M135B The wolf regrets his own stupidity.

.14.-.16.21.23.27.-.34.

A wolf (rarely a bear, jackal, fox) approaches various domestic animals to eat them, but, agreeing to fulfill the request, remains hungry and usually beaten, and in the end blames himself (“Am I a mullah to read?” etc.). In the Persian version, a fox tells him this.

Kabyles, Spaniards, Catalans, French (Gascony, Pyrenees), Walloons, Dutch, Tibetans (Amdo), Sinhalese, Ancient Greece, Serbs, Bosnians, Hungarians, Transylvanian Saxons, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Gagauz, Russian written tradition, Russians (Ryazan; also eastern Ukraine?), Northern Ukrainians (Chernigov), Eastern Ukrainians(?), Kashubians, Poles, Slovaks, Crimean Tatars, Adyghe, Ingush, Kumyks, Avars, Archins, Georgians, Lurs, Persians, Tajiks, Pashtuns, Baluchis, Swedes, Finns, Bashkirs, Karakalpaks, Kirghiz, Salars, Tuvans, Baikal Buryats, Dagurs.

North Africa. Kabyles [a jackal threatens a hen to climb a rock, the latter is forced to throw the chick off; she tells the cockerel not to crow so as not to attract the jackal's attention, but he continues to crow; when only one chick remains, the stork explains that the jackal will not be able to climb the rock; the jackal seizes the stork, who asks him to eat him at a pond; carries the jackal and throws him into the water; tells the sheep that he is bathing, promises not to eat her, but to guard her; on the fourth day the sheep sees the flock and runs away; jackal: why should I guard her? My father did not guard her and my grandfather did not guard her!]: Rivière 1882: 141-142.

Southern Europe. Spaniards (everywhere) [a wolf is sure that the day will be lucky; he does not pick up a pig's leg that he found; he demands that a mare give him her foal (or rather mulina); she asks him to first pull out a splinter from her hind leg, kicks with her hoof; two lambs ask him to help them divide a meadow between them: they will go in different directions and whoever reaches the wolf first will get the better part; they butt him from both sides; the goats ask to be allowed to say mass first, they bleat, the shepherds come running, beat the wolf; the sow asks to first baptize her piglets in the river; she pushed the wolf into the water and took the piglets home; the wolf climbed out onto the shore and laments: who are you to pull out splinters, divide meadows, perform church services, baptize piglets? may lightning strike me from the sky; a woodcutter with an axe happened to be nearby and chopped the wolf down]: Camarena, Chevalier 1997, no. 122A: 199-201; Spanish (Extremadura) []: Rodríguez Pastor 2000, no. 37: 152-153; Spanish (Extremadura) [two rams show a wolf how they are dividing a meadow; they put him in the middle and butt him from both sides at a running start; a sow asks him to wait while she baptizes her piglets; pushes the wolf into a well; a horse: before you eat me and my foal, take the splinter out of my foot; kicks the wolf, knocking out his teeth; wolf: am I a surveyor, a priest, a baptizer of piglets, a remover of splinters? may lightning strike me! and someone sat in an oak tree, threw an axe and chopped off the wolf's tail; a fox meets a wolf: here come robbers, they kill wolves; a fox hides from a wolf in a hole, the wolf grabs her by the tail; fox: it is not my tail that you are dragging, but the root; the wolf let go of his tail]: Rodríguez Pastor 2000, no. 38: 154-155; Spanish (Extremadura) []: Rodríguez Pastor 2000, no. 39: 157-158; Catalans (including Mallorca) [upon waking up, the wolf made an indecent sound and considered it a good omen; does not pay attention to a piece of lard and a piece of dried pork on the road; is going to eat the foal; the mare praises the wolf and asks him to take out a splinter from her; kicks; two rams ask him to help them divide a meadow they inherited; they stand in the middle and butt them at a run in both directions; the pig does not object if the wolf eats the piglets, but first they must be baptized in a nearby pond; pushes the wolf into the water; the wolf's howl attracted the dogs, the wolf barely escaped; he laments: I am a wolf, not a doctor, not a judge, not a priest and not a bishop - so let heaven strike me with a knife; the peasant was in a tree and threw an axe at the wolf; the wolf is surprised that his request was fulfilled so quickly]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 122A: 39-40.

