K27x3a. Recognize by the scarf. .27.-.34.
When the husband goes to carry out a difficult task, the magical wife gives him her towel or handkerchief, telling him to use only it (usually so that her relatives will recognize him as a son-in-law).
Romanians, Russians (Arkhangelsk, Olonetsk, Vologda, Voronezh), Ukrainians (Kherson), Belarusians, Armenians, Uzbeks, Latvians, Lutsi, Setos, Vepsians, Finns, Western Saami, Komi, Chuvash, Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Baikal Buryats.
The Balkans. Romanians [the king's shepherd Ion went into a cave and gave the dragon something to drink, thanks to which he was able to come out; the grateful dragon led him to his parents and advised him to ask them for a box as a reward; they reluctantly gave it to him, ordering him not to open it on the way; Ion opened it, the cattle came out, a farm with workers appeared; the dragon returned and put everything back; then Ion was caught up with by the dragon's sister, sent to him as a wife; when she fell asleep, Ion burned her dragon skin; the wife said that now he would again become the king's servant; having learned about the beauty, the king called Ion into service; an old man, in order to get rid of Ion, advised the king to order him to make a field on the site of the mountain; the wife blew a horn, calling the earthen animals, and they quickly did everything; another old man advised sending Ion to the black world to bring a currycomb and a comb from the evil elders, and a third to bring something, I don't know what, having gone there, the devil knows where; the wife gave a towel with her name on it, an apple to fetch; created two wooden ducks; if they laid an egg in three years, then I. and she would meet again; the wife's first sister, not knowing about I., sent to the second, the second to the third; she sent for a lame crested lark; the lark led I. to a stump; the dragon came, kicked the stump, the door opened, the dragon demanded food and songs from I. (when the dragon left), I. also went down, ordered food, drink, songs, music, asked I. to go with him to the king; he agreed if the king would give him as much gold as he could carry, and it was about the size of half a cigarette; At the king's, I. began to play until they all fell dead from fatigue; not taking the gold, I. returned home; I. came to the monastery built by his wife; both wooden ducks were alive and laid two red eggs; I. and his wife settled in the royal palace]: Bîrlea 1966: 426-428.
Central Europe. Russians (Karelian Pomorie) [the archer Andrey is going to shoot a falcon; she asks him to bring her home and throw her out the window; turned into Helen, the beautiful golden braid; wove a carpet, orders to sell it; the minister wants another one, comes to E., tells the tsar about the beauty; the old woman advises him to send A. to the faraway kingdom to bring a sheep with a golden head; E. sent three young men, in the morning gives A. the head, teaches him to pretend that he sailed after it on a ship; a pig with a golden bristle (ditto); I don’t know where to go, I don’t know what to bring; E. tells A. to go for the ball of yarn, and when she gets there, to show her towel; the old woman recognized her son-in-law, called the animals, only the old frog knows the way; she began to drink fresh milk, grow, A. sat on it, she jumped over the fiery river; let A. go into a strange house (a bathhouse or not), hide behind the stove; they come and say, Brother Reason, feed us; and A.: Brother Reason, sit with me; Reason goes with A.; the captains of three ships, they have an axe (Slapdash, make a ship!), a pipe (an army with guns will appear), a sabre (wave - a silver bridge); A. gives Reason for these items, and he returns to him; everything in the house is burned down; A. orders the axe to create a palace, and E. in it; A. called the army, spared the tsar, ordered the cows to graze for 30 years; he is still grazing; A. built Reason the same palace and a silver bridge between them]: Razumova, Senkina 1987: 35-42; Russian: Russians (Olonetskaya, Vytegorsky uyezd, Shalga village) [a soldier is released for three days; three swans are flying, he shot at the middle one, it fell, became a maiden; they got married; on the fourth day he came to the tsar; the tsar ordered to show his wife; her brain can be seen flowing from bone to bone; the tsar orders his advisers to think of a way to kill the soldier in order to take his wife; one senator suggests: let him count how many rivers, streams and lakes there are in the world; wife: pray to the Savior, the morning is wiser than the evening; called the birds, asks who can fly around the whole earth; the falcon can, he counted them all, the soldier gave a note to the tsar; senator: let him bring the bird that is on the island of Dunan in the ocean-sea, itself gold, a silver head, silver and gold eggs (the same, the falcon brought); go there, I don’t know where, bring something, I don’t know what; the wife tells him to put on iron bast shoes and walk until they wear out; there will be a hut on a chicken leg, on a spindle heel, you must tell him to turn his back to the forest, with the porch towards me; there a girl is winding silk, digging coals with her nose; he sees a towel given by his wife: this is my sister’s; he sends to the second sister; she tells him to go to the cape; a terrible frog will swim up, open its mouth, let out foam; you must enter its mouth; the soldier entered, then the doors, opened them, the sea king came towards him, calls him his beloved son-in-law; gives Vanyushka; whatever you ask for, he will give; V.: boldly exchange me - I will return; they met a man with a chest, in it were heroes with horses; they exchanged, V. returned; another with a club (same); the soldier tells the heroes of the king and the senator to “move apart into 6 parts; he himself began to reign with his wife]: Azadovsky 1947, No. 9: 80-84;Russian: Russians (former Olonetskaya, Zaonezhye) [Andrei was a marksman for Tsar Yermolai; he shot a turtledove, she ordered him to bring it home, to hit her left side with his right hand; she became a beauty; they got married; she ordered to buy silk; she waved her hand, ordered the servants to weave a carpet with the image of the whole state by tomorrow morning; the minister bought it for 5000 rubles, E. bought it out of hand; the minister came to A., saw his wife, told E., who ordered A. to be killed within three days; the witch advised sending A. to Buyan Island for a sheep with a golden head; the wife orders the servants to bring the sheep; in the morning the sheep is home; and A. swam and returned, having given the crew a drink; the witch: send to look for it, it is not an animal, not a cripple, does not