The Moon is male, the Sun is also male or (much more rare) asexual
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
The sun and/or the moon are inanimate objects thrown up to the sky or fixed in the sky
The Sun has appearance of a big terrestrial mammal (bull, ram, antilope, pig, rhinocero, etc.) or rides such an animal
Dark spots on the lunar disc are dirt, blood, paint, traces of beating, burning, scratching, etc. on the Moon person's body or face (Kiliwa: spots on the Sun) and do not form any particular figure
When it becomes warm, a person or animal (bird) decides that the winter is over (most often an old woman goes to graze her animals) but dies of cold or the animals that had been deiven to the pasture die
Person or animal, bird teases, offends March or other month and are punished
When the winter ends and the spring begins certain month (usually March) borrows (rare buys, steals) several days from a neighbor month
Old woman is incarnation of winter, is associated with snow, or there are several cold days between winter and spring (or fall) associated with a certain old woman
Raven or other carrion-eating bird of dark color and a similar size was originally white
The Sun (the day light) that was absent, stolen or hidden appears (again)
A tree or pillar supports the sky or the earth. If it collapses, people perish
The first people (or only the first men or the first women) are not created but come to earth from the underworld (from a cave) or from a small enclosure under the earth or on its surface (tree trunk, rock, gourd, etc.). Many people of both sexes and of different ages or people and different species of animals come out together
Initially women and men live apart from each other. Later they meet each other and become to live together
Initially men possessed women's biological traits and vice versa (beard, menses, breasts, bearing children)
Woman is smeared with blood or red paint. Since then women menstruate
The women dominated over the men in the past or in a far away land, were the active part in marriage relations, practiced activities which now are reserved of the men only. Or the women could obtained supremacy but failed to do it for some reason
A woman revenges on a man who rejected her love but necessary not pretends to be an object of sexual harassment from his part
One of the trees is the principal, original one (emerged before all the other; ancestor of wild or cultivated plants; ocean or rivers inside it; world axis; higher than all the others; overshadows sky)
A deep notch in the tree (or in the sky support) is magically restored as soon as persons or creatures who cut or gnaw it stop working
To save the world (gods, king, etc.) certain persons or creatures try to cut or gnaw a tree (post, mountain) or do not permit the others to do. The notch disappears and the tree (post, etc.) becomes intact
Person or creature is transformed. Separate parts of its (his, her) body give origin to different objects or creatures (only etiological narratives are considered)
One person wants man to live forever, another wants man to be mortal. When somebody dear to the latter one dies, he or she is eager to accept the suggestion of his or her opponent but the original decision cannot be changed
Person does something that makes death inevitable because the death of a child or a woman beloved by another person is indifferent or desirable for him or her
Animal person is sent to pass to the people certain objects or substance but loses or replaces them. Because of this people miss possibility to become immortal or their life becomes difficult
Game animals were concentrated in one single place. Certain person lets them disperse in the world
People are suggested to choose one of two objects, associated with life and death. They choose the object with death
Killed and destroyed (often burned) person or creature (usually ogre, fierce animal, powerful shaman) turns into a multitude of biting insects or into other small molesting creatures
Firewood, brushwood arrived to the house themselves, no work was needed to cut and carry them
Person is sent by god to bring instructions or certain objects but distorts, forgets or replaces them. This has fatal consequences for humans or for a certain species of animals. (Lithuanian case can be a mistification)
Raven is sent to deliver important object or message. It distorts message, loses object
Raven is responsible for introduction of permanent death
A woman or child demonstrate no respect for bread soiling it with excrements. For this God punishes all the humanity
Person who visits the other world gets to see different people punished or rewarded according to their behavior when they were alive on earth
Beings without mouth, anus, genitals, whose women do not know how to give birth live in the underworld, in the sky, or in a far-away land
There are objects which remaining on the same place are moving permanently or periodically (meet and part. rise and fall down, shut and open, rotate)
Person sees that food put for certain animals is inedible for them and corrects situation (usually gives to herbivorous animals food that was given before to predators and vice versa)
Game animals live inside a mountain, in a cave or in the underworld where they often look like humans and have a master
Rainbow is the ornamented part of the clothes, its decoration, a belt
Rainbow is associated with a wedding of foxes or jackals
People (elder brothers, elder siblings, elder sister) disappear (one by one). A lonely woman has a baby or finds a baby or she becomes pregnant magically and gives birth to a boy or twins. The boy grows up, exterminates the antagonists, usually revives and releases those who had disappeared
Baby heroes, embryos or objects from which they emerge are found in a river or lake or come to people out of the water
A youth gets to know that a woman (usually his mother) conceals from him important information about his father, brothers or bride. He causes her pain (usually putting hot scone, handful of hot grain, etc. into her hand) making her tell him the truth
When person comes to the water body, waters are split apart so the person reaches the other bank walking on the dry ground
Person or animal is eaten up or destroyed otherwise. His bones are put together and he or it is revived. Because one bone was broken, swallowed or lost (or a drop of blood, a small piece of flesh lost), the person or animal cannot be revived or being revived misses some part of his or its body
Person gets into the belly of ground animal or bird. He kills it from the inside and/or returns to earth by himself (i.e. not extracted by other people)
By trick or by force, a rival or adversary kidnaps hero's wife or bride. The man gets her back
A man gives his last money for simple advices. Each of them saves his life or helps to achieve success or he does not follow the advices and gets into trouble
A man must fulfill difficult tasks (to win competition) to receive the permission for a marriage
Hero is sent to bring milk of a wild animal or milk in possession of a dangerous creature or person
Maternal uncle or father (or grandfather if he replaces father who is not mentioned) of the young man is his rival or enemy and tries to kill him
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
A man discovers that a beautiful girl hides herself under a guise of an ugly and dirty servant, under a skin of an animal or in an object that is brought into his house
To return or to get his or her son, wife, husband, domestic animal or (rare) object, person must recognize her, him or it among several identical persons, animals or objects
For helping its children, their powerful mother or father who is a giant bird or (rare) other flying being helps the hero
After the hero helps a powerful bird (usually does good to her nestlings), the grateful bird brings him to the place where he is eager to get or tells to do it one of her nestlings. (It is not the vertical movement between layers of the world. According to the Sumerian variant, the bird endows the hero with capability to move with extraordinary speed and directs him to his destination)
A monster blocks sources of water (or sends floods) and usually gives some (promises not to send floods) in exchange for human victims or valuables. Hero kills the monster
One of (step)sisters, co-spouses or young female neighbors meets a being that is able to reward and to punish. She behaves herself properly and is rewarded. Another (other) girl comes to the same being but behaves in a wrong way and is punished (not rewarded).