Western Europe. French (Limousin) [the wolf refused to eat the salted lard, but later regretted it; the sow asked to baptize the piglets first, then to eat; the wolf went for water, the sow pushed him into the pond; the rams wanted to serve vespers first, they bleated, people came running; the cows wanted to dance, they almost gored the wolf; the mare: before eating, the foal had to be shod; the foal kicked the wolf; the wolf complained about his fate ; a man sat in an oak tree, chopped off branches, threw an axe, killed the wolf]: Lopyreva 1959, No. 11: 29-31; French (Gascony, Pyrenees) [two rams (bull) agree to be eaten by a wolf (or to give him a lamb, but invent an excuse to be on opposite sides of him; let the wolf help them divide a meadow or choose whom to eat first; after that they butt him; this is an episode in a series of others; each time the wolf regrets his stupidity and finally wishes that the sky would fall on his head; at this time a man sitting in a tree throws an axe at him; the wolf is left without a tail or is killed altogether]: Delarue, Tenèze 1976, no. 122: 363-364; Walloons [a wolf found a piece of ham, but ate only half of it; after a while he sat down under a tree and thought: Well, what a fool I am (not to have eaten it all) - let them chop off my tail; a woodcutter sitting in a tree dropped an axe, which cut off the wolf's tail; wolf: it’s too late to even joke!]: Legros 1862, No. *79: 28-29.

South Asia. Sinhalese [a leopard bit off a calf's ear; the latter said that the leopard would not be satisfied with it, advised him to come back when he was older; the latter agreed; when the leopard came, the calf, now a bull, told the leopard to tie one end of a liana around his neck and the other to his own waist; ran away; the leopard died, and before that he had cried out what a fool he was not to have eaten the calf]: Parker 1914a, no. 162: 399-400.

The Balkans. Ancient Greece [a wolf is sure that he will eat his fill today; does not pick up a pie on the road, salted pork, sees a horse with a foal; she asks him to pull out a splinter first, kicks the wolf in the forehead; two rams ask to help divide a meadow: whoever runs up to the wolf first is the owner; they butt him from both sides; a sow asks to baptize her piglets first, pushes the wolf into a ditch, the water carries him under a mill wheel; goats ask to first serve mass for them; the wolf howls, people come running, beat the wolf; he laments: why so proud, was his father a doctor or a bishop; let a sword fall on him from heaven; a man sitting in a tree threw an axe at the wolf; wolf: Lord, how quickly our prayers reach you!]: Gasparov 1991, No. 50(36): 251-253; Ancient Greece [a fable from the "main Aesopian collection" ("Rhetor Anonymus Brancatianus"): a kid fell behind the herd, and a wolf chased after it; the kid said: "Wolf, I know that I am your prey. But so that I do not die ingloriously, play the pipe, and I will dance!"; the wolf began to play, and the kid began to dance; hearing this, the dogs rushed after the wolf; he turned around as he ran and said to the kid: "Serves me right: there is no need for me, a butcher, to pretend to be a musician"]: Gasparov 1968, No. 97: 92; Bosnians [a wolf and a dog walked together; The wolf sees a ram and asks: What are we going to do with him? The dog: Whatever you want. The ram: Let me jump into your mouth myself. Hit the wolf with his horns. The donkey asks to take a horseshoe off his foot before eating. Hits the wolf with his hoof. They came to the city and the dog led them to where the corned beef was kept. After that the wolf got thirsty. The dog offered them some sour water, which is alcohol. The wolf wanted to sing. The dog ran away and they beat him terribly. He reproaches himself: My parents never hung out with dogs. They didn’t wait for the ram to jump into their mouth. They didn’t take off the donkey’s horseshoes. They didn’t drink sour water. That’s right: I deserved a beating! Then a man came up and started hitting the wolf with a stick. The wolf: Don’t say bad words in the forest! {in rhyme}]: Eschker 1992, no. 65: 241-243; Serbs [a wolf sees two rams in a meadow; they ask him to stand in the middle of the meadow to divide it; they butt him from both sides