Aper – The Boar and the Fruit
Frightened of a fierce, huge boar, a herdsman escapes up a fruit-tree. He throws down fruit which the boar eats until it is full, sated, and sleepy. When the herdsman descends, the boar lies passively, and the herdsman kills it. In some versions (e.g., Mischle Sendebar), the boar eats until it bursts; in other versions, the herdsman strokes it gently until it falls fully asleep before killing it, while in other versions it is a monkey who tricks the boar.
[Added by Jane Bonsall]
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Along with Avis, Senescalcus, and Canis, Aper is one of the few inset tales that appears in both 'Eastern' and 'Western' versions of the narrative tradition. Nishimura notes the following: Motifs: Oriental = TMI J514.4: Greedy pig looks up into tree for figs. Western = K836: Ferocious boar fed and put to sleep by rubbing. Killed. TU716: Boar killed by cunning. Analogues: Gesta Romanorum, 115 ‘Der Elefant und die Jungfrauen’. Reference stories, etc.: The story of the wild boar of Mount Erymantos, vanquished by Heracles (Kure Shigeichi, Greek Mythology, p. 325). Kojiki, 3.5 ‘Emperor Yuryaku, Mt. Katsuragi’ (the boar comes toward him and he flees up a tree). Firdowsi, The Book of Kings, ‘The Scrolls of Bijan and Manije’ (story of a group of boars ravaging the forest on pp. 326-333). Folktales about killing unicorns and beasts that do evil in the forest (Grimm’s Fairy Tales, KHM 20, ‘Das tapfele Schneiderlein’ = unicorns; KHM 28, ‘Der singende Knochen’ = boars). Bibliography: Landau 13. Krappe, 1924, pp. 390-398. |
| Critical Literature |
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| Nishimura (2001), Epstein (1967), Clouston (1884), Campbell (1907), Chauvin (1892-1922) |
| Aper appears in the following versions and secondary versions |
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| Aper appears in the following manuscripts |
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