E9o. The magic wife is a frog or a toad.
.14.-.16.22.23.27.-.34.
A man takes as his wife a woman who has the form of a frog or a toad.
Arabs of Tunisia, Spaniards, Catalans, Italians (Piedmont, Tyrol, Campania), French (Ardennes, Nivernais, Poitou, Bourbonnais), Germans (Hesse, Upper Palatinate, Switzerland), Mons, Burmese, Agaria, Oriya, Croats, Bulgarians, Greeks, Lusatians, Poles, Russians (Arkhangelsk {Pinega}, Voronezh, Kursk, Oryol, Tambov), Ukrainians (Transcarpathia, Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Volyn, Podolia, Kiev, Poltava), Belarusians, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Avars, Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Mountain Tajiks, Bartangians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Vepsians, Norwegians, Mari, Bashkirs, Uighurs, Teleuts.
North Africa. Arabs of Tunisia [A king had seven sons, and it seemed to him that they were interfering with the management of his subjects, so he locked them up in the palace. A servant brought them food. Only bread and water, but she took pity on them and began to bring them tasty and appetizing food. One day she told the king that his children had stopped eating, and she did not know what was wrong with them. Then the king decided to marry them. He dressed them like kings and gave each of them an apple. The princes threw the apples. One of them pointed towards the vizier's court, another's towards the court of a nobleman, and so each of them decided on a bride, except for the youngest brother. He could not find his apple. Six of them got married, and the king gave them each a palace, and the youngest was left alone. One day he went hunting and saw his apple, and a frog stuck to it. He wanted to detach it, but he did not succeed, so he threw the apple and the frog under the bed. When he left, the frog shed its skin and turned into a beautiful girl. She did all the housework and returned under the bed again. This went on for several days. When the prince returned, he decided that it was the neighbors' wives who decided to help him. He went to thank the neighbors, but it turned out that it was not them. Then he turned to the sheikh. He advised him to hide and watch what was happening in the house in his absence. So the prince saw the beauty, burned her frog skin, married her and got his own house. The king decided to visit his son and his daughter-in-law. When he saw his daughter-in-law, he wanted to marry her himself. He ordered the prince to make a burnoose out of a piece of marble. The frog told her husband to go to his father, take a basket of sand with him, and ask him to make silk threads out of the sand. The king admitted that his son had surpassed him in this test. He ordered the army to be brought and the entire army to be fed "musarrad". The frog cooked couscous and then added the king's mussarrad and his handkerchief to it and told her husband to say, "For the hungry!" So he fed the whole army. The third task was to bring a talking baby. The frog sent her husband to her sister who had just given birth. She said to the baby, "The one who came for you is your aunt's husband, and the one you are going to talk to wants to kill your aunt's husband and marry your aunt himself." She said this and handed him a sword. The prince took the baby to the king. The baby said to him, "We are talking, and we want words over words, and we are chopping off your head." The baby chopped off the king's head]: Al-Aribi 2009, No. 45 in Korovkina MS.
Southern Europe. Spaniards (Asturias; also Castile and Leon, Extremadura, Andalusia) [a childless woman wants children, even snakes and frogs; gave birth to a snake and a frog; the snake crawled into the sea, leaving her daughter-frog behind; one day she carried dinner to her father, singing on the way; the prince liked her voice so much that he came to ask for the girl's hand in marriage; the prince had a twin brother; the king promised to pass the throne to the one whose bride would prepare the three best gifts; the best vessel; the twin's bride is the daughter of a jeweler; the frog sat on a rooster, rode up to the seashore and asked her sister-snake for a precious vessel; ditto: carpet; let the brides themselves come to the palace; the bride arrived in a luxurious carriage in the guise of a beauty; she is Maria; in order to disenchant her, it was necessary for someone to fall in love with her; at a feast M. hides food in the folds of her clothes, then waves her hand and flowers rain down on the king and the guests; the jeweler's daughter tried to repeat it and splashed everyone with scraps; M.'s husband received the throne; one of the princes expressed a desire to marry her snake sister; she came out and became a beauty; all is well]: Camarena, Chevalier 1995, no. 402: 413-416; Catalans [the king will pass the throne to whichever of his sons brings him the best gift; with the help of a frog (cat, monkey), the younger prince brings the best thing twice; then the king orders the most beautiful girl to be brought; the animal (often by ordering it to be beheaded) turns into a beauty; the prince receives the throne {and a wife}]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, no. 402: 87; Italians (Piedmont) [the king orders his three sons to throw a stone from a sling; wherever it falls, they are to take a wife, and whose wife is better, he will give the throne to; the eldest married the baker's daughter, the middle one - a weaver; the youngest's stone fell into a ditch; the king distributed hemp yarn to whoever weaves better; the older brothers received masterfully woven things from their wives, and the frog gave the youngest a chestnut; it turned out to contain the finest