look like a man; the servants do not know; The wife gave A. a ball of yarn: to follow it, and to dry himself only with his towel; A. came to the house, in it were three beauties, similar to his wife; they saw the towel, recognized his sister; their mother called birds, fish, animals - no one knows; the frog knows, tells to put her in milk; she determined the direction, drank the milk, grew big, tells A. to sit on it; jumped over the golden wall; A. went into the cave; two old men come: Brother-Reason, gather something to eat; everything appears by itself; A.: Matchmaker-Reason, do you want to serve me? answers: I do; carried it to his mother-in-law, then to a merchant ship; tells to exchange it for three wonders, and then he will return; it is a horn, there are soldiers in it; a small hatchet: slapdash and the ship is ready; a box, there is a crystal palace in it; Brother-Reason also returned; while A. was away, E. tried to take his wife, but she flew away as a turtledove; A. routed E.'s army, the turtledove flew back and became his wife; they began to reign]: Karnaukhova 2009, no. 53: 154-160; Russians (Vologda) [the tsar's man brought back three birds from hunting every day; one day he didn't get a single one, he saw a duck; she told him not to shoot, but to marry her; he would have a lot of birds; the tsar ordered to show his wife, decided to take her away; asked the generals where to send the man; one general after 12 days: send God knows where, bring God knows what; the wife gave two towels: where she would spend the night, so that he could dry himself with his own; the ball rolled away, he followed it to the hut in the forest; the table was set for three, the man hid; three entered: invisible man, serve; when they left, the man himself asked the invisible man to set the table and invited him to come with him; the old man offers to exchange the invisible man for a hammer: if you knock, regiments of soldiers will appear; the invisible man: exchange! the man received the hammer, but the invisible man did not leave him; the same with another old man (he has a butterfly, in it a flock of sheep); now the tsar, on the advice of the general, orders a golden oak with silver branches to be moved to his palace; the wife waved her handkerchief, the oak was moved; the tsar rewarded the man, and hanged the general]: Burtsev 1895, No. 4: 17-22; Russian(Vologda) [After serving, soldier Ivan received a hut from the tsar and became a hunter; 12 swans flew to the seashore, took off their wings, and became girls; the soldier hid one pair of wings; “If an old woman - be a grandmother or mother, an elderly man - a grandfather or father, if a young man - be your betrothed; the wife created a good home, the tsar was envious; they offered to send Ivan I don’t know where to bring I don’t know what; the wife gave a ball of yarn to go get, and a towel - only to dry himself with; I. reached the house by the sea, took out a towel, the hostess recognized him, she was the sister of Ivan's wife; she sent him to the second sister, the second - to the third; the third sends to the heroes, he must hide with them; the heroes enter: "Murzya, come to the table!"; and when they left, I. invited Murzya to dine with him; the grateful M. stayed with Ivan; On the way back they meet a man who has a spear capable of destroying any army; M. orders to exchange it for himself - he will return immediately; Ivan destroyed the tsar and began to rule himself]: Kuzmina 2008, No. 50: 125-127; Russians (Vologda) [Yegor Neschastny tells two merchant's sons that by shooting at flying geese, he will shoot down four at once; and so it happened; the tsar took him in; E. wants to shoot at the swan; she orders not to shoot, becomes a beauty, promises to deliver as many birds as needed; the tsar agreed to marry them, but he is envious, wants to get rid of E.; the senators do not know what to advise; Vanyushka the Drunkard suggests ordering that the forest be uprooted overnight, etc., and in the morning to bake pies from the collected wheat; the wife orders the spirits, they do everything; bring a golden pig with 12 piglets; spirits bring; go there, I don’t know where, bring that, I don’t know what; the wife gives a ball of yarn and a scarf; she will bring the ball to the middle sister, and by the scarf she will recognize her son-in-law; the middle one sends to the eldest; the eldest to their mother, but not to show himself to the father, for the decorated pig belonged to him; Kashchei the Deathless told his wife at night where to go, gave her a ring; she gave it to Yegor; he swam on a dolphin; the Sea King comes: Kukhta-mukhta, I’m hungry; when he left, E. asks where I don’t know what; KM: it’s me; he went with E.; at that time the king tried to take possession of E.’s wife, she flew away like a bird; E. returned; first the king arranged a feast, then E.; the king’s head was cut off]: Sokolov, Sokolov 1981, No. 30: 116-122; Russians{for this and for single-plot texts #213 and 214, the entry location is not specified} [the archer Fedot wounded a turtledove; it asks to bring it home, and when drowsiness comes over it, to hit it; became a girl, a wife; orders to buy silk; calls two young men, they weave a carpet; the commandant bought it for 10 thousand rubles, and the king bought it from him for 25 thousand; the commandant sees the archer's wife, shows it to the king; he orders to kill the archer in order to take a wife for himself; Baba Yaga advises the commandant to suggest to the king to send the archer to the island on a rotten ship for a deer with golden antlers; the wife orders the young men to bring the deer; Baba Yaga advises to tell F. to go there, I don't know where, to bring that, I don't know what; the wife gives a ball to go for, and her handicrafts; the king orders F.'s wife to follow him, she flies away like a turtledove; F. comes to three girls, they recognize his towel, they are his wife's sisters; their mother calls animals and birds, only the frog knows about this wonder; she jumped with F. over a river of fire; F. hid in a cave; two old men enter, ask Shmat-razum to feed them; when they left, F. called him too, offered to sit with him; he agrees to follow him; F. came to the old woman with her daughters, went on, got tired, Sh. carried him; orders to exchange him with the merchants for three wonders, he will return; they have a box in which there is a garden, an axe that makes ships, a horn from which an army emerges; Sh. also returned to F.; F. built a palace, defeated the king's army, himself became king, his wife became queen]: Afanasyev 1958 (2), No. 212: 134-145; Russians(Voronezhskaya, Pershino village, Nizhnedevitsky district, 1936) [While hunting, the Tsar's