K38f6. Fire creature.

.14.-.17.27.28.-.31.33.34.41.45.48.

A creature made of fire is mentioned.

Tunisia, Italians (Campania), French (Franche-Comté), Germans (Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse, Alsace), Old Testament, Serbs, Czechs, Russians (Nizovaya Pechora, Arkhangelsk {Northern Dvina}, Vologda, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod), Ukrainians (Transcarpathia, Volyn, Kiev), Chechens, Pahlavi tradition, Lithuanians (Latvians), Vozhans, Kyrgyz, Transbaikal Buryats, Koyukon, Seneca, Miwok.

North Africa. Tunisia [Once upon a time there lived a great king. He was a wise and just ruler, but he had treacherous viziers and a fortune teller. They deceived him and robbed the people. One day the king had a dream in which he saw his seven sons pulling out the roots of thorny trees, and above them in the sky an angel hovered, as if watching them and blessing them. The king demanded that the fortune teller explain the meaning of this dream. The fortune teller realized that this dream threatened him and the viziers with exposure, and they all decided to deceive the king. They said that this dream foretells that the queen is pregnant and will give birth to a daughter, and his sons will want to seize the throne, and if he wants to keep it, he must sacrifice his sons. Then the king began to wait for the birth of the child. And on the day when the queen gave birth to a girl, the sons ran away from the kingdom, fearing their father. When Vadaa ("to leave"; "to be meek, humble") grew up, her mother told her a story about her brothers, that she was to blame for their escape, then the girl decided to find her brothers and bring them back. She mounted a horse and set off. On the way, she met an old man. She felt sorry for him, gave him money and food, then he told her that he was the brother of an evil fortuneteller and revealed to her the whole truth, that her father's dream foretold the death of the viziers and the fortuneteller at the hands of her brothers, and she was the very angel that her father saw in a dream. The old man told her that in order to find her brothers, she must kill the seven-headed dragon, cross the river where the fiery serpent lives , walk through the magic forest without saying a word and without looking back, not be afraid of the old witch, catch a three-horned gazelle and take out its heart, get a magic apple guarded by a lion, and sew 7 clothes from thorny plants to put on her brothers. Then he gave her a magic mirror so that she could see her brothers, a magic ring that would protect her from harm, a sharp sword, poison, three apples, a shiny spear and wished her luck. She killed the dragon with the sword, distracted the fire serpent with apples, walked through the magic forest, did not succumb to the magic tricks of the witch, caught and killed the three-horned gazelle with a spear, and put its heart in a bag, poisoned the lion with poison and got the magic apple. All that was left for her was to find thorny plants, but she could not find them, then a crayfish crawled up to her and advised her to look for them among the graves. She found them and wove clothes for her seven brothers. After that, the magic mirror jumped out of her hands and ran, she chased after it and found her brothers' house. The next day, she dressed her brothers in the clothes she had woven, put the magic mirror on the floor, and they found themselves in their native country together with the good fortune teller who was already waiting for them. Then Wadaa gave him her bag and the magic mirror, and they all went to the palace together. The king ordered the traitorous viziers to be hanged along with the evil fortune teller, returned to the people everything that had been taken from them, and threw a feast for the whole world, and finally the age of justice and universal prosperity arrived]: Al-Aribi 2009, No. 37 in Korovkina MS

Southern Europe. Italians (Campania, Naples) ["Tale of Tales" by Giambattista Basile (1566-1632): "The King was languishing like a taut string, awaiting the appointed time <…> He now begged the Sun to take the shortest route across the fields of the sky, so that, having gained time, it could unharness the fiery cart and water the tired horses before the usual hour; now he conjured Night to bring down the darkness and show him the light, without seeing which he wriggled on Cupid's brazier"; "Dawn came out to oil the wheels of the Sun's cart and, tired of pushing grass into the hub of the wheel, blushed like a rosy apple, when Tadeo rose from his bed, stretched, kneaded his shoulders, called for the maid, and, quickly dressing, they went down together into the garden, where all ten storytellers were already gathered"; "Then the orca seized her {Petrushka} by the hair and dragged her into the forest - where the Sun did not take horses, so as not to pay the Darkness for the rent of this pasture - and here she locked her in a tower, which grew at her command without doors, without stairs, with only one window at the top"; "The appointed hour came, the prince approached the tower, whistled, and Petrushka let down her braids, and he said to her: "Lift up." Raised through the window, he jumped into the room and arranged a small feast with this parsley from the sauce of Love, and then - before the Sun taught his horses to jump through the hoop of the zodiac - he descended the same golden staircase and went about his business" (see summary in the data for motive K155B); “And with these words they lay down on the bed – and remained there, fulfilling what was said in the “Gaudeamus” until the hour when the Sun, having released the fiery horses from the stable of the waters, drove them to pasture in the fields sown by Dawn”]: Basile 2023: 139, 181, 184-185, 513 (=2018: 177-180).

