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

780: The Singing Bone

ATU > 750-849: RELIGIOUS TALES > 780-799: The Truth Comes to Light > 780: The Singing Bone

Description

The brother kills his brother (sister) and buries him in the earth. From the bones a shepherd makes a flute which brings the secret to light. In different versions the murder is revealed in several different ways [N271]: (a) an instrument (harp,…

Variants

780A. The Cannabalistic Brothers

I. The Murder. Six brothers live with their sister. One day, while cooking, she cuts her finger and blood falls into the food. The older brothers find the food delicious and decide to kill and eat their sister [G36.2]. The youngest refuses, or (a)…

780B. The Speaking Hair

A stepmother buries a girl alive. Her hair grows as wheat or bush and sings her misfortunes [E631]. Thus she is discovered and dug up alive. The stepmother is buried in the same hole [Q581].

780C. The Tell-tale Calf's Head

In the murderer's hands it turns into the murdered man's head [Q551.3.3].

Examples

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Text titleATULanguageAuthorOriginPublication Date
Der singende Knochen780GermanJacob & Wilhelm GrimmGermany1812
El lirio azul780SpanishFernán CaballeroSpain_
La flor del penical780CatalanFrancesc Maspons LabrósSpain1871
La penna di hu780ItalianItalo CalvinoItaly1956

External Examples

StoryATUOriginAuthorYearSource
Binnorie 780 British Internet Archive
Binnorie 780 English Internet Archive
Flower of Lily-Lo 780 Mexican Internet Archive
Het bloempje van Cedrea 780 Netherlands 1881 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het Gouden Spinnewiel 780 Netherlands 1894 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het kruis van Philédon of het kruisje Fiblion? 780 Netherlands 1881 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het kruisje van Fibelion 780 Netherlands 1881 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het kruisje van Fideldideldom 780 Netherlands 1970 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het kruusien van Fideldideldom 780 Netherlands 1894 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het sprookje van 't kruisje van Fideldideldom (zooals het in Drenthe mij als kind verteld werd) 780 Netherlands 1894 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het takje van Cecilia 780 Netherlands 1892 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Het verhaaltje van het kruisje fiblion 780 Netherlands 1892 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
It beamke mei triennen 780 Netherlands 1976 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Miraculous Pipe 780 Russian Internet Archive
oud vertelsel 780 Netherlands 1894 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank
Peacock Feather 780 Italian Internet Archive
Sidi 'Aabdul-Rahman 780C Egyptian Internet Archive
Sidi 'Aabdul-Rahman 780C Egyptian Internet Archive
Singing Bones 780 African-American Internet Archive
Skeleton's Song 780 Japanesse Internet Archive
The Laurel Flower 780 French Internet Archive
The Magic Fiddle 780 Indian Internet Archive
The Singing Bone 780 German Internet Archive
Twee zusters 780 Netherlands 1896 Nederlandse VolksverhalenBank

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