First one, then another man meets a powerful person or persons. The first man is worthy and rewarded with treasure, prestige or the like. The second man (or two men) follows him, behaves in a wrong way and is punished
Two men have a similar defect (a hump, a lump). One spends a night in a place where spirits free him from his defect. Another comes to the same place but spirits double his defect giving him what they had taken off from the first man
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
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)
Person gets into dwelling of master of animals or monstrous shepherd. The host can kill him. The hero escapes sticking to hair of one of the animals who are going out
Person blinds sleeping ogre or ogress and escapes from him or her
Several companions have extraordinary abilities (one who runs fast, one who eats great quantities, one who produces or can withstand severe frost, etc.); a hero comes across and takes for companions several men, each of them being involved into a special and unusual activity
A young woman promises to bear a wonderful children (wonderful son). In her husband's absence other people (co-wives, mother-in-law, etc.) try to kill the mother and/or the child, usually slandering the young woman
The hero and his companion or companions live together. Every morning one stays at home while another or others go to hunt, etc. A demonic person comes, eats up all the food and beats the cook. Or the man who remained at home comes to the demon himself in search of fire and is maltreated by him. The hero kills or neutralizes the demon
Person in a desperate situation gets to see how a snake or other small animal uses remedy to revive or to cure itself or other animals. The person uses the remedy, succeeds
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
An object or a creature that emerged from remains, decorations, etc. of a killed person tells about his or her fate. Usually a reed grows from the person's grave and a pipe made from the reed tells the story
The (step)mother kills or orders to kill her small (step)son, eats him or feeds his flesh to her husband. The son revives, usually in the form of a bird who tells about the crime.
Wife of a man or wives of a group of brothers envy his (their) sister and tries (try) to destroy her
Two men travel or argue about whether truth or falsehood (justice or injustice, etc.) is more powerful. The evil one abandons the good one robbing or blinding (maiming) him but the good one gets back his sight and becomes rich. The evil one usually perishes
Many brothers marry or have to marry in such a way that all their wives are (were) sisters
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
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
Cow (ox, bull) helps an orphan child or a young woman who got into trouble
To get rid of a baby child or of the magic cock, they throw him into enclosure for animals, but cows or other animals do not trample the child or cock down
To make a poor man rich (usually to marry him to a rich girl or to marry a poor girl to a prince), an animal makes other people believe that the groom is rich already. The man becomes prosperous indeed
Person of a small size (often a chicken) overcomes powerful adversary despite all attempts to destroy him thanks to objects and animals met on the way and preserved in his bag or inside his body
A weak and timid man or boy overcomes accidentally powerful enemies and gets high esteem
Life of a person or creature is preserved outside of his (her, its) body. Person or creature dies after the corresponding object is destroyed
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
Person kills or injures his enemy putting fire on his or her straw costume, mask, headgear, hair or object on his or her back
Person accidentally overhears secrets of animals or demons and thus gets to know the causes of his and other people's misfortunes
When a person climbs a tree, a demon comes to it and carries the person away, or the person follows the demon to his world by his own will
An ogre or ogress catches a person and carries his or her prey home but the person escapes on the way or immediately after reaching the ogre's house
Hero escapes from the demon's basket or bag letting stone (a piece of wood, some sand) instead of him
An ogre or ogress catches a person and brings him to his or her home where he or she plans to cook and eat him. The hero escapes
An ogre catches a person and carries his or her prey home but the person escapes on the way. The ogre comes back, this time carries the person to his home. Or the ogre catches a group of children, most of them escape on the way, one is brought to the ogre's place
One-sided people have one leg and/or also one arm, one half of a head, etc. The second leg is not cut or burned off, preserved as a stump but is absent completely
Person with half of a body is a chicken (sometimes only by name)
A youth and a girl who run away from pursuer transform themselves into a pair of persons, creatures or objects (pond and duck, church and priest, etc.) in order to escape detection by the pursuer
The hero and his bride get to escape from the pursuer. The youth goes to visit his home, leaving his bride behind for a time and forgets her. When the youth is going to marry another girl, the forgotten fiancée reawakens his memory by performing magic actions. Or the girl herself forgets her magic husband as soon as she gets to her parents’ home
When a man comes to a beautiful woman she tricks him by asking to finish some trivial task, keeping him by her magic in an awkward or ridiculous position until daylight. Episode is repeated next nights with other or (rare) the same suitor. Usually the first suitor being ashamed tells the other that everything was nice, so all of them are humiliated the same way
In search of a lost object, usually carried away by water or wind, a girl or (rare) a boy comes to a powerful person, gets the object back and/or is rewarded. The object is related to the everyday life, it has no ritual significance and is not a weapon
Anthropomorphic beings have huge ears (use them for blankets, umbrellas, etc.)
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
A predator animal (ogre, ogress) swallows people or animals. The goat (rare: the sheep) punishes him or her and usually saves the victims (most often opens the ogre’s belly open and the swallowed ones come out alive)
To make himself unrecognizable by the victim, a predator or ogre modifies his throat or tongue mechanically (oils or burns it, asks blacksmith to remake it, etc.)
(Animal) person provokes another to put a part of his body into a split log (between two planks, etc.) and removes the wedge
In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is fox, jackal or coyote
Being smart and witty, the hedgehog overcomes overcomes strong adversaries
Instead of common body discharges a man or a woman urinates, spits, etc. beads, flowers, gold and other valuables; valuables are produced by the very presence of particular person
Person gets one by one magic objects that bring food or treasure. Other people replace them with common objects or take them away by force. The person takes his property back (usually beating the thieves with magic cudgel or whip)
An animal person pretends to be invited to be godfather or he gives names to different places along which he travels in a sledge, boat, etc. The names look strange but become understandable when other people or animals get to know that their companion has devoured all the supplies
An animal person pretends (several times) that he has to make a visit (that he has been invited to be godfather at a baptism or invited to a funeral or wedding) but instead eats secretly food supplies
Travelling in a boat or on a sledge, animal person (always the fox) steals food supplies or ruins objects and accordingly to his deeds, names different places. These names seem strange to the person’s companions (“River of broken arrows” and the like)
Tiny boy as small as a thumb, a pea and the like taunts people, predator animals, ogres
An animal person (usually a fox or a jackal) threatens to cut down a tree on which mother bird (squirrel) made its nest unless she will throw down one of her nestlings (squirrel children) or eggs. Another bird lets the mother bird know that the predator is unable to realize his threat
Person pretends that a person (often his or her mother, spouse or lover) who recently died is alive, claims that the death of the false alive resulted from negligence of others and gets a reward
Person pierces a bladder with blood or red juice, simulates murder or suicide
Person gets other person’s possessions by trick (or pretends to get it; usually another person is drowned instead of him) and then demonstrates his possessions (usually a herd) and explains that he had received everything at the river bottom. His enemies believe him
Person is put into a bag (a cage, tied up, etc.) to be drowned, burned, etc. He pretends to be in this situation by his own will or because he refuses to marry a princess, to become a chief and the like. Another person is willing to take his place and is killed
Person buries a tail or head of a bull or other domestic animal with a tail or horns outside. He explains that the animal sank into the ground and usually asks the others to pull the tail (horns). When they are “torn off”, he tells that people are guilty of the animal being lost
After losing his tail (ear) an (animal) person tries to trick other animals of his species or other people of his group to lose their tails (ears) too
Trickster animal asks a bird to make him laugh. The bird sits on the head of a woman (child, cow, etc.), other person tries to kill the bird, hits the wife (breaks cow's horn, etc.). Or the bird distracts person attention to let the trickster steal the person’s food
A stronger (animal)-person gets to seize a leg or tail of a weaker one. To get free the weaker one pretends that his pursuer got hold of a tree root, and the pursuer lets his enemy free
Strong antagonist is going to kill the hero (a person or a weak animal). Another person or animal pretends not to know about the situation and tells that the antagonist is in search to be killed. The hero is saved. Usually the latter asks the man not to give him out and answer that it is a stump, a log and the like near him. This opens possibility to treat the antagonist as a corresponding object (to cut it with an axe, to tie up, etc.)
