H7B Death clings to tree or bench, ATU 330.

.15.-.17.23.27.-.29.31.32.

A man asks Death (the devil) to climb a tree or sit on a bench, to which they stick and can only free themselves with his permission.

{Uther 2004 sometimes considers variants in which Death is not stuck to the tree, but is lured into the coffin; this is another motif, see K60b}.

Spaniards, Aragonese, Catalans, Portuguese, Basques, Italians (Piedmont, Ticino, Veneto, Tyrol, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Campania, Molise, Basilicata, Calabria, Apulia), Sicilians, Sardinians, Corsicans, Sardinians, Ladins, Bretons, French (Upper Brittany, Picardy, Artois, Gascony, Dauphiné), Walloons, Irish, Welsh, English, Scots, Germans (East Frisia, Pomerania, Austria), Frisians, Flemings, Dutch, Palestinians, Oriya, Sinhalese, Bulgarians, Greeks, Slovenes, Croats, Romanians, Sorbs, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians (Vologda, Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Hungarian Rus, Hutsulshchyna, Galicia, Ivano-Frankivskshchyna, Bukovina, Volyn, Podolia, Kiev),Belarusians, Georgians, Mingrelians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Karelians, Livs, Estonians, East Saami, Finns, Danes, Swedes, Icelanders, Norwegians, Komi, Mordvins.

Southern Europe. Spaniards [Aunt Poverty and her son Famine have a dog named Tarro; boys steal their pears; the aunt is kind to a wanderer; he fulfills her wish that whoever climbs the pear tree cannot get down without her permission; the boys stick to her, the aunt beats them; Death comes with a scythe; the aunt asks him to pick her pears, Death sticks; the old people cannot die, they suffer; they ask Poverty to lift the spell; she lifts it on the condition that Death will not come to her and her son without her permission]: Malinovskaya 2002: 167-170; Aragon [{apparently, as in the Spanish version}; a man has a pear tree from which one cannot get down without his permission; he lures Death there]: González Sanz 1996, no. 330D: 78; Catalans (including Mallorca) [a blacksmith (soldier, gambler) sold his soul to the devil in order to become rich, to become a great master, etc.; when he met the Lord, he was polite and kind; the latter offers to fulfill one of his wishes; he asks that whoever climbs into a sack be unable to get out of it, whoever sits on a bench be unable to get up, and whoever climbs a pear be unable to get down without his permission; the devil comes three times to take his soul, but, finding himself in a sack, stuck to a bench or a pear, he is forced to give a 10-year reprieve each time; when the hero finally dies, he first goes to hell, but the devils are afraid of him and do not let him in; then he goes to heaven and either stays there or is not let in (for having made a deal with the devil; or heaven is already full; or St. Peter offered to ask for the kingdom of God, but the man did not listen); in other versions the heroine is Poverty; when Death comes for her, she invites her to climb a pear tree and lets her go on the condition that she will never come for her; that is why poverty exists in the world]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, no. 330: 81-82; Portuguese : Cardigos 2006, no. 330 [a blacksmith sells his soul to the devil; a soldier (blacksmith) is kind to beggars, and these are St. Peter and the Lord; he is promised the fulfillment of wishes; these are: a bench or tree from which one cannot get down without the owner's permission; a hat that fits only him; a bag that is put into it at the owner's request; always winning at cards; always winning a battle (fight); the devil or Death stick to the bench; the soldier tells the devil to get into the bag and hits it with a hammer, placing it on the anvil; the devil runs away in horror; a soldier goes to hell, but is not allowed in; he is not allowed into heaven either; he throws his bag at the door of heaven and is dragged there himself; he beats the devil at cards; he throws his hat on St. Peter's chair, so that only he can sit there]: 81-82; Portuguese{no etiological ending, but the plot is clearly the same} [God walked the earth and knocked on Poverty's door; she gave him water, bread and straw to lie down on; as a reward he offered to grant her a wish; she wished that whoever climbed her fig tree would not be able to come down without her permission; when Death came, Poverty asked her to get a fig and told her to stick to the tree; when the old people stopped dying, God asked Poverty to free Death; this is a true story: in Sátão they still show that fig tree; everyone there is very poor]: Cardigos, Correia 2015(2), no. 330D: 175; Basque [the devil comes for the sinful blacksmith Francisco; he suggests breakfast first, they sit down to table, the devil sticks to the resin, is released after three years; the same with another devil (he sat down in a chair); with a third (he climbed a fig tree and stuck); F. died, came to the gates of hell, they did not let him in; at the gates of paradise St. Peter also did not let him in; a woman came, was afraid that F. would harm her, began to praise him; St. Peter let him into paradise]: Barandiaran 1962a, no. 10: 44-49; Italians (Piedmont: Montferrat) [when a young man was at school, a teacher-magician granted him one wish a day; he wished that without his permission no one could get down from the pear tree in his garden; to move away from the fireplace in his house; and to always win at