Trickster turn passed it on to Odysseus. In Slavic folktales, the trickster and the culture hero are often combined. Frequently the trickster figure exhibits gender and form variability. In Norse mythology the mischief-maker is Loki, who is also a shape shifter. Loki also exhibits gender variability, in one case even becoming pregnant. He becomes a mare who later gives birth to Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir. British scholar Evan Brown suggested that Jacob in the Bible has many of the characteristics of the trickster:The tricks Jacob plays on his twin brother Esau, his father Isaac and his father-in-law Laban are immoral by
Eight-legged essay Eight-legged essay The eight-legged essay () was a style of essay that exam-takers wrote in order to pass the imperial examinations during the Ming and Qing dynasties in China. The eight-legged essay was required for those test takers in these civil service tests to demonstrate their merits for government service, often focusing on Confucian thought and knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics, in relation to governmental ideals. Test takers could not write in innovative or creative ways, but needed to conform to the standards of the eight-legged essay. Various skills were examined, including the ability to write coherently