Beschrijving
Tasks for a Thief (previously Theft of Dog, Horse, Sheet, or Ring). A good-for-nothing young man from a poor family learns the craft of stealing and comes home as a master thief. He (his father) boasts about his skill in front of the earl (godfather) [K301.1, F660.1, H915], who demands (usually) three tests [H1151].
(1) The master thief steals a horse (dog) out of a closely-guarded stall [H1151.2]. He disguises himself as an old woman (beggar) and gives liquor (a drug) to the farmhands (guards, soldiers) to make them sleep [K332].
(2) He steals the bedcover (shirt) and wedding ring of the earl’s wife [H1151.3, H1151.4]. He contrives that the earl shoots a corpse (straw man) and goes to bury the body. The thief tells the earl’s wife that the earl needs the blanket and ring for the corpse [K362.2].
(3) He traps the priest and the sexton in a sack (cf. Type 1737) and puts candles on the backs of crabs. The men take him for an angel and the lights for wandering souls (cf. Type 1740). He carries the sack to the goose house (hangs it in the bell tower or chimney). Cf. Type 1737.
After these tests, the master thief is banished from the country (pardoned, rewarded). Cf. Type 328.
(1) The master thief steals a horse (dog) out of a closely-guarded stall [H1151.2]. He disguises himself as an old woman (beggar) and gives liquor (a drug) to the farmhands (guards, soldiers) to make them sleep [K332].
(2) He steals the bedcover (shirt) and wedding ring of the earl’s wife [H1151.3, H1151.4]. He contrives that the earl shoots a corpse (straw man) and goes to bury the body. The thief tells the earl’s wife that the earl needs the blanket and ring for the corpse [K362.2].
(3) He traps the priest and the sexton in a sack (cf. Type 1737) and puts candles on the backs of crabs. The men take him for an angel and the lights for wandering souls (cf. Type 1740). He carries the sack to the goose house (hangs it in the bell tower or chimney). Cf. Type 1737.
After these tests, the master thief is banished from the country (pardoned, rewarded). Cf. Type 328.
Motief
K301.1
F660.1
H915
H1151
H1151.2
K332
H1151.3
H1151.4
K362.2
Commentaar
The full form of the tale is documented in the Renaissance by Straparola, Piacevoli notti (I,2).
Combinaties
This type is usually combined with one or more other types, esp. 950, 1525D, 1535, 1737, and also 653, 804B, 1004, 1071, 1072, 1084, 1525B, 1525E, 1539, 1735, and 1740.
Oorspronkelijk Verhaaltype
1525A
Subgenre
mop