Western Europe. French (Franche-Comté) [in Montereau, a brave man repeatedly saw Melusine on the castle tower; she had the appearance de vouivre (half snake, half woman); he once tried to take possession of the treasure she was guarding, but was pursued by a fiery serpent and chased to the foot of the hill; there he would have seized him, but the Virgin saved him; after this he built a chapel to her]: Beauquier 1910: 21; Germans (Schleswig-Holstein) [the dragon is a fiery creature with a long tail; sometimes seen high above the ground, sometimes low]: Müllenhoff 1845, no. 280: 206-207; Germans (Hesse) [ a fiery dragon is often seen flying over forests and fields ; flying over a town, it sometimes disappears into someone's chimney; [this dragon is the devil himself]: Lyncker 1854, No. 25: 20; Germans (Hesse) [childless king and queen; the castle burned down, they saved an iron chest with gold, built a new castle; it also burned down; they began to live like ordinary people: the king chopped down trees, the queen kept house; in the forest a man approached the king: if you promise to give me what you do not know, I will fill your iron chest with gold again; the king gave a receipt; at home the chest is full of gold; the palace is built again; again a stranger came: you gave away your son; when he turns 15, send him to me; the boy was raised by a priest; he taught him a lot; he understood that he would have to go to hell; having gone to hell, he did not turn around when shouted at, that is what the priest taught him; a ship is sailing across the sky, in it devils are playing instruments and singing: the time has come, Ferdinand - go; They tried to seize him, but he drove away the devils with a staff given to him by the priest; the same with the second flying ship; then a golden chariot drawn by fiery horses ; but they could not lure him with music either; the cart disappeared, the birds began to sing, F. passed the test and returned to the priest; he sent him out into the world; he came to the water, the other bank is not visible, by the water is a hermit's hut; F. asks how to find the way to the kingdom of heaven; the hermit: I have lived here for 300 years, but I do not know; go to my brother, he is on the other side of the waters; he put F. in a boat and he himself took him; this hermit also sent in a boat across the waters to the (very) eldest brother; all the birds live on his second floor; they do not know, but they say that the vulture has not yet arrived; the vulture arrived, agreed to carry F. to heaven; in heaven there is a palace, in front of it a pond, and in it a snake; he says that only F. can disenchant it; he must spend three nights in the palace; At midnight the ladies and gentlemen appeared and began to entice F. to dance with them, but he pretended not to see or hear anything; at one o'clock in the morning they disappeared; on the second night they began to beat and trample F. (ditto); on the third they cut F. into pieces and danced, holding them in their hands; when they disappeared, the disenchanted princess entered, collected the pieces and revived F.; both are happy; the princess warns him not to go into the house in the garden; but he eventually broke down the door and entered; there is a window in the floor, you can see the ground and his father's castle; F. asks him to let him go visit his relatives; his wife understands that he has broken the ban; let him say her name in trouble: Katarina Magdalena - she will appear at once; a team of six white horses brought F. home; his mother died, F.'s father took a young wife; arranged a feast in honor of his son's return; asks him if he has seen such a beautiful woman as the new queen; F.: this is my wife; the king does not believe; then F. took KM's name in vain; she appeared and wrote: just as you cannot wear out iron boots, so you will not be able to ascend to heaven; she disappeared; F. ordered iron boots from a blacksmith; one day he saw that the soles were about to wear out; he visited the three hermits again and a vulture delivered him to heaven; he said that KM was getting married to a new husband; F. entered the hall, showed the worn-out boots and wrote: since iron boots can be worn out, it is possible to ascend to heaven; and he hid in a corner; KM found everything and was happy; at a feast she turns to the guests: she lost the key to her jewelry box and ordered a new one; but the old one was found: which one is better? everyone answered that the old one; KM brought F. into harmony; all is well]: Wolf 1851: 197-216; Germans (Alsace) [when people are sleeping, a fire dragon flies into a barn and carries the grain to another barn; one teacher stayed up late and saw this dragon]: Stöber 1851, no. 227: 289-290; northern Germany [in northern Germany, a fire dragon carries away valuables (wheat, gold), and if you show it your bare bottom, it drops them]: Wuttke 1869: 235.

Western Asia. Old Testament [As they {Elisha and Elijah} were walking and talking along the road, suddenly there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and separated them both, and Elijah was carried away in a whirlwind to heaven]: 2 Kings 2:11.

Balkans. Serbs [a dragon flew to the Danube, with a maiden under its wing; sent her to fetch water; three young men came to meet them; the maiden told them to go away: she is the daughter of the king, the sister of the Bosnian pasha and the faithful love of the fiery dragon ]: Karadzic 1987: 36.