favorite soldier gets lost in the forest. He meets a beauty, falls in love with him and offers to stay with him, she agrees. He shows her to the Tsar. The Tsar himself falls in love with her and wants to execute her, but the executioners pity the soldier and offer the Tsar to send him "there, I don't know where, to find I don't know what." The beauty gives the young man a ball of yarn and promises not to marry the Tsar until he returns. The soldier follows the ball of yarn, finds himself in a dense forest, and enters a dugout. The old woman questions him, he asks her to feed him first and put him to bed. In the morning, the old woman sees her daughter's personalized scarf on the soldier, he tells the old woman about her, she looks in books for where to get what the Tsar ordered to find, but does not find it and gives him the ball of yarn. He brings her to her sister, an even older old woman, who lives in a dugout by the sea, cannot find the answer in books, collects fish, snakes, etc. by the seashore, asks where to find "that, I don't know what", they answer that they do not know, but the old cancer is not among them, the lame cancer finds him. The old cancer brings from the sea a monster without a head, legs - this is "that, I don't know what". The soldier sits on the monster and goes to the king. On the way, he exchanges the monster for an axe with carpenters. He enters a dugout in a dense forest, sees how the invisible "brother Kherson" serves a 12-headed snake, puts treats on 12 heads. When the snake flies away, the soldier asks for treats on 2 heads, Kherson, in gratitude for the soldier inviting him to the table, promises to help him. He ends up in a large house with robbers, they seat him at the table, he says that his dinner is better, calls for brother Kherson, who brings treats. The robbers ask to exchange "brother Kherson" for a magic horn (what you wish for after you blow the horn will come true), he does not want to, but his brother whispers in his ear that he will stay with him anyway and exchanges the soldier. He makes a wish and receives a whole army of soldiers and leads them to the king. On the way, brother Kherson feeds the entire army, and then hides them back in the horn. He brings the horn and an axe to the king, who is going to execute him. An army appears from the horn, the axe builds barracks, brother Kherson sets the tables for the entire army. The king and ministers are frightened, agree to give the soldier control of the state and submit to him]: Pukhova 2006, No. 3: 27-32; Ukrainians(Kherson) [Ivan was left an orphan; served for three years, began to burn incense; God sent an angel to ask what Ivan wanted; a wife; God gave him a wife, they went to look for work; people are in a hurry to thresh; wife: don't hurry, it won't rain; the owner wants Ivan's wife for himself, tells him to bring 12 wolves; the wife gave him a ball of yarn, he drove the wolves; 12 bears - the same; a gusli; the wife gave a towel, a bottle of water and a piece of bread, told him to go to a hut where it was light; there the mother of the winds offers to eat, drink, make a bed; Ivan refuses - he has everything his own; when he took out the towel, the old woman recognized her daughter's; she sent her sons-winds to turn the sea and get the gusli from the bottom; then they carried the man home; a storm blew down the owner's house, it burned down, I. lives well with his wife]: Yastrebov 1894, No. 7: 130-134; Belarusians (Mogilev) [the orphan Ivan went wherever his eyes looked; a girl came along and began to live with him; the master found out, sends I. abroad for a wild ox, wants to take his wife; the wife gives him a ball of yarn; it rolls, I. after it, throws a bridle on the bear and brings him; hearing that I. brought the ox, the master orders him to drive it into the barn; the bear slaughtered all the cattle; now the master orders him to go to the gusli, so that they give him the gusli; the wife gives him the ball of yarn again; I. comes to the gusli, fights with him; wipes his face with a tent; the gusli recognized his sister's kerchief; the gusli recognized, gave the gusli; On the way back a man orders to exchange a gusli for a stick, which itself kills; having exchanged, orders the stick to kill the man, takes the gusli; another man orders to exchange a gusli for his axe, which does everything (the same); the master sends I. to his father to ask where he hid the money; I. goes for the ball again; in one place he sees how a man is “propping up a raft” (he wanted to die and asked God - let him in the next world “at least prop up the raft”); in another two birds are fighting (in life they were sorceresses); in a third a young woman is swimming in milk (she was a witch and took milk from cows); they bring resin to the master’s father; he explains: half of the money is under the manger, and the other is where the collars are hung; the master orders I. to climb into the boiling resin; he jumped together with his wife, both turned golden; “they captured the master under the raft”; [they ordered the axe to build a house, dug up money, and began to make a fortune]: Shein 1893, No. 20: 42-47; Belarusians(Cherekovsky district, Studenets, 1888-1891, from peasant Ivan Pavlov, 70 years old, illiterate) [An old man and an old woman live. In her old age, the old woman gives birth to a son, but they refuse to baptize him, so they call him Nameless. He grows up, asks his mother why he is called that. She tells him. He sets out on a journey, meets three hermits, they baptize him and call him TS (ES). They teach him to read and write, raise him. He asks the fathers for permission to see the world. They check if he is greedy for other people's property, put him on a horse, and leave silver on the road. TS puts the silver in his pocket. They leave him for another year. A year later, the same with gold. A year later, the elders leave three guns on a tree, TS takes one, the hermits bless him and tell him what he needs to do. TS goes to the capital city. Near the city on the mountain he plucks three feathers from the Firebird's tail on the third try and sets the horse free. He goes to the king, offers to cure his horses and cures them with the feathers. The king makes him the chief coachman. The other coachmen are dissatisfied, find out from him how he cured the horses, tell the king that TS can get the Firebird. The king sends him to get the Firebird. TS cries, calls the horse, the horse tells him how to catch the Firebird. TS asks the king for sweet and strong drinks and a tablecloth. He spreads the tablecloth on the mountain, places the drinks, hides. The Firebird drinks, gets drunk, falls on the tablecloth. TS grabs her and takes her to the king. The