The person who answers this question will also be visited by a spirit of some kind
March 2, 2010 1:41 PM Subscribe
Looking for the name of a folk tale, probably of Asian origin, where a thief is caught by being convinced that a spirit will mark his back with ash
The story was in a book of mythology, mostly Greek, but with a few other folk tales. This one is Asian in origin, I think.
The story is of a king (or other authority figure) who suspects that one of three suspects is a thief. The three are locked in a room for a night and told a spirit of some kind will come and mark the guilty person's back.
The trick of the story is that there is no spirit. Instead, the real thief would fear the spirit and sit with his back pressed to the wall all night - the walls being covered in ash.
This way, the next morning, the guilty one has the mark on his back.
If anyone knows the name of this story/fable/folk tale/etc, or can point me in the right direction, that'd be great.
The story was in a book of mythology, mostly Greek, but with a few other folk tales. This one is Asian in origin, I think.
The story is of a king (or other authority figure) who suspects that one of three suspects is a thief. The three are locked in a room for a night and told a spirit of some kind will come and mark the guilty person's back.
The trick of the story is that there is no spirit. Instead, the real thief would fear the spirit and sit with his back pressed to the wall all night - the walls being covered in ash.
This way, the next morning, the guilty one has the mark on his back.
If anyone knows the name of this story/fable/folk tale/etc, or can point me in the right direction, that'd be great.
Best answer: This appears to be "Chang Fu-Yen and the Wise Judge" which is in "Myths and Folktales Around the World" by Robert R. Potter:
http://books.google.com/books?id=b-zh7prpSe8C&q=%22and+the+wise+judge%22
http://books.google.com/books?id=b-zh7prpSe8C&q=%22wise+judge%22+soot+walls
Here is a recording of Susan Danoff telling the story:
http://www.susandanoff.com/MP3/Stories/The%20Wise%20Judge%20and%20Zhang%20Fu-Yen.mp3
posted by derforsher at 5:04 PM on March 2, 2010
http://books.google.com/books?id=b-zh7prpSe8C&q=%22and+the+wise+judge%22
http://books.google.com/books?id=b-zh7prpSe8C&q=%22wise+judge%22+soot+walls
Here is a recording of Susan Danoff telling the story:
http://www.susandanoff.com/MP3/Stories/The%20Wise%20Judge%20and%20Zhang%20Fu-Yen.mp3
posted by derforsher at 5:04 PM on March 2, 2010
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posted by chairface at 2:45 PM on March 2, 2010