at a running start; the wolf wants to tear the horse to pieces; the horse asks him to take off his horseshoes first, kicks; wolf: am I a surveyor to divide a meadow, or a blacksmith ( albatin ) to unshoe the end?]: Zlatković 2005, no. 15: 27; Hungarians [after a series of failures, the wolf sits down under a tree and thinks: it serves me right, I should be smarter, let someone hit me on the head here too; hearing this, the woodpecker comes down and pecks him; wolf: it's too late to joke!]: Kovács 1987, no. 79**: 262-263; Transylvanian Saxons[after a series of failures the wolf reproaches himself; his ancestors were smarter; why did he imitate the fox, try to divide the pasture, be a priest, cantor, etc.; his grandfather and father did not do this; (etc.)]: Haltrich 1882, No. 110: 109-110; Bulgarians : Klyagina-Kondratyeva 1951 [the wolf is going to eat two oxen; they propose to run to him from both sides in a race, the one that reaches him first he will eat in the morning, the other one - now; they butt him from both sides, the wolf is barely alive, laments that he decided to leave the oxen until tomorrow; the mule says that he has a letter under his hoof, kicks the wolf; the wolf: why did I need to read a letter; the donkey: jump over me three times, the sin will be forgiven; the dogs saw the jumping wolf, the donkey was saved; the pig suggested playing the bagpipes first, squealed, the swineherd came running with his dogs; the fox invites the wolf to the village for a wedding, they beat him; she ate porridge at the mill herself, got dirty, said that her brains were leaking out; the wolf carried the fox on his back, she said that the sick man was carrying the healthy one; the wolf guessed, the fox hid in a hole, the wolf grabbed her by the leg, the fox said that he grabbed a root, the wolf let go; the wolf died of hunger and grief]: 231-235; Shereshevskaya 1957 [the foal asks the wolf to first take off his horseshoes so as not to choke, kicks; the goat offers to open his mouth wider, butts; two rams offer to eat the one who gets to him first, they butt from a running start from both sides; the donkey says that the wolf is invited to be the godfather at the wedding; a wolf rides on the back of a donkey, they beat him; wolf: grandfather and father were modest, but for some reason I decided to have fun at a wedding]: 28-31; Macedonians [a wolf approached two rams; they offered him to eat the one who would reach him faster first; they hit him with their horns from both sides, the wolf is barely alive; the mule says that the royal decree forbidding anyone to harm him is written on his back; the wolf bends down to look, the mule kicks him with both hooves; the donkey offers to jump over him three times before eating him; the wolf jumps, the donkey's owner notices this, runs to help; the pig asks permission to play the flute first; she screams at the top of her lungs, the owner comes running; the fox assures that the wolf was invited to the wedding; people come towards them, they beat the wolf; the fox ate her fill of porridge, smeared her head with the remains, tells the wolf that her brains were knocked out; the wolf agrees to carry her to her hole, she says "the beaten one carries the unbeaten one", disappears into the hole; the wolf grabs the fox by the leg, she asks why he is holding the root; the wolf lets the fox go; dies of grief and beatings]: Martin 1955: 172-180; Gagauz [the fox fraternized with the sheep Marivka, then with the wolf; the wolf wants to eat the sheep, but the fox won't let him; the wolf offers the sheep to swap fur coats; she offers to go to the priest for confession - we'll swap if the priest approves; she leads the wolf to a trap, he gets caught in it; the man started to beat the wolf, who barely escaped; she wants to eat some piglets; the pig: let me sing first, and you dance; people came running to the scream, chased the wolf away; the wolf: why did I need to go to confession, I could have eaten the sheep and that's it; why dance, it's better to eat the piglets; a man would have been found who grabbed me by the tail and beat me; I wanted to defecate under a tree, but a man was sitting there, grabbed the wolf by the tail and beat him to death]: Moshkov 1904, No. 141: 208-209.