cards; when Death came for him, he invited her to climb a pear tree, and did not let her go until she promised not to come for him for a hundred years; after a hundred years, Death almost roasted herself by the fireplace and granted him another hundred years; when he died, at first he was not allowed into heaven; nor into purgatory; he won many souls from the devils, came to heaven and brought the souls with him]: Comparetti 1875, no. 35: 140-141; Italians (Ticino, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Campania, Molise, Basilicata, Calabria, Apulia), Sardinians : Cirese, Serafini 1975, no. 330: 78-79; Italians (South Tyrol) [a pious man gave everything to the poor; the devil lent him money; if he does not return it within 7 years, he will take his soul; at the end of the term, the Lord, St. Peter and St. John came and offered to fulfill three wishes; man: he who climbed my fig tree will not come down without permission; he who sat on the bench will not get up; he who touched the chest will not come off; the devil sent his eldest son, he stuck to the pear tree, was beaten; the younger - to the bench; the devil himself - to the chest; forgave the man's debt; after death he was not allowed into either heaven or hell; then he waited until a sinless soul entered heaven, and threw his hat into the half-open door; asked permission to take it; Peter let him in; the man sat on the hat and refused to get up; he is still blissful in heaven]: Schneller 1861, No. 17: 32-35; Italians: Clouston 1887: 394-395 (Tuscany) [a blacksmith makes a pact with the devil; whoever sits on the bench, looks out of the window, climbs a fig tree, cannot get up, tear his gaze away, or climb down without his permission; after two years the devil comes, sits on the bench, is forced to sign a receipt for another two years; same with the window; having stuck to the fig tree, the devil signs a receipt that he will never come for the blacksmith's soul], 395-396 (Tuscany) [grandmother Poverty fed Jesus and St. Peter who came, they promised to fulfill her three wishes; bench by the hearth, fig tree, salvation of the soul; Death comes, cannot get up from the bench, Poverty gets another hundred years of life; same - cannot get down from the fig tree; on the third time Poverty asks permission to say the Ave Maria, but does not even think of starting the prayer; therefore Poverty is with us to this day]; Kabakova 2006, no. 39 (Apulia) [in winter, Grandmother Poverty gave Jesus and Peter shelter; she asked as a reward that anyone who climbed her pear tree could not get down without her permission; Peter is surprised; when Death came, Poverty invited her to climb the tree and she stayed there; therefore Poverty is still walking the world]: 79-82; Keller 1981 (Ticino) [Hans is 20 years old, he went wandering; shared his food with two wanderers, they were the Lord and St. Paul; they offered to fulfill two of his wishes; G.: let everything I want be in my bag and not leave it without permission; let no one get down from the fig tree in my garden without my permission; as for the salvation of the soul, I can achieve it myself; in the city the devil and two little devils settled in the town hall, whoever enters dies; G. comes to the town hall, cooks food, the devils fall out of the fireplace; G. suggests playing cards: the loser must leave the town hall forever; the devils lost, but do not want to leave; G. tells them to end up in a sack; promises to free them if they show where the treasure is buried; the devil refuses; iron is thrown onto the sack; the little devils perish, the devil agrees; he has to dig up the treasure himself and sign in blood that he will not do any more mischief; G. is looking for a godfather for the newborn; refuses to take the Lord or St. Paul - there is no justice in their world; Death {masculine} takes it, it treats everyone equally; G.'s wife and child die; when Death comes for him, he asks to give him the opportunity to eat the fruit from the planted trees; Death promises to come in a hundred years; Death comes, loses at cards, gives Hans another hundred years; the third time G. suggests that she climb a fig tree to eat the fruit; Death cannot get down; gives another hundred years; after 300 years leads G. to hell; the devil, seeing him, drives him out of hell in horror; at the gates of heaven G. asks St. Peter to call his friend St. Paul; while he is calling him, G. throws a sack over the threshold, then orders that he himself fall into it; and so remains in heaven]: 190-197; Sicilians[Pitré; a boy named Occasion was brought up by strangers, grew up, went wandering, hired himself out to an innkeeper, who adopted him; St. Thomas and the Lord came in, St. Thomas advised him to ask for something, Occasion asked that whoever climbed a fig tree could not get down without his permission, because boys plucked all the fruit; Occasion grew old, ordered the fig tree to be cut down, the wood to be made into a bottle: whoever climbed into it would not get out; Death came, Occasion asked her to get a fly out of the bottle, supposedly falling into the wine; Death climbed in, Occasion plugged the hole with a cork; people stopped dying; the Lord intervened; Chance released Death after the Lord had promised him a place in Paradise]: Crane 1885, no. 63: 215-217 (= Calvino 1980, no. 163.IV: 596-597); Corsicans : Massignon 1984, no. 1 [Jesus, St. Peter and St. Paul were traveling, spent the night with a poor