Peter conducts him to his proper place. When they pass a certain room (a high hedge), St. Peter tells him to be quiet because this is where the Reformed Protestants (Adventists, Methodists)…
The Clergyman’s Dream. On Sunday morning, a preacher warns his parishioners from the pulpit that their contributions are overdue. He says that he dreamed that he died and went to heaven. There, he was overcome by an urgent need, and asked St. Peter…
The Dream: All Clergymen in Hell. (Including the previous Types 1738A* and 1738C*.) Three main versions of this story can be distinguished: (1) A priest refuses to go to the deathbed of one of his parishioners to perform the last rites, because the…
The Clergyman in the Sack to Heaven. A man (master thief) is ordered to capture the preacher and put him into a sack. He dresses as an angel (Gabriel, Michael, angel of death) or as a saint (Peter) and waits at night near the church (parsonage,…
The Firm Belief. King Friedrich II of Prussia asks a soldier what he believes. The soldier says he believes what the shoemaker believes. The king asks what that is, and the soldier explains that he owes the shoemaker for a pair of boots but the…
Sword Turns to Wood. A king disguises himself and visits an inn. There he meets a soldier who has sold his saber to buy drinks. The king asks him how he will salute, and the soldier replies that he has bigger problems than that. He later substitutes…
The Stingy Clergyman. The servant (servants, Eulenspiegel) of a stingy clergyman sleeps instead of mowing the meadow. He puts a wasp nest (anthill, beetle) into a box (bag) and tells the clergyman that he has found a box full of gold in the meadow.…
The Recovered Coin. A man puts a coin in the offering box and retrieves it by means of a thread. The clergyman says, “May God repay you!” The man answers, “He has done so already.”