Central Europe. Ukrainians (Eastern?) [a wolf asks God for food, who tells him: whatever you meet with the priest, that is ready for you to eat; the priest's mare replies that she brought papers from the city; while the wolf is examining them, she runs away; Wolf: and I am not a lord, and illiterate, why should I examine papers? a ram offers to open his mouth, runs down the mountain, butts the wolf; wolf: am I a lord, that I want easy bread? pigs ask permission to sing a song, the peasants chase the wolf away; a tailor asks permission to wash himself before death, to wipe himself with a wolf's tail, winds it around his hand, beats the wolf with a yardstick; climbs an oak tree; the wolf calls the others, they stand on each other's backs, the tailless one below; The tailor sneezes, the wolf thinks he is saying "yardstick", rushes away, the other wolves fall, they tore the tailless one apart]: Petnikov 1955: 42-43; Northern Ukrainians (Chernigov, Borznensky district) [The priest's tailor went to work in the city; at that time the wolf asked God for food; He said that the wolf would meet the priest's - this is his food; the wolf met a mare, asked whose she was; the mare answered that she was the priest's; the wolf said that he would eat her; the mare answered that she was in the city and brought papers; invited the wolf to look at them; while he was looking, she galloped away; the wolf thought: "What a fool I am: am I a lord or a clerk, why should I look at papers?"; then he saw a ram, asked whose it was; the ram answered that she was the priest's; the wolf warned that he would eat him; the ram said that he would climb a mountain and jump into the wolf's mouth himself; as a result, he picked up speed and hit him in the forehead; the wolf began to think: "What a fool I am, am I a lord or something, since I wanted easy bread"; he met some pigs, asked whose they were; the pigs answered that they were the priest's; the wolf warned that he would eat them; they asked permission to sing a song; while they were singing, people came and drove the wolf away; he met a tailor, asked whose he was; the tailor answered that he was the priest; the wolf said that he would eat him; the tailor asked permission to wash himself for the last time and wipe himself with his tail {nothing was said about the intention to measure the wolf}; he wound the wolf's tail around his hands, "as if letting go three arshins"; then he ran away, climbed an oak tree; the wolf called other wolves for help; they stood on top of each other; below was a tailless one; when the wolves almost reached the tailor, he took a sniff of tobacco; having sniffed, he sneezed: "Achhi!"; the wolf from below thought that the tailor was shouting: "Arshin!"; ran; other wolves fell; caught up with the tailless one and tore him to pieces]: Rudchenko 1869, No. 2: 5-6; Russians (Ryazanskaya) [the animals fell into a pit, decided to eat the donkey; he asks to first read what was written on his hoof; killed the bear by kicking him; wolf: Well, okay, the bear climbed in, but why did I, after all, I can't read; where did I go?!]: Samodelova 2013, No. 12: 10; Kashubians[the wolf dreamed that he had a good breakfast and he really did find a piece of lard; he tells the mare that he will eat her foal; the mare tells him to do it quickly, but first to pull a splinter out of his foot; he stamps his hoof; the sow asks to be allowed to baptize the piglets before the wolf eats them; she came to the river, the piglets began to squeal, the sow pushed the wolf into the water, and the dogs began to tear; the goats ask to be allowed to pray, a shepherd dog came running to the bleating; the ram offers to jump into the wolf's mouth, hits him with his horns; the wolf laments that he is so stupid; he is good for nothing, except to have his tail cut off; the peasant heard and cut off the wolf's tail with an axe]: Lifshits-Artemyeva 2017: 206-208; Poles [the wolf is looking for prey; the horse advises to attack him from behind, kicks him with his hoof; the ram offers to jump into his mouth, kills or maims; the wolf laments his stupidity; the boy cuts off his tail]: Krzyżanowski 1962, no. 47B: 54 (cf. Rzepnikowska 2016: 39); Slovaks [a wolf came to a shoemaker to order boots; he promises to make them, but demands a heifer for the leather, then flax and hemp to make thread, and a boar to grease them with fat; when he gave the wolf the boots, they did not fit; shoemaker: I thought so, you need