man named Bisognu ("need"); in the morning they offered to fulfill his three wishes; he asked that anyone who would put his hand out to get tinder; sit on a bench; climb a pear tree, stick, and be freed only at his own request; Death came, put her hand out, stuck, gave another hundred years of life; ditto – bench; pear; Death decided not to visit Bison no more, he is still alive], 37 [the poor man Pipparella received Jesus and St. Peter hospitably; Peter advised him to ask the Lord for grace; P. asked that his pipe always burn and not require refilling with tobacco; that without his permission no one could get up from the bench or climb out of the bag; P. grew old, a little devil came for his soul; P. asked him to sit on the bench, lit a hot fire in the hearth, then ordered him to jump into the bag, took him to the blacksmith, who beat him with a hammer for a long time, let him go, the little devil ran away; later P. was not allowed into heaven, into purgatory, and in hell they slammed the door in front of him when they realized who had come; P. asked Peter to open the door to heaven a little, threw the bench there, went in for his property; since then he sits in paradise on a bench and smokes a pipe]: 3-4, 86-88; Ladins [during the flight to Egypt, St. Joseph asked the blacksmith to shoe a donkey; he promised to fulfill three wishes for this; the blacksmith asks that without his permission, whoever sat on the bench would not get up, whoever climbed the cherry tree would not get down, whoever put his hand in the chest with nails would not take it out; the blacksmith sold his soul to the devil; when he came for the soul, the blacksmith sat him on the bench and began to hit him with a hammer; the devil promised to return in 7 years; the same with the cherry tree; after another 7 years he asked to get nails; the devil promised not to come anymore; after the death of the blacksmith they did not let him into paradise; the devils also got scared and did not let him in; The blacksmith asked St. Peter to open the door of heaven, threw his cap there, jumped on it himself and said that he was on his own land]: Decurtins, Brunold-Bigler 2002, no. 47: 129-132.

Western Europe. Bretons [St. Anne, touched by the generous donations and good behavior of the blacksmith, offers him to fulfill three wishes; blacksmith: whoever sits on my anvil, will not get up without permission; whoever climbs a pear tree, will not come down; whoever I tell to climb into my bag, will end up there; once he saw a partridge he had just shot and hid it in his pocket; did not confess to the hunter; and the next day the devil came for him; the blacksmith asked him to sit on the anvil while he said goodbye to his wife; let the devil go for a promise not to come in the coming years; began to behave righteously; but one day he mentioned the devil and he appeared again; the blacksmith asked him to pick pears; let him go from the pear tree for a promise not to come soon; but again he mentioned the devil; this time he pretended that he could not become as big as an oak; the devil became; and the little one, to get into the bag? the devil got in and stayed there; the blacksmith and his wife never let him out]: Postic 1998: 299-308; French (Upper Brittany) [a blacksmith (maréchal) summoned the devil; the devil gave him money, a tobacco pouch into which everything goes and cannot come out without the owner's permission, and the power to prevent anyone who has climbed a pear tree from getting down without permission; after 10 years the devil came for the blacksmith, who asked him to climb the pear tree and let him go on condition of giving him another 10 years; the devil ended up in the tobacco pouch next time - for another 10 years; then the blacksmith goes to hell, but the devil won't let him in; and they won't let him into purgatory either; he asks St. Peter for permission to look at heaven through the window; he throws the tobacco pouch in and tells himself to go there; St. Peter shouted that he had cheap cider; the blacksmith went out to try and never got into heaven again]: Sébillot 1894, no. 24: 269; Walloons: Laport 1932, #330 [a blacksmith makes a pact with the devil; the devil promises to provide him with work for 7 years; the Lord and St. Peter were playing lacrosse and the Lord breaks his stick; he brings it to the blacksmith to fix; in return he promises to grant him three wishes; the blacksmith asks for a punching bag that he cannot get off, a chair (that he cannot get up from) without his permission, a bag that anyone can climb into at his command; the devil comes three times, falls into each of the traps; twice he postpones the term for another 7 years, the third time he promises to supply the blacksmith with iron for the rest of his days; the devils do not let the blacksmith into hell, St. Peter does not let him into heaven; the blacksmith asks to open the door a crack to look at the Garden of Eden, throws his apron in there, is let in to pick it up and does not return], *330C [a poor man named Poverty has a pear tree; St. Peter and the Lord are wandering, a poor man gives them shelter, they promise to fulfill a wish; Poverty asks that no one should get down from his pear tree without his permission; Death comes; she is released, promising that she will never come for Poverty], *330D [a fairy has a pear tree from which no one can get down without her permission; a young man named Luck climbed the tree to eat