Central Europe. Czechs [when leaving, the king and queen tell their son Janko to look after his three sisters; the Sun, Wind and Moon arrive one after another and ask for J.'s sister to be their wife, all three agree and leave the house; the king is pleased that his daughters have married kings; J. goes to visit them; the field is strewn with bones; the skull replies that the beautiful bogatyr Ulyana has defeated them all; the same on another field; J. enters the castle, exchanges his sword for the one that hangs on the wall and jumps; defeats U., who offers to live with her; when leaving, gives the keys, forbids entry into the 13th room; J. opened it, and there was a fiery dragon chained to the wall with three hoops; he said that he was suffering from thirst and asked to give him wine from the last barrel; after each jug he drinks one hoop falls off; the dragon gives J. life and carries U. away; Ya comes to the Sun, who does not know where U. is, and sends him to the Moon; the Moon goes to the Wind; who replies that the dragon makes U. wash his clothes in boiling water; he, the Wind, tries to cool the boiling water; Ya takes U. away; the dragon's winged horse raises the alarm, but says that there is no need to hurry - they will catch up; the dragon took U. away and spared Ya, since he granted him one life; the Wind reports that the witch has a brother of the dragon's horse across the sea, who is faster than him; the Sun, the Moon and the Wind give Ya a peg (gold, silver, wooden) to call them for help; the Wind takes him to the witch, she offers to graze three horses - her daughters-horses turned into doves and flew away, but the Wind drove them back and ordered to put on bridles; the next day they turned into ducks, the Moon lowered a handkerchief into the lake, it dried up, Ya put the bridles back on; on the third day the horses turned into pine trees, the Sun began to scorch them, they had to become horses again; the Sun orders to ask for a miserable nag as a reward; the witch orders to milk the mares; the little horse: before you bathe in milk, call me; the milk boiled, but the little horse sucked in the heat, Ya became even more beautiful; the witch also decided to become a beauty, but the little horse released the heat and she was boiled; Ya washed the little horse, he became powerful, winged; Ya takes U. away, the dragon gallops after him, Ya's horse orders his brother to throw the dragon off, the dragon falls into the abyss; Ya brought his wife to her parents and received the throne from his father]: Nemtsova 1978: 119-132; Russian (Nizovaya Pechora, Pustozerskaya volost, Velikaya Viska village) [the tsar promises a daughter and half the kingdom to anyone who goes to Babylon-city and gets the tsar's purple and crutch; the tavern wretch Fyodor Burmakov(ich) volunteered; the tsar paid his debt in the tavern; gave him a ship and provisions for three years; when they arrived, there was a fiery serpent around Babylon; FB tells him to let him through, he takes his tail out of his mouth and lets him through; Mother of God: the keys are on the throne, and what do you need is under the throne; FB got a crutch and purple, and went back; two girls with dog heads: come in; one beat him, and he killed her; at the exit, the serpent does not move apart; FB jumped over him, but his comrade remained; birds with iron noses rushed onto the ship; FB ordered to scatter gunpowder and set it on fire, the bird {so!} raised everyone with fire; went ashore; an old man with a dog's head: why did you kill my daughter? then FB enters a house where there is a lot of food; crooked Luka arrived, asks to cure his eye; FB: it is necessary to screw his arms and legs to the floor; poured tin into the healthy eye; Luka created an iron fence around; FB killed a goat, put on the skin, butted L., he threw the goat over the fence; FB called out to him; L.: since you defeated me, then here is my copper saber for you; FB touched it with his little finger, it stuck, had to be cut off; L.: then there is my sister; FB spent the night with a girl; she asks to help her defeat the lion; the lion asks to help defeat the girl; FB helped the lion (for this you need to turn to the Lord); the lion took him to his hometown, but warned him to keep quiet about the fact that he was riding on a lion; FB gave him a crutch and purple, received a princess and half a kingdom, bragged at the wedding; the lion appeared: now I will eat; FB: it was the hops that bragged, not me - try it yourself; the lion fell asleep, FB chained him, and said that it was his hops that chained him; he freed him and the lion left]: Onchukov 2008, No. 48: 169-173; Russian(Arkhangelsk: Northern Dvina) [Mark the Rich has a daughter; she let a beggar in; and he says: in such and such a village a boy was born, he will take possession of your estate; Mark came to that village, offered to baptize the boy; gave money to the father, then to the coachman, threw the boy into a ditch; the shareholder was carrying money to Mark, picked up the boy, brought him to Mark; Mark: give me back what you owe - I forgive; now Mark and the coachman nailed the boy into a barrel and threw it into the sea; monks picked him up, raised him, named him Vasily; Mark came there, they told him about V., he sent him with a letter to his wife; a wanderer comes towards him; instead of "boil the bearer in a soap cauldron" he wrote "give him your daughter in marriage before I arrive"; the wife celebrated the wedding" "I was at the wedding, drank beer, it ran down my mustache, but didn't get into my mouth"; Mark returned, sent V. to the Fire Serpent to ask for tribute; the ferryman asks to find out how much longer he will have to carry; the head on the tree: how long will it sit there; the whale-fish: how much longer will it be a bridge; the Serpent's wife hid V., he listens and remembers; as if she saw dreams; the Serpent: whoever meets him, push him away in a boat; and the head will stop sitting on the tree when the pine tree is cut down; and whoever cuts it down will not be able to scoop out the gold; the fish will be freed when it releases 12 ships from itself; on the way back V. conveyed everything; seeing gold with his son-in-law, Mark went himself, the ferryman pushed him away, now he is the ferryman; and V. has many children]: Mitrofanova, Fedorova 1966, No. 10: 119-120; Russian (Vologda: Kirillovsky u.) [a mouse and a sparrow were dividing grains, the sparrow pecked the last one, the mouse complained to the fiery serpent , the eagle stood up for the sparrow, the dragon scorched his wings; Vasily the archer aimed his gun at him three times; the eagle asks to feed him for a year, tries to fly, asks for another year, then another; after that the eagle flew with him; three times he throws him over the sea and picks him up again; stops at three sisters in the copper, silver, and gold kingdoms; only the eldest sister agrees to give the box; the eagle orders not to open it on the way home; the ships docked at the island, V. opened the box, a city appeared; the old man put it back for a promise to give what V. does not know at home; let him send him a son in 20 years, he is a seven-humped demon; when Ivan was 20, he went to the demon; Hut, hut, back to the forest, front to me! there is Baba Yaga, that demon is her brother; she gave a ball of yarn, it will roll to the eldest sister; there too "the hut turned as if on chicken legs", "with its back to the forest, and its front to me"; "The old woman lies with her head on a bench, her legs in the chimney"; she gave you a cane, when it gets stuck and you can't pull it out - there you go; 12 swans flew to the sea, one of them is at a distance from the others; I. hid "to look at her legs up to the knees (to the navel)"; stole her clothes; "If one of the young, let him be a husband"; "How did you get here, Ivan Tsarevich!"; "My master has 38 heads, and all 40 heads need to be hanged - two empty stakes. And we, by all accounts, are to be, aren't you here together?" The demon's tasks. Make a pole from the earth to the sky, so that the cat can work, go up - tell 12 fairy tales, and go down - sing 12 songs well"; I.'s wife fulfilled everything by the morning; the devil commands to identify Marya Tsarevna among 12 maidens; M.: there will be a fly on my right eyebrow; further: dig a ditch overnight and launch a steamboat along it; done; identify M. among 12 swans; "The right wing has a longer wing" {unclear}; from 12 foals (one hair of the tail is longer); cut down a forest, plow a field, etc., so that the pie is ready by morning; M. leaves saliva to answer for herself, runs with I.; M. is a chapel, I. is an elder; a well and a ladle; a swamp and a kite; an evil spirit began to drink the swamp; M. turned herself and I. into a ring, threw it, it ended up in her sister's; she threw it on the floor, the ring scattered like beads, I. and M. appeared; they appeared to his parents; wedding]: Sokolov, Sokolov 1981, No. 34: 133-148; Russian (Vladimirskaya: Pereslavl-Zalessky u.) [a fiery serpent began to fly to a young widow at night; she loses weight, talks to someone at night; says that her dead husband comes to her at night; but in the morning his gifts are sheep and horse droppings; then the woman was no longer left alone, the windows and doors were sealed, the serpent stopped flying]: Smirnov 2008: 61; Ukrainians(Transcarpathia, Gorinchevo village, Khust district) [The count's son goes hunting every day. He wakes up in the morning, opens the window, and sees a woman walking down the street, carrying food for her son in a pot. The count's son, in order to test his accuracy, shoots at the pot and breaks it. The woman sees him laughing and says that she barely begged for food for her son. She curses him so that he would marry only Seipentel Ilona. The boy runs after the woman and asks where she is. She replies that she is where 99 human heads are impaled on stakes, and leaves. The count's son is beside himself, and goes to look for his betrothed. He sees a bear crushing ants, takes pity on the ants, and drives the bear into the thicket. The ants give him a flute to call them for help. The boy goes on: the boys caught a fox, and beat it. He asks to leave her and pays them a crown each. The fox gives him a flute to play: she will come running to help. The count's son comes to the water and sees a fish struggling. He throws bread to the fish. The fish calms down, thanks him, and gives him a flute to call her for help. In the thicket, the guy comes across a hut with 99 human heads on poles around it. He enters and sees the woman whose pot he broke on the stove. She gives him a job, telling him to look after her three mares. If he doesn't bring them back, his head will end up on a pole. The guy falls asleep and when he wakes up, he doesn't find the mares. He calls the ants with the flute, they explain that the mares have become ants. The real ants will start biting them, then they will start running away. When the first one runs, and then the second, you don’t have to do anything, and when the third one runs, you have to crack it with a whip and say: “Become what you were!” The guy does so. The woman checks