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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.
M - Adventures: Tricks and episodes
| Ref | Title | Summary | Traditions ▲ | Narratives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M32 | Indigestion | The character swallows food or water, or his own entrails, pieces of flesh flow out and fall out of his ass. | 28 | 35 |
| M141 | Animals in a pit, ATU 20A. | Several animals of different species find themselves in a pit from which they cannot escape. They devour each other, and the last one manages to escape. | 29 | 32 |
| M17b In M17 family | Wife deceives blind man. | The wife directs the blind man's arrow at game, lies that he has missed, and eats the meat herself. | 29 | 36 |
| M199e In M199 family | Horse between the legs, ATU 1082. | A man and his opponent compete to see who can carry a horse. The opponent struggles to lift the horse, while the man rides it, saying that he easily carried it between his legs. | 29 | 17 |
| M199f In M199 family | Threat to wrinkle the lake with a rope, ATU 1045(1). | The character pretends to want to deprive the devils (water dwellers) of their habitat (pull the shores of the lake together, two mountains, muddy the lake, dry up the sea, build a church on the land of the devils, etc.). To avoid this, the devils (fish) comply with the character's demands. | 29 | 41 |
| M57a1 In M57 family | Where it comes, there's gold | When a beautiful woman walks on the ground, jewels appear under her feet, flowers bloom, etc. | 29 | 52 |
| M59 | An insidious passenger kills a carrier, K952.1. | A small animal asks a large one to transport it across the river; consistently rejects all the seats on the carrier's body that he offers; climbs to where the carrier is You can kill when the crossing is over. | 29 | 26 |
| M65 | The trickster was pinched and the meat was eaten | trickster bakes meat obtained by trick, deception; immobilized by sticking to a tree, ground, or stone; at this time, another character (fox, wolf, coyote, birds) eats all the meat. See M53 motif. | 29 | 50 |
| M199g1 In M199 family | Hold on to the handle, ATU 1052. | A human (a weaker animal) deceives a strong giant (a demon, a stronger animal). One of the episodes: both carry a tree, the strong man takes hold of the top (by the crown), the man supposedly takes hold of the crown (by the top), but instead sits on the tree carried by the strong man or walks along pretending to support the branches. | 30 | 24 |
| M29f In M29 family | Wolverine is a loser and a loser | As a result of its stupidity or antisocial behavior, the wolverine dies or suffers damage. See the motives in square brackets. | 30 | 24 |
| M29g2 In M29 family | Cancer is a cunning winner | Cancer (crab) defeats or deceives strong opponents by cunning. | 30 | 45 |
| M30b In M30 family | Birds take the feathers they have given | Birds give a non-flying or ugly character feathers so that he can fly or become beautiful, but then take them away. | 30 | 39 |
| M39e In M39 family | Under which tree? ATU 1543D* | When reviewing the dispute, the judge asks about the secondary circumstances of the case. The offender is exposed by showing that he knows (or, on the contrary, does not know) about them. | 30 | 33 |
| M56b In M56 family | Bring tears and skins | A weak character is tasked with bringing the skin (paw, tears, etc.) of animals that are stronger than him or are difficult to catch. He cunningly performs the task. Usually a rabbit or hare completes the task, but does not receive the reward he expected. {In the New World, the motive is from African Americans}. | 30 | 33 |
| M65b In M65 family | Lost loot | Having resorted to deception, the character kills the game, but the thieves take the loot. See M53 motif. | 30 | 33 |
| M9 | Trapped in a hollow | The character puts his head or hand in a hollow or (rarely) another hole), gets stuck in it, or falls into a hollow. Usually, as a result, the character dies or undergoes a metamorphosis. | 30 | 39 |
| M91c7 In M91 family | Tell them I'm dead | When enemies come to kill a person, he pretends to be dead. | 30 | 30 |
| M106a In M106 family | "I Myself" and "No One" in the Demon's House. | The character who caused the damage calls himself by a fictitious name such as "Nobody," "I Myself," etc. Usually, others decide that the victim himself is to blame for what happened. | 31 | 46 |
