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
Ursa major is identified with a carriage, a cart
Alcor (a weak star near the second star of the handle of the Big Dipper) is selected as a particular sky object
Milky Way is the path of migratory birds (especially wild geese)
The Pleiades are a group of girls or women (with children)
(Belt of) Orion is (three) mowers or agricultural tools related to mowing and harvesting
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
An animal saves a man or helps him but the ungrateful man humiliates the animal, kills or tries to kill it
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)
Cunning fox, jackal or coyote saves particular person or many people, helps them
In episodes related to deception, absurd, obscene or anti-social behavior the protagonist is fox, jackal or coyote
Running away from a dangerous being, person throws small objects behind him or her which turn into mighty obstacles on the way of the pursuer
Running away from a dangerous being, person throws a comb (a brush) that turns into mighty obstacle (usually a thicket) on the way of the pursuer. (In South America the motif is probably of European origin)
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 eats a meal of eggs and leaves without paying. Some years later when he returns to pay his debt, the innkeeper claims the value of all chickens that would have hatched from the eggs in the meantime. On the day of the trial another person pretends to have cooked seeds for planting and the judge agrees that chicken could not be hatched from the boiled eggs
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
Snow is created from bird's down when certain bird in the sky shakes itself or certain person shakes his or her clothes made of bird down
(Evening) Venus is associated with a predator animal, usually with a she-wolf
Race of dwarfs lives under the ground (deep under the earth or in hills and rocks) or at the horizon where the earth and the sky meet
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
Alcor (a weak star near Mizar, the second star of the Big Dipper’s handle) is a rider, a driver
A man finds a mortar (rare a bell, etc.) of gold (rare: of marble, etc.) and brings it to a powerful person. The latter is not thankful at all but orders the man to bring a pestle too (the bell’s clapper, etc.)
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
Person or animal must eat (drink) enormous quantity of food (beverage) or eat or drink poisonous beverage or food
A man must fulfill difficult tasks (to win competition) to receive the permission for a marriage
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
Hero demonstrates his supernatural abilities remaining alive in a burning hot chamber, stove, bonfire, among burning vegetation
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
Closing formula of the folktale: characters put the storyteller into a cannon or rifle and made the shot or he jumped onto a cannonball that has been shot from a cannon and so arrived at the place of performance
An animal (ass, cow, horse, goat, bear, leopard) extracts gold or food from its body or person makes others believe that it is so
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)
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
Closing formula of the folktale: the teller represents himself as being present at the wedding and/or feast, which were organized by characters of the tale
Closing formula of the folktale: the teller met characters of the tale and had clothes made of paper, glass, butter, etc.
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?”)
The bear (wolf, lion, dragon) beliefes that vulva is a wound.
Because of its stupidity and unsocial behavior, the wolf suffers a reverse, is injured or dies
The man who is able to build (to get) a ship which can fly (travel on land) marries the princess (inherits property)
A girl or a boy gets to demonic person. Sitting on the back of domestic animal (usually a calf, a bull) the girl (boy) escapes from the demon who pursues her (him). Usually several different animals in succession try to carry the girl away but the demon overtakes them and only the last animal brings her home
Closing formula of the folktale: the teller says that the characters are still alive if they are not already dead
Constellation are interpreted as agricultural tools or people occupied with agricultural works (mostly ploughing and haymaking)
The earth is a female person (alone or together with a male person); she is female being or associated with a woman
Person who swallowed his prey alive falls asleep and does not feel anything when his belly is cut and the prey is replaced with stones
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
Devil is ready to make a man rich if he would not wash (and comb) himself for a long time. The man is willing, both fulfill their promise
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
St. Peter eats bread (cake) secretly. When Chist talks to him he tries to hide what he ei eating and spits it out. Afterwards mushrooms grow from crumbs
After eating a fish, the sterile woman gives birth to a son or twins
When a woman gives birth to a boy (twins), a mare (a bitch and/or other domestic animals) also gives birth to human boys. When the boys come of age. they leave for a journey
Person or animal is asked why his or her body parts or tools are such as they are. He or she gives the answers (or one who is asking answers for him). Ultimately one of them kills or badly injures the other
Wolf or demon is asked why his body parts do look like they are. Every time the wolf gives the explanation
Year is described as a tree with the number of branches, twigs, leaves etc. corresponding to the number of seasons, months, days, etc.
