Water is the original element, the dry earth appears later
Constellation of Orion or the Belt of Orion is identified with only one male person, usually with a warrior or hunter
Seven main stars of Ursa major are interpreted as a figure of a mammal: bear, deer, mountain sheep, camel, dog
To reach the sky (the Sun, Moon, particular star), people build a ladder or tower that consists of separate modules (bricks, logs, sticks, etc.). This construction collapses
All person's children die. He or she addresses God and asks him why he or she suffers so much
Birds or humans later changed to birds are sent to explore the earth (is it dry, are any survivals, to investigate why smoke rises to the sky, etc.) or to bring some soil to make the land that would be good for living
For different reasons, sexual contact with a woman is deadly dangerous for a man
Demon (snake) regularly kills woman’s husbands during the first night, the woman herself being ignorant about the reason of their death
Woman makes vain overtures to young man and/or falsely accuses him of sexual abuse. Her husband believes that the young man is guilty, kills or tries to kill him
To accuse a man or boy of (sexual) abbuse, a woman tears her clothes, smears or scratches her body pretending to be attacked
A woman revenges on a man who rejected her love but necessary not pretends to be an object of sexual harassment from his part
An innocent girl or young woman rejects a man who attempts to seduce her. The man accuses her of loose conduct, ultimately the truth comes to light
After eating certain fruit, berry, tuber, etc. people become sexually aware
Reptiles or invertebrates possess the medicine of immortality; are contrasted with men as immortal with mortals and/or are responsible for originating of death; or a snake's bite inflicts the first death
After eating certain fruit, berry, tuber, etc. people become mortal (cf. motif F97: people become sexually aware)
The Pleiades are a woman with her children
Baby heroes, embryos or objects from which they emerge are found in a river or lake or come to people out of the water
When person comes to the water body, waters are split apart so the person reaches the other bank walking on the dry ground
Antagonist perishes falling into the water or trying to cross a water body
Person gets into the belly of water being or into the belly of giant creature which appearance and living place remain vague. He kills the monster from the inside and/or returns to earth by himself (i.e. not extracted by other people)
To cure a sick person or to make him (rare: her) young again it is necessary to bring a remedy from a distant country. The medicine is brought and the sick person is cured (becomes young)
A young man or (rare) a girl has a (day-)dream that predicts his or her future triumph. The dreamer either conceals or reports its contest to his family and in both cases is punished for too high opinion of himself. In the beginning the dreamer sometimes sells his dream to another young man, who becomes the protagonist of the tale. Adventures that follow explain the contest of the dream. The youth becomes rich and happy (e.g. marries heiresses of two kingdoms, that in the dream were symbolized by two suns or a sun and a moon), the girl marries king's son
A young man lets free a fish or an animal that was caught or he or his father renders a help to somebody. When the young man sets off for a journey, the grateful creature or person in guise of a stranger or animal becomes his companion and protector
To accuse a guest of theft, a host plants a treasure into his guest’s bag
Being (any besides birds) with more than ten heads or with odd (but more than one) number of heads are described in tales or represented in art. If beings with ever more number of heads are named, the row ends with a being that has odd (or more than ten) number of heads
Hero comes to an agreement with antagonist that he can take animals of particular appearance or with particular behavior and takes all or most of them
Father or mother is going to give primogeniture to the son he or she has chosen. Another son comes in disguise of the chosen one, receives primogeniture
A man or a woman falls asleep in the nude or pretends to do so. Only one of his or her children covers him or her with a cloak and is considered to be the most noble
Ursa major is only one anthropomorphic being, not several persons
The Pleiades are any people (of any ages and sex, combined data of i99-i100a)
A lad or a girl (often after having a prophetic dream) claims that he (she) will achieve extraordinary social position (usually that his or her parents, brothers, sisters will demonstrate signs of high respect to him or her). The lad (girl) is expelled out of the family but the prophecy is fulfilled
Asking about minor details of the case, a judge demonstrates that the plaintiff (or the defendant) lies because he does (not) know about them
An imprisoned man is rescued and exalted because only he gets to resolve problems that trouble the king or to save the princess (prince, the king himself)
A man dies or loses his strength (or pretends that it is so) if (some) hair on his head is cut off
Bees or wasps fly out of the corpse the body of a big animal (lion, bull). Usually the episode explains the origine of bees
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
Person promises to give (sacrifice) to a supernatural the being that will be the first to come to him when he will return home (or something that he has never seen in his house, or an object that he will first see behind the door; etc.). The person thinks that it will be something insignificant but it is his own child
Asking the deity to destroy an enemy, a person promises that if his (her) plea will be granted he (she) would sacrifice anybody who will come to meet him (her) at home. His (her) own son or daughter comes.
