M38d7. Sausage makes soup, (ATU 85). .15.16.21.28.31.35.
A character who is something fatty (sausage, a piece of fat, etc.) cooks a tasty meal, flavoring it with his fat. Another decides to do the same and dies.
Italians (Umbria), (French: Gascony), Germans (East Prussia, Alsace, Bavaria), Tibetans (Sikkim, Amdo), Ukrainians (Galicia), Poles, Latvians, Northern Khanty.
Southern Europe. Italians (Umbria) [mouse and sausage]: Cirese, Serafini 1975, no. 85: 20.
Western Europe. Germans (East Prussia) [a mouse and a sausage live together; on Sundays one of them went to church, and the other boiled cabbage for dinner; and if the sausage cooked, the food invariably tasted better; one day the mouse decided to spy on the sausage; it threw itself into the soup and boiled itself, so that the cabbage would become fatter; the next Sunday the mouse threw itself into the pot and boiled itself to death; at a funeral, the cart with the body of the deceased was pulled by four large rats, followed by a sausage and many mice; and the pastor was a rooster]: Lemke, Sommerfeld 1915, no. 1: 344-345; Germans (Alsace) [The sausage (Commère petite saucisse de foie) invited the Mouse to visit; the latter asks why the cabbage is so tasty - she runs over it once; The mouse invited the sausage, started cooking in the same way, and got baked]: Lefftz 2006, no. 6: 73; Germans (Alsace) [a little bird, a mouse, and a sausage; live together; the little bird flies through the forest and brings firewood, the mouse goes to fetch water and makes a pot of water, the sausage cooks; another little bird told this one that the sausage and the mouse were idle and were torturing her with work; she refused to carry firewood; now she would go fetch water, the mouse would cook, and the sausage would carry firewood; the dog ate the sausage; the mouse started rolling around in the frying pan like the sausage did and died; a fire started; the little bird rushed to the well with a bucket, fell in, and drowned]: Lefftz 2006, no. 15: 219-221; Germans (Bavaria) [a mouse, a sausage, and a frog run a household together; the sausage prepares food, the frog prepares firewood, the mouse gets bread; the frog asks the sausage how it manages to make such delicious soup; sausage: I boil water and plunge into it; the next day the sausage went to get firewood, the frog stayed to cook, and the mouse went to the wedding to get crumbs; when the sausage returned from the forest, it found the boiled frog; a man entered the house; sausage: tell the mouse to go home: the frog was boiled in the soup; the man does not understand where the voice came from, he came to the wedding and told what he heard; the mouse threw its bag under the table and hurried home; in the meantime the dog ate the sausage; the mouse saw a frog swimming in the pot, but did not find the sausage and went out the door; there the cat ate it]: Jahn 1891, No. 17: 26; (cf. the French (Gascony) [there lived a married couple who were lice; the husband was the breadwinner, and the wife cooked the soup; one day she suggested that the husband cook the soup, and she would go and listen to mass; when the husband bent down to put the fat in, he fell into the soup and drowned; {further another story}]: Dardy 1891, no. 54: 205-209).
Tibet - North-East of India. Tibetans (Sikkim) [a wife named Fatty always cooks fatty food for her husband Meaty; he peeks in, sees her rolling around the frying pan, filling it; having sent his wife away, the husband himself lies down on the frying pan, is fried; the wife looks for a lama to perform a ritual over him; a Dove, a Magpie, a Raven do not know the lama's words, the woman drives them away; a Kite pronounces epithets of Buddha, the woman hands him her husband's body; when he returns, the Kite replies that he ate the body, taking it for a treat; she throws a cup of sour milk at him; since then the kite has a white spot on his head]: Krapivina 2001: 41-47; Tibetans (Amdo) [Kom of Fat stays to cook, Kom of Meat goes for firewood; peeks in, sees Kom of Fat dip himself in boiling water and the food is ready; volunteers to cook, lets Kom of Fat go get firewood; when he returns, he sees that Kom of Meat has been cooked]: Tshe dbang rdo rje et al. 2007: 31.
Central Europe. Ukrainians (Galicia, Kolomyia) [there lived two sisters: a sausage and a hen; when the hen went to church, the sausage cooked a delicious soup; the hen asked how she did it; she answered that she sat on the edge of a boiling pot and relieved herself in it; the next time the hen tried to do the same, fell and was cooked; the sausage buried her, putting up a cross with the inscription: whoever relieves himself here, his shit will follow him relentlessly; one traveler sat down to relieve himself; the shit followed him; in the forest, gypsies were cooking food, asked him to watch the fire while they walked away; the man threw the shit into the pot and left; the gypsies began to pour soup into plates, and from there came cries: don't break my leg, don't touch my hand! the gypsies gave everything to the pig, the shit passed through her and returned to the gypsies; but then the rooster crowed and it disappeared]: Kryptadia 1898: 17-19; Poles [the mouse and the sausage live together, each performing those duties that are consistent with their nature; having changed roles, both perish]: Krzyżanowski 1962, no. 85: 57.
Baltoscandia. Latvians [a mouse, a bird and a sausage run a household together; one day they swap duties and everyone dies]: Arijs, Medne 1977, No. 85: 256.
Western Siberia. Northern Khanty (Obdorsk, 1992) [The raven goes off to chop wood, at home Olenya Kost is melting fat; the raven peeks through the chimney, sees Olenya Kost boiling water, climbs into the cauldron, the fat melts, she collects it; suggests switching roles; the raven jumps into the cauldron, gets cooked; Olenya Kost began to go for wood and melt fat, she lives in every house]: Nikolaeva 1999, No. 22: 219.