M187B. Harvest for the fastest runner.

.14.-.16.(.24.).27.29.30.33.

Two animal characters agree to give the harvest from a field they worked together to the one who runs faster than the other.

Berbers of Beni Sno (border with Morocco), Chaoui, Zouaves, Kabyles, Berbers of Tunisia, Spaniards (Extremadura), Portuguese, Galicians, Maltese, French (Languedoc), Arameans, Arabs of Iraq, Greeks (Lesbos), Lezgins, Armenians, Turks, Bakhtiaris, Tajiks, Yazghulami, Baluchis, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz.

North Africa. Kabyles [a jackal and a hedgehog decided to grow beans together; they prepared a pot of butter and a pot of honey - they will return from work in the evening and eat; the jackal: a neighbor has had a child, he will have to go and name him; he went to where the pots were hidden, ate the butter and honey, filled the pots with earth, smeared the rest of the butter and honey on top; when he returned, he replied that the child was named Do Dna (bis auf dem Boden); during the harvest and processing of the crops, the jackal arranges it so that the hedgehog does all the work; he proposes to divide: the jackal gets the beans, the hedgehog gets the straw; the hedgehog is indignant; the jackal asks (his) brothers, they say: whoever runs to the barn faster will get the grain; the hedgehog leaves his brother there; when the jackal runs up, the hedgehog (i.e. the hedgehog's brother) says that he has already run; the animals award the beans to the hedgehog; both argue about who ate the butter and honey; man: go to bed with the potsherds under you; the one whose pots were smeared with butter and honey ate it; in the morning the jackal got up and switched the potsherds; the hedgehog blamed him, the jackal tried to hit and bite him, got all pricked; decided not to mess with the hedgehog anymore, the hedgehog got the harvest]: Frobenius 1921b, no. 4: 13-16; Berbers of Tunisia [a wolf and a hedgehog worked a field together; they began to argue about who would get the harvest; the hedgehog proposed a race, placed his seven children along the course, the wolf believed that he had lost]: Stimme 1900, no. 19: 67-68 (retold in Dähnhardt 1912: 68-69); Beni Snou Berbers (NW Algeria: border with Morocco) [a hedgehog and a jackal grew barley together; the jackal wanted to keep the whole crop; proposed a race, the winner would get all the barley; the hedgehog placed his young hedgehogs along the course, hid the last one in a bin under the barley; the hedgehog got the crop]: Destaing 1907, no. 2: 240-250; Chaoui Berbers (east Algeria), Arabs of Algeria [a hedgehog and a jackal planted onions, the jackal took the roots, the hedgehog the tops; the next time they planted wheat, the hedgehog took the roots and the jackal the grain; the hedgehog then proposed to give the wheat to the winner of the race; he placed other hedgehogs along the course; the jackal conceded defeat]: Dähnhardt 1912: 69; Berber Zouave [a hedgehog and a jackal planted onions, the jackal took the roots, the hedgehog the tops; the next time they planted wheat, the hedgehog took the roots, and the jackal the grain; the hedgehog was dissatisfied; the jackal offered to give the wheat to the one who ran to the heap of grain the fastest; the hedgehog hid his brother in it, the jackal admitted defeat]: Dähnhardt 1912: 69-70.

Southern Europe. Spanish (Extremadura) [a fox and a toad sowed wheat; the fox: the harvest would go to the one who ran a race faster; the toad placed other toads along the course, the fox believed that the toad had overtaken it]: Rodríguez Pastor 2000, no. 29: 136-137; Portuguese [a fox and a toad grew wheat together; the fox offered to give the entire harvest to the one who ran faster; and even gave the toad a little head start; but the toad placed another toad in the middle of the race, and another one at the finish line; the fox believed that the toad had finished first]: Cardigos, Correia 2015, no. 274C: 109; Galicians [a fox and a toad worked a field and harvested the crop together; fox: you take the straw, and I take the grain; the toad disagrees; then the fox suggests that the first one to reach the top of the mountain should take the grain; the toad quietly latched onto the fox's tail, and when the fox reached it and turned back to look where the toad was, the toad said that she had been waiting for the fox for a long time]: Contos 1972, no. 10: 21-22; the Maltese [a hedgehog and a jackal planted turnips; the hedgehog suggests that the jackal choose either the tops or the roots, he chooses the tops and gets the tops; the next time the jackal chooses the roots and gets the roots of wheat; the jackal complains, but another hedgehog turns out to be the judge; he suggests that they run a race - whoever runs to the mountain and back faster will get everything; the jackal agrees; the hedgehog positions his three brothers; the jackal runs and keeps seeing the hedgehog ahead of him; the harvest went to the hedgehog]: Stumme 1904, no. 33: 86-88 (retold in Dähnhardt 1912: 70, in Mifsud-Chircop 1978, no. 9B: 1).

Western Europe. French (Languedoc) [a fox and a toad worked a field together; fox: whoever runs through the field first will get all the wheat; toad with three other toads are placed at the corners of the field, fox believes that he has lost]: Sébillot 1906: 299 (=Dähnhardt 1912: 72).