pears; Poverty comes up, asks for a pear, Luck refuses to give it to her; Poverty asked the fairy to leave Luck on the pear tree forever; therefore Luck only throws her fruits (to people) from time to time, and Poverty begs everywhere]: 48-49, 49, 50; the French (Picardy) [a horseman rode up, orders two horses to be shod immediately; the blacksmith works well, but does not have time; the rider shows how it should be done: cuts off the horse's legs, puts them in the forge, the horseshoes are in place, the rider attaches the legs back; this is God; ready to fulfill three wishes; the blacksmith: so that no one can get up from the chair, get off the pear, or get out of the bag without my permission; the blacksmith called the devil who was bothering him, promised him his soul, but asked him to sit in the chair in return; he began to beat him; the devil swore not to bother him anymore; the same with two other devils (pear; bag); after the death of the blacksmith they did not let him into heaven, but the devils were afraid to let him into hell either; he returned to heaven and told St. Peter that his coin had rolled under the door; he let him go find the coin, but the blacksmith did not come back]: Carnoy 1883, No. 4: 67-78; French (Picardy) [a poor blacksmith was nicknamed Misfortune, his dog was named Poverty; the Lord asks him to shoe a donkey, Z. takes nothing from him, the Lord asks what he wants; St. Peter suggests that he ask for a place in heaven, but Z. asks that no one be able to get up from a chair, get down from a walnut tree, or climb out of a purse without his permission; Z. makes a pact with the devil, who gives him money; the first time he seats him in a chair and beats him, then asks the Devil and his little devils to gather nuts, beats him too, the third time he suggests that the Devil show his power by climbing into the purse; when Z. died, St. Peter did not let him into heaven, but he was also expelled from hell; Z. and N. still live on earth]: Lopyreva 1959, No. 46: 209-214; French(The Dauphiné) [a peasant named Victor Hugo gives shelter to God and the apostles; God promises to fulfill his wish; VG asks 1) that whoever climbs his apple tree without his permission be unable to get down (he thinks of boys picking apples), 2) that he win at cards, 3) that whoever sits in his chair be unable to get up without his permission; Death comes, a man offers her to pick apples, Death sticks to the apple tree; VG lets her go on condition that she will come for him only in a hundred years; he gets rich playing cards, leaves for the southern countries, returning, sees that all his acquaintances have already died; Death comes, sits in the chair, cannot get up, is let go on condition that she promises not to come for VG at all; he grows old, goes to the next world himself; beats Satan at cards, receives the souls of three milords who went to hell because of VG, to whom they lost everything; God lets VG into paradise, but only into a small room at the entrance; those entering see him with a sack containing the souls of the milords]: Joisten 1991, no. 21.1: 162-166; the French (Gascony) [a poor blacksmith fed and took care of a beggar; it turned out to be God; when leaving, he offered to fulfill three wishes; wife: ask for money; blacksmith: so that without my permission anyone who sits on the bench cannot get up; and anyone who climbs the apple tree cannot get down; so that anyone can climb into this purse at my request and get out only with my permission; the next day the devil came and started asking what the blacksmith had asked God for; he promised 10 years of wealth and then would take his soul; the blacksmith agreed; after 10 years the blacksmith invited the devil to sit on the bench and beat him with a club until he promised him another 10 rich years; At the end of this period, the blacksmith beats the devil who had climbed the apple tree with an iron rod, who promises another 10 years; when the devil appeared again accompanied by little devils, the blacksmith ordered them to climb into the purse, put it on the anvil and began to beat with a hammer; the devil promised never to come again; the blacksmith released the devils and is still living]: Soupault 1963, no. 40: 207-215; the French (Gascony) [an old man nicknamed Poverty kindly allowed St. Peter to pick oranges from his tree; he promised to fulfill his wish; N. wished that the one who had climbed the tree could not get down without his permission; when Death came, he asked her to pick the last orange for him; he ordered her to stick to the tree; he let her go in exchange for a promise never to come to him again; therefore there will always be poverty in the world]: Dardy 1891, No. 25: 89-91; Germans(Austria: Carinthia) [a blacksmith sold his soul to the devil in order to become rich and marry; at the end of ten years, when the devil was supposed to come for him, the Holy Family appeared; the blacksmith shod St. Joseph's donkey, asking for a bench from which one could not get up without the owner's permission, a cherry tree that would catch cherry thieves, a sack from which only the owner could release the first one; the blacksmith seats the first devil sent by the Prince of Darkness on the bench and beats him with a whip; he beats the second one when he is on the cherry tree, and releases the Prince of Darkness himself from the sack for his promise not to take his soul; after the blacksmith's death, he is not allowed into