From cray@mizar.usc.edu Sun Jul 2 09:41:13 1995 Date: Sun, 2 Jul 1995 09:41:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Ed Cray To: ballad-l@indiana.edu Subject: Tale Types Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: O X-Status: Last month someone asked about Aarne-Thompson and MT numbers, that is, the classification of tales similar to Child, Laws and Coffin numbers. I responded, pointing out that various ballads told the same story as folktales and could themselves be listed under the MT numbers. Coincidentally, my daughter sent me this "joke" (folktale) which she plucked from the Internet. It is an updated version of MT 1725 and MT 1730, which has ballad analogues: "The Keach i' the Keel" (Child 28?), "The Parson and the Bosun," etc. The theme is that the cuckolded husband is duped into carrying the basket (with the wive's lover hidden inside) from the house and to safety, thus compounding his cuckoldom. I send this just to demonstrate on a Sunday morning the incredible viability of folklore, even in a mass-communciated urban setting. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 29 Jun 95 10:45:00 PDT From: NKOVACS@uoeap.ucsb.edu Three men were standing in line to get into heaven one day. Apparently it had been a pretty busy day, though, so Peter had to tell the first one, "Heaven's getting pretty close to full today, and I've been asked to admit only people who have had particularly horrible deaths. So what's your story?" So the first man replies: "Well, for a while I've suspected my wife has been cheating on me, so today I came home early to try to catch her red-handed. As I came into my 25th floor apartment, I could tell something was wrong, but all my searching around didn't reveal where this other guy could have been hiding. Finally, I went out to the balcony, and sure enough, there was this man hanging off the railing, 25 floors above ground! By now I was really mad, so I started beating on him and kicking him, but wouldn't you know it, he wouldn't fall off. So finally I went back into my apartment and got a hammer and starting hammering on his fingers. Of course, he couldn't stand that for long, so he let go and fell -- but even after 25 stories, he fell into the bushes, stunned but okay. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the fridge and threw it over the edge where it landed on him, killing him instantly. But all the stress and anger got to me, and I had a heart attack and died there on the balcony." "That sounds like a pretty bad day to me," said Peter, and let the man in. The second man comes up and Peter explains to him about heaven being full, and again asks for his story. "It's been a very strange day. You see, I live on the 26th floor of my apartment building, and every morning I do my exercises out on my balcony. Well, this morning I must have slipped or something, because I fell over the edge. But I got lucky, and caught the railing of the balcony on the floor below me. I knew I couldn't hang on for very long, when suddenly this man burst out onto the balcony. I thought for sure I was saved, when he started beating on me and kicking me. I held on the best I could until he ran into the apartment and grabbed a hammer and started pounding on my hands. Finally I just let go, but again I got lucky and fell into the bushes below, stunned but all right. Just when I was thinking I was going to be okay, this refrigerator comes falling out of the sky and crushes me instantly, and now I'm here." Once again, Peter had to concede that that sounded like a pretty horrible death. The third man came to the front of the line, and again the whole process was repeated. Peter explained that heaven was full and asked for his story. "Picture this," says the third man, "I'm hiding naked inside a refrigerator..." ### From owner-ballad-l@indiana.edu Tue Jul 4 17:13:12 1995 On 01 Jul 95 22:41:11, cray@mizar.usc.edu said: cr> Last month someone asked about Aarne-Thompson and MT numbers, that is, cr> the classification of tales similar to Child, Laws and Coffin numbers. cr> Coincidentally, my daughter sent me this "joke" (folktale) which she cr> plucked from the Internet. It is an updated version of MT 1725 and MT cr> 1730, which has ballad analogues: "The Keach i' the Keel" (Child 28?), cr> "The Parson and the Bosun," etc. The theme is that the cuckolded cr> husband is duped into carrying the basket (with the wive's lover cr> hidden inside) from the house and to safety, thus compounding his cr> cuckoldom. cr> Three men were standing in line to get into heaven one day. It's a good story. Thanx. I assume it's the same as "The Man In the Kraut Tub?" I have that in Richard Chace's _American Folk Tales & Songs_ (I also have him reading it on a re-issue CD.) In Kraut, no one dies, no husband, but the first lover is inadvertantly saved by the second lover. Also a good, funny story. Chace says it's from North Carolina where it's referred to as a "step-husband" tale. On relating it in Richmond, he learned it's the 2nd story on the 7th day in Boccaccio. Enduring is right! But I guess this is one of those basic themes. --- Blue Wave/Max v2.12 [NR] -- |Fidonet: Abby Sale