special ones, you have to jump into a pit of liquid clay; only then do not go into the water; they chased the wolf, he crossed the river, the boots dissolved; the wolf challenged the shoemaker to a duel, the seconds were a boar and a squirrel; a squirrel from a tree: he comes with two; one has red lights blazing, another is grabbing stones from the ground; the wolf ran away in terror; the shoemaker was walking with a rooster and a little dog, who was poking clods of earth with his nose; now the wolf wants to eat the foal; the mare: first he needs to be baptized; she led the wolf to the water and kicked; the wolf wants to eat the kid; the goat: he still needs to be mourned; the wolf howled, the peasants came running, beat him; the bird promises to feed the wolf; lured the women, they left their baskets with food, the wolf ate his fill; when he stuck his head in the pot to drink, he could not pull it out; he ran, smashed the pot against a tree; the wolf: all because he chased after something unnecessary; my father did not order the boots and was not a church singer; At this time, two foresters shot him, and the skin ended up on a furrier’s nail]: Gorbov 1949: 71-77.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Crimean Tatars (steppe Crimea, Deir, now Yantarnoye) [a wolf tied a turban and told the calf that he was going to the Kaaba; tells the rams that he wants to apologize to them; the same with the horses; after 10 days the wolf could not stand the hunger and ran back; the horse asks first to pull a thorn out of its leg; kicked it in the nose; the rams ask first to help divide the plot, run up from both sides and butt; the calf asks first to sing to him; dogs came running at the howl; the wolf hid in a cave; laments: why did I start removing the thorn, if I am not a blacksmith; that I am the royal surveyor to divide the land for the rams; a folk singer to sing; if a man were sitting behind me, he would take me by the tail and crush me; [the man was sitting in a cave, heard everything and killed the wolf]: Zherdeva 2020, no. 58; Adyghe [=Khut 1978: 298-299; the lamb asks the wolf to first allow him to jump three times; runs away; the horse advises to eat him from the back; the wolf sits on the horse's back, he throws him off; another horse asks to first read what is written on its hoof, knocked out the wolf's teeth; the wolf laments: let someone take a stick and kill me; the old woman took a stick, killed the wolf]: Alieva 1978, no. 72: 342-343; Ingush [=Sadulaev 2004, no. 16: 44-45; the wolf saw two rams; they invited him to stand between them, and they would look at each other before dying; The rams hit the wolf with their horns, breaking his ribs; the ox decided to eat the horse; the latter asked to first pull a nail out of his horseshoe, knocked out the wolf's fangs; the donkey asked to be allowed to bray before dying, people came running and started beating the wolf; he fell into a pit, two robbers fell in too; they started beating him, grabbed him by the tail, the wolf pulled them out, they threw him back into the pit; the wolf thinks: Take me away, Almighty. Am I a son-in-law who has come to see his brothers-in-law, or have I come to chat with my sisters-in-law? Am I a veterinarian to pull nails out of a horse's hooves, or a dentist to check a horse's teeth? Serves me right]: Malsagov 1983, No. 153: 290-300; Kumyks [the donkey asks the wolf not to eat immediately, but to let him grind the grain in the mill first; he will return and bring a donkey with him; he says that the guards are called Cross-bolt Zachov and Straight Wedge, and he himself is called the Knowing One; without waiting for the donkey, the wolf came and found the gates locked; he calls out to the guards, and the donkey replies that the cross bolt was pushed in and the straight wedge driven in; and that the knowing one left the fool outside the gate; the wolf: lost both the donkey and the colt; began to howl and barely escaped the dogs]: Ganieva 2011a, No. 50: 160-161; Avars[the wolf grew old, saw a bull; the latter offered to kiss him on the forehead first, butted him; the foal asked to be shoed first, without a horseshoe he would go to hell; kicks the wolf; the donkey advises not to eat him old, promises to bring him to the young donkey; sings on the way, people beat the wolf; the wolf sings: am I a mother-in-law, to kiss a bull? to shoe a foal, am I a blacksmith? to sing a song with a donkey, am I a singer?]: Ganieva 2011a, No. 