| M151 | Hello, house! ATU 66A, 66B | A dangerous character pretends to be dead or absent, or pretends to be an inanimate object. The potential victim says aloud that the deceased (object or place – house, burrow, log, etc.) should do or say something. The character does so, revealing himself. | 31 | 51 |
| M184 | The slow overtakes the sleeping, ATU 275A. | The swift-footed and slow characters agree to race each other. The swift-footed is confident of victory and takes his time, while the slow one stubbornly moves towards the goal and arrives first. | 31 | 37 |
| M199n In M199 family | Fill a holey cap with gold, ATU 1130. | A man offers a demon to fill his hat, bag, etc. with money. The demon does not notice that there is a hole in the hat and gives the man much more than he intended to give. | 31 | 30 |
| M207 | The Mouse in the Bowl, ATU 1416. | The poor blame Adam and Eve for their misfortunes. An authoritative character gives them the opportunity to live comfortably on the condition that they do not violate a certain prohibition (usually not to open a certain vessel). They are unable to resist the temptation and are then returned to their previous state. | 31 | 15 |
| M29z In M29 family | Beardless (Aldarkose) | hero of the story is a character named “Beardless” or Aldar-Kose (Aldar is a “deceiver”, a braid is “beardless”). | 31 | 32 |
| M43 | Bait figure | To kill or catch a monster, he sees a figure made of wood or clay or a living person. Most often, a monster's claws or sharp leg get stuck when they pierce a tree. | 31 | 39 |
| M5a In M5 family | The passengers of the sinking boat | Small animal characters sail in the boat, it sinks, everyone escapes as best they can. | 31 | 37 |
| M74d In M74 family | Who ate the kidneys? ATU 785 | God (the saint) travels with his companion. When he leaves, he eats the kidneys (heart, etc.) and says that the animal did not have kidneys. He continues to persist (even in the face of death), but confesses when he is promised wealth. | 31 | 18 |
| M91c4 In M91 family | The pot cooks by itself | A person removes the pot from the fire, its contents continue to boil, or the person prepares food in advance, puts it in a pot or pit. Another believes that the pot cooks without fire or incredibly fast (or that a stick, if it hits the ground or the pot, creates food), buys a pot (stick). | 31 | 45 |
| M94 | Mountain riding | One character invites the other to roll down the mountain to destroy him. Cf. Motive L42C. | 31 | 59 |
| M94a1 In M94 family | Mountain riding: trickster animals | By stupidity or negligence, a zoomorphic character rolls down a mountain and as a result dies or suffers damage (attacks the edge, falls into the water, etc.). | 31 | 53 |
| M187 | Race: snail – participant. | Participating in a race, a snail (mollusc, sea cucumber, etc.) defeats a faster opponent. | 32 | 53 |
| M29z1 In M29 family | Anthropomorphic trickster (miscellaneous). | purely anthropomorphic character, or a character who bears the name of an animal or plant but does not act zoomorphic in the course of his adventures. See the motives in square brackets. {Data not fully entered} | 32 | 35 |
| M39g1 In M39 family | Jump into pants, ATU 1286 | fool does not pull pants or boots over his feet, but jumps in them from above. | 32 | 24 |
| M73 | Excretion substitution: who is stronger, K1721 | Two characters compare their excrement or vomit to learn about each other's diet and decide which of them is the more powerful beast. One of them manages to replace the selections. (Traditions in which vomiting is substituted are greasy). | 32 | 42 |
| M84b In M84 family | The dice are thrown into the water | An animal, bird or fish that is killed and eaten comes to life after its bones are thrown into the water. See M84 motif. | 32 | 34 |
| M97 | A blind man asks trees, D1313.4. | Blinded or far from the target, the character walks, bumping into trees of various species and asking everyone a question or request. He eventually achieves his goal. | 32 | 43 |
| M119 | Shown repeatedly, ATU 37. | A character repeatedly shows another person the same object or creature; the other person believes that there are as many objects or creatures as the character has shown them. Usually, the character takes care of the other person's young, eats them or they die due to his negligence, or he is hired as a shepherd and eats the other person's livestock. When checked, he shows the parent (the owner of the herd) the same un-eaten young (or the same sheep), and the parent believes that all the young (animals) are safe. In ATU, this is plot 37, but two other plots are included as variants, and the sources are indicated for all three collectively. | 33 | 39 |
