A23D. Who is first on the calendar? .22.26.29.32.-.34.

The animals argue over which of them should start the cycle of 12 months or years. The mouse wins.

Zhuang (Guangxi), Chinese (place of recording not specified), Kalmyks, Crimean Tatars, Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Baikal and Transbaikal Buryats, Mongols, Ordos Mongols, Oirats (?), Altaians, Telengits.

Burma - Indochina. Zhuang (Guangxi, Wuming county) [The Jade Emperor called the animals to determine who would be first in the cycle; the mouse could not wake up the cat, went alone; there should have been 13 animals, but since the cat did not come, then 12; they decided that the buffalo would be first as the largest and most noticeable; the mouse offered itself: let's go to the people, what will they say; the mouse sat on the buffalo's back; people: the mouse is big! they put it first in the cycle; and cats have not liked mice since then]: Licuh, Milliken 2001: 289-291.

China - Korea. Chinese [Yu-di invites animals to the Jade Palace to determine those by which to count the years; the mouse promised to wake the cat and go together, but went alone; the dragon begged the rooster to lend him his horns for a week; the centipede persuaded the rooster to agree; they chose 12: ox, horse, ram, dog, pig, hare, tiger, dragon, snake, monkey, rooster, mouse; let the biggest one go first; the mouse sits on the ox's back, people say, What a huge mouse (nobody says, What a huge ox ), the cycle begins with the mouse, followed by the ox; the dragon did not return the rooster's horns, the rooster now pecks centipedes; in his cry one can hear a request to the dragon to return the horns; [The cat, offended by the mouse for not waking her up, hunts mice]: Tishkov 1957: 77-79 (=Riftin 1972: 27-32; =1987: 27-31.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Kalmyks : Basangova 2002: 204-205 [when they were distributing the order among the animals in order to name the years of the 12-year cycle, the Mouse and the Camel argued over the last one, which had not yet been named, - who would see the sun first in the morning; the Mouse climbed onto the Camel's hump and saw it first; Since then, the Camel holds its head high and looks around, its appearance contains the features of all the animals of the cycle], 205-207 [The Mouse and the Camel argued over who would get the year - who would be the first to see the sun; the Mouse climbed onto the Camel's hump and saw it first; it hid in a pile of ash, which is why the Camel kicks the ash with its hoof; its appearance contains the features of all the animals of the cycle], 216 [=Basangova 2017, No. 18: 59 (variant in No. 19: 61); The mouse and the maral argue about who will see the sun first; the mouse looks not to the east, but upwards, and sees sunlight on the treetops; the maral tries in vain to crush her with his hoof]; Crimean Tatars ["a legend about the origin of the 12-year animal cycle has also been brought to the Crimean steppes, which explains why the camel was not included in the cycle, and the first and most honorable place was taken by the mouse"]: Samoylovich 1918: 74.

Volga - Perm. Bashkirs [the earth stands on a bull, the bull on a fish (or three fish); while the Bull and the Fish were arguing about which of them would be the first to see the Year coming to them, the Mouse climbed onto the bull's horn, was the first to see the rising sun, the year; therefore, the musal (12-year cycle) begins with the year of the mouse]: Barag 1987, no. 12: 37 (= Nadrshina 2001, no. 14: 185); Kazan Tatars [animals argue about who should take first place in the calendar; Mouse: let the one who will be the first to see the New Year, looked at the Camel; the Camel agreed, he is taller than everyone; but the Mouse climbed onto his hump and saw the New Year first]: Gilyazutdinov 2015, no. 286: 281-283.