Two animals (an animal and a person, an ogre and a person, etc.) agree to divide a crop in such a way that one would take what is above the ground and another what is beneath ground. One of them (several times makes a wrong choice (takes turnip tops and wheat roots)
Person gives another (often a fox) a bag putting inside a dog instead of food; or he makes free a girl who was kept in the bag and replaces her with a dog. The dog attacks the one who opened the bag
In the presence of powerful person one of his subjects is plotting against the other. The other answers that the problem can be resolved if the first one would be maimed (usually a part of his body used as a medicine). The schemer is killed or injured
An animal person pretends to have no other interests than to fulfill religious rules and prescriptions (to confess his sins, to make a pilgrimage, to become vegetarian, etc.) and kills those who have believed him
Person or animal stays for a night and the next morning declares that his possessions (which value is none or negligible) are lost. Or other persons whom the trickster meets really use or spoil objects that the trickster gives them. Every time he receives in compensation objects or animals with ever bigger value, the last acquisition usually being a costly animal or a girl. (All texts with motifs M171A and M171C contain also the motif M171)
The (animal) person threatens another to beat him and sticks to him with all his limbs in succession. Usually it is a figure smeared with some sticky substance that the person takes for somebody alive
Many animals of one species that all look identical together fulfill the task that would be impossible for any of them if he were alone; the competitors believe that the task was fulfilled by only one animal. Usually a slow and a fast animals agree to race. The slow one puts other animals of his species at the finish or along the distance, each one answering the fast one that he is ahead of him. The fast one accepts his loss
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
Animal person agrees to put on a fresh skin of another animal or to be tied up with raw straps. The skin or straps inflict sufferings (usually after they become dry)
Somebody acts in absurd way to lure person out of his or her place. The person does not understand the deception and comes to explain how to act correctly
One of domestic animals (usually the donkey) induces another who is overworked to feign sickness. When the next day he must do the work of the “sick” one, he tells that the master has decided to slaughter the one who is unable to work and persuades him to stop being ill
Babies disappear but are ultimately returned to their mother or father grown up and in good health
It is written at a crossroad that following one of the paths person will safely return and following another it will not return (there is often a third path following which person either returns or not). Hero follows the dangerous path
To punish an antagonist, he or she is tied to a horse (camel, bull) and dragged or he or she is torn apart (usually by horses)
Person hides in a tree. Somebody tries to fell it but the notch disappears and the tree becomes intact
A demonic woman or (rare) her paramour or a monster is going to kill a man usually after driving him up a tree. At the last moment the man's dogs or other animals or birds who are the man's pets come and kill the demon
A demon helps a man or a woman or lets him or her free. As a reward, the person is forced to promise to give the demon his child
Person or animal must eat (drink) enormous quantity of food (beverage) or eat or drink poisonous beverage or food
Person eats magic bird, fish, small animal, or fruit and becomes prosperous and powerful
Master of the house allows person to feel himself (herself) free bit not to look into particular place. The person breaks prohibition
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
Magic wife tricks her naive mother-in-law to give her back her supernatural clothes or other object thanks to which she is able to escape from the human world
A man on a journey meets tree or two persons who are quarreling over the division of magic objects (a flying carpet, seven mile boots, etc.). The man promises to render a judgment, but he asks first to try our the objects or suggests the owners to run a race and uses opportunity to escape with the objects
Person who gives difficult tasks to the hero and/or person who demands the fulfillment of certain conditions from those who want to marry his daughter is a prominent figure in social hierarchy. He is a head of the socio-political unit of community or super-community level and is neither a member of the hero’s household nor a mythical being
To climb a rock, person must insert into it bones and use them as a ladder
A powerful person coverts a beautiful bride or wife of a man and gives him impossible tasks to get rid of him
A man does not know that his (new) wife (rare: mother) is an ogress/witch/evil woman. Thanks to her intrigues (former) wives (wife) are blinded and/or confined in an underground hole. A son of one of them overcomes the ogress and returns sight to his mother and aunts
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
Somebody claims that he has been born before present world came into being. His opponent claims the same, and they argue who of them is the older
A fugitive turns in succession into different animals or objects. A pursuer does the same, every time becoming an animal or a person who is dangerous for the fugitive in his given guise
Person or animal gets to exchange less valuable goods for ever more valuable. The last or the next to last one is a girl
An (animal) person saves a dangerous animal from a snare or the like. The saved one is going to kill his savior but the third person saves the second (usually tricks the first one to captivity again)
A man gets to know about dangers that threaten another man (and often about turning into stone of anybody who would warn about these dangers). He helps the man to escape the dangers though his behavior seems strange or hostile
The first and rejected or taken later wife acts using magic. Other wives try to imitate her but perish are maimed or disgraced
A man obtains an object that fulfills his wishes. The object is stolen but brought back by the animals (which had been saved by the man before)
Somebody suggests to guess what sort of material a certain object is made of. Another person (usually a monster) gets to know the secret and the hero or the heroin must do what they have promised
The wolf (lion, etc.) is going to eat a horse (mule, etc.). The horse asks him to look at his hoof (for different reasons) or eat him from his hindquarters forward; then he kicks him
Person is suggested to fulfill tasks that are mortally dangerous or cannot be fulfilled without supernatural helpers or capacities. The person fulfills the tasks and remains alive. A contest between persons has form of a competition or game in which the loser is deprived of his status or life
Husband (rare: wife) sends his cock to earn money and the cock brings it. Wife (husband) sends her hen (cat, her half of a cock, etc.) and it brings filth. Or the cock brings to the wife not money but something bad or does not bring anything
When a man is going to fell a tree, the tree itself or the being who lives in (on) it asks him not to do it and grants the man’s wishes
A woman is thrown into a well (pond, hole, etc.) or transformed into a water bird. Being in water, she gives birth to a son (children) or she had been thrown together with her baby. Ultimately she and her children are saved
A person gives order to kill the young man’s sister (mother, wife). The young man saves her but later regrets about it
A pretty, faithful wife is courted by one or several men, one of them usually a clergyman. With her husband’s consent, she invites the suitor(s) to a private rendezvous. Before the first man’s wishes are gratified, the next one arrives and then the husband himself. The suitor or suitors are caught in an uncomfortable position and then killed, punished in some other manner, ridiculed, made to pay ransom, to work, etc.