in the evening, sees the mares, gets angry, and beats them with an iron club (these are her daughters). In the morning, she orders her daughters to go to the water and become fish. When the guy wakes up, he calls the fish with a flute. It says that the mares have become goldfish. Real fish will bite them. When the third one jumps out of the water, you have to hit it with a whip and say: “Become what you were!” The guy does so. The woman gets angry in the evening, beats the mares with a fiery whip, accusing them of having an affair with the guy. They deny it, telling their mother that she is wise and he is wiser. On the third day, the mares disappear again. The fox, summoned with the help of a flute, explains that the woman turned them into eggs, put them in a basket on the stove, and sat on them herself. But the woman has a rooster in the attic. The fox will call the ferret, who will start chasing the rooster. The woman will get up from the eggs and climb to save the rooster. Then you have to run into the hut, hit the eggs with a whip and say: "Become what you were!" The ferret starts chasing the rooster, the woman, hearing the cry, climbs into the attic. The guy hits the eggs, the mares end up in the stable again, the guy sits on a chair. The woman is convinced that he is wiser than she. She says that he served her faithfully, asks what he asks for his service. He wants to stay to serve for three more years. The woman agrees, takes him to the lake in the morning, gives him a wooden shovel, a wooden hoe,wooden hammer and orders the lake to be filled in and walled up so that she can ride across it on horseback, and if she doesn't, his head will be impaled. The tools break right away, the guy sits and grieves. Grandma's daughter Seipentel Ilona brings him something to eat and finds out the reason for his grief. After feeding him, she puts him into a deep sleep and whistles for the devils. They fill the lake in and wall it up. Grandma checks - the surface where the lake was does not break under the horse. The next day, she sends the guy into the thicket. There, the wind scattered beech and oak seeds. They must be collected, each seed separately. At noon, SI brings food, finds out about the task. The guy has eaten his fill, SI puts him to sleep, and she whistles, the devils come running, in an hour the seeds are collected by type. On the third day, Grandma orders the thicket to be cut down, dug up, and sown with wheat. By evening the wheat must ripen, and the boy must reap it, haul it away, thresh it, grind it into flour and bake bread. The boy chops down one tree, gets tired. SI wants to bring him an afternoon snack, but the woman yells at her, even breathes fire, suspecting that she is doing all the work for him, he is not that wise, let his sister carry it. But after a while she calms down and leaves her daughter alone. SI brings the afternoon snack, finds the boy crying. When he has dined, she again puts him to sleep, calls the devils - they are like sea sand. By evening everything is ready. SI wakes the boy, gives him a fresh loaf of bread. When the woman asks what the boy wants for his service, let him ask to leave him in service for three more years. The woman is happy. The count's son stays with her, does everything well. One day, when the woman falls asleep, SI and the boy run away. The old woman turns herself and him into doves, they fly, the old woman asks if he sees anything. The guy turns around and sees a fiery cloud. The old woman replies that it is his mother and that she will turn herself into a mill and him into an old miller. The old woman will ask if he has seen two doves, and he must answer that he saw them a long time ago. The old woman returns home. The old woman turns them into doves again, and they fly to his land. Again there is a fiery cloud behind. The old woman turns herself into grass and the guy into a mower. He tells the old woman that he saw two doves when he was clearing this field for a meadow. The old woman returns. The old woman again asks who the guy sees. The guy:and the guy has to reap it, carry it, thresh it, grind flour and bake bread. The guy chops down one tree, gets tired. SI wants to bring him an afternoon snack, but the woman yells at her, even breathes fire, suspecting that she is doing all the work for him, he is not that wise, let his sister carry it. But after a while she calmed down and left her daughter alone. SI brings the afternoon snack, finds the guy crying. When he has had lunch, she again puts him to sleep, calls the devils - they are like sea sand. By evening everything is ready. SI wakes the guy, gives him a fresh loaf of bread. When the woman asks what the guy wants for his service, let him ask to leave him in service for three more years. The woman is happy. The count's son stays with her, does everything well. One day, when the woman fell asleep, SI and the guy run away. The old woman turns herself and him into doves, they fly, the old woman asks if he sees anything. The guy turns around and sees a fiery cloud. The old woman replies that it is his mother and that she will turn herself into a mill and him into an old miller. The old woman will ask if he has seen two doves, and he must answer that he saw them a long time ago. The old woman returns home. The old woman turns them into doves again, and they fly to his land. Again there is a fiery cloud behind. The old woman turns herself into grass and the guy into a mower. He tells the old woman that he saw two doves when he was clearing this field for a meadow. The old woman returns. The old woman again asks who the guy sees. The guy:and the guy has to reap it, carry it, thresh it, grind flour and bake bread. The guy chops down one tree, gets tired. SI wants to bring him an afternoon snack, but the woman yells at her, even breathes fire, suspecting that she is doing all the work for him, he is not that wise, let his sister carry it. But after a while she calmed down and left her daughter alone. SI brings the afternoon snack, finds the guy crying. When he has had lunch, she again puts him to sleep, calls the devils - they are like sea sand. By evening everything is ready. SI wakes the guy, gives him a fresh loaf of bread. When the woman asks what the guy wants for his service, let him ask to leave him in service for three more years. The woman is happy. The count's son stays with her, does everything well. One day, when the woman fell asleep, SI and the guy run away. The old woman turns herself and him into doves, they fly, the old woman asks if he sees anything. The guy turns around and sees a fiery cloud. The old woman replies that it is his mother and that she will turn herself into a mill and him into an old miller. The old woman will ask if he has seen two doves, and he must answer that he saw them a long time ago. The old woman returns home. The old woman turns them into doves again, and they fly to his land. Again there is a fiery cloud behind. The old woman turns herself into grass and the guy into a mower. He tells the old woman that he saw two doves when he was clearing this field for a meadow. The old woman returns. The old woman again asks who the guy sees. The guy: granny on a fiery horse .SI turns them into fish, but orders them not to stick their heads out of the water, otherwise they will go blind, and she will talk to their mother. But the guy wants to listen, sticks his head out, the woman steals his eyes and returns home. SI cries, goes as a dove for his eyes. At home, she casts a deep sleep on the mother and sisters, climbs into the mother's bosom, takes out her eyes, and puts dove eggs in their place. She flies to the river bank and returns the guy's eyes. They fly to his village. The guy is happy, leads SI by the hand. She asks where he is taking her. He answers, to their estate. She orders him not to do this, since they do not know her there yet, asks to take her to a neighboring innkeeper, she will serve him. In a month, let her tell her father and mother that she wants to get married. Then they will get married, but he must remember not to let anyone at home kiss him. The guy leaves his betrothed with the innkeeper and returns to his parents. They are happy to see him, want to hug and kiss him, but he does not let them. Tired, he goes to bed, in the evening his aunt comes to them and kisses him sleepily in bed. He forgets about SI. Two weeks and two months pass. The relatives decide to marry him off. They choose a bride, propose, and set a wedding day. SI knows everything, cries, makes the guy fall and dislocates his leg. They send for a doctor, the innkeeper's maid says she will cure him faster. And so it happens. The guy asks how to reward her. She does not want anything, she only asks to invite her to the wedding. The wedding day arrives. She cracks a golden nut, takes out a golden garment from it and comes to the wedding. The young couple is just about to go to get married. When the young woman sees the innkeeper's maid, she refuses to get married until someone buys her the same dress. They start looking for silver clothes. They can't find them anywhere and are forced to buy them from the maid. She doesn't want anything, asks permission to be with the young man. SI kisses the guy, tells him everything, but he doesn't remember anything. A servant hides under the bed and hears everything. "I saved your life six times, and you forgot everything! But not all is lost. At dawn I will call like a cuckoo on your house, and then you will see me, then you will recognize me..." She goes home. The servant crawls out from under the bed, tells the young master what he heard. After that, the guy remembers everything. In the morning he goes out into the yard, sees a cuckoo, immediately remembers SI. But the cuckoo flies away. The count's son is getting ready for the journey. He tells the bride that they will not be married, she can marry someone else. He orders iron postols from a craftsman, goes out into the world. He searches for his betrothed for seven years. One day he sits down under a willow, sees - the postols are torn. He thinks that this is the only place where she should be, if his postols are torn. A cuckoo cuckoos pitifully on the willow. The guy says that this is his Ilonka. The bird replies that she is his. He calls her to him. She asks him to swear that she will not invite her aunt, who kissed him, to the wedding. He makes an oath. Then she flies down and becomes a girl. The guy rejoices, takes her by the hand and brings her to her parents. They celebrate the wedding and live happily]: Lіntur 1979:121-129;Ukrainians (Volyn, Lutsk district) [the Milky Way is a road along which God Himself walks, or rides in a chariot pulled by fiery horses ]: Bulashev 1909: 305; Ukrainians (Kiev, Radomysl district) [manuscript by Ivan Savchenkov “The Legend of the Dog” (1891): “periwinkle flowers, thorns, and cherubic incense can be a fuse for a widow missing her husband from the devil flying in the form of a fiery serpent ”]: Zelenin 1915, no. 27: 626; Russians (Nizhny Novgorod) [the souls of the dead, for whom relatives yearn, can appear to them in the form of a flying fiery hop]: Ostrovsky 2002: 121.