king offers rewards, but TS refuses. An eclipse occurs for three days and three nights. The king wants to know why it happened, reads books, looks for people. The coachmen say that TS knows how to find out. The king sends him to find out. TS cries, calls his horse, the horse tells him how to find the sun. TS takes a ball of three threads from the king: gold, silver and silk. This ball leads him to the house of the sun. On the way he meets an old woman who pours water from one well to another, ravens who fight with otters, a man who props up a fence, a man who beats windows with his fists, a fish on which they ride across the sea. Everyone asks to find out from the sun how much longer they will suffer. The ball leads Trem-son to the hut where the old woman, the mother of the sun, sits, he tells her the questions. The mother wraps him in 12 skins and puts him in a chest ( skryunu).). The sun comes, during the night the mother wakes the sun and asks him questions, as if she dreamed it. The sun says that the eclipse happened because he saw the beautiful Nastasya and wanted to dry up the sea to marry her, but he couldn’t. The fish will be able to swim away if it spits out all the ships and people it swallowed. The old man smashes the windows with his fists because many people asked him to spend the night, but he didn’t let them in. If he repents of his sins, he will stop. The crows fight with the otters because they break God’s law and appoint more than two godfathers to one child. If they repent, they will stop. The old man props up the fence because he said that somehow we will survive here, and in the next world at least prop up the fence. If he repents, he will stop. The woman pours out water because she stole milk. If he repents, he will stop. The TS returns to the king, passing on all the answers on the way. The Tsar is pleased, wants to marry Nastasya, sends Three-son for her. TS cries, calls for the horse, the horse tells him what to do. TS takes women's clothing from the Tsar, goes to the sea, lays out the clothing in the tent. Nastasya swims up to him, wants to look. TS grabs her and beats her with an iron whip until she promises to go with him. He brings her to the Tsar. The Tsar is pleased, lives with her for some time, falls in love, wants to marry. Nastasya says that her beauty is kept at the bottom of the sea, sends TS for her. The whale-fish gets a chest from the sea, the otters help to open the chest, a duck flies out of the chest, the crows tear the duck apart, an egg falls from it into the sea, the whale-fish brings the egg to TS. He gives it to Nastasya, and she becomes even more beautiful. The Tsar calls for marriage again. Nastasya says that she needs to return her joy, gives TS a handkerchief, tells him what to do. TS takes three coachmen (his criminals) with him and goes to the wolf, Nastasya's brother. He makes a self-playing gusli. Three coachmen take turns shining for him, but they fall asleep, the wolf eats them. TS shines, wants to sleep, washes, wipes his face with Nastasya's handkerchief. The wolf recognizes his sister's handkerchief, gives him a gusli. He goes, plays, on the way meets an old man with a club. TS exchanges the gusli for a club, and then sends the club to return the gusli to himself. He meets a peddler with a box, exchanges the gusli for a box in which there is an innumerable force of troops, and then sends the club to return the gusli to himself. He meets a shepherd with a stick ( a scarecrow)), as many times as you swing, so many herds of cattle will there be. TS exchanges a stick for a club, and then sends the club to return the gusli to himself. He meets a rich merchant, exchanges the gusli for a self-assembled tablecloth, and then sends the club to return the gusli to himself. He meets carpenters, exchanges the gusli for an axe, which he builds himself, and then sends the club to return the gusli to himself. TS on the other side of the river from the city where the king lives, builds a palace for himself, spreads a tablecloth, opens a box of wax, places sentries and servants, drives cattle. TS calls Nastasya and the king to him. Nastasya cuts TS into pieces with a sword, rinses the meat, pours dead water over it, then living water. TS comes to life and becomes even more beautiful. The king asks to make him like that too. Nastasya chops up the king and feeds him to the dogs. [Nastasya and TS are getting married]: Romanov 1901, No. 33: 297-311; Belarusians (Sakuny of Polesia) [a young man hired himself out as a farm laborer; refuses 80 rubles, but asks for three shelyags (a shilling, a Polish silver coin) a year; threw them into the river; the same the next year; on the third year, 6 shelyags floated up and stood; he used this money to buy a cat from his children; spent the night in a place where cats were unknown, there was no control over mice, the cat strangled them; the local king paid for the cat as much gold as was needed to bury the cat; the young man used this money to buy a cartload of incense, took it out into the field and set it on fire; God asks what he needs; the young man: a way to bring goodness into the world; God sent an angel, who handed over a stick with a ring: she must wave it by the sea; a beauty appeared, they began to live together; In the third year she sends to her mother and brother for a gusli, which plays, sings and jumps by itself; she gave a handkerchief with her, having written a letter to her mother on it; the husband turned into a falcon and flew away; the mother-in-law saw the handkerchief, recognized her son-in-law, hid it from her son; he demands that the son-in-law stay awake all night; the man did not fall asleep; then he went into the forest and reported how many trees there were growing and how many were dry; otherwise he would eat him; the man did not fall asleep, received a gusli and a magic horse; a man with a stick comes towards him, orders to exchange for a gusli; they had to exchange; stick: I will take the gusli back now; the same with another man, who has a sack; robbers attacked by the sea; the man with his stick the size of a ring divided the sea, passed by, and the robbers drowned; the wife is happy at home; troops come out of the sack; the man proposes war to the king; the king: first they lined the road to the palace with black cloth; cloth appears from a sack; the tsar's army is destroyed; the tsar calls a man to the palace; a nobleman tried to steal the sack, but the stick broke his arm; the same with the tsar, who reached for the gusli; the tsar gave away half his kingdom; the man became tsar, returned to his wife]: Serbov 1915, No. 1: 169-173; Belarusians (Chernigovskaya, Novozybsky district) []: Shein 1893, No. 81: 168-170.