either heaven or hell; he pretends to be an old woman and slips into heaven; seeing his widow's wedding with another man below, he throws his hammer, killing them both; the blacksmith is kicked out, he wanders eternally between earth and sky]: Steblova 1999: 214-218; the Flemings [boys steal pears from a poor woman named Poverty; one day an old man comes, the woman shares her last bread with him; he offers to fulfill her request, she wants that whoever climbs her pear tree could not get down without her permission; the marauders immediately stick to her, she lets them go after a year; when Death came, Poverty invited her to climb the pear tree; she lets her go after 10 years on her promise not to come for her; and so she lives among people]: Van den Berg 2000, no. 22: 30-33; the Dutch [Harry Stoe Vandyck, London 1827; Harry Stoe Vandyck, London 1827: fisherman Jan Schalken takes in a stranger for the night; the stranger promises to fulfill his three wishes; the fisherman asks for 50 extra years of life for himself and his wife Mietje; that anyone who climbed his pear tree could not get down without his permission (the pears were often stolen); that anyone who sat in the chair could not get up without his permission (because his wife often jumped up and disturbed him); when Death (a man) came, the fisherman told her to come in 50 years; then he lured Death onto the pear tree, and let her go for a promise of another 50 years; after this the couple died peacefully]: Clouston 1887: 392-394; Germans(Pomerania) [St. Peter and the devil argued over who could mow a field faster and more evenly; Peter asked the blacksmith to forge a beautiful-looking scythe out of brass and a rough one out of iron, promising to fulfill three wishes; the devil chose a shiny scythe, which became dull when it hit the stones; the devil had to throw the stones away, piles of stones are visible to this day; Peter's scythe cut the stones like butter; the blacksmith asked that his glass of vodka never be empty, that anyone who climbed his pear tree could not get down without his permission, and that anyone who sat on his chair could not get off; Peter considered the blacksmith a fool, and, when leaving, turned a huge piece of iron into gold; when the devil came for the blacksmith, he asked him to pick pears for the road; the devil remained on the pear tree; later Death came, sat down on the chair and remained sitting; the blacksmith and Peter set off on a journey; the shepherd gave them a lamb; while the blacksmith was roasting him, he ate the liver; said that only adult sheep grow liver; Peter offered to divide the money they had earned together, but divided it into three parts: a third to the one who ate the liver; the blacksmith confessed right away; on the way, Peter revived a dead girl who was being carried to be buried; left alone, the blacksmith tried to revive the master's dead child, but nothing came of it; they led the blacksmith to be hanged; Peter appeared, revived the child, took the blacksmith away and ordered him not to try to revive anyone again; gave a bag that anyone could climb into at the blacksmith's request and would not get out without his permission; the blacksmith came to the inn; there were no rooms, but you could spend the night in the castle; no one had ever left there alive in the morning; at 11 pm, 9 little devils ran in; they had been looking for their father since he was left sitting on the pear tree; The blacksmith ordered the little devils to get into his bag and slept until the morning; only the youngest one got out of the bag alive and ran away to hell, the rest turned to ashes; having returned home, the blacksmith let the devil and Death go for a promise not to come to him again; the blacksmith came to heaven, Peter ordered him to go to hell; the door of hell was slightly opened by the little devil, the blacksmith nailed his long nose to the door; the blacksmith was not allowed into hell; he returned to the gates of heaven, ordered Peter to get into his bag, and he himself took his place and remains there to this day]: Jahn 1891, no. 49: 256-263; Germans (East Frisia, Austria), Frisians , Irish , Welsh , Scots , English : Uther 2004(1), no. 330: 219-220.

Western Asia. Palestinians [among the soldiers of King Herod there was an Italian named Francesco, an inveterate gambler who beat everyone; Herod had to expel him from Jerusalem; he became a robber, forcing strangers to play with him; but he let those who won from him go; Jesus came with the apostles; they were not robbed, but given shelter; at night F. covered I. with his cloak, and he himself endured the cold; I. offered to fulfill his wish, F. asked for four; that he would always win; that whoever sat on the stone at the entrance to the cave could not get up without his permission; that one could not get down from the lemon tree without permission; that he, F., would recognize Azrael, in whatever guise he came; I. promised that if F. had another wish, he would fulfill it too; when A. came the first time, he sat down on a bench; promised not to come anymore for 15 years; the next time F. lured him to climb a tree to pick a lemon for him; another 15 years; the third time A. took F.; he was not allowed into hell; he beat the devil at cards 7 times and he refused to let him into hell; having arrived in heaven, F. said that he repented, reminded I. of his promise, and Mar Batrus (St. Peter) let him in]: Hanauer 2009: 164-170.