fabric; it stopped pouring out of the chestnut as soon as the king said "It never ends"; the king distributed a puppy to his sons - whose wife will take better care of the dog; the older daughters-in-law have half-dead dogs, a well-groomed trained poodle jumped out of the youngest's box; it is necessary to appear at the wedding; the youngest's frog, accompanied by snails, turned into a beauty in a luxurious carriage with servants; this princess was disenchanted after the prince agreed to marry her]: Calvino 1980, no. 14: 43-44; Italians(South Tyrol) [a childless couple pray to God for a child; a frog daughter is born; she sings beautifully and is never shown to anyone; a prince hears a voice, falls in love, marries, brings his wife to his home; there is no one in the bedroom; at night a frog jumps into the bed, he throws her out; but goes back to her house to listen to the magic voice; again asks her to marry him; she makes a carriage out of paper, harnesses a rooster; three fairies come towards him, one has a bone stuck in her throat; she laughs so loudly that the bone pops out; one turns the funny carriage into a real one, the rooster into horses; another gives a luxurious dress, gold and silver; the third turns the frog into a beauty; wedding]: Schneller 1861, no. 29: 82-84; Italians (Campania, Capri) [a father gives his three sons a ball {ball?} each: wherever they roll, there will be a bride; the eldest's ball led him to a butcher's house, the middle one to another, where they also sell food, and the youngest, Niccolino, ended up in a pond with a frog; the next day the father orders a puppy to be brought to the brides; N. throws his into the frog's pond; a year later he orders the puppies to be brought back; the puppies of the older sons have become well-fed dogs, and N.'s dog has a gold chain with gems and a silk cape around its neck; the father orders bedspreads to be brought; a chest rises from the pond, containing a patterned bedspread of white silk; the father orders the brides to be brought; the frog orders N. to jump into the pond; the pond turns into a palace, the frog into a princess]: Zschalig 1925, no. 29: 135-139.
Western Europe. The French (Niverne) [two brothers cannot find brides; decide to shoot into the white light; a beautiful girl came out to the younger one, and a frog jumped out to the elder one; led to a lonely castle; the younger one suggested going to their uncle, the king; the frog told the elder one to agree; the king: whose dog runs around but doesn’t break anything, to him I will give the throne; a dog jumped out of the elder one’s box and didn’t break anything, but knocked over everything in the elder one’s; whose thread will encircle the castle three times; the younger brother’s – twice, and the elder one’s – five times; whose wife is the most beautiful; the frog got into a carriage driven by a lizard, and the horses – rats; and turned into a beauty, and the carriage into a real one; [the elder brother received three kingdoms, but gave one to the younger]: Delarue, Tenèze 1964, no. 402: 36-38; French (Ardennes, Nivernais, Poitou, Bourbonnais) [publications containing episode IB2 of the ATU 402 plot, the frog bride]: Delarue, Tenèze 1964: 37-44; Germans (from the Wild and Hassenpflug families, Hesse) [two princes are clever, the younger is a Simpleton; the king promises to give the throne to the one who brings the best carpet; he releases three feathers in the wind; the feathers of the elder brothers are carried away by the wind, the feather of the youngest falls nearby; there is an entrance to a dungeon there; in the room there is a large toad and many small ones; the toad gave a beautiful carpet; the elder brothers took a coarse woolen shawl from the first shepherdess they came across; Now the king demands the best ring from the pretender to the throne, lets out feathers again; the toad gives Simpleton a gold ring with precious stones, the elder brothers bring a wheel rim; the third condition: bring the most beautiful girl; the toad gives a hollowed out turnip harnessed by six mice, orders one of the little toads to be put in the turnip; it turns into a beauty, the turnip into a carriage, the mice into horses; the elder brothers bring village women; the elders demand the last test: let the girls jump through a ring hanging in the middle of the hall; two women fell, breaking their arms and legs; Simpleton's girl easily jumped through; he received the crown]: Grimm, Grimm 2002, No. 63: 233-235; Germans (Upper Palatinate) [a peasant has an elder son, Mikhl, and a younger son, Jodl; the father would like to leave the property to the eldest; promises to the one who brings the best handkerchief; a toad comes to meet J., tells him to go with her, brings him into the house, calls a mouse servant, who brings a box with the best handkerchiefs; the handkerchief brought by Jodl turns out to be better than the one brought by Mikhl; the same a second time; the third time - whoever brings the best bride; the toad tells him to go to bed with her; when J. wakes up, he is in the castle, the beauty is nearby, she was bewitched; the mouse became a chambermaid; J. gave the house and farm to his brother, and he himself began to live with the princess; if they did not die, then they are still living]: Schönwerth 1981: 27; Germans(Switzerland) [the father promises to make the heir of the three sons who brings the best spinner as a bride; the youngest Hans has no girlfriend; the toad promises to spin everything for him, he throws the yarn into the water; her work turns out to be the best; she tells G. to marry her; during the wedding she turns into a beauty; all is well]: Wildhaber, Uffer 1971, no. 15: 47-49.