When three brothers (rare: a person) are Invited to khan (judge, king, etc.) and served delicious food, they claim that the food and drink have a taste (smell) of a corpse, dog, goat etc. and/or their host is of a low descent or a bastard. Investigation confirms that their deduction was correct
Person of a low social position (a man) makes an agreement with a person of high social position (an ogre) that the master must never become angry with the servant. The servant abuses the master until the latter erupts in anger and has to be severely punished or to pay a great fee
Person kills several people. asks somebody to bury only one and then tells that the dead man has returned. The grave-digger buries several people but believes that it was one and the same corpse
When a person is suggested to make something and simultaneously not to make it or to make it differently than it could be made at all (to come clothed and naked, with and without a gift, etc.), he or she finds the solution
A man trains a cat (monkey, dog) to hold lighted candle (lamp) on its head or to extinguish the light by a signal. When a mouse (a rat) runs through the room, the cat drops the candle (forgets about the lamp) and chases the mouse
Person always wins a game thanks to a cat (or a mouse) who carries the lamp (or puts the light out in a certain moment). The hero releases a mouse (or correspondingly a cat), the cat runs after it and the person loses the game
A man escapes from his (her, theirs) pursuers and hides in a cave. A spider spins its web over the hiding place. When the pursuers see the spider web they think the cave is unoccupied and do not enter it
Husband casts his wife out but allows her to take the one thing she holds dearest. She takes her sleeping or drunk husband with her and thus moves him to forgive her
A numskull finds or buys an unknown fruit (pumpkin, melon, etc.). He mistakes it for an egg of a donkey (mare. camel, etc.). When he drops it or throws it off he scares a hidden hare (rabbit, fox, mouse, etc.). The fool thinks the fugitive is a young animal hatched from the egg
Somebody pulls out a thorn from a person’s body (cuts off the end of the animal’s tail, etc.) and throws it away or slightly injures the person. As a result the person is compensated with something more valuable than the lost object
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
Some valuables (foals, hay, apples, etc.) are regularly stolen. Nobody (the elder brothers) is able to catch the thief and only the hero (the younger brother) finds who it is
A girl gets into a bird’s nest (usually the bird carries away a baby-girl). The bird cares for her like her parent, the girl becomes a beauty
A predator animal asks a goat (a ram, etc.) about a purpose of certain parts of his body. The goat describes every part as a weapon able to injure his opponent or the goat really possesses weapons
A youth or (rare) girl offends an elder woman. Her words make him or her to be overcome by desire to undertake something dangerous (usually to get a particular marriage partner)
Because of the female antagonist, a girl faints and is taken for dead but her body is not decomposed. A valuable marriage partner breaks the charms, she revives
A woman (rare: a man) asks if she (he) is the most beautiful among female (men) folk and always receives a positive answer. It continues till she or he receives the negative one
An object that contains the life (soul) of a person is inside two or more creatures or other objects (like an egg in a duck, a duck in a hare, etc.) or the zoomorphic soul container tries to escape and turns in succession to other animals (three or more transformations)
An ogre's child or (rare) wife believes in what hero tells him (or her) and releases him. Usually the hero kills the child and puts its meat to cook in the very pot where the ogre planned to cook the hero
Person sets off in search of fire and finds it in the house of a demon. The demon makes harm to the person
Cunning fox, jackal or coyote saves particular person or many people, helps them
Getting a task or by his own initiative, a trickster several times comes to a person (usually an ogre) and steals in succession objects in his possession or members of his family
Person has to bring a certain ogre and does it luring the ogre into a cage, a box, etc.
Person claims that a man or a male animal had given birth (or is menstruating) or that a female gave birth to a young of another species or that a woman gave birth to an animal
A fool gives meat, a domestic animal, cloth etc. to an animal (plant, inanimate object) and thinks that the latter will pay him later or asks an animal to do some work. Claiming money or products of the work, he finds treasure
Being a victim of the injustice and after much suffering, a young woman speaks with a certain inanimate objects (often it is “the stone of pity”) telling it her sad story or her husband does it. The woman is rescued and the justice reinstated
Year is described as a tree with the number of branches, twigs, leaves etc. corresponding to the number of seasons, months, days, etc.
A poor girl agrees to marry a prince only if he learns some craft. He does it, marries the girl and then gets into hands of some criminals. He promises them to produce valuable object that they can sell for good money. His wife or (rare) his father recognize his work (or read signs of the object). He is released, the criminals killed
A person sends to his or her kinsmen or spouse through other persons a text or an object. Only the receiver understands the real meaning of words or of the object, saves the sender and/or destroys his enemies
Fool follows instructions that were reasonable in every previous episode but become absurd in every next one
Because telling the truth a stupid son (wife, husband)) can bring misfortune upon the family, his mother (wife; her husband) mystifies him (her) making him or her describe events that are definitely impossible. People take him (her) for a fool and let alone.
When it is necessary to get an object from a place that is difficult to reach, a girl asks to cut her into pieces (or only to cut off her fingers and toes) and then to put pieces together again. She revives
Wife dies, husband revives her, she abandons him for another man and is punished
A girl born to the family or found proves to be a monster, devours people. Her brother escapes, (usually marries and returns home, finds that everybody had been eaten up), runs away, she pursues him but cannot get
To demonstrate that the thief who had eaten food supplies is somebody else or to declare somebody else as a victim to be eaten up, animal person smears his sleeping companion with remains of the food or body excretions (exchanges the excretions)
In succession and unintentionally a man causes a series of accedents. The injured parties bring him before a judge. In each case the judge makes decisions that are formally logical but patently unacceptable and saves the man
A plant (tree, vine, lotus) that has grown up rapidly does not let anybody besides the hero or the heroine to climb it or to pick its fruits (flowers)
Astral objects or lunar spots are associated with a story of a stealing and the value of the stolen objects is low (straw, firewoods, cabbage, etc.)