Caucasus – Asia Minor. Armenians [a hunter brings a dove; the house is tidied; the hunter's mother sees the dove turn into a girl; she grabs it; the hunter marries her; the king demands that he bring something, I don't know what; the wife reproaches him for not leaving her feathers; he sends him to his sisters, gives him a towel, does not allow strangers to dry themselves , otherwise it will turn into a rope; they, King Kajats, the kings of Snakes, do not know how to get Mice; the king of frogs calls Delagoras; he takes him into the forest, disappears; another man asks Afandi to bring food; she appears herself; gives Afandi to the hunter; on the way A. asks to sell himself to a Kurd, a peddler, and returns each time; the hunter tells the king that he did not find what he needed, A. kills the king, defeats his army; the hunter becomes king]: Ghanalanyan 1965: 114-120.
Iran - Central Asia. Uzbeks (Karabulak near Chimkent, west in 1924) [a rich man has a daughter and two shepherds; one dreams that he has the sun on one cheek, the moon on the other, and the star Venus in the middle; the other shepherd bought this dream by giving away his cattle; the rich man's daughter agreed with her lover that he would take her away; he overslept; the shepherd fell asleep right there by the pool; the girl mistook him for her lover, woke him up, telling her lover that he would take her away; he overslept; the shepherd fell asleep right there by the pool; the girl mistook him for her lover and went with him; he remains silent in response to the offer to breed sheep, cattle, and shoot ducks; she decides that he is of noble birth, takes her to the city, the mullah marries them; The vizier suggests that the king take the woman, send her husband 1) for tiger's milk (the wife teaches him how to remove a splinter from the king of tigers); 2) for the gul-kaakhka flower; the wife gives her scarf, the owner of the flower sees that it is her sister's scarf, she comes as the young man's second wife, he gives the king a bouquet; when she goes, pearls and gold are poured out; 3) to find out about the health of the king's deceased parents; the husband stands on the pyre, both wives fly up, unnoticed, take him off; the wives teach him to tell the king that his father sews boots, his mother spins, ask him to visit them; the king burns at the stake, the husband ascends to the throne]: Yudakhin 1927: 417-425.
Baltoscandia. Latvians [while riding the king's horse, a servant comes across an old man in the forest; he orders him not to open the gates tied with bast; there is a lake behind the gates, three ducks come to bathe, throw off their clothes, and turn into girls; the young man hides the clothes of one; he returns them, they turn him into a dove; upon returning, the old man returns him to human form; the same a second time; the old man advises him not to give up the dress, the young man takes the beauty as his wife, and returns to the king; the sorcerer advises the king to torment the servant with difficult errands; 1) bring a lion; the wife gives a kerchief, the girl in the hut recognizes her sister by it, and orders her to throw the kerchief over the lion's nose; 2) bring an apple tree; the wife's other sister rolls the apple tree into a kerchief; 3) go there, I don't know where, and bring that, I don't know what ; the wife promises the king to marry him if her husband does not return within a year; the third sister orders to kiss the knees of the dead Mother Earth; she comes to life, calls the birds and animals, only the lame Frog knows the way; the invisible I Don't Know What orders to feed the snake, to ask her for a casket; an army comes out of her, kills the king, the servant reigns]: Arijs 1971: 101-114; Lutsi (zap. 1931 from a Catholic gypsy) [Danil Beschatny serves a rich man for three years; he agrees to give a "lisping rooster" as payment, and his wife said that God is above all; the owner gave 4 measures of buckwheat; it sprouted well, the poor man asked Mikola for a blessing, but he froze the shoots; DB bought a mare, asked Yegor not to harm her, but wolves ate the mare; he hired himself to tie a hundred sheaves before sunset, and if he does not tie them, he will receive a hundred rods; There are two sheaves left, DB asked the sun to wait, but it set and DB received a rod for his work; the Sun's sister came to him and began to live with him; now the house has everything; the master found out about his wife, sent DP to his late father for a letter; the wife gives him a ball of yarn and tells him to ask for a steward to go with him; the devils tore him to pieces, and the old master tells his son not to oppress people, so as not to suffer after death; the master sends with a letter to the Sun; the wife gives a handkerchief so that her husband can be recognized by it; DB comes to Mikola, asks him for a stick, beats him mercilessly for buckwheat; the same with Yegor - for the mare; the mother of the Sun, seeing the handkerchief, is kind, promises to pacify her angry son; having learned that his son-in-law has arrived, the Sun is benevolent, sends DB to paradise for half a day in his place while he writes a letter; DB smashed and broke everything in paradise; Mikola, Yegor and the Sun come to complain to the mother of the Sun; she explains what they got for their deed; DB returned with a letter to the master: if you touch your son-in-law again, I will burn down the house]: Annom et al. 2018: 239-243; Setu [a young man saw in a dream an apple tree on the seashore; let him not touch the copper apple that is below, and the gold one that is above, but let him pick the silver one in the middle; he came to the apple tree, tried to get the gold apple, but found a silver one in his hand; he threw it away and suddenly a voice: Ivan Tsarevich, wait; he brought the girl to himself, the tsar wants to take her away, demands that he build a bridge across the sea overnight; in the morning his wife: go and knock, as if you built the bridge; a church overnight and so that there be a service in