Burma - Indochina. Mons [the youngest seventh sister is a frog; the elder ones, together with other girls, go to the prince to be shown the bride; the frog secretly turns into a beauty, comes to the palace three times; the prince spies on her, orders a vat with a frog to be brought, takes her as his wife; the king drives the heir away; he lives in seclusion, enjoys the love of the beauty at night; one day burns the frog skin; returns with his wife to the palace]: Kasevich, Osipov 1976, No. 146: 337-340; Burmese [six sisters are girls, the seventh is a frog, her parents keep her in a vat of water; brides are brought to the prince to be shown the bride, the frog sneaks in, sheds her skin, becomes a beauty, then runs away again; this happens twice; the prince sees everything; takes the frog as his wife, the king drives him away; the prince lives separately; the frog appears to him as a man only in a dream; he also pretended to fall asleep, and when the girl came out, he burned the frog skin; everything is fine]: Nikulin 1988: 444-448.
South Asia. Agariya [a young man ransoms a bird pecking at grain after a man wanted to kill it; saves a frog from a snake, gives the snake milk; ransoms a deer that is being beaten; the bird and the frog become women - the young man's wives, the deer turns into a horse, brings them to the rajah's pond; the rajah demands that 1) the trees become covered with fruit overnight (the bird-wife complies), 2) he jump over a lake on horseback (the horse jumps over), 3) he get a ring from a well (the Frog temporarily becomes a frog again, gets it); the rajah gives the young man half his kingdom and his daughter; on the way back the horse falls, the Frog and the Bird die, the young man remains to live with the rajah's daughter]: Elwin 1944, no. 3: 399-401, translated into Zograf 1971, no. 15: 59-60; Oriya [a poor Brahmin grew eggplants, his pregnant wife ate the fruit; Brahmin: whoever ate the fruit without asking, let him give birth to a frog; the frog-daughter asks her mother to go with her to a festival; at a pond he takes off the frog's skin, becomes a girl, bathes; the Brahmin's son sees this, forces his parents to marry him a frog; when no one is around, the wife becomes a human being, cleans and cooks; the mother drives the frog away; it agrees to return after humiliating requests; one night the husband burns the frog's skin; the wife remains a woman, all is well]: Mohanti 1975: 62-65.
Balkans. Croats [an elderly couple asks God for children, the wife gives birth to a frog daughter; she takes dinner to her father in the vineyard, sings beautifully; the prince hears the singing, wants to marry the frog; his father the king promised to pass the throne to the one whose bride brings the most beautiful flower; the frog arrives on a white rooster, having asked the Sun for a dress; when she enters the city, the rooster turns into a white horse, the frog into a beauty, with an ear of corn in her hand; the other daughters-in-law gave her a rose and a carnation; the king says that the ear of corn is the most useful flower, passes the throne to the frog's husband]: Arkhipova 1962: 157-159 (=Golenishchev-Kutuzov 1991: 147-149); Bulgarians [(many entries); a father tells his sons to marry where the apples, feathers, and arrows they throw or launch fall; the arrow of the youngest falls into a swamp (spring, lake) to a turtle or a frog; he brings it into the house; someone is cleaning and cooking at home; he finds a beauty, throws the shell and skin into the fire; the beauty remains]: Daskalova-Perkowska et al. 1994, no. 402: 139-140; Greeks : Dawkins 1916 [the king has three sons, he wants to marry the youngest; they cast lots, it falls on a frog; while the prince is away, the wife takes off the frog skin, turns into the Beauty of the World, cooks and cleans; the prince finds her, tells her father; he wants to get rid of his son in order to take possession of his wife; 1) bring three cucumbers; the prince approaches the river, croaks, receives the cucumbers; 2) a small tent under which the entire army will be located and half the space will remain empty; ditto; 3) tablecloth {-self-assembled?}; the king died, his wife burned her frog skin, remained in the form of the Beauty of the World]: 341-343; Megas 1970, No. 24 [the king suggests that his three sons take wives from where their arrows fall; the eldest marry rich beauties, the youngest brings a frog; when she is left alone, the beauty comes out of the frog skin, cleans the house; the prince peeks in, sees how the frog princess calls a frog servant, who also turns into a girl, does the work; he throws the skin into the fire, the princess screams in pain, he throws the skin into the water; the princess explains that her family of underwater inhabitants is bewitched; she will remain in human form if the young man falls in love with her; the prince and his wife are invited to a celebration; the wife tells him to ask her father at the lake for magic wands, a goose egg and two chicken eggs; they appear with their retinue in rich attire; from the goose egg - a crown for the king, from the chicken eggs - bracelets for the eldest sons]: 49-54.