Getting into a well or pit and being unable to climb out animal person tricks another to descend and thanks to this gets out while the second person remains below
Magic horse eats (hot) coals, nails, etc. or they try to feed the horse with such a staff
Three (rare two or four) men take part in creation of a girl: one cuts her body of wood, another puts clothes on her, the third one makes her alive. To whom does she belong?
In the absence of the host, the guest is told that the host is going to kill or to maim him. The guest runs away, the host runs after him with good intentions but the guest believes that the received warning had a reason
A girl (rare: boy) is walking to her or his relations or to her bridegroom. On the way the imposter lures her (him) to exchange clothes and takes her (his) place while the real girl (boy) is sent to look after crops or fee domestic fowl or animals. People hear her (his) song in which all the story is told. The deception is disclosed, the imposter killed
A man sends another one to top of a mountain or a tree to obtain treasure for him. To go back is impossible but the man survives
A man hides in a skin or carcass of a big animal. A bird carries it to its nest without knowing that the man is inside
Complicated relations between a poor girl and a prince lead to his attempt to kill his bride in the nuptial night. The girl puts a doll in her bed, the prince pierces it with a sword and takes the sweet juice (honey, sugar) with which the doll was filled for the blood. He repents his deed but the real girl appears and the couple is happy
Person proves the absurdity of the claims of another person saying that his or her father (or other man or a male animal) had given or is giving birth or is menstruating
Person claims that a calf (colt, kid, etc.) was born (brought to the place) not by the cow (mare, etc.) of another person but by his own male animal (bull, stallion, etc.), his own animal of another species or by inanimate object (usually a cart)
Person demonstrates the absurdity of the claims of another person saying that he (or somebody else) was fishing on a hill, putting out a fire spilling straw, looking how the fish fly etc. or he is imitating such an activity. Either the place chosen for the activity or the means are irrational
A stranger tells a woman that he comes from the other world and had seen there her dead relative. The woman gives him money and goods for the latter. Usually when her husband goes after the trickster to retrieve the money, the trickster steals his horse
Several imprisoned (driven out) co-wives give birth but only the son of the youngest woman survives. The boy saves the women
A bird (that usually emerges from the remains of a murdered person or being incarnation of his or her soul) punishes the murderer or tells people about the crime
Person is eager to get a child (spouse) who would be likened to blood and snow (milk)
Enemy cuts hero’s body into pieces and ties them to his horse or the horse itself picks them up and brings to his master’s friends. They revive him.
A girl has many (more than three) brothers, they turn into birds or animals (rare: into plants; killed by magic), ultimately become human again
A man (usually a king) isolates his son (daughter) in a closed room, Once the boy (girl), usually because of some chance event gets to see the world outside and his (her) isolation comes the end
The hero is sent to bring a life-medicine. On his way back a friendly woman replaces the real medicine with a useless one or keeps part of it for herself. Using the medicine she revives the hero when he is treacherously killed
A strong predator animal and a man become friends. The animal hears how the man or his wife complains about him (e.g. criticizes the bad smell of his mouth) and asks the man to strike him with an axe, knife and the like. Later he comes to demonstrate his healed wound and explains that the physical wound can be healed unlike the psychological one. Or the animal dies because of his wounded feelings as soon as he understands that the man betrayed him
When assessing the swiftness of a horse, the speed of thought (lightning) and the speed of wind are compared
Children or youths (usually a group of brothers) exchange clothes (headgears, ornaments, blankets, sleeping places) with their enemy’s children. The enemy kills his or her own children by mistake. Usually brothers get to the ogre or ogress and the youngest advices to exchange places (clothes, etc.) with ogre’s daughters). Outside of Europe the actors can be animals
A married woman is eager to get rid of her husband and usually asks a spirit (God, saint, etc.) to make him blind. The husband hides in a tree, behind the alter, etc. and usually tells her that good food will make her husnad blind, or the husband himself tells his wife that the good food is dangerous for him. He pretends to become blind, kills the love (and his wife)
Fool kills a person, throws the body into a pond or a well. His relation throws there a dead goat. Searching for the corpse in the pond, the fool asks if the killed person had horns, etc. People see that he is really crazy and do not suspect him of a crime
Person or animal gets access to values that are inside an animal, a tree, a rock or other enclosure. Later he himself or more often somebody else tries to do the same but destroys source of values, blocks access to it or makes it too dangerous
Chief of thieves (demonic person) brings his men (other demons) into some people’s yard hiding them in empty jars, casks, etc. The plan to kill members of the household at night. A girl (a young woman; rare: somebody else from the family) gets to know about the danger and kills the thieves one by one (usually pouring boiling water into the jars)
A blind trickster steals from (does not return some money to) a harmless man. The injured man follows the blind man and steals his whole hoard of money. Often he robs (tricks) several blind men
A weaker person asks the stronger one to take present to his or her kin and hides himself or herself in a bag. The stronger one brings the bag to the weaker one's relatives thinking that there are but some objects inside. Usually a girl deceives the ogre into carrying her sisters and then herself in a sack (chest) back to their home
After eating a fruit (usually an apple, in Northern traditions also an egg), the sterile woman gives birth to a son or twins
A man travels to get know why he is poor (unlucky). Other persons, animals, plants ask him to investigate the reason of their own misfortunes. God (fate) tells that the wolf (bear, lion) should eat the most stupid man. Other problems can be resolved if the queen gets a husband, a treasure is taken from under the fruit tree, etc. The man does not use opportunity to become a king, to receive gold, etc. because did not receive direct instructions to do it. The wolf decides that the man is a real fool and he must eat him
Person travels across a forest with trees of two or more kinds of metal (copper, silver, etc.)
After a series of adventures and victories, the hero gets into trouble. His twin brother or the best friend follows his traces, gets across the same persons but overcomes the last enemy and revives (liberates) the hero
A man finds the woman’s hair that was carried by water and decides to marry its owner
A man is going to marry his sister (often puts certain condition on his future marriage, only his sister complies with them). The girl gets to escape
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
Creatures that produce rain and/or thunderstorms are birds or anthropomorphic beings with wings; or (rare) some or all birds are connected with thunder, lightning or rain though Thunder is not a bird
One of the spouses prohibits another to see him or her. When the other breaks the taboo (intentionally or by chance) the first one disappears (is in trouble)
Because a girl or young woman offends a cat (rare: a dog, a cock), it plays a trick that brings the girl a misfortune (usually extinguishes the fire and in search of it the girl gets to a demon)
. The hero or his companion eliminate the source of danger
To come unnoticed to his adversaries, the hero takes the guise of a servant (usually a herdsman) and before that gets know from the real herdsman how to act and to speak with his masters (usually what should be said to ferry the cattle across a river)
Body part of a murdered person or a plant that grew on the place of the crime tells people about the crime
When a (married) man cultivate a (married) woman she demonstrates him that all women are alike (like eggs painted in different colors). The man is ashamed and let the woman in piece
A ruler gets to know from a young man that this man’s sister is extraordinary beautiful. On the way to the ruler beautiful girl is replaced by the ugly one. Usually the ruler thinks that the young man is a deceiver and throws him in prison
Person becomes a master of another after winning a game (game of chance or Intellectual game but not a sport tournament)
Wolf (rare: jackal, fox) comes to different domestic animals (rare: only to one animal) to eat them but agrees to fulfill their demands. As a result he remains hungry and usually beaten and accuses himself that his ways were so stupid (“Am I a mollah to read?”)
