M39a4e. A fool sells property to a tree. .23.27.-.32.
A fool sells property to a tree (a stump, a pole, a cross in a field), believing that the buyer will pay. Trying to get money, he finds a treasure.
Kannada [tree], Hungarians [birch], Bulgarians [tree, bush, stump, cross], Russians [birch] (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Zaonezhye, Vologda, Tula, Ryazan, Bryansk, Voronezh), Ukrainians [birch] (Eastern Slovakia, Transcarpathia, Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Chernihiv, Podolia), Ukrainians (Kharkiv) [stump], Poles [cross], Belarusians [birch], Crimean Tatars [tree], Adyghe [tree], Mingrelians [tree], Latvians [birch], Estonians [birch] (Vozhans [tree]), Vepsians [pine], Karelians [stump], Finns [milepost], Mordvins [pine], Bashkirs [stump].
South Asia. Kannada [during the division of property, Hucca ("fool") asked his brothers for a bull; they gave him an old skinny one; after the bull kicked him, H. went to sell it; no one bought it; passing by a creaking tree, H. decided that it was talking to him and sold the bull to the tree; the next day he came for money - no bull, no money; came again, cut down the tree, gold and silver, hidden by robbers in the hollow, fell out; H. went to get his brothers; on the way back they stopped at a Brahmin; H. said that they were carrying gold and showed it; the Brahmin began stuffing coins into his pockets, H. killed him; the brothers threw the body into a well; the elders came later without H., pulled out and reburied the body, and threw a dead goat into the well; when they started looking for the Brahmin and H. said that he had killed him, a goat was found in the well; the gold remained with the brothers]: Ramanujan 1997, No. 30: 81-84.
The Balkans. The Hungarians [two older brothers are smart, the youngest Istok is a fool; they agreed: whoever’s barn the bull goes into, that’s who it gets; the bull runs into I.; he goes to sell it, a birch tree creaks by the road, I. ties the bull to it, promises to come and get a hundred forints; wolves eat the bull, I. hits the birch tree with an axe, gold pours out of it, I. brings a whole bucket; the brothers replace it with rotten wheat; I. goes to sell it, they laugh at him; he stops for the night, pigs eat the wheat; I. promises to report to the king that the king’s gold was stolen from this house, the owner bought it off with money; tells his brothers that he sold rotten wheat; the brothers go to sell it, they are beaten; the brothers say that I. communicates with devils; they put him in a barrel to drown; he shouts that he does not want to be a governor; the master changes places with him, I. takes the carriage and horses, says that he found them at the bottom (under the causeway); everyone jumped into the river, I. took possession of the whole village]: Shustova 1994: 144-148; Bulgarians [a fool sells an ox (live or slaughtered) to a tree or bush (cross, stump), or to wild animals or birds (wolves, bears, foxes, crows, jackdaws, eagles, sparrows), or to dogs; demanding payment, he cuts down a tree, etc. and finds a treasure]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, No. 1643: 543.
