M114b3. A garment made from a bundle of flax and a loom made from three sticks.

.15.(.23.).27.-.29.31.32.

When a girl is asked to weave clothes, given a tiny amount of yarn, she asks in response to make weaving tools for her from sticks, chips, straws, etc.

Italians (Tuscany, Abruzzo), (Oriya), Moldavians, Transylvanian Saxons, Montenegrins, Hungarians, Slovaks, Ukrainians (Ekaterinoslav), Abkhazians, Abazins, Lithuanians, Lutsi, Finns, Kazan Tatars, Chuvash, Mari.

Southern Europe. Italians (Tuscany: Barga near Lucca) [a prince got lost, went to a huntsman's house, who had a wife, son, and daughter; they slaughtered a rooster; the prince gave the head to the owner, the rump to his wife, the legs to his son, and the wings to his daughter; at night he overhears the girl explaining to her brother what such a division means; he fell in love and, returning to the palace, sent a servant to the girl with orders to bring a cake in the shape of a full moon, 30 pies, and a roast rooster and to ask whether it was the 30th day of the month in the forest, whether the moon was full, and whether the rooster had crowed during the night; on the way, the servant ate 15 pies, part of the cake, and the rooster; the girl passed on the answer: the moon was waning, that it was only the 15th, and the rooster had gone to the mill, and that she begged him to forgive the servant for the sake of a partridge; the prince to the servant: if the girl had not stood up for you, you would have been hanged; The girl's father found a golden mortar and, against his daughter's advice, gave it to the prince; he asked for a pestle. Peasant: My daughter warned me! The prince orders his daughter to make a large quantity of cloth from a tiny amount of linen; the daughter braided four cords, sent them to the prince, and ordered him to make a loom out of them. The prince came to the girl when her mother was dead and her father was working; she did not open the door; he broke down the door; the girl replied that her father was where he should be, and that her mother was weeping for her sins; the prince married the girl. One day a peasant came with a cart and another and a pregnant donkey; she gave birth while they were both in church, and the owner of the donkey tied her to the cart; the first peasant said that the donkey's foal was his. Prince: So it is, for it is more probable that the owner of the donkey tied her to the cart than that the owner of the cart tied her to the donkey. the prince's wife advised the owner of the donkey to cast his net in the middle of the square and tell the prince that it was easier to catch fish in the square than for a cart to give birth to a donkey; the prince told his wife to take what she loved most and return to her father; she put a sleeping pill in the prince's wine and took him home; she explained that he was the most precious thing to her; they made peace]: Comparetti 1875, no. 43: 162-192 (=Crane 1885, no. 108: 311-314); Italians(Tuscany) [=Kotrelev 1991: 84-89; a peasant found a golden mortar and brought it to the king, who demands a pestle; his daughter Katerina warned him in advance that this would happen; peasant: she guessed right! the king gives flax, let K. immediately weave shirts for the soldiers; K.: three fires fell out of the flax, let the king make a loom out of them; king: let her come neither naked nor clothed, neither full nor hungry, neither day nor night, neither on foot nor on horseback; K. wrapped herself in a seine, ate one bean, arrived on a goat at dawn; the king married K.; ordered her not to show up in court; if she violates the order, he will return to his father, taking with him the most precious thing; a peasant tied a cow to a cart, at night the cow gave birth, the owner of the cart said that the cart had given birth; the king decided in favor of the owner of the cart; the queen advised the owner of the cow to fish with a seine in a dry lake: if a cart gives birth, then fish are also on dry land; at supper K. got her husband drunk, ordered him to carry him to her father; told her husband that he was her most precious thing; the king returned his wife and did not appear in court without her]: Calvino 1980, no. 72: 261-266; Italians (Abruzzo) [the king, amazed by the girl's intelligence, orders her to come neither naked nor clothed, neither on foot nor on horseback; orders her to weave and sew clothes for many soldiers from three bundles of tow; she in response sends three sticks and asks him to make a loom out of them; after the wedding, the king believes that his wife has broken her promise and should leave, taking with her her most precious thing; [she takes away the king himself]: Del Monte Tammaro 1971, no. 875: 136