A youth breaks or overthrows a vessel of a woman or girl. This episode is a trigger for the narrative
When a lion (tiger, bear, elephant, man) gets into a trap, a mouse (rat) makes him free (usually bites through the ropes)
One animal person promises to sew a fur coat (or boots) for another and asks to bring him ever more sheep. He eats the meat and sews nothing
The strongest predator (usually a lion) suggests one of his companions to shares the booty. He is not satisfied by results and beats the companion. When another companion becomes to divide, he gives everything to the strongest one and explains that the injured one taught him the right way of sharing
Because of its stupidity and unsocial behavior, the lion suffers a reverse, is injured or dies
A big predator (bear, lion, tiger) boasts about being stronger than a man. Being told that it’s not so, he finds a man and suggests to struggle but is killed or badly injured as a result. Cf. motif M101
To hide truth, person buries an animal or an object and tells that it is the burial of a bride (wife, sister, children, etc.) of another
A man steals money or property. The owner gets his property back after he or his helper puts the theft in such a position when the best choice for him becomes to return what he has stolen (usually the first man kidnaps a child of the second one)
A man steals money or property. The owner gets his property back after he or his helper puts the theft in such a position when the best choice for him becomes to return what he has stolen (usually the first man kidnaps a child of the second one)
Young woman’s bridegroom or husband gets to believe that she is extraordinarily industrious. To conceal the deception, she herself or somebody else makes the man believe that because of hard work women become ugly or change into animals. The man prohibits his wife to work anymore
A girl who keeps silence is promised to one who would make her speak; a man with much difficulty makes his magic wife speak
The mice decide to tie a bell on the cat, so they can hear when the cat comes. Usually they cannot find anyone to tie it on her
A man marries a woman but abandons her without consummating his marriage. She visits him in disguise and ultimately he gets to know who was his beautiful companion. Usually the wife gives birth to his son (three sons) and upon seeing the boy, the man realizes that it is his own child
To lure his potential victim down from a tree, a predator pretends not to be dangerous (usually announces that it has been decreed that all animals are united in piece). The victim is dubious and usually asks the predator to announce the same news to the dogs. The predator runs away
People are ordered to kill their fathers or (rare) mothers (the Nyoro: to deprive them of power and property; the Baluch: not to take them setting off for the journey). An old man concealed by his son helps to resolve difficult problem
A person brings to a king or has at his home something edible. At the decisive moment fruits or meat turn into human remains. The person imprisoned (and executed)
Wicked stepmother (aunt, a rival) blinds a young woman. The heroine returns her eyes (often gets them back in exchange for some values)
An ill-disposed elder woman makes a young woman or girl to swallow snake eggs (a snake, something else). Her stomach becomes to swell and the man believes that the victim has become pregnant because of her dissoluteness (rare: to make snakes, worms, etc. to kill her from inside)
A man obtains knowledge of animal languages but if he reveals the secret, he must die. Once he hears animals talking and laughs. His wife thinks that he laughs at her or at her mother. The man is ready to open his secret and either does it and dies or hears how animals (usually a cock) blame him for being so foolish. So he keeps his secret.
To take part in a feast or to visit God or celestial object, person ascends to the sky. To return, he either uses a rope but falls before reaching ground or jumps (falls) down from the sky and is badly hurt, dead, and/or transformed
The wolf or other wild animal gets into the cellar (storehouse, vineyard, etc.) and eats so much that cannot leave
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
Person threatens the devils (water dwellers, etc.) that he will deprive them of their home (pull together or stir up a lake, dry the sea, build a church where the devils live, etc.). The devils (fish, etc.) fulfill person’s demands
A magician orders a boy to fetch a magic object (often a lamp). The boy finds the object (but refuses to give it to the magician). A helpful genie appears and fulfills the boy’s wishes
Person is able to steal an egg (a nestling, to put it back) from under the bird (to change the bird’s feather; to steal an embryo from animal’s womb, etc.)
A wayfarer asks his companion in an allegorical for to tell a story. The companion takes his words in the direct sense and acts stupidly or thinks that his companion is a fool
Man sitting on branch of a tree cuts it off and similar variants (man climbs a rope and cuts it off; men cut a tree and climb on it to fell it; man climbs with difficulty on a dead branch of a tree, which breaks off)
A girl meets a demon who is disgusting and terrible. When the demon gets to see her again, he (or she) asks her what had she told about him (what had she seen). The girl answers that the demon was beautiful (clad in gold, etc.). Usually at the last meetings the girl tells the demon truth. He is enraged and the men who hide nearby kill him
Hero hides in a tree from an ogre. Before the ogre gets to fell the tree, the hero flies away or a bird helps him to escape
A person plans to turn his (future) possessions into a great wealth (milk, eggs, small money, animal to be killed, etc.) but imagining this wealth, he destroys what he already has (eggs are broken, the animal runs away, etc.). Or two persons are involved into quarrel about possessions that they do not yet have
After the wedding a wife does not speak with her husband until he says particular words related to her origin (the name of her adoptive father, her own name that reveals her superhuman nature, and the like)
Animal person promises to take care of another animal's children but do not fulfill obligations and usually eats the young ones
Mighty bird or other flying creature helps a man because he took care of its youngs feeding them, warming, decorating, etc.
A girl is promised to a man who would know her name or whose finger would fit her ring, or who would guess a material from which certain object is made or grown. Person finds a correct answer by deception
A companion promises to share water or food with a thirsty or hungry person on condition that he or she allows to blind him or her
As soon as a person plays his flute (fiddle, horn, etc.), people and animals become to dance and cannot stop without the person’s permission
A reptile monster demands humans (usually virgins) as a sacrifice or abducts a girl or closes sources of water. Hero kills him. Monster’s victims do not play an active part in the plot
Walking person creates a trace behind him or her throwing seeds, stones, etc. or the trace is produced because blood drops behind the person. The traces is destroyed unintentionally by birds, animals, wind etc.