Caucasus - Central Asia. Chechens [two princes are friends; one of them lost his only daughter; he left an arrow to the other; blood appeared on it; the other's three sons set out to search; one can spend 7 days underground, the other can move through the air, the third can pull an eaglet out from under an eagle without him noticing; one discovered that a fiery serpent had stolen the girl, the other carried her away unnoticed, the third hid everyone underground; but 7 days passed, the serpent carried the girl away again; they returned her again; the serpent agrees to let them and her go if they give him something they don't know at home; during this time, a fourth brother, Hambor, was born; he grew up, came to the serpent, who orders him to get the princess Albika from behind the seven mountains; the old woman gives a bead, it turns into whatever you wish; H. becomes a duck, allows himself to be caught, the duck is given to A., H. is a man again, takes A. through an underground passage, they fly as a dove and a pigeon, the A. brothers are chased by hawks; then hares and hounds; grains and roosters; H. and A. themselves become hawks, tear the roosters to pieces; H. cuts off the head of the snake, brings it to A.; wedding]: Kibiev, Malsagov 1965: 146-155.

Iran - Central Asia. Pahlavi Tradition [In the Pahlavi cosmogony, Gōčihr is described as “like a serpent with his head in the constellation of the Twins (dō-pahikar) and his tail in the constellation of the Centaur (Nēmasp), so that between the head and tail are six constellations. It runs retrograde, so that every ten years the head and tail have changed place. It is said to be in the middle of the sky, which may be taken to indicate the circumpolar region and accordingly to evoke an analogy with the constellation Draco, which revolves around the celestial pole (see MacKenzie, “Zoroastrian Astrology,” pp. 515f. with notes). In the ʿOlamāʾ-e eslām it is stated that the sky of Gōčihr is located below the sky of the moon (Zaehner, Zurvan, p. 417; cf. Persian Rivayat, p. 429 bottom; see also Škand-gumānīg wizār, ed. Menasce, pp. 47, 55, 60). At the end of time, Gōčihr will fall to the earth, terrifying it as the wolf terrifies the sheep; his fire and radiance (halo) will melt the metal of Šahrewar in the hills and mountains, creating a river of molten metal, necessary to purify the people. ( Gōčihr is apparently the only fire dragon in ancient Iran .) Finally, after Ohrmazd himself descends to earth to cast Āz and Ahriman into the darkness from which they came, the serpent Gōčihr is consumed in the molten metal, the filth of Hell is burned away and Hell becomes pure (Bundahišn TD1, pp. 193.11-16, 195.17-196.2; TD2, pp. 225.3-8, 227.12-15; tr. Anklesaria. pp. 288-91; tr. West, pp. 125f., 129)]: Skjaervø 2011.