( Cf. South Asia. Oriya (Dombo) [the Bhromo king had sons Kolia (clever and rich) and the youngest, and Holia (poor); H.'s wife gave birth to a daughter, Rongoni, and died; when she was 12 years old, K. gave his brother a cow; she gave birth to a calf and K. demanded it for himself; H. said that since the cow was now his, the offspring belonged to him; the judge awarded the calf to K.; the king promises it to anyone who answers three questions; each time H. answers what his daughter prompts him to; that 1) is the fastest (K. is a black horse, H. is a thought), 2) is the fattest (K. is one of the king's servants, H. is the earth), 3) is the best (K. is royalty, honor, happiness, H. is sleep after hard work); upon learning that R. gave the answers, the king sends her 7 eggs with orders to hatch the chickens by morning; in response, R. gives 7 grains so that the king can grow rice by the morning and collect grain for the chickens; the king gives a ball of cotton thread and orders to weave a scarf by the morning; R. asks to grow cotton from a seed by the morning; the king promises to marry R. if she comes to him dressed or undressed, with a gift or without; R. wrapped herself in a net, held a sari in her hand and immediately dropped it; after the wedding, R. gave a promise not to interfere in her husband's affairs, but stipulated a condition: if the promise was broken, she would leave, taking with her what was dear to her; once R. stood up for a minister who was innocently imprisoned; the king let him go, but ordered R. to leave; when the king fell asleep, R. ordered to carry him on a bed to her father's house; the tsar returned his wife, making her his privy councillor]: Tauscher 1959, no. 122-125).

Balkans. Moldavians : Botezatu 1981 [the king orders the shepherd to sell the sheep and return with the flock and the proceeds; the daughter advises to shear the sheep and sell the wool; after this the king gave the shepherd a heifer; it wandered to the boyar, who took it for himself; the king promises the heifer to the one who answers what is the fattest, fastest, sweetest; the boyar's wife: our pig, our greyhound, our honey; the shepherd's daughter: land, thought and look, dream; upon learning that the shepherd's daughter gives the answers, the king gives a spindle, hemp, orders to spin linen for the whole army; the girl sends the king a splinter to make a loom, a reel, etc.; the king gives 10 boiled eggs - let him hatch chickens; the girl boiled two handfuls of seeds, sent the king to grow corn to feed the chickens; The Tsar sent a boyar to find out about the girl; she apologizes: the house has no ears; the brother went to change the name of the seeds; if he goes straight ahead, he will be late, but if he goes around, he will come quickly; the mother went to make one young one out of two old women; she explained: a house without a dog is like one without ears; the brother went to the mill, the grain will be flour; if he goes past the tavern, he will be late; the mother makes one new shirt out of two old ones; the Tsar orders the shepherd that his daughter should come neither on horseback, nor on foot, neither by road, nor through the field, neither dressed nor undressed, neither with a gift, nor without a gift; the girl wrapped herself in a net, saddled a stick, a hare under her arm, two doves in her hand, one leg along the edge of the road, the other through the field; the dogs rushed at the gate, she released the hare to them; she gave the Tsar the doves, they flew away; the Tsar took her as his wife on the condition that he would be the first to judge people; the mare gave birth; the other two say that his cart gave birth; his harness; the queen: first lock up the foal, and then let it out; he approached the mare, not the cart or the harness; the king decided to drive his wife away, but agreed to have a feast first and let her take what was dearest to her; the king got drunk and fell asleep, his wife took him to her place; after that they lived amicably]: 325-332; Moldavian fairy tales 1968 [the king wants to marry his son to a smart girl; she must come neither on foot nor on horseback, neither by air nor by land, neither with a gift nor without, neither naked nor dressed; she sewed clothes from a net, sat on a lame hare, tied a dove in a scarf (the gift immediately flew away); the king gives three spools of thread to make clothes for all the people; the maiden asks the prince to make weaving tools from three twigs; the prince did not find a bride, and the maiden married a poor guy]: 215-218; Transylvanian Saxons[the watchman has 15 children, nothing to eat; he and the children ate the lard that the pastor hid in the organ, left two pieces in the middle of the church and brought them the figures of two saints; he called the pastor: the saints ate the lard; the pastor burned the