J1762.7. Lobsters mistaken for Norwegians (WTF - Weird Things in Folktales)

Welcome to my A to Z Challenge blog series titled WTF - Weird Things in Folktales! Find the introduction post (explaining the theme) here. Find all other participating blogs in the comments of each day's post on the main blog! You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The J section of the Motif index is for The Wise and the Foolish. All the numskull and noodlehead folktales are on this list, as well as moral judgments, such as "J711.1. - Ant and lazy cricket (grasshopper)," or "J1171.1. - Solomon’s judgment." Hands down the best line on the list, however, was this:

J1762.7. Lobsters mistaken for Norwegians

Which is a story from Denmark.

The tale is about a slightly foolish man who lives in a little town in Denmark, and owns a pastry shop. One day news come that a Norwegian ship has arrived to the town's harbor; our friend is very excited, because he has never met real-life Norwegians before. Leaving the shop to his wife, he goes down to the harbor to see them. He is pointed to the Norwegian ship, but when he gets aboard, there is no one there - the sailors had all gone to shore.
What he does meet, however, is a bunch of lobsters that had gotten free from their boxes, and are crawling around on deck. Our man assumes that they must be Norwegians (although he imagined them to be taller). He politely introduces himself to one of them, and offers a hand. The lobster pinches and holds on to his hand, causing a lot of pain. Eventually, he manages to shake it off, and goes home to his shop. When his wife inquires if he'd met the Norwegians he says "Yes. They are very short, but they have strong handshakes!"

(I could not locate the text Thompson referenced, but I found a children's book version of the tale here.)

Runner-ups
J21.4. ”Do not marry a girl from abroad“
J21.18. ”Do not trust the over-holy“
J21.47.1. “Do not send your wife for a long visit to her parents”
J21.49. “Never give a cup made of a single ruby as a present to the king”
J23. Merchants try honesty for a year and find that it pays
J25. Why great man plays with children
J52.2. King descends to bottom of sea in glass barrel to learn wisdom from observing fish
J229.8.1. Weaver prefers master with one hedgehog
J411.9.1. King refuses to quarrel with bird
J413.1. Lion licks sick man, who is thereby disgusted
414.3. Unsuccessful marriage of jackals and turtles
J512.15. Frogs want to collect honey like bees
J1309.2. ”How often do you kill your ducks?“ Answer: ”Only once.“
J1361. Monk says that he is a stallion
J1714.3.1. Forty wise men foretell violent rainstorm
J1756. Other animals thought to be a giant cat
J1757. Rabbit thought to be a cow
J1758.1. Tiger mistaken for goat
J1772.4. Culture hero’s pubic hair thought to be bear hair
J1785.1. Grasshopper thought to be the devil
J1971. Fools try to use buffalo tongue as a knife
J2106. Man kills self to make quarrelsome wife a widow
J2119.9. Hero beheads old woman who asks him to cure her of old age
J2133.11. Hedgehog and crab jump from boat after turtle
J2233.1. Innocent man executed because his neck fits the noose
J2275.1. Falling star supposed to have been shot down by astronomer