Turkestan. Kazakhs : Daurenbekov 1979 [the animals argue over who should have the first year; the Mouse suggested – to the one who would be the first to see the sunrise; the Camel hoped to see the sun first, but the Mouse quietly climbed onto its hump and saw it first; the Camel threw the Mouse off, covered it with its foot, but the Mouse dived into a pile of ashes; the Mice were given the first year, the Camel was not given any at all, the camel rolls in the ashes, hoping to crush the mouse]: 230-231 (=Bozingen 1985: 47); Kaskabasov et al. 1979, No. 17 [the animals argue over whose year will be older; a horse, a camel, a cow, a sheep, a dog, a chicken – each praises himself; the mouse suggests giving the first year to the one who would be the first to see the sun; quietly climbed onto the camel's hump, saw it first; the camel was left without a year], 18 [the animals gathered to celebrate the Year; the Mouse climbed onto the Camel's ear, saw the Year before everyone else, and the first year of the cycle was named after her; the Camel begins to roll on the ground if it sees a mouse hole], 19 [13 animals argued about whose names the years would be named after; the Mouse suggested giving years according to whoever saw the sun first, second, etc. in the morning; climbed onto the Camel's head, received the first year, and the Camel was left without a year]: 47-48, 48-49, 49; the Kyrgyz [the mouse and the camel decide: whoever sees the rising sun first, will have the name of the year in the 12-year cycle; the mouse climbed onto the camel's head, saw the sun illuminate the tops of the mountains]: Ledenev 1987: 326.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Baikal and Transbaikal Buryats : Gomboev 1890, No. 17 (Alar) [Burkhan gathered 13 animals to divide the year; Camel wanted to enter the year first; tells Mouse that he will trample her if he interferes; Mouse suggests starting the year with the one who sees the sun first; Camel began to look to the east, and Mouse climbed onto his head and looked to the southwest; was the first to see the sun's reflection on the mountains; she began the year, and Camel was completely expelled for his pride]: 77; Kungurov 1946 (Baikal?) [a camel and a mouse argue over who will see the sun first; the mouse sat on the camel's back and looked to the west, where the sun illuminated the mountain peaks; the mouse became the first in the cycle, and the camel went into the steppe]: 8; Tugutov, Tugutov 1992, No. 23 (Olkhon) [whoever sees the sunrise first will be first in the chronology; The Camel was lying down and raised its head; towards morning the Mouse jumped onto its back and was the first to announce the sunrise to people and animals {no mention is made of a glow or reflection}; The Pig looked at the ground and was the last; “The compiler of this collection heard variations of the tale from many informants, in particular from H. Badanov {Osinsky District, Irkutsk Region}, L.I. Baldaev {Mukhorshibirsky District, Buryatia} and others”]: 80-81, 329; Khalkha- Mongols [Buddha assigned names of animals to 12 months; The Mouse and the Camel agreed to give a place in the calendar to the one who would see the sun first; The Camel looked to the east, and the Mouse, having climbed onto the Camel's back, onto the mountains in the west, the sun illuminated them first; the Mouse received a year, hid in a hole; seeing a pile of ashes, the Camel rakes it up, as if he wants to find a mouse; the Camel did not enter the 12-year cycle, but received body parts from other animals: a mane from a horse, a hump from a monkey, legs from a dog, ears from a mouse, etc.]: Skorodumova 2003: 53-55; Mongols (Ordos) [a camel and a rat argued: "The one who sees the sun first will become the first year in the cycle of twelve animals; the Camel, having turned to the east, waited for the sun to rise in the morning; when the sun was supposed to appear, the rat ran up onto the camel's head and saw the sun faster than the camel, becoming the first year in the calendar; the camel was not included in the calendar of twelve animals at all]: Mostaert 1937, no. 29 in Solovieva 2014; Altaians : Garf, Kuchiyak 1978 [a mouse and a camel argue over who will get the 12th month; camel: who will be the first to see the sun; the mouse sits on the bear's hump, but looks to the west, sees rays on the mountains; since then there has been a year of the mouse]: 46-48; Oirats (Xinjiang) [the motif A23A {and also A23B?} corresponds to the fairy tale "Why is the camel lying in the ashes?" from the collection "Betege caγān boqširγo", published in 1981 in Urumqi in the series "Folklore of the Oirat of Xinjiang"; {without details; verification of the original is required; list of titles of fairy tales from this collection; correspondences from our database or SUS are indicated (sometimes also parallels from Kalmyk folklore); "The 26th tale is "Why does the camel lie in the ashes?" ('Tem ē n I do n't know what to do d ē re k ö lb ē dedeq bui ') corresponds to the topic A23A. Who will see the sun first? – “When arguing about superiority or seniority, the characters agree to decide in favor of the one who will be the first to see the rising sun (the beginning of the year). The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely” [Berezkin, Duvakin]. In Kalmyk folklore, there are two versions of a fairy tale on this plot: “Those Who Got into the Name of the Year” (' Җилин нернд орсн ') and “The Mouse and the Camel” (' Хулһн болн теəн ') [Myths, Legends of the Kalmyks 2017: 60–63]»}]: Ubushieva, Damrinjav 2020: 17; telengity [The Mouse asked Dьылчы to accept her into the year; he sent her to Leo; she asked her not to kill her, she would come in handy; When the Lion fell into an iron trap, the Mouse gnawed through the belt; the Lion sent her to the Camel; the Camel suggested a competition to see who would be the first to see the sun tomorrow; the Mouse climbed into his ear and saw it first; Dyilchy brought the Mouse into the year and brought the Camel out]: Sadalova 2002, No. 8: 93-95.