figures in his anger, and then began to accuse the watchman of having incited him to sacrilege; the king was supposed to come to the service; watchman: let's dress up two neighbors as saints, they are easy-going people; but during the service, one saw the other's pig get into his garden, and both rushed there; the pastor explained that the saints were cramped in their church, it was high time to build a new one; the king simply gave the pastor money for the construction; when the church was built, the pastor ordered to write at the entrance: We live without worries! the king liked everything, but regarding the inscription he thought: I will give you worries; If you answer in two weeks which ringing, singing and stone are the most beautiful, I will execute you all. The watchman has a clever daughter: the ringing is like a bell, the singing is like an angel, the stone is like wisdom {? Weisen Stein}; the watchman answered; the king: If you do not tell me who suggested it, I will lock you in the cellar; Having learned that it was his daughter, he gave him two threads: let him sew a shirt and a pair of underpants; the daughter: Take him two broomsticks: let him make a loom and a spindle; the king gave a pot without a bottom: let him mend it, and so that no trace is visible; the daughter: let her first turn the pot inside out; the king: let her come neither on foot nor on horseback, neither naked nor dressed, neither on the road nor without a road, neither with a gift nor without a gift; the daughter wrapped herself in a net, appeared with one leg thrown over the goat, the other stepping on the track, handed two plates one to the other, from which two wasps flew out - this was the gift; the king married the girl on condition that she should not interfere in the affairs; but people came to the young queen to judge them; at the mill the mare of one foaled, and in the morning the foal was under the cart of another, harnessed with oxen; the queen: my husband will judge between you, but now he is shooting fish in the grain field; and since such a thing does not happen, then the cart with oxen does not foal; the king found out and told his wife to leave; she gave him drink and brought him to her place: she took the most precious thing; the king returned his wife and since then wives have the right to command in the house]: Haltrich 1882, No. 46: 45-46; Montenegrins [the king is surprised at the wise words of the poor man; he explains that his daughter taught him everything; the king sends her 30 boiled eggs and orders her to hatch chickens; she orders her father to sow boiled beans in front of the king; the king: make ropes and sails from a bundle of flax; the girl: make a spindle, distaff, etc. from a piece of wood; the king: let him scoop out the sea with a cup; the girl: let him plug all the springs and lakes with this tow; the king: what is louder? the girl: thunder and lies; the king: how much is my beard worth? the girl: three summer rains; the king takes her as his wife; the girl takes a receipt: if the king gets angry and drives her away, she can take the most precious thing; the king got angry, ordered him to leave; his wife got him drunk, brought him to her - he is the most precious thing; the tsar returned his wife]: Karadzic 1854, no. 25: 157-161 (=Golenishchev-Kutuzov 1991: 309-312, =Eschker 1992, no. 42: 194-198);Hungarians : Ortutai 1974, no. 44 [King Matthias demands that a stone be stripped; the girl tells her father to ask him to let the blood out of the stone first; the king gave two nuts: let the daughter come when the nuts sprout; the girl realized that this was about breasts; the king orders that caps be made from two hemp stalks for the royal court; the girl gives two chips to make a loom and a shuttle; the king orders her to come neither by road nor without a road, neither naked nor clothed, with a gift or without; the girl wrapped herself in a net, followed the donkey's tracks, holding on to the donkey's tail, gave her a sparrow, it immediately flew away; the king took her as his wife; a peasant's horse gave birth to a foal, the foal climbed under someone else's cart, the king awarded it in favor of the owner of the cart; the wife tells him to pretend to be fishing in the field; the king tells her to go away, she asks permission to take what she wants; she tells him to carry the feather bed with the sleeping king to her; he made peace with his wife]: 412-414; Benedek 1884, No. 875 [the king tells his subjects to skin the millstone; demands that the peasant who brought the golden mortar bring the pestle to her; a rich and a poor peasant quarrel, the king will decide in favor of the one who says what is the fastest, fattest and softest in the world; a clever girl: let the king first remove the blood