Western Asia. Arameans [a crab and a fox together gathered and threshed wheat; fox: whoever runs to the threshing floor first gets everything; the crab clings to the fox's tail, takes the wheat, the fox gets the straw]: Dähnhardt 1912: 78; Arabs of Iraq [a hedgehog and a fox worked a field together; in order to take the entire harvest, the fox offers to give it to the winner of a race; the hedgehog puts five other hedgehogs on the course, the fox admits defeat]: Weissbach 1908, no. 27: 137-139 (retold in Nowak 1969, no. 19: 59-60).

Balkans. Greeks (Lesbos) [a crayfish and a fox worked a field together, gathered wheat; decided to give it to the one who would run to the threshing floor first; the crayfish clings to the fox's tail, gets the wheat]: Dähnhardt 1912: 79.

Caucasus – Asia Minor. Lezgins [a tortoise and a fox sowed a field together; fox: let the whole harvest go to the one who wins the race; the tortoise placed its friends along the course; when the fox arrived, the tortoise was already at the finish line]: Ganieva 2011a, no. 31: 120; Armenians [a crayfish and a fox worked a field together, gathered wheat; decided to give it to the one who runs down the mountain the fastest; the crayfish asks the fox to hit it with its tail so that it will know when to start running; clings to the tail, ends up on a pile of wheat]: Orbeli 1956, no. 69: 93 (= Dähnhardt 1912: 78-79); Turks [a tortoise, a crayfish, and a fox decided to work a field together; the fox avoids work, and then offers to give the harvest to the fastest; loses both times: the turtle places other turtles along the course, and the crayfish clings to the fox's fur]: Dor 2002, no. 19: 61-62; Eberhard, Boratav 1953, no. 4: 29.

Iran – Central Asia. Bakhtiyars [the tortoise Miska-na-spine sows; the fox: "God help you"; the tortoise reaps, the fox again: "God help you"; comes for his share; the tortoise refuses to share; the fox claims that her words helped grow the harvest; let whoever runs to the threshing floor faster receive the grain; the tortoise hides his brother in the threshing floor; the fox overtakes the tortoise, but takes Miska-na-spine's brother for him; the fox leaves, hanging his head]: Lorimer, Lorimer 1919, no. 46: 304–305; Tajiks : Levin et al. 1981, no. 15 (Muminabad) [=Amonov, Ulug-zade 1957: 33–34; the ant and the tortoise grew wheat; before the harvest, the fox brings him in for a share, promises to work hard; says that the neighboring clay hill may fall, he will hold it while the ant and the turtle reap; sleeps all day; offers to give the harvest to the fastest; the ant clings to the fox's tail three times, each time saying that she is already waiting for him; the fox has to admit defeat, the ant gives half to the turtle], 53 (Dukoni, near Nurek) [a flea and a fox threshed wheat, the fox offered to give the harvest to the one who wins the race; the flea clung to the fox's leg, at the finish line says that she ran before her; took the wheat]: 119-121, 153; Yazgulyamtsy [the fox gave the flea and the frog a stick - let them sow; and she herself went to the foot of the mountain, so that the mountain would not collapse; When they started to gather the harvest, the fox demanded a share for herself – gave her a stick, held up the mountain; they did not agree; fox: the one who runs faster will get the harvest; a flea latched onto the fox and when the fox came running, said that she had been waiting for her for a long time; the fox burst with anger; the frog remained in a damp place; the flea built a mill, stayed for the winter; in the spring an avalanche carried her away]: Edelman 1966, No. 4: 193; Beluchi [the fox, the rooster and the tortoise work the field together: the rooster pulls the plough, the tortoise sows, and the fox props up the hill so that it does not fall; in order to divide the harvest, the fox suggests running a race; the tortoise latched onto its tail and pretended to be ahead]: Porozhnyakov 1989: 129-131.

Turkestan. Kazakhs [a fox, a tortoise, and a tick sowed millet; the fox lay down in the shade, saying that she would support the cliff, the tick and the tortoise worked; the fox offered to give the harvest to the winner of the race; the tick grabbed the fox's paw, said that he had arrived first; the tortoise came, said that hunters with golden eagles and hounds were coming; the fox ran away, leaving the grain with the tortoise and the tick]: Kaskabasov et al. 1979, no. 47: 108-109 (= Bozingen 1984: 35-36); Kyrgyz [a fox and an ant sowed wheat; the fox complained every day that something hurt, went off to drink kumiss; when the harvest ripened, she offered that the one who ran faster should get it; the ant grabbed the fox by the tail, the fox admitted its defeat and starved all winter]: Brudny, Eshmambetov 1981: 274 (cited in Permyakov 1972: 52).

( Cf. Malaysia – Indonesia. {A unique case for Asia, probably a Portuguese borrowing}. Tetum [a monkey and a shark sow corn; the shark offers to split the harvest in half; the monkey says that the first one to arrive will get everything; the shark hides four other sharks along the course; the monkey confidently wins, but at the finish line the shark is waiting for it; it gets the whole harvest]: Hicks 1974: 64-65).