Two teenagers or young people are in search of each other, call each other (or one of them call another): a girl in search of her lost (or dead) brother or brother’s wife, a boy in search of his brother or sister, young parents in seach their child. One or both of them turn into birds with specific cry
Several men take part in rescuing, creation or reanimation of a girl (rare: a bird) or several women take part in the reanimation of a dead man or they differetly express their grief. It is asked whose role was crucial (who behavior more noble) and/or who should be the spouse of the reanimated person. Or three men make something valuable and it is asked whose role in the corresponding enterprise was more important
To get know the nature or locality of a person, another fastens a thread to his body and follows it
The ginseng roots are boys or girls who help the hero
On its way to the Beyond, a soul has to defend itself or divert attention of guards who wait for it giving presents to them
A dog is the lord, guard or guide of/to the land of the dead; or dogs live on the way to the land of the dead
An ogress devours a woman, gets into her house. Her daughters (daughter and son, one daughter) run away, climb a tree or a rope that hangs from the sky. Ogress pursues them and perishes
Person ascends to the sky (rare: descends from the sky; ascends the cliff) by a rope, a ladder, etc. Another person tries to follow him or her but the rope (the ladder) is broken or severed
Women who possess supernatural power and usually come from a non-human world (from sky, from under the water, they are winged beings, bird- or animal-persons) take off their clothes (feather skins and the like) or part of it. Because a man hides the clothes (of one of them), their owner(s) have (has) to marry him or help him
A man consciously marries a woman related to the non-human world
A task: to sort a large amount or small particles of different kind (usually seeds of different plants) mixed in container or to count such particles or to pick up the spilled grains
A man must fulfill difficult tasks (to win competition) to receive the permission for a marriage
An ugly, old, lazy, etc. woman or (in Chaco) a male trickster comes to man under disguise of his wife or bride who is driven out, confined to the underworld, killed, etc.
A young woman is transformed into an animal, pushed into the water, into the underworld or she herself has to plunge into water (acquire animal form). Her connection with the human world is not completely lost, however, and usually she is helped to return to the people
Siblings (most often younger brother and elder sister) leave their home. One of them (most often the brother, most rare several brothers) turn into animal (usually an ungulate) or (rare) a bird but (in the most cases) ultimately acquires his or her human form again
A girl who conceals her beauty and/or is poor and oppressed by her stepmother puts on a splendid attire and comes incognito to a feast where a man of high status falls in love with her. He marries her after identifying her by an object given to her or lost by her or (rare) seeing how she changes her clothes
A girl (usually the youngest of several sisters) does not reject but marries a poor, sick, dirty, old, too young, non-human, etc. man who later demonstrates his supernatural qualities
An (adoptive) son is a snake who turns into handsome man. The snake is the magic spouse of princess, lost and returned
Small objects and animals (rare: animals alone but including those who really are harmless) revenge on a powerful enemy making attack on him in succession (usually they hide in his or her house); the enemy is badly injured, runs away or dies
Person (usually a young woman) turns into different objects or creatures which another person destroys one by one. However, the person is reincarnated again and again and ultimately acquires her or his original form
Cow (ox, bull) helps an orphan child or a young woman who got into trouble
Supernatural creature fulfills a poor man’s moderate request. After this he or his wife asks for ever bigger gifts till the angry helper punishes them (usually takes all his gifts away)
Two or three children get to the house of a demon or the latter comes to their house. They do not know that the person is a cannibal or are not sure about it. The demon eats up one of the children. Another child (children) escapes, the demon pursues him or them and perishes. Usually the demon is a female, and if he is male, his victims do not arouse in him sexual interest
An (animal) person gives a signal (special song, etc.) to his relative or friend who lets him or her in. Antagonist imitates the person's voice or guise and the relative lets him in
Because of its stupidity and unsocial behavior, the tiger suffers a reverse, is injured or dies
A man (usually of high social position) learns by a prediction that a (newborn) girl will be his future wife or a girl from rich family gets to know that her future husband is a poor man. The man (the girl, something else) attempts to kill the predestined marriage partner but only wounds her or him. After the wedding it becomes clear that the prediction is fulfilled
During the night a strong predator (a tiger, a lion, etc.) and a thief not knowing about each other get into stable to steal a domestic animal. The thief takes the predator for domestic animal or for a person and acts accordingly
A strong predator (usually a tiger) overhears a person saying that he fears something worse than a tiger The word is unknown to the tiger (twilight, etc). Thinking it must be a terrible thing he hides and then runs away