Central Europe. Lusatians (Upper Lusatia) [having grown old, a father promises an inheritance to the one of his three sons who will bring from their brides 1) the best handkerchief; the brides of the two older brothers do not want to give up the best, they give an ordinary handkerchief each; the youngest Peter is not familiar with the girls; a toad brought him to her house, where her beautiful daughter gave him the best handkerchief; 2) the best ring (the one brought by Peter was the most valuable); 3) the best bride; Peter brought the beauty and received the inheritance]: Erben in Lifshits-Artemyeva 2017: 180-183; Poles [three princes shoot arrows to find brides; the arrows of the elders hit the houses where the girls live; the arrow of the youngest falls next to the toad; the prince removes the curse from the toad by burning its skin or after three nights of torment]: Krzyżanowski 1962, no. 402: 129; Russians (Arkhangelsk, Karelia, Voronezh, Kursk, Oryol, Tambov), Ukrainians (Transcarpathia, Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Volyn, Podolia, Kiev, Poltava), Belarusians [the frog princess: three princes go to look for wives in the direction of thrown objects or shot arrows; the youngest finds a frog in a swamp, she becomes his wife, carries out the tsar's orders better than anyone else (sews, weaves, bakes, dances) and turns into a princess; the husband burns her skin; the princess disappears. – The continuation is most often type 400: the husband is looking for his missing or kidnapped wife]: SUS, No. 402: 128; Russian(Arkhangelskaya: Pinega) [someone is trampling a wheat field; the eldest prince went to guard, fell asleep; the same with the middle one; the youngest Ivan grabbed the winged Sivka-Burka; he carried him for a long time, but could not throw him off; the tsar sent I. to find out why “the sun does not roll into their kingdom”; on the way I. sees two women pouring water from one well to another; they ask to find out how long they will have to do this; two girls are looking out of the window into the window (ditto); a man is holding a fiery table on the bridge (ditto); I. came to the mother of the Sun; she hides him; the Sun came, smelled a man, his mother denies everything; at night she pretends that she dreamed of what I. saw on the way; the Sun answers: the women sold sour milk and added water, the punishment is eternal; the girls were spreading gossip (ditto); the man gave money on interest (ditto); in order for the sun to roll into that kingdom, it is necessary to get such and such a princess; Ivan returns; he told the peasant about his fate only after crossing the bridge, otherwise he would not let him through; he called Sivko-Burko home; he has flames coming out of his ears, smoke coming out of his nostrils; he tells Ivan to first catch the Firebird (F.); he teaches him to prepare troughs with millet and hide; the first time Ivan missed F., the second time he caught F.; SB died; F. teaches him to catch the princess when she comes out with the maids and she blinds them with her radiance; the crows flew in to peck F.; I. caught one chick, told the raven to bring living and dead water; it brought it, I. revived F.; I. returned home, it became sunny in his kingdom; the older brothers are already married, the king tells I. to also find a wife; the captured princess turned into a frog; the king orders the daughters-in-law to sew a shirt each; the frog cut the fabric, threw it out the window, and brought the shirt back in the morning; the brothers' wives also cut it, but only scraps remained; bake a loaf of bread (the frog poured the dough out the window; the same); show yourself, who is the most beautiful; the frog became a beauty in a golden carriage; at the feast, she hides the bones in her sleeve; when she dances, she throws them out, and cities and seas appear; when the older daughters-in-law throw them out, the bones fly into the king's face]: Simina 1975, no. 13: ; Russian (Arkhangelskaya, Pinega, s. Sura, 1927) [The father gives his sons bows and arrows, orders them to shoot in different directions, to look for brides. The elder ones find merchant's daughters, the youngest - a frog. The father gives the brides the task of embroidering "a pair of underwear each", the brides of the older brothers embroider, the frog cuts the fabric and throws it out the window. Her embroidery turns out to be the best. The father orders the brides to bake bread, the frog's turns out to be the softest. The father invites his sons with their brides to a feast, the frog comes after her husband. The frog in the box turns out to be a beautiful maiden. Her husband burns the frog skin, she leaves him and lives in the swamp for the rest of her life. Then she returns, the husband inherits his father's throne]: Nikiforov 1961, No. 55: 134-135; Russian(a tale from Afanasyev's notes) [the king orders his three sons to shoot and marry a girl from the house where the arrow hits; the eldest take the daughters of the minister and the general, the youngest Ivan takes a frog (otherwise she will not let him out of the chisel); at night the frog takes off her skin and becomes a beauty; the king asks his daughters-in-law to 1) sew him a shirt each, 2) make carpets embroidered with gold; the frog orders the winds, they bring everything; 3) bake bread; the frog pours flour into cold water, puts it in an unheated oven, takes out the loaves of bread; the other daughters-in-law do the same, nothing works, they hastily light the oven, the bread burns; 4) at the feast the Frog appears as a beauty, pours and puts what