it (the same); bring a gusli (kannel) from the underworld; his wife gave him a towel with her name embroidered on it, food and fat; grease the gate hinges with fat, throw the food to the lions; he did so, came to the old woman; she hid them from her cannibal sons, but they came and invited them to the table; the old woman saw her daughter's towel; they ask why the guest does not eat; I wonder whether the sky is higher or the earth deeper; the old woman's sons rushed to measure - the earth is deeper; more stars or holes in the ground; the same (more holes); while the sons finally got down to eating, their mother asks why the guy came; having learned that he was after the gusli, she gives it to him; she also gave him a brush and a comb - to throw away if there was a pursuit; he threw the brush - the forest; then the comb - the sea; the devils tried to drink it and burst; the guy brought the gusli, the king left him alone]: Säärits 2022: 349-351; Veps [dying, the old man tells his son to marry the one who comes out to meet him first; the first is a bird, the guy took it into the house; the neighboring grandmother tells her to give her linen and tells her to sew a shirt and pants; she sewed them; the grandmother tells him to take twigs and watch at the door; the guy saw the girl, began to whip her with twigs; She turned into a snake, into a wolf; when she became a spindle, the guy broke it, stuck it under a stump, said "There is a golden mountain behind, a young wife ahead"; Baba Yaga's maids found out about the girl, they persuade the king, he orders Vanya to bring a child's bag; the wife teaches him to go where they plow on a gray horse, pluck three hairs; where the earth shakes, throw hairs to the earth, the earth gives a chest of bags; the king orders to prepare a royal dinner; the wife cooked; the king: do you know how to make live geese; the wife gives her husband a letter, orders him to take two old women with him; they come to the old woman, she replies that her sons make geese; the old woman's sons ask that a light be shined on them; the first old woman went, dozed off, she was killed; the same with the second; the guy went, began to doze; he replies that he did not doze, but was thinking - more damp or dry earth, more damp; they went to measure, it turned out that there really was more raw; the next time the guy answered that he had not dozed off, but took a handkerchief from his pocket; they read it - it was their son-in-law! They said that the wife had been stolen, everyone was waiting for a feast; one: I'll take it in an hour; the second - in half an hour; the third - in a moment; seeing her husband, the young wife ordered the geese to play; they began to play, turned over the tables, killed many people, the king asks to stop the geese; the guy: first appoint me king; the king appointed]: Onegina, Zaitseva 1996, No. 14: 81-85; Finns[a hunter sees three ducks come ashore, throw off their feather clothes, become girls; hides the clothes of the most beautiful; returned when she promised to become his wife; she is the most beautiful of all, the king wants to take her for his son, he is advised to give the duck girl's husband impossible tasks; 1) make a Tischplatte by morning, on which there are moon and stars (the wife drew); 2) bring nothing from nowhere; the wife made a handkerchief by morning, sent her on her way; when the husband reaches the house in which he sees something strange, let him show the handkerchief and behave as if it were his own; around the house there is a fence of bones, a skull on each post, only one is empty; old woman: human flesh came itself; seeing the handkerchief: you are the husband of my aunt's daughter! asks the servants where to look for nothing and nothing, they do not know; she sent to her sister, she - to the third sister; the old toad, who came last, knew there; the old woman told them to follow her; the toad led them into a house, where they hid in a dark corner; a man came in, called Nobody (Nichtda), ordered the table to be set; everything was done by itself, the servant was not visible; when the newcomer left, the man decided to call Nobody himself; he agreed to go with him; the man kept asking if Nobody was there; they sailed on a ship, the man told Nobody to feed the sailors; they offered to exchange the table with food that appears at will (and which Nobody had set) for an anvil: if you hit it with a hammer, 12 young men would appear who fulfill wishes; but Nobody stayed with him; the sailors, seeing that the magic table was gone, rushed after the man, but he ordered the young men to drive them away; the man came when his wife was being given in marriage to the king's son; he threw his ring into her cup, she recognized it and said that her husband was alive; the young men beat the king to death, the man was reunited with his wife and became king himself]: Salmelainen 1947: 33-39 (=Konkka 1991: 162-173); Western Sami [a young fisherman is having no luck; an old man came up to him, gave him a fishing rod, told him that when he got a bite, he should not look at what he had caught three times, cut it into pieces, and throw it back; the first three times he caught bones of a head, arm, and leg; the fourth time the young man caught a beauty; she began to weave scarves, the husband sells them; the prince wanted to take his wife away; the king told the young man to bring a wolf with hairless legs; the wife: go back to where you pulled me out from; the young man came with two companions; the wolf offered to play cards and won, the wolf's wife boiled one of the companions; the second time the same thing; the third time the wife sharpens the knife, the young man takes out a handkerchief, the wolf sees his daughter's name on it, recognizes his son-in-law; puts the young man on his back, brings him to the king's castle, where the young man's wife marries the prince; the wolf jumps in through the window, hits the king, who falls to pieces; the people make the young man king; all is well]: Pollan 2005, no. 25: 98-100.
