Motif
animal adversary’s death-threat fulfilled
animal_adversary_s_death_threat_fulfilled
A motif of the Curse, Blessing, and Performative Sacred Speech family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
germanic
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Household Tales by Brothers Grimm SECOND STORY / FIRST STORY / SECOND STORY / THIRD STORY; lines 8844-8866 confidence: high
The waggoner, having lost all his property, sits behind the stove in anger. The sparrow sits outside the window and says, “Waggoner, it shall cost thee thy life.” The waggoner throws an axe and breaks the window but misses the bird.
The sparrow repeatedly declares that the waggoner’s life will be the cost, and the waggoner dies while the sparrow survives.
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