was not drunk, not eaten up her sleeves, dancing, splashes out the lake with swans, then it disappears; the other daughters-in-law imitate, pour scraps on everyone; I. burns the frog skin, Vasilisa the Wise orders to look for it in the thirtieth kingdom; Baba Yaga teaches that when VP flies in, you have to grab her by the head; she will turn into a frog, a toad, a snake, an arrow; you have to break the arrow; I. releases the arrow, VP flies away; the same with BYA's sister, I. breaks the arrow, returns from VP on a flying carpet]: Afanasyev 1958 (3), No. 570: 356-361; Russian(Voronezh): Baryshnikova 2007, #41 [The princes ask their father to marry them off, but he allows them to choose their brides themselves. The elder brothers shoot bows and arrows into the merchant's and royal houses, and take girls from there as wives. The youngest, Ivanushka, falls into a river and decides that his destiny is to drown himself. A frog returns his arrow, and he takes her as his wife. Ivan does not show his wife to his brothers, but she fulfills the tsar's tasks better than the other daughters-in-law - she sews a shirt and bakes a pie. The tsar invites his sons and their wives to a ball. Ivan appears alone, and the frog, dressed as a beautiful maiden, follows. She hides the food left over from the feast in her sleeve, and while dancing she waves her arms, and a lake and swans appear. The daughters-in-law try to repeat the miracle, but bones fly out of their sleeves and wine spills out (on the tsar). The tsar throws them out. Marya Tsarevna throws off her skin and drowns it in the river. She lives happily with her husband], 41a [The first part of the tale repeats the plot of #41, with an intensification of the element of mockery of Ivan by his brothers because of his frog wife. The Tsar asks his daughters-in-law to make him a washcloth, a tablecloth and a pie, Marya Tsarevna gathers the nurses and nannies, who prepare these items overnight in the same way as the Tsarevna's father used. The Tsar asks his sons to bring their wives to the ball. Then everything is the same as in #41. Without waiting for his wife to return from the ball, Ivan Tsarevich burns her skin, Marya says that the time for this has not yet come, she is kidnapped by Kashchei the Deathless. Ivan goes to look for them, meets an old man who gives him a ball of yarn showing the way to Kashchei. On the way he sees devils fighting over a self-beating club, an invisibility cap and a self-assembled tablecloth, offers to settle the dispute, ties a 40-meter rope and promises magic items to the one who runs to the end first. While the devils are competing, Ivan takes the items and goes for the ball, approaches an oak tree, sees a chest under it, kills a hare in it, takes a duck out of it, and an egg from it. He comes to Kashchei's palace, puts on the invisibility cap, sends the self-beating club to beat the animals guarding the entrance. Ivan meets Marya and Kashchei in the palace, breaks (crushes) the egg, and the enemy dies]: 172-174, 175-180; Ukrainians(Poltavskaya, Gadyach, ca. 1978) ["Here-not here, in de-yakim kingdoms...". The king sends his handsome sons to look for brides: to shoot arrows. The eldest brother shoots an arrow into the princess's garden, the middle one - into the princess's courtyard, the princes take the brides. The youngest brother ends up in a rural swamp, a toad picks up the arrow and does not give it back until the prince agrees to take her as his wife, he tells his father, cries, the father says that such is his lot, the prince takes the toad as his wife. The king asks his daughters-in-law to weave a towel, the toad sheds her skin, comes out into the courtyard, screams, whistles, the serving girls appear, prepare a towel with eagles sewn on it - it turns out to be the best, the king keeps it for himself, the rest he gives to the kitchen. The king orders to bake buckwheat pancakes. The daughters-in-law spy on the toad's actions, they fail to repeat them, the king praises her. The king invites his sons and their wives to a "banquet", the toad sends her husband ahead, says that rain means she is washing, a thunderstorm means she is getting dressed, thunder means she is approaching. The brothers laugh at Ivan. She arrives in a carriage, everyone admires her, at dinner she puts pieces of food and the remains of a drink in her sleeve, the daughters-in-law repeat. She dances - a garden appears from her sleeves, a pole on which a cat walks, a lake overflows, swans swim. The daughters-in-law hit the king in the forehead with bones from their sleeves, the queen in the eyes. Ivan arrives home, burns the toad's skin, returns to the celebration. She learns that Ivan burned the skin, cries, turns into a cuckoo, orders to look for her in the faraway kingdom with the bone-legged Baba Yaga. Ivan sets off after her, meets his grandfather "like blue milk", who gives him a ball of yarn that shows him the way to Baba Yaga. On the way in the forest, Ivan meets a bear, wants to kill it, it promises to be useful, he sees a pike by the sea, wants to eat it, it promises to be useful, he throws it into the water. He comes to the hut on the "chicken lowland", Baba Yaga says that Ivan's wife works for her brother on the island and comes to her to look in her head, advises him to grab it and run without looking back as soon as he sees it. He comes to the sea, a pike appears, hits the water with its tail, a glass bridge with golden railings appears from the shore to the island. On the island in the forest, Ivan gets lost, starves, a falcon kills a hare, Ivan eats it, then a bear pushes the trees apart and helps him find the way. He goes out into the valley, to the glass palace, cannot find anyone. Behind the golden doors he finds his wife, she becomes a cuckoo, takes him under her wing, they return. She tells him that her father cursed her and sent her to work for three years, now she is free]: Rudchenko 1870, No. 28: 99-106.