Baltoscandia. Lithuanians [the sun is a female anthropomorphic creature that travels across the sky in a "carriage / chariot / carriage" (saulės ratai / dvirãčiai / karieta); when driving their cattle out to pasture in the morning, shepherds addressed the sun: "Burn, little flame, / The sun is coming / On an iron carriage, / Greased with fat"; "The sun is coming / On a copper carriage, / In bronze boots, / On fiery horses "; "Go away, little cloud, with a dull rumble, / Come, little sun, on a carriage. That's what the shepherds sang when they saw an approaching cloud"; "Go away, little cloud, on heavy wheels, / Come, come, little sun, on a cart, on a cart"; "Go away, little cloud, in a carriage, in a carriage, / Come, little sun, on a chariot, on a chariot!"; "Go away, little cloud, on a chariot, on a chariot, / Come, little sun, in a carriage, in a carriage"; in riddles, the sun is depicted as a ball pulled by a hundred horses: "A small bright ball - a hundred horses will not carry it away"]: Laurinkene 2021: 396, 398–399, 404; (cf. Latvians [the sun is a female anthropomorphic creature that rides across the sky in a cart (saules rati); songs say that “the Sun comes / To the apple orchard / On nine wheels / On a hundred horses”; “The sun rides across the sky / On three yellow horses , / Oh, Sun, sweet white one, / Give me one horse, / I need to get married, / I don’t have a yellow horse”; “The sun rides around the mountain / On yellow horses, / They don’t sweat, they don’t get tired, / They don’t get out of breath on the way”; N. Laurinkene’s commentary: “ apparently golden or fiery ”]: Laurinkene 2021: 396, 399–400, 404); vozhane [the thunderclaps are Ilya riding in a carriage pulled by a fiery horse ]: Mägiste 1959, no. 152: 152.