A castrate or girl pretends to be a man or a cripple girl conceles her injury or a man pretends to be a girl. Some person gets to know about it and plans to expose the deception. At the last moment the hero or heroine magically becomes a real man (or girl; gets back the lost members) and the informer is disgraced
Person transforms people who come to him or her into inanimate objects, usually stones
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
Members of the girl’s family want to marry her to a man who should not be her marriage partner (usually it is her own brother). They ask her to name them as her in-laws or the girl herself tells that they are not anymore her mother, sister, etc. but her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, etc. or her worst enemies
Powerful person listens in conversation of three (rare: two or four) women. Each of them tells what she would do if the person marries her. One promises to bear his son (children) who would have wonderful qualities, two others promise to practice some kind of work or (more rare) marry people of lower status
A woman who was falsely accused of killing her new-born child or giving birth to pups and the like is punished in such a way that she must suffer from filth and be taunted by passers by
A poor man brings his master a chicken (goose, etc.) as a present. The master asks him to divide the bird appropriately among the members of his household. The poor man does it considering the symbolic meaning of particular parts (gives the master the head, his daughters the wings, etc.) and receives rich compensation. A neighbor brings the master five chickens but is unable to divide them approppriately. The first man does it again.
Person asks a servant to bring another some food or object and to pass certain words which for the servant have no meaning. Hearing these words, the recipient understands that the servant had appropriated part of what he had to bring
A divides the chicken among the members of a household (and guests) considering the symbolic meaning of particular parts (gives the master the head, his daughters the wings, etc.).
Father (step mother) abandons children in the forest. He (she) hangs a plank (gourd, shoe, etc.) on a tree that is striking trunk under the wind. Children believe that he is still nearby cutting woods
Pregnant woman and her small daughter get to ogres. The ogres find the woman and devour her but her daughter and her baby that was extracted from her womb survive and escape
Mother tries to kill her son (children) because he interferes with her love affair
A woman is summoned to help supernatural beings as a midwife (to baptize a baby, to be a babysitter) and returns to the human world after rendering her assistance
Hostile women substitute baby of the newly made mother with an animal or an object (inform the baby’s father that his wife has given birth to an animal or an object)
Hostile women substitute baby of the newly made mother with a kitten (inform the baby’s father that his wife has given birth to a kitten)
To get rid of a young man, his female antagonist uses a stratagem. She tells his sister (rare: tells directly him) about some wonderful objects and the girl is overcome with the desire to have them. An attempt to obtain these objects entails a risk for one’s life. The youth sets off to obtain the objects
To appease a water monster (water spirits, gods) or to put an end to the drought or flood, a girl is sacrificed or descends into the water by her own will
Animals, demons or people stand one on another making a tower. The lowest one jumps off (bends, jerks), all the rest fall to the ground
A man goes to sell a skin of domestic animal and on his way, by trick or thanks to chance, gets a big sum of money. Usually coming back he explains that this was the price of the skin but when other people kill their animals they cannot sell skins for such a sum. (In India the hero sometimes pretends to sold cow meat to brahmins for whom it is forbidden)
In a deserted place, a man kills another. After some time he is exposed thanks to circumstances and facts that do not seem important and do not report on the crime directly (the victim’s last words; objects or live beings that were or appeared on the place of the murder). (All texts that contain motifs K80c, K80c1, K80c3, K80c4, also contain a more general motif K80c4)
A pea (bean, grain) or a pellet of cheep’s dung turns into a tiny boy (rare: girl); a child is as small as a pea. Or his mother conceived him after eating a pea
Each of calender units (usually the months) that make the year is a separate object or person
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
Being smart and persistent, the turtle (toad, frog) overcomes strong adversaries
Trickster pretends to be dead, sick or weak and is picked up by those who carry something edible in a cart (sledge, boat, bag, etc.). The trickster secretly eats the food, often after throwing it out of the cart (sledge, etc.)
A man sets off for a confrontation with dangerous adversary. On his way, he is suggested to fulfill difficult tasks and does it successfully. Usually the same tasks had been suggested before to another man who failed to fulfill them and was killed or imprisoned by the adversary
When the head of the household goes for a journey his daughter, those who remain at home ask to bring them presents. The elder ones want something practical (usually clothes or decorations) while the younger one asks for something unusual (a flower, a bird, etc.). Thanks to this object, the younger one attains great success though after overcoming great difficulties
A man had to graze animals or birds. If at least one is lost, the master would kill (not reward) him. Cf. K128B (ATU 570)
A powerful and rich man loses everything that he has, is separated with his wife and children and they with each other. Later he obtains everything back, his family is united again
Person or creature who has no wings or is unable to fly on a long distance attempts to ascend to the sky or to fly far away but falls down or, deprived of his wings, remains in a place from which he is unable to return
Certain apples make their owner eternally young
To show their father that he must marry them, his daughters of different age send him fruits of the same kind but of different degree of ripeness (or bread that is differently baked)
A man believes that he holds something edible in his hands (a head of an animal, bread, melon, etc.) but these objects turn into cut off human heads or limbs
Before passing away a man asks his sons to guard his grave for a certain time or to bring something to his grave. The youngest son goes and obtains valuables
Where the beautiful woman steps, treasure appears, flowers blossom, etc.