from the millstone; warns her father in advance that the king will demand the pestle from him; says that the fastest thing is the thought, the fattest is the earth, the softest is the hand of man; the king tells the girl to weave linen from a handful of threads; she asks that the king make a spindle and a distaff from a piece of wood; the king orders a leaky jug to be mended so that no traces remain; girl: let the king first turn the jug inside out; the king orders the girl to come to him and not to come, to come neither naked nor clothed, neither in a cart nor on foot (nor on horseback), neither by road nor off-road, with a gift and without a gift, to greet him and not to greet him; the girl wrapped herself in a piece of cloth, came on a donkey or a goat along the roadside, bringing a bird hidden between two bowls, at dusk, bows to the king, but does not say a word; the king takes her as his wife on the condition that in his absence she will not interfere in business; otherwise she will leave the palace, but may take with her the most precious thing; one man declares that the calf (foal) was born not by the cow (horse) of another, but by his bull, or the owner of the cart says that it was she who gave birth; the king decides in favor of the owner of the bull (cart); the queen replies to the fact that her husband is not there - he is chasing fish from a millet field; or advises the victim to fish on the sand in front of the king; the queen leaves, but takes the king with her, to whom she gave a sleeping pill; upon waking up, he returns his wife]: 388-390

Central Europe. Slovaks [a rich peasant has 10 sows, and a poor one has one skinny pig; she often goes to the rich man to feed; he hit her and killed her; the poor man complained to the local steward, the rich man filed a counterclaim - the poor man's pig was eating him; the steward promised to decide in favor of the one who could say what was the fattest, fastest, cleanest; the rich man's wife told her husband to say: our pig, which we have fattened for three years, our horse, our well; the poor man's daughter to her father: the earth, the moon (it goes around the earth and sky in four weeks), the sun; the steward rejected the rich man's claim and gave the poor man his fat pig; but guessed that the poor man had not come up with the answers himself; he gave a bunch of flax and told his daughter to process it in three days and sew him a wedding shirt; in response, the girl sent a branch: to make all the weaving and spinning tools from it; the steward ordered her to appear neither by day nor by night, neither on foot nor on horseback nor in a cart, neither naked nor dressed, with a gift nor without a gift; she appeared at dawn riding on a goat, dragging her feet, wrapped in a net, handed over two turtledoves, which immediately flew away; the steward takes her as his wife on the condition that she does not interfere in his affairs; one day a man's mare gave birth, and the foal climbed under someone else's ox; the steward awarded it to the owner of the ox; his wife advises the owner of the mare, upon seeing the steward, to start waving a sickle in the water, and to cast a net on the shore; the steward gave him the foal, but told his wife to leave, allowing her to take the most precious thing; she gave him water and brought him to her father's house; when the husband woke up, the wife said that he was the most precious thing to her; the manager returned the wife and took her father to live with him as well]: Dobšinský 1970, no. 37: 199-203; Ukrainians (Ekaterinoslavskaya, Aleksandrovsky district, Voznesenka village) [a widower has a daughter; the master arrives: where is the father; he went to the forest to exchange a hundred rubles for a kopa {approximately a ruble} (he will drive a horse to death and bring back a hare); the master orders the girl's father to come to him; he gave him 10 boiled eggs: let the daughter hatch chicks from them, raise hens by tomorrow, roast three and bring them; the daughter sends her father to bring the master some porridge - let him grow millet; a flax stalk - to weave linen; the daughter gives a stick to make a crochet; let her come neither by road nor by impassable road, neither naked nor dressed, neither on horseback nor on foot, neither with a gift nor without a gift; she wrapped herself in peas, in her hands a hare and a sparrow, one leg on a hare, the other on the road; the master let the dogs loose, she let the hare go, the dogs after him; she gave the sparrow, and it immediately flew away; the master married her, and then got angry and drove her away: take with you whatever you want; she dragged him along with her – the most precious thing; they made peace]: Dragomanov 1876, No. 29: 347-349 (=Novitsky 2007, No. 129: 108-110).