Central Europe. Russians (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Voronezh, Tula, Ryazan), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Transcarpathia, Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Chernigov, Podolia), Belarusians [ The Fool and the Birch : a fool sells cattle to a birch tree, which creaks in the wind (he takes the creaking for a promise of money); he gets angry at the birch tree for not paying, hits it with an axe (cuts it down), and money falls out of the hollow]: SUS 1979, No. 1643: 340-341; Russians (Arkhangelsk, Onega uyezd, Pyantino village) [mother sent Vanyushka to sell a canvas; he sees a stump, wraps the canvas around the stump – the stump is cold; then he asks the stump to sell the canvas, he will come for the money on Friday; On Friday V. began to beat a stump, under it there was a cauldron with gold; mother went and brought it; V. told the priest about the money; then killed him - he would tell; same with the uncle; tells everyone; mother replaced the money with leaves, the killed uncle - with a goat; shows the killed goat and leaves; everyone understands - he is a fool; V. hired himself out to work for the priest; he orders to slaughter a bull that is looking at him; V. slaughtered everyone; the priest's wife orders to cook soup, put onions and pepper; V. killed the children Luka and Firs, cooked it; then V. brought the bear to the cowshed; the priest and the priest's wife try to escape; V. gets into a sack and drowns the priest in the river]: Onchukov 2008, No. 143: 292-294; Russians (Olonetskaya) [the eldest sons got the goods, and the youngest one thin bull; he went to the fair; a birch tree creaked by the road; he sold her a bull for 20 rubles, promised to come for the money tomorrow; on the third day he cut down the birch tree, and in the hollow there was gold hidden by robbers; he brought part of it to his brothers; they took the rest and everyone began to live well]: Onegina 1986, No. 32: 104-105; Russian (Novgorod) [Ivan went to sell a bull; the birch tree creaked; he sold her a bull for a hundred rubles, the money was tomorrow; his brother Mikhail scolded him; he came with an axe, there was gold in the birch tree; both brothers came for the gold, carried it, a priest came towards them, wants to take it away, they cut off his head, buried it further away, and closer - the head of a goat; the people are looking for the priest, the brothers say that they cut off his head; they began to dig - the head of a goat; [the men got busy with a new priest]: Vlasova, Zhekulina 2001, No. 96: 157-158; Russian(Tula) [the younger brother is a fool; after dividing the property, the elders gave him a bull; he milks it, but there is no milk; he went to sell it; the tree creaks, he agreed with him on the price, promised to come tomorrow; the next day he understood the creaking of the tree to mean that he was having guests for dinner; on the third day he cut down the tree, and there was a treasure in it; he brought the money to his mother, said that there was more there, which he told a peasant he met; mother: why: the fool ran, tore off the peasant's head, hid it in the attic; mother replaced it with a goat's head; they came to look; fool: did the peasant have a beard? with horns? those who came left; the brothers found out that the fool had money, they decided to kill him; they accidentally killed their mother; the fool began to scream, they gave him money; he took the body on a sleigh, threw it under a horse, began to scream that his mother was killed, the merchant gave him money; then he left the mother in the peasant's entryway, accused him of murder, he also gave money; [the body was thrown into the river and he told his brothers that he had sold it; the brothers killed their wives and took them to sell them; they were put in prison, and the fool got everything]: Erlenwein 1882: 58-57; Russian (Bryansk) []: Glebov 2016, no. 175, 176: 286, 287; Russian (Voronezh, Bolshaya Vereika village, 1936) [The little fool Ivanushka decides to live separately from his brother, gets a bull, takes him to sell it, but hears the creaking of a birch tree and gives the bull to her, ties him up. The bull pulls the rope, breaks the birch tree, which turns out to be a hiding place where robbers keep their gold. The fool announces to his brother that he wants to get married, and he asks him to show him where the rest of the money is. Meanwhile, the robbers find the bull, slaughter it, and take the money left in the birch tree, putting bloody knives in its place. The brother discovers them and decides that Ivanushka wanted to kill him. While the brothers go to the birch tree, the fool's money is stolen]: Baryshnikova 2007, No. 55a: 207-207; Ukrainians(Chernigovskaya, Nezhinsky district) [three brothers began to share, the youngest took one ox for himself; went to sell it; a man he met said that the ox was all right, but had extra horns; Ivan broke them off; another: I should skin the legs; skinned them; the legs were extra; he chopped them off in the forest, the ox fell under a birch tree; I.: Ah, damned one, there is money under you! he skinned the ox, sold it, bought a shovel, began to dig under a birch tree, dug up a treasure; the