Turkestan. Kirghiz [a boy asks an old man Aryk-Mergen to tell him what was good and bad in his life; AM: shot off the tail of a fire serpent ; the mountain-serpent opened up and offered to take gold; the fire serpent was its enemy; this is good; one day AM spent the night, began to cook meat over a fire; a cannibal with steel claws and one eye in her forehead approached; AM wanted to shoot her, she disappeared; for the night he climbed a tree, and covered a log with his blanket; the cannibal heated her hands in the fire and stuck them into the log, her claws got stuck; AM shot, the cannibal broke the log, ran away; in the morning AM followed the bloody trail, found her dead near a cave; she had two children in the cave; AM killed them too, but noticed the bride's headdress lying in the corner and took it for his sister; warned his sister that cannibals would start looking for him, to keep her weapon ready; one night a cannibal came into the yurt and started heating her hands in the fire; AM's sister chopped off her head with an axe; it turned out that the old woman had killed all the people in the aul; AM went to look for the old woman's husband - the last of the cannibals; MA and his companion drove up to the cave of a one-eyed old man, into which he had driven either rams or goats; the old man invited them to his place; the companion agreed to let the old man slaughter him first; the old man slaughtered him, began to cook and fell asleep; AM heated up an iron crowbar and stuck it into the old man's eye; in the morning the old man began to release the rams, feeling them from above; AM slaughtered one, put on its skin, and went out; called out to the old man; he asks him to kill and take the rams, otherwise in three days they will turn into insects; AM killed the old man, returned a month later, and did not find the rams]: Mukhnik 1944: 5-9.