Person pursued by an enemy asks somebody whom he meets to help him. The helper hides him
It should be guessed the nature of a big animal or its skin, the content of a box. The correct answer is that the animal is a louse (or a flea), a louse is in the box
Person kills girls (rare: his nephews or younger brothers of his wife) in succession (usually the male person kills his wives). The last of potential victims escapes, usually after finding remains of those who had been killed or imprisoned earlier
Persons climbs a tree and thanks to this escapes from a demon (who usually tries to fell the tree)
To get a thin voice, person lets the ants to bite his tongue
A man (usually a king) keeps his daughter (rare: his son) in a closed room, servants bring the girl (boy) meat without bones. Once she or he finds a bone in the meat, uses it to make an opening in the wall and gets to see the world outside
A task-giver asks person to bring fruits of a tree that is difficult to be reached
During impossibly short time person must to realize all works of agricultural cycle and to present food made of new crops
A dog (cat, hare) tries to drive away a demon (usually an old ogres). The demon (or her victims themselves being unaware of the danger) cut off or break one by one the animal’s body parts and ultimately kills it that gives her the power over her victims
A (young) man sets off to find or to return his bride or his wife
The king hands his horses (cows) among people to feed them. Only the heroine returns her horse well fed
A youth who does not know what fear is tries various frightful experiences without becoming afraid
Описывается или изображается чудовище (обычно змей) о семи головах. При перечисления существ по мере возрастания у них числа голов ряд заканчивается на семи
A young woman follows an enchanted man to his underground place, becomes pregnant but breaks a taboo and is chased away. She finds lodging in a rich house, her husband finds her and is disenchanted
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
A man who has visited hell (met the God) tells the robber about tortures prepared for him in the future. The robber accepts this news with resignation, does penance and ultimately is saved. Usually a hermit who decides that God is unjust in this case is punished
Being on guard, the hero gets to know who steals regularly fruits (usually apples) from the garden
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
Helpful animal instructs the hero how to steal an object he needs to get but not to take anything else (bird, but not cage, horse but not bridle, etc.) The hero breaks prohibition, is caught but released on condition that he brings another wonderful object. Situation is repeated and the last task is to bring a girl. Ultimately the hero gets both the girl and all the objects
A serpent or water monster regularly devours or injures children of a bird or other flying creature (almost always nestlings of giant bird). The hero kills the serpent (monster)
Eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) of personage hang long down over his eyes. To make the eyes widely opened, the eyelids (eyelashes, eyebrows) should be propped up with poles, folks, sticks, etc. (rare: cut off)
Person must climb a tree (pole, rock) with a full open vessel in hand and not a drop should be spilled
Setting off for a search of a woman or magic objects, a man comes across several (usually three) supernatural (often demonic) persons who help him. All the persons are similar but usually every next one is older (younger) than another
Person comes across an old man (woman) whose face is completely covered with hair or snot. He or she cuts the hair (wipes the snot off) and receives compensation for his or her good deed
To gain a woman, a man hides inside a hollow figure or a carcass of a big animal (horse, bull, etc.). Person who guards the woman brings it to her. The man comes outside and becomes the woman’s lover. Or a woman hides inside the figure of the horse that is brought into the room of a man
Person does not know that he or she eats or cooks the meat of the member of his or her household (blood relation, more rare a spouse or servant) or serves it to his or her friends, or uses her or his bones for everyday needs, or slowly kills him ort her
The young man forgets his magic bride and meets another woman. At the last moment a bird tells the story about his real bride and he recalls everything. Usually two birds, a male and a female, have a dialogue in which the female can tell the male that he will be as cruel with her as this youth who has forgotten his bride.
The swiftest runner must receive the harvest
Wolf (more rare other predator animal) comes to different (more than two species) domestic animals (animals and people) to eat them but agrees to fulfill their requests and remains without his meal and usually becomes beaten (killed)
The hero’s wife (mother, servant) does not know about the magic qualities of an object in their house and exchanges it for something that looks likes more expensive but actually has low value
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)
Domestic animals abandon their masters. They find an empty house or build a house. Robbers or the predator animals come there. The domestic animals attack (or just frighten) them. The robbers (predators) do not understand who are their enemies, are scared and run away
Objects and/or domestic animals live in a house. When dangerous enemy comes, they attack him, he dies or escapes (all texts with K77A and K77B included)
Animal person refuses to enter the den of a strong predator seeing that all tracks go into it but none come out
Death (also Old Age, Disease, etc.) is a particular person not identical with the Master of the Dead. He kills people usually carrying away their souls
An old man has to carry a heavy load of wood. Tired and exhausted, he wishes for death. When Death appears he asks her to help him with the load
An object (usually the bride) purchased for the sum of money equivalent (or bigger) than its weight in gold (silver) or a heap of valuables as high as the corresponding person
A slow and a fast animals agree to race. The fast one is sure that he will win and is not in a hurry at all while the slow one is moving persistently to his aim and wins
A man hides in a shelter. An ogre wants him to demonstrate certain parts of his body. The man demonstrates or parts of the body of an animal or some objects. The ogre believes that his adversary is a powerful creature
A man or a weak animal and an ogre (giant, devil) have a contest to see which of them can squeeze a stone. The man squeezes a cheese (egg, turnip) and thus intimidates the ogre
An ogre sends a man to bring water giving him an enormous skin. The man is unable to carry such an amount of water but does not reveal his weakness using a ruse (he is digging around the well and explains that he wants to carry all the water at once; or says that he brought the skin with the water but drank it already up, etc.)
A week animal person immobilizing a strong one becomes to eat him from behind and refuses to come to the head where the stronger one can still bite him; or is waiting till the strong animal dies
One animal person persuades another to agree to be eaten up, usually promising a reward after the resurrection. The fool agrees and is eaten up
To reach his or her destination, person follows a ball of threads (rare: some ball, apple) which is rolling in front of him or her
Hearing the cry of a bird (often, an owl) and thinking that the bird speaks with him, the fool eventually finds treasure
To get rid of a dangerous but stupid demon or animal, a man commits certain acts. His adversary repeats them without understanding their meanings and makes harm to himself
A man gets to see dwarfs (ghosts, witches) who dance and sing. They mention some days of the week in their song. The man joins the singing and mentions other days of the week which the dwarfs like. He receives a reward. (Usually another man tries to receive the same reward but mentions days of the week which the dwarfs do not like and is punished
A guard (courtier) agrees to open a man an access to a powerful person after a promise to share with him the expected reward. The man asks to be bitten (from the very beginning expected the punishment)
When a deity (powerful person) attempts to pass some money to a certain man, he either gets it or not thanks to his fate while all other factors play no role
Mighty bird helps a man because he had given food to its nestlings
Two animal persons work their land together and agree to share the profits. While one is working hard, another only pretends to be useful but claims for himself (greater) part of the harvest
Overhearing conversation of two snakes or raven, person gets to know the cause of a sickness of another person: a snake has crawled into him. He snake out and the person regains his health
To test his iron cudgel, sword or the like, strong man throws them into the air and catches (lets them fall on his head, etc.)
Instead of common body discharges a a woman urinates, spits, etc. beads, flowers, gold and other valuables; valuables are produced by the very presence of particular female person. See motif m57a
There are mountains or rocks which permanently collide and separate again from each other or a crack (jaws) in a vertical cliff which is opening and closing
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 stick is a tool to initiate processes which results have no rational explanation
An object that contains certain person’s soul / death is inside other object, the latter is in the third one (etc.). The last receptacle of the life is an egg
A woman hides in a chip of wood (in a twig) that was brought to house and comes out when nobody is nearby
An ogre (an ogress) swallows people, is killed but the people are not found in his or her belly or are found dead. Only when the ogre's finger is cut off, the hero finds a remedy to revive the people or the swallowed up (the swallowed hero himself) come out alive from the finger of the ogre
People (elder brothers, elder siblings, elder sister) disappear (one by one). A lonely woman has a baby or finds a baby or she becomes pregnant magically and gives birth to a boy. The boy grows up, exterminates the antagonists, usually revives and releases those who had disappeared
One man asks another if the grain that they see is already eaten up? Is the dead body alive? It becomes clear that his questions have sense