brothers suggested sharing, sent I. to the priest for a measure; I. admitted that they had to divide the money; he told the brothers; they ordered the priest to be stopped (while they hid the money); I. killed him; the brothers hid the body in the cellar; they looked for the priest in vain; at the wake I. drinks to the priest who is lying in the cellar; the brothers managed to put a goat there, and shoved the priest under the stove; the brothers are divided again, I. chose a stove and ordered to seal it there, leaving a small hole; the cat jumped in; promised to do a service; tells the wolf that he is going to complain to the king; the wolf also wants to complain; the cat advises to take 5 other wolves; the cat to the king: Ivan Pechersky sent animals for fur coats, he is wooing your daughter; the same with the bears; the cat tells the king to fix the bridge: tomorrow IP will leave; when IP left, the cat took out a hat, threw it into the water, said that IP's army drowned; the cat pulled IP out, the king gave him clothes, IP looks back at his shoulders; the cat: his were the best; they are riding back, the cat is ahead to the cannibal, tells him to hide in the hollow of a pear tree, otherwise the king is riding, he will kill; tells the king to shoot the pear tree; [IP lives well with the queen]: Malinka 1902, No. 39: 318-322; Ukrainians (Kharkiv, Sumy district, Syrovatka village, 1885) [The brothers run a common household until one of them, a sensible one, marries. He offers to share the household with his brother. The bad brother gets a bull, he doesn’t know what to feed it, takes it to sell, offers the stump to buy the bull, answers for it, as if he will pay the next day, Semyon leaves the bull tied to the stump and leaves. The next day he demands payment from the stump, gets angry, hits it – and money falls out of the rotten tree. Semyon asks his brother for a horse and oxen to bring the money. The brother’s wife offers to take a measure from the priest to divide the money between the brothers, Semyon forgets to warn him not to say what the measure is needed for. The brother asks Semyon to whistle/hit ("on the coals"?) the priest, believing that this way they will get the measure faster, Semyon beats the priest to death. The brothers take the body to the cellar, the priest's wife arranges a wake, calls the smart brother, he forbids Semyon to come, because he might let it slip. Semyon comes, says that he killed the priest, the brother hears and substitutes the body of the slaughtered gentleman for the priest's body. Semyon brings the priest's wife to the cellar, she does not recognize her husband, laughs, leaves]: Grinchenko 1895: 208-211; Poles [a fool sells an ox to a field cross; not having received the money, he breaks the cross and finds money in it]: Ciszewski, 2008 in Sumtsov 2015: 140.
Caucasus – Asia Minor. Crimean Tatars (Bakhchisarai, Karalez region) [after the death of their father, three brothers squandered everything; only one bull was left; a mullah threw a hat into the air, the younger brother caught it, and he got the bull; he went to sell it; tied it to a hollow tree, promising to come in five days; wolves ate the bull; the guy returned for the money, the tree was silent; she began to cut it down, found gold in the hollow; the mullah divided the money between the brothers; the hodja invited the brothers to live with him; he took the gold, and the brothers were eaten by wolves]: Zherdeva 2020, No. 32; Adyghe [a fool (Kuytsuk or others) in the forest hears a tree creaking in the wind; he takes the creaking for a request to sell him oxen; agrees, leaves the oxen with the tree; another time, on a windless day, he comes to receive payment - the tree does not creak; the fool gets angry, hits him with an axe, gold falls out]: Tkhamokova 2014, No. 1643: 214; Mingrelians [the elder brother is smart, the younger is strong and a fool; he went to sell an ox; the tree shook from the wind; the fool decided that it wanted to buy the ox for 25 rubles; he tied it up, promising to return for the money; the next day the ox was not near the tree; the fool in anger pulled the tree out and found a jug of money under the roots; he took 25 rubles, left the rest alone; the elder brother took the money; both went and hired themselves out to a giant - the fool as a goatherd, and the smart one as a servant to the giant's mother; one day the fool was not given dinner for his misdeed; he climbed the apple tree and began to shake off the apples; the goats ate them, only two of them had an apple left between their horns; the fool did not touch these, but slaughtered the rest of the goats; the brother began to scold the fool, sent him to bathe the giant's mother in milk; he poured something hot, the woman was boiled; the giant did not immediately understand that the mother was dead, the brothers managed to escape, climbed a tree for the night; the fool had a crowbar with him, he dropped it on the travelers who had gathered under the tree; they ran away; the brothers went down to collect the goods, but the giant came running; the smart brother knocked over the pot of soup; the fool decided that the giant was to blame and killed him]: Gachava et al. 1890: 15-16.