43: 146; Archintsy [when the fox came to the ram to eat him, he advised to bring a cauldron to cook his meat, he himself ran away; the goat advised to go get a razor to shave her; the fox met the wolf, complained that she was dying of hunger; the wolf decided to show how he would knock down a horse; - Are your eyes rolling? Is the hair on the back of your neck standing up? the fox got her share for herself and her cubs; met a hare, decided to show him how to bring down a horse; the horse suggests taking the piece of gold out of his hoof and selling it; kicked the fox with his hoof; fox: why did I go for the cauldron? why shave the goat? why does the fox need gold? and then the shepherd threw a stone and hit her; no luck; the fox ran away]: Dirr 1920, no. 33: 155-157; Georgians [the wolf decided to go to Jerusalem, to become a monk; along the way he does not touch the cattle; but they did not let him into the church, he returns; the donkey asks to first remove his horseshoes, kicks out his teeth; the sheep ask first to help divide the meadow, run from both sides, butt the wolf; the heifer asks to sing to her first, butts, the wolf falls from a cliff, barely alive; after each episode he regrets that he was doing something that was not his business]: Chikovani 1954: 385-387.

Iran - Central Asia. Lury [a bear wants to eat a lame goat; she says she is tired of living, but asks to be allowed to bleat; a shepherd with dogs comes running, beats the bear; the same is a camel; he asks to look at his hoof, it says what kind of animal he is; he kicks the bear; the same is a donkey, he asks to ride him, brings him to people, the bear is beaten half to death; he laments: did my father tell me to sort out the affairs of lame goats? did he send me to school so that I could read what was written on the camel's hoof? did he know how to ride a horse? the bear went into a cave, and before that a man hid there from him; he grabbed him by the balls and threw him off the mountain, the bear died]: Amanolahi, Thackston 1986, no. 8: 41-43; Persians (Isfahan) [a bear dreamed that he had acquired one piece of stone; a fox: this means you will find some game today; the bear rushes at a camel, which one: haven't you read your father's will? he lifted his leg and asked the bear to come closer, began to knead it; the next day - two pieces of stone; two deer in a cave first ask to be allowed to have a horn fight; they run away; the third time - one piece of stone again; the bear rushes at a donkey, which one offers to give him a ride, gallops towards the people; they beat the bear; the fox: what kind of father made your will? where did you become such an expert to know that deer have a horn fight? where did you become such a skillful rider? I have never seen a donkey like you]: Romaskevich 1934a, no. 8: 61-63; Tajiks [a wolf seizes a goat, the goat asks him to first read his father's poetry; the wolf howls, the dogs come running; wolf: what have I to do with reading poetry?]: Levin et al. 1981, no. 228: 231; Pashtuns (Bannu District, Pakistan) [a wolf and a jackal hunt together, but the jackal keeps to himself; a lamb asks the wolf to let him sing first, bleats, the shepherds come running; the jackal to the wolf: did your father or grandfather love music so much? a donkey promises to teach him how to ride, carries the wolf, the shepherds beat the wolf with sticks; a camel tells him to first look at the amulet under his chest, tramples him to death]: Thorburn 1876: 221-222; Baluchi [in a dream a wolf saw that he had eaten three fat pieces; in the morning he went to look for them; donkey: your fathers and grandfathers were riders - ride on me and eat me; when you jump, close your eyes; the donkey brought the wolf to the village, the wolf barely escaped from the dogs; the sheep offers to dance for the wolf first, let him close his eyes; ran away; camel: there is a book under my chest; when you read, a hole will open in my chest, you will be able to eat me; your fathers and grandfathers were excellent literate; the camel began to crush the wolf, he barely escaped; climbed into his den; "Silly - was your father or grandfather a dancer? With that donkey it turned out that he escaped from your tray! Okay, well, him to hell! With that sheep (same); with the camel: he almost killed you himself! "And the thief dragged a lot of things into the den; He grabbed the wolf by the tail and beat it until he killed it]: Zarubin 1932, No. 19: 212-214.