South Asia. Oriya [children steal guava fruits from an old man's tree; he asked the goddess to make those who came for the fruits stick to the tree; at that time the God of Death sent servants for the old man's soul; they began to pick the fruits and stuck; the God of Death came himself and also stuck; the old man freed them on the condition that they make him young]: Mohanti 1975: 94-95; Sinhalese [an unmarried woman gave birth to a son, replied that her husband was Mara (Death); M. began to patronize the boy; ordered him to become a doctor; if he, M., was at the patient's head, he should give him medicine, he would recover, if at the feet, the patient would die; a young man decided to save one patient, gave the medicine and ordered the bed to be turned; M. decided to kill the young man; he sat on a chair, the young man ordered M. to stick, let him go for three years of life; three years later he asked M. to pick a coconut, told him to stick to a palm tree; he freed him again after three years of life; three years later the young man locked himself in a room, M. got in through the keyhole; the young man asked to be shown and climb into the bottle; he corked it; since then his patients always recovered]: Volkhonsky, Solntseva 1985, No. 170: 383-384.

Balkans. Croats (Austria) [a blacksmith with many children went into the forest to hang himself; a man gave him money on condition of meeting in 7 years, 7 months, 7 weeks, 7 days and 7 hours; the blacksmith worked hard all this time; after 7 years, Jesus and St. Peter came to him to shoe a donkey; the blacksmith refused to take the money, he had enough; the Lord tells Peter to return and offer the blacksmith to express three wishes: they will come true; Peter each time suggests that he should ask for paradise, but the blacksmith asks that whoever sat on his bench would not get up from it without his permission; whoever put his hand in his trouser pocket would not take it out; whoever climbed a tree would not come down; when the devil came for the blacksmith, he offered him to sit on the bench; began to torture him; let him go for a promise not to return; a second devil came, the blacksmith asked him to take a nail out of his pocket, his hand got stuck; the same; the third time Satan came; the blacksmith expressed a desire to try some pears for the last time; Satan stuck to the tree; he was released on the promise that no one else would come; in old age Death came and also stuck to the tree; when the blacksmith became completely weak, he asked Death to take him away; at first Peter did not let him in; the devils did not let him in either – they were afraid; the blacksmith came to Peter again, threw his tools into the crack and Peter agreed: where they are, there you should be]: Neweklowsky, Gaál 1983, no. 22: 141-147; Bulgarians [the Lord (with St. Peter) spend the night in the house, offer the owner to fulfill his wish; he asks that anyone who climbs his apple tree not be able to get down; Death (an angel sent by God) comes, the man asks him to get the apple, Death sticks; for a long time (200 years) no one dies; the man realizes that this is wrong, frees Death, who takes his soul]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, no. 330D: 131; Romanians [God and St. Peter go to a gypsy blacksmith to shoe a donkey; Peter offers to grant a wish in exchange for the work – the kingdom of heaven, perhaps? but the gypsy wants no one to move from the chair without his permission; having seated the devil on a chair, he makes him promise to give him another 20 years of life; next time the devil sticks to a walnut tree – another 20 years; then he puts all the devils in a snuffbox; the lawyers and the judge tell the gypsy to free the devils, since they cannot make a living without them; the devils take him {the judge?}]: Bîrlea 1966: 408-409; Slovenes , Greeks : Uther 2004(1), no. 330: 219-220.

Central Europe. Lusatians [a man arrives on a donkey; a blacksmith shoes the donkey, lets the owner stay overnight; the owner promises to fulfill three wishes; the blacksmith wants the one who sits in his chair to be unable to get up, the one who climbs his apple tree to be unable to get down, and the one who climbs into his sack to be unable to get out without his permission; after a few years a man-Death comes; the blacksmith asks him to sit in the chair, the man sticks; the blacksmith lets him go in exchange for a promise to give him another 10 years of life; after 10 years he asks Death to climb the apple tree and pick a few apples; lets him go in exchange for a promise not to come for him anymore; the Devil comes to the blacksmith, decides to get in through the keyhole; the blacksmith puts a sack under him, ties the Devil in it, beats him, the Devil promises to leave him alone; he is let go]: Sagen aus Heide 1970: 115-119; Poles [variant: Shcherbakov 1980: 138-144; a blacksmith sold his soul to the devil in order to get rich; Jesus and St. Peter, who came in the guise of beggars, gave him magical powers: whoever climbs onto his pear tree (sits on his bench, etc.), will not be able to get down (get up from it) without his permission; when Death comes for the blacksmith, he sends her to get a pear from the tree; the devil comes and sits on the bench; he lets them go in exchange for their promise not to come to him again; tired of life, the blacksmith goes to heaven, but they won’t let him in; he goes to hell, and the devils run away from him; he pulls souls out of cauldrons; he comes to the gates of heaven with the sheep, throws his sack into the half-open gates and enters there himself]: Krzyżanowski 1962, no. 330: 109-110; Russians (Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Olonetsk, Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Hungarian