To revive or to cure his friend (rare: himself) or to fulfill a vow person is ready to sacrifice his small (young) son (children). The son revives or the supernatural powers are satisfied with the very willingness of the person to commit sacrifice
A river (wave, lake, basin) of milk that exists on earth (and not among the stars) is mentioned in narratives (in different context)
Two or more different kinds of valuable edible liquids like oil, honey, milk, etc. are available or imaginable. Cf. motif n34
Streams of honey and oil (oil and milk, milk and blood) instead of streams of water are mentioned as a sign of generosity and prosperity. Cf. motif K33F
The Sun is associated with a horseman or rides in a cart driven by horses (equids)
A young man has a dream: he sees the Sun, the Moon and a star (all of them or some of these luminaries). When the narrative come to the end, the man understands the meaning of the dream: these are people who love or adore him
Sky is made of metal. The technique of its creation reminds the work of a smith
The process of world creation includes the measuring of its size
The Sun is female, the Moon is male or (more rare) also female
Thunder or giant bird fights against a reptile, big water animal or other big and strong creature who lives in water or under the earth
A young man helps to bury a man (pays the debts of the dead man, honors a saint). When the young man sets off for a journey, the grateful dead (the saint) in guise of a stranger becomes his protector
From the mouth of a monstrous creature or person who is the enemy of the hero fire is coming out; its breath is fire
Описывается или изображается чудовище (обычно змей) о семи головах. При перечисления существ по мере возрастания у них числа голов ряд заканчивается на семи
Monster's upper lip (fang, horn, etc.) touches the sky, lower touches the ground
Stars are people, ghosts, anthropomorphic beings (interpretations of unique star objects like Venus or Polaris as persons not considered)
On a certain moment, a crack, a window or the like opens in the sky vault (rains flows though it, the upper world is seen, communication with inhabitants of the upper world becomes possible)
Rivers (lakes) of blood (also of puss, bones, sweat or water used for washing of corpses) are mentioned in narratives (in different context)
In the sky there is a special container (vessel, skin, box, etc.) for storing the rain
The image of a three-ply rope is used to describe the invincibility of two close-knit friends
At the terminal part of the narrative the antagonist of the hero descends into the underworld
Person lets be firmly tied up when another one say that it's only a joke (e.g. a test to see can the first one break bonds)
A woman who initially is friendly to the hero (his mother, sister, more rare his wife, sexual partner) begins to cooperate with his enemy. For this she provokes the hero to do something that is mortally dangerous for him
A staff that was thrown on the ground turns into an alive snake
From the mouth of a horse fire is coming ot the horse itself is of fire
Coyote or fox bring people the fire, the daylight or the Sun
At the beginning of time, a supreme deity or his messengers decided that the human lifespan would be limited to one hundred and twenty years
A powerful person coverts a beautiful bride or wife of a man and gives him impossible tasks to get rid of him
A woman or a girl takes a snake, an eel (i.e. Pacific snake-eel), a lizard, or a worm for husband or paramour. People kill or badly injure him, the woman and/or her progeny or the woman herself is transformed into snake. Cf. motif k76b: the snake-husband becomes and remains a handsome man
Being responsible for breaking food tabou by humans, snake lost its limbs as a punishment
An anthropomorphic sky-god (associated with the thunder and rain) rides on the clouds (uses them as a vehicle)
Ursa major is identified with a carriage, a cart
Rivers (lakes) of blood (also of puss, bones, sweat or water used for washing of corpses) are mentioned in narratives (in different context)
In the beginning of time or after the world cataclysm, a man marries his daughter(s) and the present day people are their descendents
God, animal, some person warns one of the people about the catastrophy (usuallly the flood) that will become soon and in which most of the people must perish