E9i3. The Magic Wife – Goose. .28.31.33.34.36.39.40.42.

Before meeting the hero, his beloved (wife, assistant) has the appearance of a goose.

Poles, Finns, Lithuanians, Chuvash (Bashkirs), Kazakhs, Altaians, Tuvans, Far Eastern Evenks, Chukchi, Kodiak, Central Yupik, Bering Strait Inupiat, Northern Alaskan Inupiat, Copper, Netsilik, Igloolik, Polar, Baffin Island, Labrador Eskimo, West Greenland, Tlingit, Haida.

Central Europe. Poles [a childless king was returning to his castle and wanted to drink; the ladle by the well wouldn't come into his hands; the king leaned over to the water, Koshchei grabbed him by the beard, asking him to give him what he didn't know at home, and would find it right away upon his return; the king promised, the well disappeared, the king caught up with his squad; he found a newborn son at home; his name was Nenadalek ("unexpected"); when he grew up, he met an old man with green eyes, who reminded him of his promise; N. went, found 12 girls' shirts by the sea, and saw 12 little geese in the water; he hid one shirt; the little geese became girls, got dressed and flew away; the 12th asked to return the shirt, promised to help; she is Koshchei's youngest daughter; she told him to crawl to K.'s throne on his knees; they fell into the underworld; K. laughed, didn't kill N., promised to give him tasks; 1) to create a palace with a garden overnight (the girl created it); to recognize the youngest daughter (the girl: you will notice the sun under the right eyebrow); to sew a pair of shoes in K.'s presence while the straw is burning; the girl orders to run, leaves the spit to answer for himself; K. sends servants; the girl turned herself into a river, N. into a bridge, the horse into a raven; into a forest with many paths; into a church, a priest, a bell tower; K. did not recognize, returned; the girl orders not to go into the city: if R. kisses a child who came out to meet him there, he will forget her; and so it happened; the girl became a cornflower in the field; the old man found it, transplanted it, brought it to his place; someone is cooking and cleaning; the fortune teller advised to watch, the old man found the girl; the prince is getting married that day; the girl baked a pie, asked the cook to serve it on the table; two doves jumped out from there and started telling how N. forgot the girl; the prince remembered everything and came with the girl to his father’s country; the wedding]: Lifshits-Artemyeva 2017: 209-221.

Baltoscandia. Finns (Osterbotten) [a dying father orders his three sons to guard geese on the shore in turn for three nights; the eldest and middle ones are afraid and leave; the youngest "Cinderella" sees three geese arriving before dawn; they take off their clothes and turn into girls; the young man hid the youngest's clothes and she was unable to fly away; he gave her back her wings in exchange for a promise to become his wife; she flew away, ordering him to look for her in her castle; he came there and she suggests running away, but the young man decides to reveal himself to her father and try to fulfill what he demands; her father, the king, orders 1) to cut down all the trees in the forest; wife: cut down one and say, "Let the whole forest fall"; 2) to uproot all the stumps; wife: uproot one and tell everyone; 3) to bring golden bread from the sky; the wife put a bag on his head, put him on a horse, where the horse stops, you have to stretch out your hands, you will get what you need; but it turned out to be so heavy that the young man fell, sinking into the ground, only his hair outside; a duck made a nest in this place, began to hatch ducklings; a fox came to eat the eggs, the young man grabbed him by the tail, but the fox only pulled him up a little; then a wolverine; a bear pulled him out; the young man came to two cannibals, said that he was too thin; they asked them to judge: his father had left a stick, if you take one end, the enemies will die, if you take the other - your warriors will come to life; young man: whoever I give it to, everyone will be offended, give it to me; the cannibals agreed; two others are arguing over their mother's invisibility cap; ditto; a third pair is arguing over their father's seven-league boots - ditto; the youth came to a house, where they also first planned to eat him, and then fed him; he asks if the locals know where to go; they called the animals, no one knows; then they gave him a magic stone; the same thing in one more place; in a third place they also gave him a stone, called the birds; the eagle has poor hearing, arrived last; agreed to carry the youth to the king; they flew for a week over the sea, the eagle ordered the stone to be thrown, a rock was formed, the eagle rested on it; the same thing again.. {no pp. 42-43 in pdf}]: Schreck 1887, no. 5: 35-44; Lithuanians [geese peck buckwheat, an old man catches a goose, it turns into a girl, the master takes her as his wife; flocks of geese fly, the wife asks each time if her parents, brothers, sister, grandfather and grandmother are here; they were in the last flock, they dropped a feather on her, the goose flew away, leaving two children]: Kerbelyte 2014, No. 91: 203-205.