Volga - Perm. Komi [after serving 25 years, Fedot decided that his parents had died and began to live in a forest hut; an old woman cook says that there will be no luck today; F. goes into the forest, there is no game, he sees a beautiful bird, takes aim three times, the bird tells him not to shoot; F. brings it home; the bird tells him to fire the cook; every day someone cooks and cleans; F. spied, caught a girl; she tells him to marry her, otherwise she will fly away; for three years she is a woman at night, a bird during the day, then the term of the vow is over; she tells him to buy silk, in the morning a tablecloth with woven trees, etc. is ready; F. takes the tablecloth to the market, the treasurer buys it for a lot, the tsar orders more; the treasurer sees F.'s wife, is dumbfounded, tells the tsar; The witch advises the king to send F. to catch a black deer in the White Sea; the wife brings the deer from the forest; she says that the ship will stay afloat for only 3 days; the crew is drunk, I. turns the ship around, brings the deer to the king; the witch orders to send F. I don’t know where, I don’t know why, to bring I don’t know whom ; the wife gives white, red and blue threads, they will show the way; gives a towel: unfold it when trouble comes; F. comes into the house, the old woman orders him to wash in the bathhouse so that he can eat it when her brothers come; the giants come, things are bad, but F. unfolded the towel, the old woman recognized him as her son-in-law; the frog croaks: it turns out that F.'s wife is her daughter; she jumped with him over the first sea; she teaches him what to do; when she jumped over the third sea, she died; F. listens to the conversation of the young men: Matrazum, bring dinner; when they left, F. himself calls M., but thanks; M.: no one thanked me, I will go with you; F. sails on a ship, M. teaches him to sell it for a small magic pipe; M. returned three days later; F. arrived home, his parents had died, and one of his brothers-in-law gave him a wolf cub; he orders to get rid of the tsar's army; the wife orders to blow through the pipe; the army went out, swept away the tsar, F. and his wife reigned]: Plesovsky 1975: 52-63; Chuvash [the forest is empty, I. comes to a tree on which there are all birds; he shoots a large white one, it falls, he brings it to the hut, it turns into a beauty; the wife weaves a self-assembled tablecloth, the husband carries it to sell, the tsar sees, comes to find out who the craftswoman is; the sages advise sending I. for a goat with golden horns and wool; the wife sends him to go for a ball of yarn, he brings it to the goat; the same boar with golden bristles; they send for Sharapchik the invisible ; the wife gives a towel, sends for a ball to her elder sister; there is a girl in a silver palace, recognizes the towel of her younger sister; she gives her ball and a ring, the ball leads to the eldest sister in a golden palace; she directs to the river, followed by Sh.; the frog asks for milk, I. brings it, the frog jumps, carries it across the river; three robbers enter the triangular house, order Sh. to set the table; when they leave, I. invites Sh. to go with him, he agrees; orders to exchange it with the robbers for the crossing of the river, a chest, an axe, a pipe; returns to I.; I. goes to war against the king, pipes - ships, from the chest - soldiers, axes make fortresses; I. kills the king, receives the throne, and also a goat and a boar]: Sidorova 1979: 98-105 (= Eyzin 1993: 129-138); Kazan Tatars [after the death of their father, the elder brother drove Abdullah away; the elder tells A. to get a dagger from a golden palace behind the Kaf mountains; A. went there, ran away from the lions, took the dagger out of its sheath, a girl appeared; the padishah wants to take her away, orders them to bring 1) a gusli; the old man sends A. and his wife to his brother, he - to his sister, she first hides her from her sons, the sons will help if A. does not sleep for three nights; on the second {obviously, the first} night they ask if A. is asleep; he answers that he thinks there is more firewood or trees in the forest; on the third {second} - living or dead; They brought a gusli, and A. is sleeping; they want to kill him, but they carried him home, seeing his sister's headscarf on him; 2) algu and kulgu stones; A. hides in a house where there are 7 golden basins, in them 7 golden kumgans, a stick on the table; 7 batyrs enter, one asks who poured the water out of his kumgan; they order the stick to feed him dinner, they leave; A. asks the stick to feed him and thanks it; stick: no one thanked me, I will go with you; A. promises an old man, whose workers are building something, for.. {unclear}; he: I will dive, if the foam is white - he is alive, if black - he died; the old man dives, but comes back, rubbed himself with white powder again, dived successfully; the algu stone kills everything, the kulgu stone revives everything; A. calls the algu, the padishah's men fall dead; kulgu! they come to life; A. himself becomes the padishah]: Yarmukhametov 1970: 246-254; Bashkirs[the vizier Urtan-Sultan goes to get married; the horse advises him to choose the most unsightly of three doves that the king-sorcerer will show him; she turns into a girl; he takes with him a copper kumgan, the water from which can turn her into an ugly woman or a beauty at will; US lives with his wife in a bathhouse on the outskirts of the city, but the king saw his wife and decided to destroy him; the sages advise him to order him to get 1) three lions; the wife teaches how to bring the lions; 2) a music box from a cave (ditto); 3) an iron box; the wife gives a towel, the old woman-mistress of the winds recognizes from it that US is the husband of her elder sister's daughter; the winds do not know where the box is, the old woman sends birds to the mistress; the birds say that the lame frog knows; in the underworld in a stone bathhouse there is a cup of human milk; it must be poured out; in the evening 60 pahlavans will return, decide that someone ate human flesh, kill each other; you need to kill the last guard, drink water from his bottle, you will become strong, lift the slab, under it is a box; US protected the chicks of the bird Samrigush from the thunderstorm, for this she raised him to the earthly world; there was not enough meat, US cut off a piece of his leg; S. burped, put it back; warriors came out of the box, killed the king, threw his head to the wolves; US and his wife went home]: Barag 1989, No. 30: 153-159.