A glass mountain (tower, bridge) is mentioned as a an unusual (difficult to be reache) place
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
The girl will marry a man who (riding on a horse or otherwise) would quickly reach a place that is almost inaccessible (the top of a tower, a mountain, the upper floor of a palace, the top of a staircase, bridge, the bottom of a deep cavity, etc.). Usually the girl herself is in the corresponding place
In a series of three (rare: four) loci or objects that have high but different value the highest value is related to the precious stone (usually a diamond; crystal, glass)
Loci or objects of three (rare – four) different materials are mentioned in such a way that all of them have positive connotations though unequal value (copper, silver and gold; silver, gold and diamonds, etc.)
At the end of the tale helpful animal (horse, lion, etc.) turns himself or herself into a prince (princess)
Several young men (usually three brothers) decide to choose wives (usually shooting arrows or throwing objects on the off-chance). The wife of the youngest initially is ugly or non-human (a frog, a snake) but proves to be beautiful enchantress. She and her husband triumph. Or girls choose their husbands and the youngest one gets a youth who has guise of a snake
An ogre (devil, a strong animal, etc.) and a man (a weaker animal) carry a tree. The man tricks the ogre who carries the heavy bottom-end while the man sits on a branch or walks pretending to carry his burden
A blacksmith is (seems to be) able make people young, cure maimed people and animals
A blacksmith is (seems to be) able make people young, cure maimed people and animals
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
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
After seeing a portrait of an unknown beauty, a man is eager to meet her
A (young) man sets off to find or to return his bride or his wife
Person accidentally overhears secrets of animals or demons and thus gets to know the causes of his and other people's misfortunes
A blacksmith is (seems to be) able make people young, cure maimed people and animals
Person changes (forges, boils, cuts into pieces and joins them back) old (sick, dead) people into the young (healthy, alive) ones or pretends to do so. Another one unsuccessfully tries to imitate him
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 in search of the remote and inaccessible place comes to the master (mistress) of animals (birds, fish) or demons who summon all of them and asks about the way to this place. Only (the last) one knows the way
Hero is asked to climb into a hole or pit. When he does it, they fill it with soil or throw down a post, a stone, etc. The hero demonstrates his magic capacities coming back uninjured
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)
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
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
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)
Master of the house allows person to feel himself (herself) free bit not to look into particular place. The person breaks prohibition
A woman with her new-born child (or a woman pregnant with a boy) or a young girl and a young boy is put into a barrel (box, skin bag, boat) and thrown into the sea (river)
The enchanted person (a palace where he or she is) changes his (her, its) appearance gradually as far as the spells dissolve: becomes more human, turns white from black, beautiful from ugly, etc.
Person sees how others act using magic or according to their animal nature. He or she imitates their actions and gets into trouble. Actions are not heroic deeds, competitions or tests and refer to everyday activity, mostly to providing and cooking food
Dwarfs live not deep under the earth but in hills and rocks, usually come from there to the earth
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 bargain between two persons is to end when a bird whose call is related to particular time of a temporal cycle will be heard. In order to hasten the contract’s end, another person imitates the bird. The first one recognizes the trick
Waving a piece of cloth (throwing it on the ground, putting on water, etc.) person creates obstacles (on the way of the pursuer) or a means to overcome them (bridge, dry path between waters, etc.)
For helping its children, their powerful mother or father who is a giant bird or (rare) other flying being helps the hero
Fools carry sunlight (darkness, smoke) in bags, sieves, etc. and carry it into the room or out of it
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
Person has to feed powerful creature (usually a giant bird) giving it regularly pieces of meat. When meat supply is exhausted, he cuts off a piece of his own flesh
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
Every time a demon commits an outrage upon one of the men who remains at home. When it is the hero’s turn, he overcomes the demon and follows his track to his world
A crab participates in the race and wins
A slow and a fast animals (or not flying bird) agree to race. The slow one imperceptibly sticks to the fast one’s body (or to a vehicle) and getting to the finish pretends to come there simultaneously with the fast one or before him
Birds, animals or fish compete as about who is the fastest or can fly higher than others. A weak one imperceptible sticks to the body of the fastest or strongest and wins
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
The rolling wheel (and a person who is riding it) is hostile to the hero (to the people) or a weapon used by such a person
Big migratory birds who fly like a wedge (stocks, cranes, swans, geese; Zugvögel in German) are connected with the world beyond (bring babies from there, carry children away to the unhuman loci, possess the water of life and death, etc.)
Inhabitants of the far away country are those migratory birds who live with us in summer but turn into humans after returning to their land
Two (rare: three) men or women regularly throw or give somthing to each other despite a significant distance between them. It is a sign of their strength, big size and dexterity
When the farmhand is sent to the place where he is expected to be killed by wild beasts, he subdues them, brings home and lets into the cattle-shed (stable), and the beasts destroy the master’s cattle (pigs, horse)