Story database?Devil leases farm to soldier & wife

Subject: Story database?
From: Rumncoke
Date: 31 Jul 06 - 09:16 PM

Is there a database of story themes anywhere?

I have been trying to find a story where a soldier and his wife lease a farm from the Devil, the rent is set at a good dinner once a year at harvest, and half the produce of the farm. The Devil - trying to be clever and get the lot tries 'the top half' and 'the bottom half' - and each time gets the useless parts of the plants having been misled by what he had been fed.

Subject: RE: Story database?Devil leases farm to soldier & wife
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Aug 06 - 02:52 AM

We recorded a story with a similar theme from an Irish Traveller, the devil being substituted by a landlord and the Soldier by a Traveller.
Each year the landlord comes to collect his rent he is tricked, first with a (supposedly) trained rabbit, then with a donkey that (supposedly) shits money, finally with a (supposedly) magic knife and wand. The landlord eventually stabs his wife to death under the impression that the wand will cure her.
Don't know of a story database, only the standard motif and type indexes (Aarne-Thomson and O'Sullivan-Christiansen).
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Story database?Devil leases farm to soldier &
From: Sorcha
Date: 01 Aug 06 - 10:07 AM

Try puttting @rent in the main search box. It might be there in some form.