| M122 | Advisors inside. | In a difficult situation, the character asks for advice from his tail, penis, or some creatures in his stomach (these are excrement, intestinal parasites, his "sisters," etc.). | 33 | 39 |
| M136b In M136 family | Cuts the branch he is sitting on, ATU 1240. | A man cuts the branch he is sitting on and similar variants (cuts the rope he climbed up on; climbs onto a dry branch that breaks; climbs onto a tree that has been cut down in order to fell it). | 33 | 33 |
| M167 | The tiger mistaken for a bull, ATU 177. | In the dark, a person mistakes a tiger (lion, demon) for another person or a domestic animal (bull, ox). | 33 | 46 |
| M203 | The Great Pan is dead, ATU 113A. | A supernatural being conveys a message to an unknown recipient through a passer-by. By fulfilling the request, the person provokes an unexpected reaction from another supernatural being (usually living in his house). Most of the material was collected by K.Yu. Rakhno. | 33 | 47 |
| M30c In M30 family | He falls, breaking the ban | A character flying through the air falls, violating the ban on talking, looking down, flying over villages, etc. (The character is not dropped by the person carrying it and flies above the ground, not descends from the sky or rises to the sky). | 33 | 47 |
| M39a In M39 family | Deer don't want to wet their shoes | fool lives with his brother (and mother), is sent on business, does ridiculous things (all or part of the above): releases animals from the trap, kills (trapped) mother ; cuts off the pet's legs or skins; takes the fontanel on the baby's skull for a boil and squeezes it out; tears a large piece of cloth and ties the pieces to swaying reeds; hearing the murmur of water, throws food into the water; puts the plague in the water; wants to salt the water and pours all the salt into the river. (There are other common episodes as well). | 33 | 71 |
| M3a In M3 family | Count the inhabitants of the waters | The character invites aquatic creatures to count them, and to do this, form a chain; crosses it to the other side or climbs to land. See M3 motif. | 33 | 51 |
| M75b1a In M75 family | Intended wife, ATU 930A | A high-ranking person finds out that a (just born) poor or ugly girl is intended for him, or the girl herself finds out that she is destined to become a man's wife of high origin. A betrothed or someone else tries to kill a girl, but only hurts her and the prediction is fulfilled; if the girl is ugly, she becomes beautiful. | 33 | 39 |
| M90a4 In M90 family | The jewel tree | A tree is described on which jewelry or ornaments hang instead of fruits; individual parts of the tree are made of different metals or (semi) precious stones. | 33 | 39 |
| M106h In M106 family | Bird under a cap, ATU 1528. | A man puts his hat on the ground and pretends that there is something valuable under it. In reality, there is only shit. Those who believe the deceiver lose their property. | 34 | 17 |
| M17 | A woman lies, pretending that a man has missed his target. | A wife, mother or grandmother directs the arrow of a blind man or boy at game, lies that he missed, cooks and eats the meat herself. See motif M16 (man is blind, K333.1). | 34 | 20 |
| M199i In M199 family | Whoever whistles louder, ATU 1084. | A man and a giant (devil, bear, etc.) compete to see who can make the loudest sound (whistle, shout, sneeze, etc.). The man blindfolds his opponent and hits him with a heavy object; blows a trumpet; wraps his head so that it does not burst; etc. The opponent admits defeat or refuses to compete. | 34 | 30 |
| M38d6 In M38 family | Bursts with laughter | Several characters embody small objects and die one at a time. The last one left laughs and rejoices so much that he bursts with laughter (breaks his head, etc.). | 34 | 28 |
| M62c In M62 family | Tug of war, ATU 291 | A weak character takes turns negotiating with two strong ones to compete in a tug of war. They don't know they're pulling each other's rope or that they're tied to a tree. | 34 | 53 |
Tradition and narrative counts are the stored catalogue totals for each entry.