Which verbs take the dative case?

While most verbs affect a direct object - so take the accusative - some verbs can take the dative as well as the accusative to indicate an indirect object, such as schreiben [Acc: Ich schreibe einen Brief - I write a letter] vs [Dat: Ich schreibe dir - I write to you]There also exist several verbs which only have a dative object. Whilst there are no real rules governing which verbs take the dative case (so these common verbs must be learned and practiced), some of these are relatively common, such as: antworten - to answer - Ich antwortete dem Kunden / gefallen - to be pleasing - Der Film gefällt mir / gehören - to belong to - Das Haus gehört der alten Frau / glauben - to believe - Ich glaube dem Mann / helfen - to help - Ich habe den Kindern geholfen / passieren* - to happen - Das Verrückteste ist mir passiert! / vertrauen - to trust - Ich vertraue deinem Sohn / weh tun - to hurt - Au! Das tut mir weh.*In certain instances, it is possible to make safe assumptions as to whether the verb takes the dative case. For instance, verbs meaning 'to happen' (passieren; vorkommen; geschehen) , to escape (entgehen; entfliehen, usw.) , as well as a number of verbs with bei- , ent- , entgegen- , nach- , wider- & zu- prefixes require a dative object.