M38c3. An old woman was turned into a monkey. .15.16.28.31.

The blacksmith presumptuously tries to reforge an old woman into a young woman (an old man into a young man). The magical assistant brought the murdered woman back to life, but only in the form of an animal, usually a monkey.

Italians (Abruzzo), Germans (Pomerania; also 16th century – north?), Walloons, Flemings, Czechs, Kashubians, Danes [ermine], Finns, Estonians.

Southern Europe. Italians (Abruzzo) [Jesus, wanting to put a blacksmith in his place, who declared himself the master of all masters, puts an old man in the furnace and takes out a young man; the blacksmith tries to do the same with his father, but he fails; Jesus strikes the burnt remains with a hammer, and a bear is produced (the origin of bears)]: Del Monte Tammaro 1971, no. 753-a: 61; Italians (Abruzzo) [St. Eligio puts his father in the furnace, but he is burned; he asks Jesus to help, but Jesus says that now only a monkey can be made from the remains; thus the monkey was produced]: Del Monte Tammaro 1971, no. 753-b: 61.

Western Europe. Germans (Pomerania) [St. Peter meets a young blacksmith and they travel together; they see a forge with a sign that the best blacksmith works there; St. Peter grabs the blacksmith's grandmother, throws her into the fire, tells the young assistant to blow the bellows and hits her with a hammer; takes her out of the furnace and hits her again until instead of the old woman a healthy young girl emerges; when St. Peter went on, the blacksmith decided to reforge his wife himself; hearing a scream, St. Peter returned; but it was too late; instead of the young girl a monkey emerged, which ran away into the forest (the origin of the monkeys)]: Jahn 1891, no. 48: 255-256; Germans [Schwank von Hans Folz; Peter and Jesus travel; P. asks I. to rejuvenate an old beggar; J. puts him in the forge, a young man comes out; the blacksmith decides to rejuvenate his old father-in-law, he is burned; seeing this, the blacksmith's wife and her relative were so horrified that they gave birth to monkeys (the origin of monkeys)]: Dähnhardt 1909: 162 (other German texts are mentioned in Widter et al. 1866: 29-30); Germans (Hans Sachs, 1562) [Peter and Jesus are wandering; P. asks J. to rejuvenate an old beggar; J. puts him in the forge, a young man comes out; the blacksmith decides to rejuvenate his mother-in-law; she screams terribly, he takes her out of the fire; seeing her distorted face, the wife and daughter-in-law gave birth to children with a similar face that same night (the origin of monkeys)]: Grimm, Grimm 2002, No. 147: 462-463; Flemings [upon learning that the blacksmith's mother had died, Jesus placed her in a forge and revived a young one; when his wife died, the blacksmith tried to do the same, but the body burned up; Jesus tried to revive the woman, but only a monkey came out]: Dähnhardt 1909: 166; Walloons [Jesus and St. Peter are wandering; Jesus has lost the ring on the end of his staff; the blacksmith has made a new one; Jesus offers to rejuvenate his father; places it in a forge, forges, takes out a young one; when the guests left, the blacksmith decided to rejuvenate the mother himself; killed her with hammer blows; Jesus tried to help, but all that came out was a monkey]: Laport 1932, no. *753A: 75; Frisians : Uther 2004(1), no. 753: 407-408.

Central Europe. Czechs [St. Peter and Jesus went into a smithy to beg for alms, but the blacksmith drove them away; P.: you will yet regret that you drove the Lord away; blacksmith: if it is one of you, then let him rejuvenate my aged father; I. ​​put him in the forge and took him out as a youth; the blacksmith's wife: it would be better if he rejuvenated me; the blacksmith put her in the forge, she began to scream terribly, he took her out and threw her into the water; seeing the burned woman, two neighbors gave birth to monkeys (the origin of monkeys)]: Dähnhardt 1909: 163; Kashubians [a blacksmith has an old and ugly wife; an apprentice orders her to be sent to him, reforges her into a young beauty; the apprentice went to work in another place, but after going a short distance he sensed something was wrong and returned; The blacksmith put an old woman into the furnace; the apprentice rushed to her and began to forge, but all that came out was a monkey]: Knoop 1885, No. 8: 203-204.

Baltoscandia. Danes [a blacksmith boasted that he was the greatest of all craftsmen; Jesus reforged an old woman into a young one; the blacksmith tried to do the same with his mother, who burned to death; St. Peter asked J. for help, but he turned the woman into an ermine (origin of ermine); var.: into an owl]: Dähnhardt 1909: 167; Finns [in winter, Jesus and St. Peter went into a smithy to shoe a horse; J. cut off two of its legs, nailed on the horseshoes, and attached the legs back; he reforged an old woman standing nearby into a young one; the blacksmith tried to do the same; the horse died, his mother burned to death; he ran to ask J. for help; he revived the horse and attached the legs to it, but the blacksmith's mother turned into a monkey]: Dähnhardt 1909: 168; Estonians [an apprentice blacksmith met an old man in the forest; the old man gave him a hammer with which he could forge anything; while no one was around, he hits a cart that had been brought in for repairs with the hammer, and it was as if it were new; an old woman came in and was picky; the apprentice hit her with the hammer, threw her behind the forge, and after three years hit her again, and she became a girl; the master decided to try the same with his grandmother, but to no avail; he called the apprentice; he hit her, and an old monkey emerged]: Hurt in Dähnhardt 1909: 167.