Volga – Perm. Chuvash [Ivan shot a goose, brought it home, the goose became a girl Aldyuk; gave birth to a son; the mother-in-law, not knowing what they are for, finds and burns the goose wings; each time the geese call her to join them, throw off a feather; there are enough of them, she flies away; returns to the crying child; I. again plucks and burns the feathers, the wife stays with him]: Grigoriev 1971: 65-69 (=Danilov, Nechaev 1975: 28-31); (cf. Bashkirs [two brothers are married, the third is single, he sees a girl sitting in the water in a lake; she agrees to marry him; the mother-in-law praises the bride for her quick work; the husband finds clothes made of frog skin, throws them into the fire; the wife flies away; the husband goes in search; the old woman says that the magic wife is the daughter of her older sister; gives the key, the husband enters the house, the old woman turns him into a needle, hides him in the moss; 9 geese came, became girls; the ex-wife wants to kill her husband, then forgives; throws him into the oven when he fell asleep, molds a handsome man from the ashes; agrees to return to him, sends him back, giving him a magic bag, but you can't ask for anything except bread; the husband shakes money out of the bag; the wife forgives disobedience; burns her husband's aged brother and mother, molds them young, handsome; they live richly]: Zelenin 1991, No. 100(105): 434-436).

Turkestan. Kazakhs (written down in Verny by a student, so Semirechye) [a khan has 7 beautiful daughters; finally, a son was born, but not beautiful; the khan ordered him to be abandoned in the desert near a lake; 40 geese flew in, became girls, raised a young man, remaining young himself; he took each as a wife, from them came the Kyrgyz people; the Kirghiz call themselves Kyrgyz-Kazak, i.e. Kerek-Kyz-Kaz-Ak ("40 white geese maidens")]: Bennigsen 1912: 3.

Southern Siberia. Altaians [old man Tanzagan sees two giant fighting frogs; kills the brown one with an arrow; at the request of the white one, he slaughters a horse, its blood, having fallen into the lake, kills other brown frogs; the white frog sends T. everything he wants; he asks for a wife, sees a white goose, she turns into a beauty, the youngest daughter of Kurbustan ; people out of envy set fire to T.'s house; the wife and three children rise to the sky as geese, turn into the constellation of the White Goose; T. makes himself a firebrand wife; the firebrand turns into an old woman, gives birth to T.'s children. Altaians]: Garf, Kuchiyak 1978: 205-212; Tuvans [a lonely girl Shever-Chechen sewed clothes and shoes; Shuuzhen-Khan ordered his servant Byzaakai-Taraakai to call her, made her work for him for 7 years; she became pregnant; Sh. did not pay her, ordered BT to abandon her in the wilderness; he made her a tent, left a knife, a saddle, a bridle, a saddle cloth, and wished to bear a son; she gave birth, and found a skinny foal at an abandoned camp; the son grew up to be a hero, the foal - a heroic horse; 7 geese flew in from the south and cried, Where are you, Eker-ool; ShCh hears this, but forgets to tell his son three times; hangs earrings made of coals in his ears so that his son would pay attention; he tells; in the morning E. did not go hunting, he was going to shoot the geese, one goose came down and became a girl; they are the daughters of Kuskun-Kuzhur Khan, she is the youngest and not married; E. went south; KK ordered his sons-in-law to kill Demir-Ala-maral, who lived on Shil-taiga; only E. was able to do it; KK celebrated his victory; the mother told her story; E. sent Sh. with the khan to a place where people had never been before, made BT a khan, named Sh.’s son Bazaakai, ordered him to pasture calves, made his daughters servants; arranged a feast and returned home]: Vatagin 1971, No. 20: 157-164.

Eastern Siberia. Far Eastern Evenks [each time Teneng does not give the roe deer to the hunters; once they beat him terribly, whipping him with rods; he weakened, called the roe deer; she tells him to go to the lake, geese will fly in, take off the wings, it is necessary to choose the best ones; the goose tries to take the wings away, T. fought her with difficulty, she gave birth to a boy, took him to his parents on the upper earth; her father tells him to go and bring the scattered flour; the roe deer shows where it is, tells the squirrels, chipmunks, birds to collect it; then the roe deer tells them to go to the lake, collect lichen, give it to the elk who comes to the middle of the lake; T. gave it, climbed onto the horns, they became earth; T. went, two boys shoot from a bow; T. opened his mouth, caught the arrow of one with his mouth, and the second boy missed; T.: this is my son (whose arrow he caught); T. gave the flour to the old man; he does not give him his wife, orders him to bring the lost spear; the roe deer brings her, T. takes the spear; he makes a raft, pierces a huge taimen with the spear, and it hits him; T. falls into the water and dies]: Myreeva 2009b (probably Uchur): 150-154; Far Eastern Evenks (Amur) [Tenenge hides a sika deer {in the 1987 publication - a roe deer} from hunters, who promises to help; orders him to go to the lake, where geese will fly in, shed their wings, he must take the best; T. takes the wings, fights with the goose girl, wins; she gives birth to a child, calls him to her parents in the upper world; her father orders him to 1) collect the flour he once scattered; the deer shows the place, tells the chipmunks, birds, and squirrels to gather it; tells T. to go to the lake, there is an elk there, give him some lichen, T. climbed onto the elk’s antlers, they became earth; two boys shoot from a crossbow, T. catches the arrow of one with his mouth; these are his sons; 2) find the spear lost by the father-in-law; the deer shows how to find it; T. hits the taimen with the spear, it hits him with its tail, T. fell into the water, died]: Bulatova 1980: 102-104 (= 1987, No. 7: 125-128).