Hero climbs up (e.g. to a tree) or down (e.g. into a deep cave) by ladder, rope, from branch to branch, etc. The rope etc. breaks or is intentionally destroyed and the hero cannot return to the ground. (All cases of motif K2A, besides the Koreans, also contain motif K2)
Hero is sent to the lower world though a well, precipice, etc. After he obtains valuables (young women), his envious companions cut the rope to get rid of him but he succeeds in returning back
The world was or will be (almost) burned when several suns had (will) appear(ed) simultaneously; or the only sun was too hot (or bright)
Other suns or moons besides present ones had been in the sky and were later annihilated
Some creature or creatures regularly (sunrise and sunset, summer and winter, lunar phases) or irregularly (solar and lunar eclipses, eschatological events) attack the luminaries or shade their light
During an eclipse or at other circumstances the Sun or the Moon are attacked by a predator animal (a bear, a feline, a canine, a racoon)
The Sun is female, the Moon is male or (more rare) also female
Modest Sun-woman dazzles (usually pricks with needles, i.e. the sun rays) eyes of those who look at her
Being afraid of the night, the Sun decided to travel across the sky only at the day time
A figure or an imprint of some being or object are seen in the Moon. (For statistical analysis motifs A32A – A32J are also included into A32)
Human being or imprint of human being is seen in the moon
Person who holds some object in his or her hands is seen in the moon (rare: in the sun)
Person intentionally and with special equipment (usually shooting arrows) attacks the Sun (or several suns if they were many)
The Sun and Moon (Rig-Veda: the Sun only) appear from eyes of an anthropomorphic being
Parts of the body of the primeval person or creature are transformed into different elements of the landscape and parts of the universe
Originally the sky was close to the earth, then it has risen up
One or several (animal)-persons push sky up to its present height
From the primeval egg, eggs, or egg-like ball emerge the earth, the sky, sky bodies, different animals (all or part of the items of this list)
In the sky, on the Moon (rare: on the Sun), i.e. somewhere outside of our world certain person is spinning, weaving, plaiting, or embroidering
When part of the sky was broken, the hole was filled up with stones or pieces of ice
Person brings a remedy that gets immortality. While he is asleep or absent, somebody else steals the remedy
Stars are openings in the firmament; holes in dwelling's covering are thought to be stars
The lion (often the stone lion) helps to suvive the flood
In the beginning of time or after the natural disaster brother and sister, mother and son, or father and daughters are the only human beings. They marry and the present day people are their descendents
Being alone and having no other marriage partners, brother and sister agree to marry each other if a highly improbable event or a series of events will take place. Among the events that take place (alternatively or one after the other) are 1) the siblings let two grinding stones roll from two mountains, the brother's stone falls on the sister's one; 2) brother and sister throw two swords from two mountains, both swords get into one sheath; 3) they throw some objects up, the objects get together; 4) they kindle two fires, columns of smoke get together; 5) they put to grow two stems of bamboo, tops of the stems get together
A (young) man sets off to find or to return his bride or his wife
Another sun, usually less benevolent and/or powerful, existed before the present one
A small creature is reared up by people. When it is grown up, it becomes harmful and dangerous
Both the Sun and the Moon are considered to be females (incl. cases when the gender is not directly specified but both emerge from parts of the body of a female person)
A simple man becomes a chance witness of the abduction of the princess by the demonic being or finds an evidence of the abduction. The girl’s father sends him to bring her back
When a girl and a man remain alone (usually during their wedding night), the girl turns into a predator animal or a monster and devours the man
Person observes traces of some activity that takes place in his (rare: her) house in his (her) absence and then takes by surprise the responsible one
Youth gets to supernatural beings, rejects any treasure, asks for a puppy, a dog's skin, a fruit, etc. When he returns home, the puppy (skin, etc.) turn into magic wife
An (ostensibly) sick (ugly, weak, poorly clad) person remains at home when others go to the feast. The person comes by himself or herself looking like a handsome man or beautiful girl. The man (woman) does not recognize him (her) and feels against her (him) sexual interestю (All texts with motif k57, Chinderella, are also included into f62)
Person or creature is transformed. Separate parts of its (his, her) body give origin to different objects or creatures (only etiological narratives are considered)
The Sun and Moon (Rig-Veda: the Sun only) are associated with eyes of an anthropomorphic being (the motif of their emergence, creation from his eyes is not obligatory)
Magic wife abandons her mortal husband when she finds her clothes (often, her feathers if she is a bird-woman), makes herself the new clothes, receives them from her kin or her husband gives her her clothing believing that she will not abandon him. (Versions with magic wife abandoning her husband because she feels herself offended is not alternative to the “found clothes but in most of the texts these motifs are not combined)
In the beginning of time or after the natural disaster brother and sister are the only human beings. They marry and the present day people are their descendents