Rus, Hutsul, Galicia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Bukovina, Volyn, Podolia, Kiev), Belarusians [Soldier (blacksmith) and the devil (Death): St. Peter (God, wanderer) fulfills the soldier's wish; Death will not be able to get off the bench, from the apple tree, get out of the snuffbox, bag; the soldier is not allowed into either heaven or hell]: SUS 1979, No. 330A: 122-123; Slovaks [the blacksmith gave the beggar three ducats; and he gave in return a bag of coals, which became ducats, eternal life and a spell, thanks to which whoever climbed his tree and sat on the bench would not get up without his permission; devils come after him; they run away in terror when he let them go; the blacksmith went to hell, but the devils did not let him in: he had already burned out the eye of one through the keyhole; he went to heaven, but there they got rid of him with the help of St. Abraham; as a punishment he was ordered to carry Death on his back for 7 years; he lured her into a nut and carried the nut without difficulty; when he released her, Death took him away]: Gašparíková 1993, no. 167: 114; Slovaks []: Gašparíková 1993, no. 222: 153-154; Slovaks []: Gašparíková 1993, no. 223: 154-155; Czechs : Uther 2004(1), no. 330: 219-220.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Georgians [A robber demands that an old man let a girl go; the latter replies that he is Death and will come for him in a week; the robber orders that a strong palace with only one door be built; the robber falls asleep; when he wakes up, he sees Death nearby; asks the latter to swear that he will not take him until he finishes a prayer; he does not finish; Death offers friendship; he will see Death standing at the head or at the feet of a sick person; if at the head, the sick person will recover; the robber becomes a doctor and becomes rich because he always correctly predicts the outcome of an illness; he reads a prayer to the end over a drowned child, the child turns out to be Death; a man asks to be allowed to say goodbye to his father, the latter asks Death to pick a pear; Death climbed a tree and cannot get down (Jesus visited an old man, who complained about the boys, and I. promised that whoever climbed the pear tree would not get down without the owner’s permission); the old man makes Death promise not to kill his son until he asks for it himself; he asked when he was very old]: Kurdovanidze 1988(1), No. 43: 166-169; Mingrelians [Glakhua was a beggar, but he had a pear tree at home that bore fruit all year round; someone began to steal the pears; three wanderers came into his yard; G. made a fire to warm them; the wanderers offered to fulfill his wish; he asks that the pears not be stolen; the wanderers promise that whoever climbed the pear tree would get down only with G.’s permission; G. found his rich neighbor, began to collect firewood to burn him, the neighbors begged him to spare him; one day Death came to G. with a scythe; he asked permission to eat some pears for the last time; he could not pick them from the ground; Death climbed a tree; G. let her go on the promise to return for him only when he himself called her; he called Death when he had become completely decrepit]: Stepanov 1898, No. 3: 10-13.

Baltoscandia. Lithuanians : Kerbelyte 2014, #65 [163 variants; the young master gave the blacksmith money, taking a receipt in blood; the blacksmith shod St. Peter's horse; he asked for this, that without his permission no one could take their hand out of a bag of nails, get up from a chair and get down from an apple tree; three years later the young master came for the money; he asks him to put his hand in the bag; his brother, who came then, to sit on a chair; the other brother to climb the apple tree; he tortures each with red-hot tongs before letting them go with a promise never to come again; dying, the blacksmith asks to put a hammer and nails in the coffin; he is not allowed into heaven: he did not drive all the nails into St. Peter's horseshoe, he deceived; the devils do not let him into hell, and when he broke the door, they ran away; the blacksmith had to be taken to heaven, and the devils were driven back], 66 [the man gave the old man some bread; he fulfilled his request: without his permission no one would get up and no one would get down from the apple tree; the devil sat down on a stone, Death climbed the apple tree; one day he let them go; the devil ran away, and Death came to God; he allowed this man to be killed; but she did not recognize him and began to cut everyone in a row, there was a great pestilence]: 146-148, 148-150; Latvians [The blacksmith helps the old man - God, for which God fulfills his three wishes: to live a long life; that no one could get off the bench without the blacksmith's knowledge; to get down from the apple tree; at the appointed time, Death (the devil) comes for the blacksmith, he tells her to sit on the bench and lets her go only when she promises not to appear for a long time; the second time death (the devil) sits on the apple tree, the third time the blacksmith drives death into the core and forges it – death gets out with difficulty; when the blacksmith dies, he is not allowed into either heaven or hell, finally he gets to heaven]: Arijs, Medne 1977, No. 330A: 278; Livs [three strangers spend the night at a peasant’s; when leaving, they ask him what he wants; So that the apples from the tree do not disappear (someone is stealing them); the apples ripened; the owner went out, saw boys and an adult on the tree, they could not let go; he let them go; Death came for him; he asked her to pick him an apple for the road; Death stuck; he let her go in exchange for a promise to give him many more years of life]: Loorits 2000(4): 171-172; Livs [only a poor old man gave shelter to the three wanderers; when leaving, they asked him