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Abkhazians [three brothers shoot at a tree; after the eldest shoots, a girl comes out of the tree; the same with the middle one; when the youngest shoots, a frog comes out; the parents kicked the youngest out to live in the forest; he just started building a house, got distracted, came back - the house is ready; every evening food is cooked; he lay in wait for the girl, threw the frog skin into the fire; the older brothers are jealous that the youngest has a beauty; one told the prince that the youngest can 1) bring a boar; the wife gives three nuts, tells him to go to the swamp, give one nut right away to the boar, lure the rest to the prince's court; 2) bring a deer (the wife gave an ear of corn, you need to give it to the deer, let him sit between the antlers, the deer will come himself); 3) make a golden bridge across the sea; the wife tells him to go to that tree, call her mother; she gave three rings, you need to throw them, a bridge will appear; [the prince gave power to the youth]: Shakryl 1975, no. 33: 169-174 (= Bgazhba 2002: 232-236); Ossetians [the arrow of the younger brother fell into a swamp, and he married a frog; at night she shed her skin and turned into a beauty; the youth burned the skin; Aldar, wanting to take his wife, gives difficult tasks to the husband: to build a palace, to take a wonderful carpet from the giants, etc.; in the end the youth achieves happiness]: Byazirov 1958, no. 65: 329; Avars [the arrow of the khan's eldest son falls on the roof of the vizier's house, the middle one - a nuker, the youngest - into a swamp; he takes a frog as his wife, the khan orders him to live with her in a forest hut; the frog turns into a beauty, he burns her skin, she regrets it; the brothers are jealous, they persuade their father 1) to send the youngest for a mill from which butter, honey and flour flow; the frog-mother-in-law gives him a horse, the hero rides it to the mill, kills the dragon, brings millstones; 2) to ask the deceased mother where the treasure is hidden; the horse brings the hero to a hole in the ground; the mother tells him where the treasure is, she wishes that her son's father and brothers would become dogs; the hero digs out the treasure, the dogs run away to the mountains]: Saibov, Dalgat 1965: 247-253; Georgians[the father tells his sons to take wives where their arrows fall; the eldest marries the princess, the middle one the adviser's daughter, the youngest a frog; left alone, the Frog sheds her skin, becomes a beauty, and runs the household; the husband lies in wait, throws the skin into the fire; mocking the older daughters-in-law, the younger brother's wife asks to send papers for a dress, a horse, a donkey, or a dog to go visit the king; the older ones put on paper dresses, ride a mare and a donkey; the Frog tells her husband to bring blue and white horses, makes it rain, the older ones' dresses get wet, the older ones return, the Frog and her husband remain with the king; the king wants to take his son's wife away from him, gives him difficult tasks; 1) to plow and sow a field (a self-propelled plow does it all), 2) to return the sown grain (ants collected it), 3) to build a wall (arises from a beam of a mirror), 4) to bring a ring of a dead mother from the other world; a wife spreads a scarf – the path to the other world; on the way, a husband sees a woman who tears off her breasts and sticks them to the hot walls of a tone (an oven for baking flatbreads); spouses who feel cramped on a cowhide; others who feel free on an axe handle; a plowman who is licked by nine pairs of bulls; a mother gives a ring and says that her husband will burn in it; on the way back, a person receives answers from those he saw; a plowman tortured bulls, some spouses lived in harmony, others quarreled, a woman did not share bread; a son gives his father a ring, he burns]: Chikovani 1986: 136-141; Georgians (Imereti) [three brothers decided to marry where each one's arrow would fall; the eldest and middle sons married rich brides; the youngest's arrow fell into a swamp, he married a frog and moved away from his brothers; returning, he finds the house tidied, dinner prepared; the young man followed, found the woman, burned the frog skin; the king wanted to take the wife away, ordered to sow grain for a whole barn in one day; the wife sent her husband to her father-in-law, a magician, who gave him workers; the king orders to collect the grain sown in the ground; the father-in-law sent birds; a crow with a broken leg brought the last grain at the last moment; the king orders to bring his grandmother's golden box from the underworld; on the way, the young man sees a fat bull grazing on the bare ground, and a skinny one grazing on juicy grass; a husband and wife are not cramped on a narrow bed, while others do not fit on a wide one; one woman bakes dirt, but turns out bread, and another bakes bread, but turns out dirt; another is hanged by the hair; the king's grandmother orders the young man to give him the box not himself, but through servants; on the way back, those they meet give explanations; the one hanged by the hair envied someone else's beauty; the one who turns out