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Berezkin/Duvakin Catalogue of Motifs
English translation, enhancements and additional metadata by Jonathan Fielder-White
Source: Berezkin and Duvakin's Analytical Catalogue · Original catalogue (Russian)
About the catalogue and its sources
Unless otherwise stated, narrative and tradition data comes from Berezkin and Duvakin's Thematic classification and distribution of folklore and mythological motifs by area (Analytical catalogue).
Original Berezkin/Duvakin catalogue (Russian)
The English translation uses AI assistance alongside manual verification. Errors may occur; consult the original source when in doubt.
K - Adventures: Acts of heroes
| Ref | Title | Summary | Traditions ▲ | Narratives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K19f In K19 family | Working stars. | A star or many stars descend from the sky to work in the fields. See motif K19B. | 5 | 9 |
| K27q1 In K27 family | Lioness's milk in a lion cub's skin. | The hero is sent to bring lioness milk in a wineskin made from a lion skin (usually from a lion cub's skin). | 5 | 6 |
| K27v2 In K27 family | To hit a copper object with an arrow. | The character must hit an object or creature made of copper with an arrow. | 5 | 5 |
| k27x6b In k27 family | Greeting addressed to the wind, ATU 298A*. | Upon encountering the sun, moon (frost) and wind, a person greets only the latter. (In progress) | 5 | 4 |
| K27z2a1 In K27 family | An innocent woman is accused of promiscuity. | Noticing that a woman is pregnant, her relatives or in-laws accuse her of promiscuity, because, according to their calculations, she could not have conceived by her husband or fiancé. After severe trials, the woman meets again the father of the boy she gave birth to. | 5 | 6 |
| K32b In K32 family | Mother-in-law replaces daughter-in-law. | The man's mother takes on the appearance of his wife in order to take her place. | 5 | 6 |
| k33c5 In k33 family | Girl in an egg. | A young man obtains a girl who is inside an egg. | 5 | 5 |
| K37e In K37 family | Three-legged cast-iron bird. | The clairvoyant cannot identify the person who revealed the secret, because that person does so while hiding among objects that are never found together in everyday life. | 5 | 5 |
| K38b1 In K38 family | A bird steals foals, a hero kills a snake. | Every time a mare gives birth to a wonderful foal, a bird carries it away. Setting out in search of the foals, the hero kills the snake that was devouring the bird's chicks. The bird returns the foals. | 5 | 4 |
| K56a4d In K56 family | Ashes turn into flour. | A stepmother sends her stepdaughter to a house in the forest, giving her ashes, sand, etc. instead of food. The stepdaughter turns them into flour, groats, etc. | 5 | 9 |
| K56b2 In K56 family | Clenched jaws. | A supernatural creature (object) bestows wealth upon a modest person. A greedy person, trying to take more than their fair share, is caught and cannot free themselves (for a long time). Usually, the creature pinches the outstretched hand. | 5 | 6 |
| K61f In K61 family | The Living Doll, ATU 459. | Fearing her husband's wrath, a childless woman pretends to have given birth. Her husband believes that he has a daughter or son, and after some time marries her off (marries him off). During the wedding ceremony, a doll or animal is placed under the veil (in the palanquin), but at the last moment, a supernatural character transforms the supposed bride (groom) into a girl or boy. | 5 | 5 |
| K67g In K67 family | Smiling sheep. | Pretending to carry out his master's orders, the worker cuts off the animals' lips (to make them look like they are smiling). | 5 | 5 |
| K73b2 In K73 family | Boil the kettle with a story. | It is necessary to boil the pot by telling an incredible but nevertheless true story. | 5 | 5 |
| K77b3 In K77 family | The goat with three bellies. | Goats encounter a wolf. One goat has one stomach, the second has two, the third has three, and so on. The goat with the most stomachs kills or scares away the wolf. | 5 | 7 |
| K100i In K100 family | Intoxication and immobilisation of a strongman. | A powerful character loses his strength (self-control) after being intoxicated and then admits that the hop is stronger than him. (See Neklyudov 2025a; 2025b). | 6 | 10 |
| K101c In K101 family | By day in the palace, by night in the sky. | The bride stipulates that she will only be with her husband during the day. The husband discovers that at night she meets with heavenly maidens (and usually flies away to dance in the sky). He follows her and in the end she stays with him on earth. | 6 | 7 |
| K103a1 In K103 family | The tree follows its mistress. | A tree that suddenly grows allows only the heroine to enjoy its fruits and follows her when she moves to a new place. | 6 | 11 |
| K107e1 In K107 family | Blood on the shirt. | When a magical husband leaves his earthly wife, his shirt is stained with blood. Only his new wife manages to wash it clean. | 6 | 5 |
| K109 | Wife – puppy or object. | The hero is advised to ask supernatural characters for something insignificant (a puppy, a cup) in return for his service. What he receives turns out to be the daughter of a deity. Another character unsuccessfully tries to take the hero's wife away from him. | 6 | 7 |
| K11D In K11 family | A disintegrated monster turns into ordinary animals. | Pieces of flesh from a huge creature that has fallen apart or been cut into pieces turn into ordinary animals, birds or fish. | 6 | 4 |
