Beschrijving
I. The Holy Man and His Disciple. A holy man and his disciple come to a city where the king and all his ministers are fools, and where all items of food sell for the same price [J342.1.1, X1503.3]. The holy man leaves at once, but the disciple stays despite the warnings of the holy man [N347.7].
II. The Crime. (a) Thee Collapsed Wall. A burglar tries to break into a house but is killed when the wall collapses. The householder is called before the king and sentenced to death. The householder, however, blames the mason who built the wall who, in turn, blames the man who supplied the mortar, etc., until finally one man is found who is too stupid to offer an alibi. He is condemned to death [J2233]. See 2031A*. (b) A man is condemned to death for some other reason.
III. The Man Chosen to Fit the Stake (Noose). (a) It is found that the condemned man is too thin to fit the stake (noose). The disciple is chosen to be impaled (hanged) in his place. [J2233.1.1, N178.2]. (b) The holy man reappears and announces that he has discovered that the next man to be executed will go directly to heaven [K841.1, J1189.3]. The king leaps upon the stake himself [K842.4, K843]].
Subgenre
sprookje