Baltoscandia. Latvians [ The Fool and the Birch . The fool sells a cow to a birch tree, which creaks in the wind, comes for the money, gets angry, hits it with an axe; finds money in the bank]: Arijs, Medne 1977, No. 1643: 364; Estonians (Põltsamaa) [a poor man has two eldest smart sons, the third Peeter is a fool; when dying, the father tells the eldest Jaan to take P.'s share for himself for a while, for he is still young and stupid; P. asked Jaan to give him his cow and led him to sell it; the birches rustle, P. decided that they agreed to buy the cow, he would come for the money later; a year later he came for the money; there is no money, he pulled out the birch tree, under the roots there is a cauldron with gold and silver; having filled his pockets, P. went and met a landowner; he replied that there was still money in the cauldron; took the landowner's words as an insult and killed him; the brothers quietly buried the dead man, slaughtered a goat, put it in the cellar, told P. that the landowner's body was in the cellar; P. admitted that he had killed the landowner, and the body was in the cellar; he went down there and started asking whether the landowner had horns and a tail; they left P. alone; he bought himself trousers in the city and became smart]: Mälk et al 1967, No. 135: 444-447; (cf. Vozhane [two brothers do not want to take a third fool with them; he quietly climbed into a sack of provisions, they carried it; when he climbed out, he saw people feasting, climbed a tree; he wrote, they were surprised: rain from a clear sky; he began to shake the tree, the people ran away in horror, the fool took everything for himself; he walks past the tree, it creaks, the fool thinks that it is mocking him; he offers him trousers and a hat if he gives him oxen; a cow is tied nearby, he brought her home, boasts to his father about how much he got]: Mägiste 1959, no. 190: 213-216); Vepsians [after the death of their parents, three brothers got three bulls; Vanka the Fool took his to sell, tied him to a dry, rotten pine tree, sold it to her, and himself is responsible for it that he will give the money back on Christmas; the brothers offer V. to sell their bulls as well, he leads them to the same pine tree; they come there on Christmas, the brothers scold V., and he beats the tree, uproots it, and finds a gold treasure under the roots; on the way back they meet a priest; they decide that he will find the treasure by the tracks, kill him, and hide it in the chapel; V. comes to the magpies, asks if they are commemorating the priest they killed; the brothers lower the priest's body into the ice hole, and put the killed goat in the chapel; the people lead V. to the chapel; he asks if the priest had a beard, hooves, horns; the people spat and returned to commemorate the priest; the brothers live richly]: Onegina, Zaitseva 1996, No. 52: 180-182; Karelians(Kalevala district) [a girl gave birth to an illegitimate child, hid it in a cellar; 15 years later her parents died, she looked into the cellar, there was a grown man there; she sent him to sell a bucket of butter; he sold it to a rotten stump; the next day he came, started to beat the stump, there was gold under it; they slaughtered a bull, the guy put the meat in a sleigh, took it to sell; the dogs grab pieces; the guy gave them everything, promised to come for the money; the king ordered the dogs' owners to pay for the meat]: Onegina 2010, no. 62: 501-503; Finns [the parents raised their son in a barrel so that worldly vices would not stick to him; when they released him, his mother sent him to sell butter to a rich gentleman; he will be tall and beautifully dressed; the guy sees a red milestone with a white top, he filled a crack with butter, the next day he came for the money; the pillar is silent, the boy turned it over, found a treasure underneath it; the mother sends to sell the meat to the pastor, such in a black cassock and with a white collar; the boy sold the meat to the dog; the next day he dragged it to court; the people came to see; the king has a daughter who neither laughs nor speaks; she spoke for the first time and laughed; the king gave the boy gold]: Konkka 1993: 120-129.
Volga - Perm. Mordvins (Moksha) [the older brothers separated, the fool also wants one, asks their father for a three-legged horse; sold it to a pine tree, heard the creaking, will come for the money tomorrow; tomorrow he sees wolves finishing off the horse; the next day he began to cut down the pine tree, money began to pour out; he is carrying it home, a priest comes to meet him, asks him to pour it out for him; the fool filled the sack, but refused the hat; chopped off the priest's head, brought it home; the father hid the head; when the police came, the fool chopped off the goat's head and brought it]: Maskaev 1966: 357-359; Bashkirs [Khuja bought a string for his belt, is walking from the market, the string is dragging, got caught on a stump; Khuzha left the string with the stump, promised to come for the money; he came, began to ask the stump for money; kicked it, there is money under the stump; Khuja counted out the required amount]: Barag 1992, No. 148(175): 195.