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Abkhazians [a poor man and a rich man came to the judge; he promised to decide in favor of the one who guessed what was the fastest, fattest, sweetest of all; the poor man's daughter teaches: thought, earth, sleep; the judge orders to weave linen from a flax stalk and sew clothes; the daughter threw the stalk into the fire and sent the judge a chip: let him make a loom; the judge married the girl, forbidding her to interfere in the affairs; at night the rider's horse foaled, and the agronomist let the foal go to his buffalo; the judge's wife: the husband took cotton wool, went to extinguish the ice on the mountains; if this does not happen, then the buffalo cannot give birth to a foal; the judge to his wife: you broke the agreement, leave, taking the most precious thing; she gave him water and brought him to her; [the judge admitted his defeat, returned his wife]: Shakryl 1975, No. 68: 314-316; Abazins [the princess did not give the poor girl Fatimat salt; she grew up and, out of revenge, told the princess that the prince ordered to brew bakhsyma (an intoxicating drink) without malt; the prince came with guests, no one wanted to drink bakhsyma; the prince orders either to find the girl, or to skin the stone, otherwise he will cut everyone; F. orders the father to ask the prince to first cut the stone; now the prince demands to sew a bashlyk and white mittens from hemp removed from the stalk of a hemp; F. orders to ask for a loom from a hemp stalk; the prince orders that he or she who comes up with such answers come and do not come, dressed and not dressed, on horseback and not on horseback, with a full chest and not full; F. sewed a transparent dress, arrived riding on a goat, tying two hares to it, and put a bird in a tiny chest; the prince let the dogs loose, they chased the hare; he let the last one loose, it chased the second, the bird flew out – the chest was full, but became empty; the prince accepted F., she cooked bakhsyma, got the prince drunk, brought him to her father’s house, and in the morning he returned to his place]: Tugov 1985, No. 89: 267-272

Baltoscandia. Lithuanians [the king promised gold to anyone who would tell him what was the fastest and fattest; the poor man's daughter: thought and land; he told her to weave a hundred pieces of linen from one flax fiber; the girl: let her weave a crochet of those linens from a few broom twigs; the king gives a boiled egg: let her hatch a chicken; the girl to her father: take roasted barley to the king, let him grow grain to feed the chicken; the king: let him come neither on horseback, nor on foot, nor in a cart, neither clothed nor naked, let him bring with him neither what is, nor what is not; the girl wrapped herself in a net, sat on a goat, released a hare, which the king's dogs chased, gave the king a dove, which immediately flew away; the king paid in gold]: Lebite 1965: 307-309 (apparently the same text in another translation Leskien, Brugman 1882, No. 34: 471-472); Lutsi (written down in 1931 in Russian from a gypsy woman) [two cousins, the poor man has only a goose; he told his wife to roast it, took it to the master; the master demands that it be divided into 6 parts; the poor man: the head for the master, the lady - the heart, the daughters - the wings, the sons - the legs; And as for me, being a stupid peasant, let the whole corpse remain; the peasant is rewarded; the rich man decided to take five geese, does not know how to divide it among six; they called the poor man; he divides it in such a way that he gets almost everything himself; the master is pleased, ordered the rich man to be flogged and take a hundred rubles from him, rewarded the poor man again; "As if I had no geese myself"; the master calls them both to him again; what is the most pleasant, fast, fat and strong? The poor man's daughter: pleasant is a dream, strong is water, fat is earth, fast is a thought; the rich man's wife advises to answer like this: pleasant is I with my wife, fat is our boar, strong is our horse, fast is our hound; the rich man is punished again, the poor man is rewarded; the master orders the poor man's wife to weave clothes for six from a bundle of flax; the daughter orders three sticks to be taken to the master: let him make a loom; the master orders to hatch chickens from boiled eggs; the poor man's daughter asks him to grow peas by sowing boiled ones; the master orders to come neither full, nor on an empty stomach, neither naked nor clothed, neither on horseback, nor on foot, not on the road, not in the field; the old master died, and the son rode past the poor man's house and asked for a drink; the poor man liked the daughter, he married her; the poor man's mare gave birth to a foal, the rich man said that it was his cart; the master decided in favor of the rich man; his wife: if a cart with cabbage overturned and the heads of cabbage rolled into someone else's garden, then whose are they? master: the one who was carrying them; wife: then the mare's foal too; the master got angry and ordered a divorce; the wife suggests having tea for the last time, slipped a sleeping pill into her, brought the sleeping husband to her place; the master recognized the wisdom of his wife, they did not quarrel anymore]: Annom et al. 2018: 70-74; Finns[two peasants set off for St. Petersburg on one horse; the cart belonged to a rich man, the horse to a poor man; at a halt the horse gave birth, the foal climbed under the cart, the rich man said that his cart had given birth; they went to the emperor; the poor man's daughter advised her father to tell him that the cart, of course, could give birth; his fish came out of the sea and ate bread in the field two miles from the shore; the emperor appreciated the answer and awarded the foal to the poor man, but ordered him to come neither during the day nor at night, neither on foot nor on horseback, neither on the road nor on the side of the road, neither in a shirt nor undressed; the daughter ordered her to wrap herself in a net, sit on a goat and move along a ditch, to appear at the moment of sunrise; the emperor sent the girl 10 boiled eggs to hatch chickens; she sent in response steamed oats to sow the field to feed the chickens; the emperor sent 10 handfuls of flax to weave shirts for 300 soldiers; the girl sent a spruce branch to make a loom]: Konkka 1993: 145-146.