dirt did not repay her debts, and the one who turns out good bread; those lying on a wide bed quarreled, while those on a narrow bed lived in harmony; the skinny bull was greedy, the fat one was hardworking; when the king opened the box, fire burst out of it and burned him]: Kagan 1898a, No. 19: 58-61; Armenians[the king tells his sons to shoot arrows, take a wife where they fall; the eldest; the eldest marries the vizier's daughter, the middle one a merchant, the youngest's arrow is lost, his father kicks him out; he comes to a swamp, sees his arrow in a frog's mouth, takes the frog with him; settles in the city, starts hunting, leaving the frog in a chest; someone is cleaning the room; the landlady advises them to hide, throw the frog skin into the fire; he grabs the beauty, burns the skin; the wife tells him to return to his father; the prince builds a palace next to his father's; the father wants to take possession of his son's wife; tells him to 1) dress the entire army in a week; the wife tells him to shoot an arrow into the swamp, her mother will swim out, he must ask her, i.e. the wife, for the chest; the chest contains clothes for one person, but when the first one is dressed, the chest already contains clothes for another, etc.; 2) bring the seal which the prince's dead mother had; the wife orders to shoot into the swamp again, to ask for her favourite donkey, not to splash himself with the foam which will appear on the swamp when the donkey appears; holding on to the donkey's tail, the prince enters his mother's grave, the mother tells him where the cauldron with gold and the seal is buried, the donkey pulls the prince back out, he takes out the cauldron; 3) bring a dwarf with a beard twice as long as himself and a staff weighing 20 poods; the wife orders to ask her mother in the swamp for her (the wife's) favourite Arab; the Arab came to the king, shamed him, killed the king, his eldest sons and courtiers with his staff; the prince ascended the throne]: Bagriy 1930(3): 57-65; Azerbaijanis (Nukhinsky district) [the king gathers the girls, orders his three sons to throw an apple at the chosen one; the eldest throws it at the vizier's daughter, the middle one at the nobleman's, the youngest hits the frog, and so on three times; the king orders his daughters-in-law to weave a rug each; the frog goes to the swamp, croaks with her comrades, the next morning the prince has the best rug; the same thing - a large carpet; the king invites them to a feast, the frog turns into a beauty; the prince secretly and contrary to his wife's warning burns the frog's skin; the wife disappears, the prince goes in search]: Bagriy 1930(1): 30-33; Turks [(quite different versions, some switch to other plots); the three sons of the padishah give their father three melons of varying ripeness; he understands that it is time for them to marry; they shoot arrows; where the arrow falls, there they must take a wife; the elders take wives from good families, and the wife of the younger son ends up in a tree (wasteland, well, etc.), there is a frog there; the daughters-in-law must prepare food; the frog skin is burned; at a feast the wife of the younger son hides scraps in her clothes, and when she dances, gold pours out; the older daughters-in-law try to imitate, they have defiled themselves and others]: Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 86: 93-96.
Iran - Central Asia. Mountain Tajiks [three sons of a shah shoot arrows; the eldest's arrow fell at the gate of the qadi, the middle one - the mufti, the youngest - to a frog on the shallows of the river; the young man brought the frog home, she said that she was the daughter of a bet, she put on the frog's skin so as not to amaze people with her beauty; the young man asked her to throw off the skin, burned it; the eldest and middle brothers want the beauty for themselves; the shah sends his youngest son to visit his grandfather and grandmother in paradise; the daughter of the bet brings three apples from Mount Kof, tells her husband to ask him to collect a mountain of firewood, climb it, and set it on fire; she catches him; tells him to take the apples to their father, to say that their grandparents are waiting for them to visit; the shah and his eldest sons allow themselves to be burned, the youngest becomes the shah]: Rosenfeld, Rychkova 1990, No. 2: 37-38; Bartangtsy [three princes ask their father to marry them; the king orders to shoot - the bride is to be taken from the house whose house the bullet hits; the eldest married the vizier's daughter, the middle one - a merchant, the youngest's bullet hit the lake three times; a frog came out, the young man did not know that it was a peri; she ordered to take it home; at night a girl was next to him; when the king called his son, his wife again became a frog; the king was angry, but agreed to the marriage; the brothers saw that the wife of the youngest was the sun on one side of her face, and the moon on the other; the eldest decided to kill the youngest in order to take this woman for himself; the king agreed to help his eldest son; the eldest advised to send the youngest to Mount Koy for a simurgh egg; the wife teaches him to climb into the skin of a slaughtered bull; the simurgh will lift the carcass up the mountain, and then fly away herself; a flying bird devoured the simurgh eggs; the young man killed the bird, the simurgh gave one of the eggs; Having learned that the younger brother’s wife was a peri, the father left him alone and the older brother also stopped causing harm]: Sokolova 1960, No. 12: 60-64.