Turkestan. Kazakhs [the khan makes the son of the deceased vizier a new one; the young man sees a duck with 99 colors, it asks not to shoot, becomes a beauty; the young man is absent from the palace for a long time, the khan sends servants, the wife turns into a golden chest; two former candidates for viziers offer to ruin the young man by giving difficult assignments: to get 1) a golden eagle with feathers of 99 colors, 2) a bear with fur of 99 colors; the wife releases both from the kerchief; the beggar offers to tell the young man to get 3) "Go there - come back here"; the wife sends him with her kerchief to the peri world, while she herself will be the stove in the house; in the peri city the young man does not see the inhabitants, and they him; he approached the boy, he immediately falls dead; the peri mullah explains that the boy was hit by a man; the young man is brought to the peri king; the youth's wife's sister recognizes her kerchief; a young man is sent to another city, where the wife's second sister lives; only a blind frog knows how to carry out the order, orders a ship to be built from precious stones; the young man sails to another king, who tells the servants "Go there - come back here"; this is the name of the servant, he brings a cup of tea and a cup of meat, the young man gives the meat to the servant; the servant says that the king has never treated him, goes with the young man; watching the miracles happening from the tower, the old khan demands that he get "Go there - come back here"; the khan's people killed him, chose a new young man]: Daurenbekov 1979: 96-99 (another translation from the same original or a very similar text in Tursunov 1983: 234-239).
Southern Siberia – Mongolia. Baikal Buryats(Tunkinsky) [an orphan earned a horse, wolves ate it; he takes on a bet to chop four fathoms of firewood in a day; there is little left, the orphan asks the Sun to wait, but the Sun sets; he works as a farm laborer for another year, receives seed grain, in the fall his harvest is ruined by hail; he goes to the sea to fish and catch animals in snares; he sees how 7 swans flew in, threw off their clothes, became girls, began to swim; the poor man hides the clothes of the most beautiful; she asks to return them, promises to acknowledge the kidnapper as her father if he is old, her husband if he is young; the orphan returns her dress, keeps the headscarf for himself; he continues to admire his wife; so that her husband does not get bored, she draws her portrait for him; the wind carries it away, the soldiers bring it to Abaakhai Khan, he orders them to find the woman; they go into the orphan's house to roast a bird; they do not take their eyes off the hostess, the bird is burnt; the mistress makes it unburned, orders not to tell what they saw; the bird satisfies the hunger of AH and three soldiers; AH orders to linger in these places; the next day the soldiers do not look at the woman, they roast the bird, it has an ordinary taste, AH beats them, forcing them to tell everything; locks the orphan and his wife in an iron barn; orders the orphan 1) to bring an evil yellow dog from the east; the wife gives a hook, the orphan pacifies the dog with it; 2) to cleanse the bottom of the hot hell; the wife gives a red thread to get out of hell; it is impossible to cleanse hell, but the orphan suggests AH to check it himself, to go down; 3) to bring tribute from the son of the Star and the son of the Sun; the wife gives the thread to climb to the sky, to show her handkerchief to her mother, she recognizes her as a matchmaker; a guard climbs after him, the orphan shakes him off, he falls; After resting at his mother-in-law's, the orphan comes to the wife of the son of the Star, who hides him in a hot cellar; when the son of the Star arrives, everything cools down; the son of the Star sends to the son of the Sun; along the way 1) two roosters ask to find out why they are fighting; 2) a woman - why is she sitting on the horns of a cow; 3) another woman - why is she lying down, water flows into her mouth, flows out from behind; the wife of the son of the Sun hides the orphan in a cold cellar; he begged the son of the Sun to send him on a day's journey on the horse Altan Sharga in his place; at noon he must dine on a silver table with 88 legs; the old man lying face down replies that he is looking at his seven dogs on the ground to show them the cattle that they can eat; the orphan breaks his arm, knocks out his eye because he gave his horse, for which he worked a year, to the wolves to eat; another old man answers that he is trying to blow back the hailstones and rain that he lets through the heavenly doors; the orphan beats him, breaks his arm, knocks out his eye because he ruined his crops; in the evening the son of the Sun gives the orphan a golden cane for AH; he says that the woman lying on the ground did not give mothers milk for their newborns; another beat a cow that was milked in honor of the eastern zayans; one should swing a cane at roosters, they will turn into gold and silver; AH wants to kill the orphan, he swings a cane at him and his warriors, they fall dead; the orphan was chosen as khan, the daughter of tenegeri - khansha]: Barannikova et al. 1993, No. 2: 37-61.