Volga - Perm. Kazan Tatars [the padishah feeds a poor man; he answers each time that he is full and continues to eat; the padishah orders to explain; the poor man's daughter filled a bucket with pebbles, then with sand, then with water - everything fits; the padishah orders to come neither hungry nor full, neither naked nor clothed, neither on horseback nor on foot; the daughter sews clothes from a net for her father, pours seeds into his pocket, puts him on a goat; the padishah gives less than a spool of thread, orders to sew a shirt and trousers; the old man's daughter passed on a twig: let the padishah make a loom; the padishah gave a ram - let it lamb tomorrow; the padishah himself came; the daughter: her father is giving birth in the bathhouse; the padishah married a girl; orders not to decide anything in his absence; three beggars came; [a mare gave birth to a foal, but the blood got on the cart; the owner says that the cart gave birth, the owner of the sack - that the sack; the wife of the padishah: he went to guard the wheat, which was poisoned by fish; the padishah returned, told his wife to leave, taking with her what she wanted; she gave him something to drink, took him to her place; explained that she wanted him; the padishah ordered him to return home]: Zamaletdinov 2009, No. 24: 85-91; Chuvash [a poor man took a cow from a rich man in shares with the condition of returning it when she gave birth to three calves; seeing the cow in good shape, the rich man declared that the poor man simply stole her; the judges give the poor man a bunch of tow, tell him to weave a shirt and a towel by tomorrow; the daughter gives her father a piece of spindle, advises him to suggest to the judges to make a loom out of it; judges give a boiled egg, let there be a brood of chickens by tomorrow; the daughter gives a handful of grain, let the judges sow it on the stove, harvest it, prepare the grain to feed the chickens; judges: who/what is the fattest, tastiest, most cunning? rich man: our pig, our bees, our dog; the poor man's daughter: the earth, sleep, the eyes of a man; the judges awarded the cow to the poor man]: Chuvash Tales 1937: 58-60; Mari[a poor brother and a rich brother set off for the city; at night, at an inn, the poor man's mare gave birth to a foal, and the foal climbed under the rich man's cart; a policeman and a judge, having received money from the rich man, ruled in his favor: the cart gave birth to the foal; the king promises to rule in favor of the one who correctly answers the questions: what is the most tender in the world; fat; fast; the rich man's godfather teaches him: down pillows, our pig, our horse; the poor man's 9-year-old daughter teaches the poor man: hand (a person places it under his head), earth, thought; the king ruled in favor of the poor man; having learned that his daughter gave the answers, orders her to weave and sew a shirt from an arshin of silk thread; the girl pulls a twig out of a broom: let the king make a loom out of it; the king gives 10 eggs: let the girl hatch chickens from them in a day; The girl tells her father to ask the king for wheat that will ripen within a week of sowing: the chickens will need only this much grain; the king: let the daughter come neither on foot nor on horseback, neither with a gift nor without one, neither naked nor undressed; the daughter tells her father to get her a live hare and a heron; she arrives riding on a hare, wrapped in a net, gives the heron, which immediately flies away; the king asks: how high is the sky and how deep is the earth? The king could not answer, and let the girl go, having rewarded her; (later the girl grew up, got married – another story)]: Beke 1938, No. 46: 409-418.