Baltoscandia. Lithuanians [the king orders his three sons to bring a gift each, for this purpose they throw a feather into the wind; the feather of the youngest falls by the stream, the door is under water, there is a palace and a Toad, she gives a carpet, the father makes the youngest heir; orders each to bring a ring, the Toad gives the best; bring a wife; the Toad harnesses mice to a spoon, the mice turn into horses, the spoon into a carriage, the Toad into a beauty; the youngest becomes king]: Lëbīte 1965: 172-173; Latvians [when the time has come for the sons to marry, the father shoots three arrows from a bow and orders them to look for wives where the arrows fall (or the sons throw stones, follow the ball); the youngest son marries a frog (toad, mouse); the father orders to bring beautiful shirts, bake delicious bread; the frog completes the tasks best of all; at a feast he puts bones in his sleeve, and beautiful objects spill out of it; the brothers' wives try unsuccessfully to do the same; the frog's husband burns the frog's skin, the frog disappears, he looks for it]: Arijs, Medne 1977, no. 402: 281; Veps [the tale about "The Frog Princess" is not very widespread; only one text was found, recorded by L. Kettunen and P. Siro in the village of Uritskoye; it contains a description of the wedding of a frog and Ivan Tsarevich; Ivan Tsarevich cuts off her head with a sabre; the frog turns into a beautiful girl]: Vinokurova 2015: 228; Norwegians [in order to get married, three brothers must bring certain objects from their brides; the youngest brings the best, even though his bride is a rat, a frog, or a little elf; after the wedding the bride turns into a beautiful girl]: Hodne 1984, no. 402: 93-94.
Volga - Perm. Marie [the tsar orders his three sons to get horses that would not be afraid of the noise of battle; the youngest Ivan meets a frog, she gives him a skinny little horse, only it is not afraid of gunshots, I. smashes the enemies; the tsar orders to bring a fearless man; the frog gives a dog; at the sight of a bear, the brothers' people climb a spruce tree, the dog rushes at the bear; the tsar will give the kingdom to whoever finds the best bride; I. brings a frog; the tsar orders his daughters-in-law to bring a beautiful shirt each; the frog's is the best; whoever bakes the best bread; the frog throws dough into the oven, brings a loaf of bread; the other daughters-in-law peek, also throw dough into the oven, it burns; whoever will become a beauty; the frog turns into Princess Maria, arrives in a glass carriage, the street is illuminated; I. burns the frog skin; M. says that he should have waited two days, flies away as a swan; I. rides a horse to look for her, with a dog; he arrives at the house, M.'s sister calls him son-in-law, they glue one wing to the horse; in the second, third house, the second, third sisters glue two more wings; the third sister teaches him to throw sand in the eyes of the infidel hero, the dog will tear him apart; and so it happened, I. brings his wife, her sisters with her]: Chetkarev 1941, No. 11: 173-178; Bashkirs [a father orders his three sons to take wives where each one's arrow falls; the youngest's arrow falls into a swamp; a frog orders a young man to lie down and rest; when he wakes up, there is a palace nearby, at night the frog takes off its skin, becomes a girl; appears in the guise of a beauty to the wives of the older brothers; they are jealous, they persuade the younger brother-in-law to throw the skin into the fire, the palace is lost, the wife flies away as a dove; the young man comes to the old woman, she sends him to her sister, she tells how three doves fly to her, take off their plumage, one girl is sad; she orders to grab the plumage hidden in the chest; the young man returns home with his wife]: Barag 1989, No. 21: 121-125.
Turkestan. Uyghurs (Khami) [three brothers shoot in different directions: where the bullet hits, each one will take a wife from there; the youngest's bullet hits the shore of a lake, he takes a frog; brings it home, and when he returns from the field, the food is cooked; the father advises to peep through the crack in the door; the young man sees a woman and begins to live with her; (further fragments; the husband quarrels with his wife and says: have you ruined my children? She shows the grown children, becomes a bird and flies away]: Malov 1954, No. 74: 99-100.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Teleuts (from the collection of V.V. Radlov) [a merchant to his three sons: let them see their wives in a dream; the eldest see the daughters of the merchant and the biy, the youngest - a frog; the two eldest found brides, brought them home, the youngest brought a frog; father-in-law: let the eldest daughter-in-law sew a jacket, the middle one - pants, the youngest - boots; the youngest is going to buy boots; frog: no need, everything will be in the morning; in the morning the boots are ready, embroidered with gold; the merchant threw away what the eldest daughters-in-law brought, praised the boots; to bake bread - the same (what the eldest daughters-in-law brought was thrown to the dogs, the youngest's bread is tasty); father-in-law: let the daughters-in-law sing; in the morning the frog tells her husband that they must go; he replies that he is ashamed of her and will go ahead; the frog agrees; the son sits down next to his father; he says: "There is no man anywhere who looks like a frog! Her song is very beautiful, her face, if you look there, is like the moon, if you look here, like the sun; through the flesh the bones are visible, through the bones the marrow is visible. The whole house sparkles with her beauty"; decides that the youngest daughter-in-law is better than the other two; makes the eldest sons shepherds, and the eldest daughters-in-law cooks; gives everything to the youngest son and his wife; ending: "Whether the man wears a fur coat, / Who knows? / Whether the horse wears a saddle cloth, / Who knows?"]: Funk 2020: 167-169 (German translation in Radloff 1866, no. 1: 8-12).
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