Southern Siberia – Mongolia. Buryats : Barannikova et al. 1993, No. 5 (Khorinsky) [a wolf ate an orphan's horse; he goes to look for it; an old man: when you defeat Shono Khan ("shono" - wolf), ask him to give you the red dog and the blue chest; he did so; he returns to the yurt - the corner of the chest is burnt, one of the dog's legs is broken; the next day - the second corner, the second leg; on the fourth - four; he beats the dog; in the morning he wakes up in a palace (he emerged from the chest), a beauty is nearby (the same dog); Sh. calls to play a wedding; the wife warns him not to step on the carpet (there is a hole under it), not to sit on the bed, not to eat anything; the orphan touched the food with his finger, died; 25-headed Khongil Shara Shebshekhey put him in a coffin, threw him into the sea; wife of mangadhayu: if you fish out the coffin, put it on the shore; the coffin is found by three daughters of the khan, inside is a baby, growing quickly; every day the khan's mare foals a golden foal, it disappears; the khan asks the suitors of his daughters to guard; they fall asleep, the foundling shoots at a descending cloud, a feather of a bird falls to the ground; the foundling gives it to the suitors, in exchange for this he cuts off each ear; the khan sends for the bird; the foundling sees a nest, one chick laughs, another sings, the third cries; while the father and mother of Khan Garodi fly, the chicks are eaten by a fire serpent (he will eat the crying one today, the singing one tomorrow, the laughing one the day after tomorrow); they deliberately steal golden foals in the hope that the strongest of people will go looking for them; a foundling kills a snake with an arrow, Khan Garodi gives away 9 foals; the foundling gives them to the suitors, in exchange for which he cuts the belts from their backs; they throw him into a pit; the horse digs it up, revives the foundling with his tear; he comes to the khan, shows the belts; the khan hangs the suitors alive on a branch to feed the crows; the foundling defeats Sh.'s army, crushes him himself, pins him in a crevice to feed the insects; he fought with Hongil Shara Shebshekhey for 4 months, the foundling's son grew up, came to his father's aid, ShShSh's body was burned], 9 (informant unknown) [the parents want to get rid of Tyskhe Biskhey, they send for a black bull; this is a bear, TB brings him, leaves him in the barn, he has killed all the cows; they send to bring a cauldron, supposedly given to the owner of the forest; TB brings the cauldron and the tied up owner; lets go, leaves; meets, takes as a companion the one who lifts stones, lifts mountains, steps over the sea (he catches fish with his beard); each at first answers that he is not strong, but TB is mighty; they cook in turns, the bearded dwarf beats the cook, eats everything; TB himself beats him, pinches his beard, he rips off his beard, leaves; the friends come to a crevice, TB descends on a rope; there is a beauty in a copper hut, another in a silver one, a third in a gold one; TB tells the beauty in the gold one to find out what the life of a mangadhai is; in the horns of a ram; TB breaks the horns, crushes the wasps that were in them, except for two; the beauty swapped the barrels with strong and weak water; TB kills the mangadhai, sends the women up; when he himself rises, the companions abandon him; he falls, breaks his leg; sees how the weasel broke the leg of an ermine, the latter ate the root, recovered; TB also ate, recovered; Khan Garudi's chicks are by the sea, one is crying (the snake coming out of the sea will eat him today), another is singing (will eat him tomorrow), the third is laughing (the day after tomorrow); the snake orders the chicks to fly into his mouth; TB kills the snake with a stone; Khan Garudi flies in, covers TB from the poison; carries him to the ground; in flight he eats and drinks what he has prepared, TB cuts off the last piece from his leg, the bird regurgitates the piece, puts it back; TB kills the companions, lives with three wives]: 93-109, 147-167.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Transbaikal Buryats (Khorinsky) [a wolf ate an orphan's horse; he goes to look for it; the old man: when you defeat Shono Khan ("shono" - wolf), ask him to give you the red dog and the blue chest; he did so; he returns to the yurt - the corner of the chest is burnt, one of the dog's legs is broken; the next day - the second corner, the second leg; on the fourth - four; he beats the dog; in the morning he wakes up in the palace (he emerged from the chest), a beauty (that dog) is nearby; Sh. calls him to play a wedding; the wife warns him not to step on the carpet (there is a hole under it), not to sit on the bed, not to eat anything; the orphan touched the food with his finger, died; 25-headed Hongil Shara Shebshekhey put him in a coffin, threw him into the sea; the wife to Mangadhai: if you fish out the coffin, put it on the shore; The coffin is found by the three daughters of the khan, inside there is a baby, growing quickly; every day the khan's mare foals a golden foal, it disappears; the khan asks the suitors of his daughters to guard; they fall asleep, the foundling shoots at a descending cloud, a bird's feather falls to the ground; the foundling gives it to the suitors, in exchange for this he cuts off each one's ear; the khan sends for the bird; the foundling sees a nest, one chick laughs, another sings, the third cries; while the father and mother Khan Garodi fly, the chicks are eaten by a fiery serpent (the one who cries will be eaten today, the one who sings tomorrow, the one who laughs the day after tomorrow); they deliberately steal the golden foals in the hope that the strongest of people will go looking for them; the foundling kills the serpent with an arrow, Khan Garodi gives 9 foals; the foundling gives them to the suitors, in exchange for this he cuts off the belts from their backs; they throw him into a pit; the horse digs it up, revives the foundling with his tear; he comes to the khan, shows the belts; the khan hangs the suitors alive on a branch to feed the crows; the foundling defeats Sh.'s army, crushes him, pins him in a crevice to feed the insects; he fought with Khongil Shara Shebshekhey for 4 months, the foundling's son grew up, came to his father's aid, ShShSh's body was burned]: Barannikova et al. 1993, No. 5: 93-109.

Subarctic. Koyukon [a young man lives with his grandmother; he is sailing down a river in a boat; two knives are blocking it, moving like scissors; the boat slips through; the young man arrives at a village, he is offered a wrestling contest; he participates, then runs away, sails back; he is pursued by a fire man ; the young man asks the grandmother to bite the dog's ear; the spirits are afraid of the dog's howl; the fire man disappears with a clap of thunder]: Jette 1908-1909: 349-351.

Northeast. Seneca [in the sky the chief thinks his wife is pregnant by the Blue Puma or Fire Dragon (=Meteor); he tears up the Tree of Light, throws his wife into the resulting hole, throws characters after him, who turn into cultivated plants and animals on the ground; birds catch the falling woman; everyone dives to get earth from the bottom; Muskrat brings earth in his mouth; Turtle exposes his back; the woman scatters earth around, the earth grows; the woman gives birth to a daughter; a stranger hangs two arrows over the girl, one of them with a flint tip; the girl gives birth to twins; one of them kills the mother, coming out into the light through the armpit]: Cornplanter 1938, No. 1-2: 19-26.

California. Mountain(?) Miwok [Falcon's father goes south through a hole in another world, plays ball with Vulture and the monstrous Koo-choo ; they win, refuse to take the money, slowly burn him; Falcon, with his friend Dove and wife Duck, follow his father's trail; Fire Lizard sends fire at them; Duck creates a green reed, only in it the fire goes out; they jump through a hole that sometimes closes, sometimes opens; Duck's legs are permanently flattened; Falcon notices holes where the game is played; wins, burns his enemies; asks two shamans to revive his father from his charred bones; he comes back to life, but does not look like himself; Falcon sends him over the mountain to the sea; returns to our world with his friend and wife; kills Fire Lizard and other monsters]: Merriam 1993: 179-189.