| K129a In K129 family | Half-living in the tomb. | A young woman (lying in a tomb) comes back to life, then appears dead again, but is ultimately freed from the spell. | 6 | 7 |
| k14c1 In k14 family | Treasures in a pomegranate. | A man who has gone away to work sends his wife a pomegranate, unaware of its value. His wife finds treasures in the pomegranate. | 6 | 6 |
| K169 | Pregnant doe. | The hunter spares the hunted animal, noticing that it is a pregnant female and remembering his own pregnant wife. | 6 | 5 |
| K19d In K19 family | A man freezes in the sky. | Once in the sky, the husband of the star suffers from the cold. He freezes to death or perishes after touching forbidden fire. | 6 | 20 |
| K22aa In K22 family | Birds in the north – people in the south. | There is a country whose inhabitants are migratory birds that live with us in the summer and turn into people when they fly away to their own country. | 6 | 7 |
| K25a3 In K25 family | Collected feathers. | The magical bird-wife flies away when she makes herself new feather clothing from feathers collected on the ground. | 6 | 6 |
| K27z2a In K27 family | Meeting for one night. | Noticing the woman's pregnancy, her relatives or in-laws accuse her of promiscuity, because, according to their calculations, she could not have conceived by her husband or fiancé. After severe trials, the woman meets again the father of the boy she gave birth to. | 6 | 7 |
| K27z2c In K27 family | Marries to lock up his wife. | After marrying a poor girl, the prince locks her up. She turns out to be more cunning than him. | 6 | 6 |
| K27zz2 In K27 family | Blind in one eye. | Several wives of one man (several sisters) go blind – the older ones in both eyes, and the younger one in one eye. | 6 | 6 |
| K2a2 In K2 family | The kidnapped princess drops her shoe. | A monster rushes past a young man, carrying off the princess. The young man picks up the princess's lost shoe or, after shooting, finds a lock of the princess's hair. He sets off in search of her, descends underground and rescues the kidnapped princess. | 6 | 8 |
| K32f In K32 family | The bird son saves his mother. | A woman or girl raises a bird of prey chick, which brings her food and fire. This usually happens after an evil spirit leaves the girl or young woman in a tree or on an island. | 6 | 7 |
| K52b In K52 family | Broken axe. | The hero comes to capture the daughter of a supernatural creature. He sees a slave breaking an axe (adze, wedge). The hero repairs the axe, and the slave helps him in return. See motif K52. | 6 | 3 |
| K56a8c In K56 family | Married to a dog. | A young man brings an animal to his home, and it turns into a girl. Imitating him, another man marries a dog (pig), but it remains an animal. | 6 | 4 |
| K64c In K64 family | The blacksmith blinds the cyclops. | The person who gouges out or burns out the cyclops's only (sighted) eye is a blacksmith. | 6 | 10 |
| K73a2a In K73 family | The child is replaced with a log. | After hiding or discarding a newborn baby, ill-wishers replace it with a piece of wood and/or inform the father that his wife has given birth to a piece of wood. | 6 | 6 |
| K105 | The wonderful son and the rat children. | A despised wife gives birth to miraculous children, while other wives give birth to animals. | 7 | 7 |
| K176a In K176 family | The wind dries the laundry. | The hero searches for his magical wife who has left him. It turns out that one of the winds is flying to her to perform a certain task. The hero follows him. | 7 | 8 |
| K1g In K1 family | The deer gores its enemy. | The hero turns into a deer or creates a deer to gore the relative who sent him into a trap. | 7 | 6 |
| K25b In K25 family | A woman follows a porcupine. | A woman climbs a tree trying to catch a porcupine and ends up in the sky. | 7 | 14 |
| K27g2 In K27 family | Roof made of feathers. | The character must build a house out of bird feathers or cover the roof, bridge, etc. with feathers. | 7 | 11 |
| K27l In K27 family | The water body is covered with ice. | After the hero dives in, the antagonist freezes the water body or covers the surface with a net. | 7 | 9 |
| K27n3c2 In K27 family | The enemy – the father-in-law bear. | The hero's father-in-law, the bear, sets him difficult tasks and trials. | 7 | 11 |
| K27o2 In K27 family | Playing with a dangerous ball. | To destroy the hero, his opponents play ball with him, throwing a heavy dangerous object (a ball made of ice, bone, stone, iron, a walrus head, a biting skull, etc.). | 7 | 12 |
| K27u2 In K27 family | News from the tumbleweed. | An authoritative character orders to find out where the tumbleweed is rolling or what news it brings. | 7 | 8 |
| K27yy2 In K27 family | Catching the chick of a dangerous bird. | The hero is sent to bring the chick of a dangerous bird. | 7 | 8 |
| K27z2e In K27 family | Lost objects and meeting at the end, ATU 434. | During a meeting (sometimes not in their true form), a young man or woman takes certain objects (jewelry) from the other. One of those who met falls ill. A new meeting leads to the healing of the sick person, the identification of the objects, and a wedding. | 7 | 7 |
| K27z7a In K27 family | He who learns the family secret will die. | A man is going to kill the person who found out why he severely punished his ex-wife. | 7 | 7 |
| K32k In K32 family | False wife – beetle or larva. | The false wife, replacing the real one – a foul-smelling beetle or larva. | 7 | 6 |
| k33c9 In k33 family | The girl in the apple. | A young man obtains a girl who is inside an apple. | 7 | 9 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.