NE Asia. Chukchi (reindeer) [two versions; 1) girls, a goose and a seagull, take off their feather clothes and bathe in a lake; a man steals the clothes; returns them to everyone except the most beautiful Seagull; takes her as his wife; they have two sons; instead of edible roots, she collects unnecessary herbs, her mother-in-law scolds her; when the birds fly south, she asks them to throw her feathers; she flies away with the children; the husband goes in search; the Eagle sends him to an old woodcutter; the country of birds is visible through his anus; the old man sends the man there in a self-propelled boat; the man comes to his wife; she has a new husband, Seagull-burgomaster; the birds attack the man, shooting feathers instead of arrows; the man maims and kills the birds with a club; he splashes water, the birds freeze to the ground; the man returns his wife and children home; 2) as in (1); the wife is a goose ; the sun's rays penetrate the old man's mouth, shine from his backside; a man penetrates the backside, jumps out of the mouth; an old man makes a boat out of a log, it rushes across the sea like a fish; a man's son catches it on a hook in the land of birds; a man kills a burgomaster seagull with a club, the other birds flee]: Bogoras 1928, No. 48: 429-432.

Arctic. Central Yupik [an elder has three sisters, the youngest has one eye in the middle of her forehead; a brother goes away hunting for a long time; keeps a goose at his camp; someone cooks and washes his clothes; he lies in wait for a girl, she agrees to live with him, hiding her goose skin; they have a child; one day the youngest sister said that her brother's wife had tanned the skins poorly, they were bloody; anyway, she is a goose, she eats dirt; the wife found her skin, put it on, took her son and flew south, putting one feather from her wing under the door; the man cursed his sister, went to look for his wife; found her in the bird world with her new husband, a crane; the son recognized him; the crane had to leave, the man stayed with his goose wife; in the spring he flew north with them; warned about traps]: Burrows 1926: 80; Kodiak [chief's son goes after five geese; they turn into girls, bathe in lake; he hides the clothes of the youngest; she bears him a son; his sister calls her a goose ; she puts on her feather dress, takes her son, and flies away; husband comes to Bird Sky for her; on the way sees a wood splitter; the chips turn into salmon and trout; wife agrees to live with him if he will not leave the house; he looks into another house, where the birds are dressing up and painting themselves; Seagull and Raven have not yet finished this procedure; in a panic she paints him entirely black, he hers white; birds reluctantly agree to carry man back to earth; Raven carries, falls, turns into a floating log; man turns into a beluga whale]: Golder 1903, no. 10: 98-104; Inupiat of Northern Alaska [Kaveylyuk wants to get water, she retreats; grabs a piece of wood, she jumps back; sees three naked girls playing; one has the face of an old woman; he takes their clothes; returns to the one with the old woman's face; she flies away as a goose; two remain, Squirrel and Partridge; they pretended to be water and a piece of wood; a house and provisions appear by themselves; Goose joins them; K.'s wives do not tell him to hunt whales with other men; they want to take possession of his wives; they push him off a cliff, he goes down as a feather; they tie his feet to a line when he harpoons a whale; they run to his wives - they turn into animals, the house disappears; the whale swims to an unknown country; K. builds a house; catches a grayling fish, she turns into a woman; the first three wives find K., lower the new one into the water, she turns into a fish again; many years later K. and his wives return to his uncle's village]: Spencer 1959: 391-395; copper [a man sees a bathing Goose woman; hides her clothes, takes her as his wife; forces her to eat meat, not grass; she flies away with her son]: Jenness 1924, no. 64: 77; netsilik[Kiviok hides the clothes of one of the bathing girls; the others fly away as geese; the wife bears two sons; teaches them to eat grass instead of meat; collects feathers, flies away with her sons; K. comes to a man who has a hole through his back; he chips off a fin, the chips turn into salmon; K. pretends not to have seen the hole; the man sends a salmon to carry K. across the lake to the Goose village; the sons recognize their father; the wife is married to a Goose; K. gets his wife back]: Rasmussen 1931: 373-375; igloolik (Smith Sound) [a man steals the feather dress of the Goose girls; gives them back to all but one, marries her; she finds the dress hidden by her husband, flies away with her sons; he follows her; comes to a giant wood-cutter; he turns chips into seals and walruses; he tells a man to close his eyes, takes him in a boat; the sons