Aarne-Thompson-Uther (ATU) - Types of Folktales

670: The Language of Animals

ATU > 300-749: TALES OF MAGIC > 650-699: Supernatural Power or Knowledge > 670: The Language of Animals

Description

A man learns animal languages. His wife wants to discover his secret. The advice of the cock. Cf. Types 517, 671. I. The Gift of the Snake. A man receives from a grateful snake the power of understanding animal languages. He is not to reveal this…

Variants

670A. The Woman Who Understood Animal Languages

I. The Ring and the Corpse. A newly married bride hears jackals, etc., talking and learns that a corpse floating in the river has on its finger a valuable ring [N547]. She pulls the corpse from the river and removes the ring. (a) In order to remove…

Examples

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Text titleATULanguageAuthorOriginPublication Date
The Billy Goat and the King670EnglishAndrew LangIndia1907
Немушти језик670SerbianВук Стефановић КараџићSerbia1853
Ohia and the Thieving Deer670EnglishW. H. Barker & Cecilia SinclairGhana1917
Il linguaggio degli animali e la moglie curiosa670ItalianItalo CalvinoItaly1956

External Examples

StoryATUOriginAuthorYearSource
Animal Languages 670 German Internet Archive
Animal Talk and the Nosy Wife 670 Italian Internet Archive
Ox and Ass 670 Greek Internet Archive
Rooster 670 US West Virginia Internet Archive
Rooster's Advice 670 Armenian Internet Archive
Suleyman and the Little Owl 670 Arab Internet Archive
The Shepherd and the Snake 670 French Internet Archive
Three Laughs of the Leipreachan 670 Irish Internet Archive

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