Baltoscandia. Swedes [a fox asks a mare to give her her foal; the latter offers the fox to wash himself first and then dry himself with her towel, i.e. his tail; he kicks with his hoof; the fox asks a ram to let him eat him; the ram puts the fox on a stump in order to jump into his throat, butts him; the fox asks a sow for her piglets; the sow wants to sing a funeral prayer for them first, a boar comes running, the fox flees; the fox asks a goose for her goslings, the goose replies that she must first wash them in the lake, does not return; sitting under a tree, the fox ponders why she behaved so stupidly; a man sitting in the tree drops an axe on her tail]: Stier 1971, no. 45: 181-182; Finns : Salmelainen in Schreck 1887, no. 9 [people lost some roast pork, a wolf found it, but the pork was salty; wanted to eat the pig, she asked to be allowed to baptize the piglets first, threw herself into the river with them, swam to the other bank and did not return; the bull asked to be allowed to measure the field first, runs away to the village; the horse says that her foal cannot be eaten, since the land does not belong to the wolf, this can be seen on her hoof; kicks the wolf; wolf: am I a pastor to baptize children, or a land surveyor?]: 232-234, in Konkka 1991 [the wolf wants to eat the piglets, she asks to be allowed to baptize them first; they flop into the river and swam to the other bank; the wolf wants to eat the goat; he asks to be allowed to furrow the field first, runs away to the people; wants to eat the foal: the mare does not have permission to graze in these meadows; she tells him to look at the permission slip under her hoof, kicks; the wolf: after all, I am not a priest to baptize, not a land surveyor to make furrows, not an official to check certificates]: 314-315; Estonians [the forest father allowed the thinnest wolf to kill a ram; the wolf to the ram: you are destined to be eaten, you will go to be eaten; the ram asks to leave him until autumn, otherwise now he is skin and bones; then the forest father offers the wolf a pig; she promises to not only get fat by autumn, but also give birth to piglets; the forest father allows him to kill a horse; she asks to come at the beginning of December, she will become well-fed; the forest father: well, then eat mushrooms and berries until autumn; in autumn the pig asks permission to sing a song with the piglets; people came running to the squeal, they beat the wolf; the ram asks to stand by the tree and open his mouth, butts him at a running start; the horse must stretch its legs, let the wolf hold it by the tail; dragged it along the ground and hit it with its hoof; the wolf ran into the forest and cried]: Jakobson 1954: 153-161.

Volga – Perm. Bashkirs [a wolf wants to eat a merchant, who suggests measuring him first – will he fit in his belly; hits him with an iron yardstick; a goat asks to be allowed to shout the azan before dying, her owners beat the wolf; a foal says that he has a ticket under his tail so that the wolf will not eat him, kicks the wolf; each time the wolf asks himself why he did it, allowed this and that, he had to eat]: Barag 1989, No. 110: 427-428.