what he wanted; an old man: the apples are disappearing from the apple tree, so that it doesn’t happen again; soon he saw boys and an adult on the apple tree; he let the boys go, but the adult stuck to the tree and was beaten; when death came, the old man asked to pick him an apple; Death climbed the tree and stuck; the old man let it go for the promise to let him live a little longer; since then, death doesn’t like to come to old people]: Löwis of Menar 1927, no. 87: 285-287; Estonians(Ambla) [when Death came to Jaagup with a scythe, he asked him to wait while he brewed beer; Death drank, gave him a hundred years; the next time Jaagup went to a healer, who advised him to put an iron chair by the stove and fumigate it with herbs; Death sat on the chair and could not get up; Jaagup let her go for the promise of another hundred years; the next time the healer advised him to fumigate a pear; Jaagup asked Death to eat some pears while he was getting ready, Death could not get off; gave him another hundred years; when Jaagup arrived, he was tired of living, he happily went with Death]: Järv et al. 2015: 89-90; the Swedes [the blacksmith greeted St. Peter and the Lord (or shod their horses); they asked what he wanted; he asked that no one be allowed to get off his bench or tree without his permission, and also a bag which, by his order, would contain anyone he wanted to send there; a blacksmith gave his soul to the devil in exchange for becoming a master in his craft; when the devil came, he could not get up from the bench or get down from the tree; the blacksmith got rid of his contract with the devil, but was not accepted into either hell or heaven; then he threw his bag into heaven and ordered himself to be found in it]: Liungman 1961, no. 330: 71; Norwegians [a blacksmith made a 7-year contract with the devil; during this period he will be better than all the craftsmen; hangs a sign on the door saying "Master of Craftsmen"; the Lord and St. Peter enter to him unrecognized; the Lord separates one leg after the other from the horse, puts it in the forge, shoes it, puts the legs back; puts the blacksmith's mother in the oven, reforges her into a young girl; when the blacksmith is asked to shoe a horse the next day, he tries to repeat the trick, is forced to pay for the dead horse; puts an old beggar woman in the oven, she burns; the blacksmith tells the Lord that the devil did not fulfill the contract; the Lord promises to fulfill three requests of the blacksmith; he asks that without his permission no one could 1) get off the pear, 2) get up from the chair, 3) get out of his purse; Peter says that he should have asked for the kingdom of heaven; when the devil comes for the blacksmith's soul, he suggests that he first pick pears; the devil promises not to come again for another 4 years; the same with the chair - another 4 years; suggests that the devil get into the purse, puts it in the oven, hits it with a hammer; the devil promises never to come; having grown old, the blacksmith goes to hell, the devil does not allow him to be let in, locks the bolts; a blacksmith is crawling into heaven when the door is opened to let in a tailor he met on the way]: Dasent 1970: 105-113; Karelians[the blacksmith Ilmoiline, when Death came for him, asked her to sit on a chair while she said goodbye to her son, and did not return for 25 years; then he came and offered Death to climb into a barrel: he would carry it to the sea so that people would not notice, and then she would take him with her; he lowered the barrel into the ice hole, only the morning dawn saw it; people stopped dying, old people were lowered down the mountain; an old father to his son: take a sled, when you get old, they will bring you in it; the son returned his father, went to look for Death, asked the morning dawn; she saw a man with a barrel; people guessed that it was a blacksmith; he, too, was tired of living, and he showed where Death was hidden]: Yevseyev 1949, No. 53: 126-127; Karelians (little people): Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, no. 330: 226; Eastern Sami (Utsjoki, Finland) {it is not entirely certain that the motif with the character stuck to the tree is there}: Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, no. 330B: 226; (possibly Finns , Icelanders , Danes : Uther 2004(1), no. 330: 219-220).

Volga – Perm. Komi : Plesovsky (in Komi) in Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, no. 330: 226; Mordvins [after the death of his wife, the old man Yoga, nicknamed Atyaksh ("rooster"), began to say that it would be better if God took him; God sent the angel of Death for him; Yoga asks for time to confess, goes to the tavern himself, comes back cheerful, Death promises to take him later; Yoga falls ill, asks Death to allow him to change his clothes, smears the bench with glue, Death sticks himself; Yoga unsticks him in exchange for a promise to give him three more years of life; after this Death takes him to hell; he asks permission to try to persuade his wife to move to him from heaven, remains in heaven]: Samorodov 1972: 275-281; Mordvins (Erzya) [poor old man Yoga, nicknamed Atyaksh ("rooster"); when his wife died, he held a wake, no one knew who came, he fed everyone; they gave him a ring that could grant wishes; Death came, the old man offered her to sit on a bench while he went to confession; ordered her to stick; let her go for a promise not to show up for three years; stopped trusting the priest; after three years Death took him; they put him on the scales, he was drawn to the fact that he needed to go to hell; there he beat the devils at cards and received all the souls; he brought them to heaven, wished for the doors to open; they began to live in heaven and think about how to get back to earth]: Maksaev 1967, No. 30: 315-318.