tell their mother that their father has arrived, she does not believe him; he enters, she faints, dies; he buries her; she comes back to life; he kills her with a spear; many geese arrive; he kills them, only two (his sons?) fly away]: Kroeber 1899, no. 7: 170-172; polar : Holtved 1951a, no. 36 [the goose girls bathe, having removed their feathers; the man hides them, returns them, does not give one to him, takes her as a wife; she gives birth to two eggs, twins hatch from them; they collect feathers, fly away with their mother; the man asks his mother to make him shoes with several soles; he goes to look for a wife, passing the monsters sent by the Geese; meets a giant chopping willow; the chips turn into salmon and trout; the man lies that he approached him from the front (meaning he did not see his huge testicles); the giant turns the testicles into a boat, takes the man to the land of the Geese; two sons recognize their father; he drives away his wife's new husband, lives with her; she gives birth to two eggs, dies; he buries him; the giant gives him a whip; with it the man kills many Geese attacking him; few are saved]: 55-59 (=1951b: 140-152; trans. Menovshchikov 1985, no. 204: 412-415): 140-152; Baffin Island : Boas 1888 [girl rejects suitor named Ass; he comes to the Land of Birds, hides the shoes of bathing Goose girls; takes one of them as his wife; returns with her to people; she refuses to eat whale meat, flies away with her son; he goes to look for them; a man with a hole in his back chops wood; chips falling into the water turn into salmon; a wood splitter gives the hero a spine, which turns into a kayak, which takes him to his wife; his son recognizes him; the Goose, the son, and the Goose's new husband put on feathers, are about to fly away; the man kills his wife]: 615-618; 1901b, #14 [a hunter hides the clothes of four bathing girls; does not return one, takes her as his wife; the other three put on their jackets, fly away as geese; the Goose wife accidentally gets dirty with the blood of a whale; attaches feathers to herself and her son, flies away with him; the husband goes to look for them; passes between crushed rocks, jumps over a boiling cauldron, over a grease pit; a human pelvis lets him pass after he copulates with it; a man with a hole in his back hews a tree; the hero pretends not to notice the hole; a man sends him to the land of birds in a self-propelled kayak; the son recognizes his father; in the house the hero sees an old man next to his wife; both and the son fly away as birds; the hero manages to rip open his wife's stomach, bird eggs fall out]: 179-182; Greenland , Labrador [lonely Asalok calls the skulls of killed seals his children, plays with them; one day he sees bathing goose women, steals the clothes of one of them, she becomes his wife, gives birth to three sons, teaches them to collect bird feathers and down, flies away with them; A. swims to look for her, the old eagle woman says that his family lives on a cliff; A. enters a house where there are many people, the house immediately turns into a rock, the people become seagulls, his wife and children look at him with hatred, and fly away; A. returns home alone]: Millman 2004: 143-144.

NW Coast. Tlingit : Swanton 1909, no. 24 [man sees two Brant girls bathing; steals their feathers, marries them; Brant girls see relatives flying by; Brant father-in-law allows son-in-law to wear feathers; they arrive in bird country; Herons attack Brant girls; man kills many Herons with bow, saves Brant tribe; Brant and Herons make peace; man stays with birds], 54 [battle scene as in no. 24, Cranes and Geese attack Brant girls; Brant girls leave man on rock; bird carries him home]: 55-57, 206-208; Haida [two Geese take off feathers, change into women, bathe in lake; chief's son hides their clothes; the eldest proposes to marry her, he returns her feathers, takes the younger; she does not eat human food, puts on hidden feathers at night, nibbles grass; during famine, her father sends geese with edible roots; someone calls a woman a goose, she takes offense, flies away; an old man, a mouse, a woman help her husband; in the guise of a mouse he climbs up a pole to heaven; the Half-Man (Master-Hopper with one arm, one leg, etc.) harpoons salmon; a young man, having turned into a salmon, steals his harpoon; when he returns, it shows the way; a man comes to two people who are chopping wood; they throw chips into the water, they turn into coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch, Coho salmon, Silver salmon); he makes their wedges split, gives in exchange those he brought with him; for this they tell where his wife is; his wife and father-in-law receive him cordially; the wife receives her husband; he begins to feel homesick; the Raven carries him, gets tired, throws him off, he turns into a seagull] : Swanton 1905a: 264-268 (summary in 1905b, no. 13: 192-193).