Turkestan. Karakalpaks [a goat answers a wolf that he is the leader of the herd, a ram that he is the khan's tightrope walker, a mare orders him to first read the message on the tag on her tail, kicks the wolf with her hoof; dying, the wolf sings a song: why did I take pity on the tightrope walker, am I an artist; why did I go to read, after all, I am illiterate]: Volkov, Mayorov 1959: 65-66; Kyrgyz [a wolf wants to eat a kestrel whose wings are broken, the latter advises him to take some sausage lying on the hill; sausage: it is better to eat the goat; goat: I am skinny, eat the goat; goat: you will not get enough of me, the mare is stuck in a swamp; the mare: first pull me out, and then write your name on my hoof; kicked the wolf; wolf: what a fool I am, and why did I sign my hoof, am I a literate mullah?]: Brudny, Eshmambetov 1981: 270-271; Salars (Ujirem, Xunhua-Salar Autonomous County) [a wolf saw a horse stuck in the mud; said he would eat it; the horse ordered him to first pull it out and clean it of mud; when the wolf did this, he kicked him and ran away; wolf: "He who pulls a horse out of the mud is a strong wolf, he who cleans a horse of mud is a pure wolf, he who gets slapped by a horse is a pathetic wolf!"]: Tenishev 1964, No. 8: 22.

Southern Siberia – Mongolia. Tuvans : Samdan 1994, no. 19 [a wolf wants to eat a foal; the latter offers to first ride him when he is pacing; the wolf does not know what it is, rides, falls asleep, the foal leaves him in the steppe; wolf: am I a chang or a hondyu (categories of officials) who ride at a slow amble; the same – at a fast amble; the same – go for a ride at a mixed pace; the foal offers to read the inscription on his hoof; the wolf bends down, gets kicked by a hoof; "Am I a literate scribe, it would be better if I ate him"; the wolf dies]: 365-367; Taube 1978, no. 8 [the foal tells the wolf that he can always eat him; but he is not an ordinary foal, and he rides at a fast amble; offers to sit on him; the intrigued wolf sits on the foal, falls asleep, the wolf throws him off; wolf: am I a shepherd to ride at a fast amble; the same twice more (at a slow amble; trot); the foal offers the wolf to read the decree on his hoof; having been kicked by the hoof, the wolf laments: am I a scribe to read decrees; dies]: 23-24; Buryats (Bokhansky district, Irkutsk region, 1946) [the foal got stuck in the mud, the wolf is going to eat him, he asks first to pull him out, then wash him - he can't eat something dirty; and then let him dry - he can't eat wet meat; then read the inscription on the gold seal under the right hoof; kicks the wolf and runs away; wolf: what inscription did I want to read if I don't understand literacy?; the bull asks to ride him first, rushes home, the wolf hits the crossbar of the gate; the wolf: I will never sit on a horse again; the pigs want to sing, people come running, beat the wolf; the wolf: why did I need the pigs' singing? the dog offers to eat not him, but the fallen horse; the wolf falls into a trap, the hunters finish him off]: Barannikova 2000, no. 16: 79-83 (=Dugarov 1990: 354-357; =Eliasov 1959: 134-135); dagurs [the wolf found a sheep's stomach on the side of the road; the stomach said: "Instead of eating me with all my contents, wouldn't it be better for you to go where a yearling foal is stuck in the mud?"; the wolf ran to the foal, who said to him: "It doesn't matter if you eat me. But before you do that, pull me out of the mud and lick me with your tongue. Will my meat not then seem even tastier? "; the wolf pulled out the foal and licked the mud that had stuck to it; the foal asked: "Wouldn't it be better to look at the inscription mor' before you eat me?, which is inscribed on the hoof of my hind leg? "; the wolf bent his neck to look at the hoof; the foal hit him on the forehead and ran away; the wolf met a bull; the latter said: "Since such a misfortune has befallen me, let me be eaten. However, before that, do you want to test me, how well I can ride?"; the wolf agreed, the bull told him to sit astride him, turning the other way; the wolf sat down and grabbed the bull's tail; the bull ran into the village; the villagers beat the wolf; he barely escaped, saying: "What kind of literate person am I, that I dared to read what was inscribed on the hoof of a foal? When did I learn to ride a horse, that I would dare to ride a bull? What a fool I am, what an ignoramus I am!"]: Todayeva 1986: 101.