A23C. Who will fly higher? ATU 221A
.15.16.21.24.27.-.29.31.34. (.44.)
Birds are arguing which of them will fly higher or arrive first. The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely (he hides in the feathers of a strong bird and takes off with it).
Basques, Sicilians, French, Bretons, English, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Friesians, Walloons, Flemish, Dutch, Germans (Rügen Island, Mecklenburg, Upper Palatinate), Tibetans, Galela, Ancient Greece, Croats, Hungarians, Greeks, Romanians, Luzhitans, Ukrainians, Poles, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Lithuanians, Latvians, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, Tuvans, Oirats, Mongols (Khalkha), (Eastern?) Ojibwa.
Southern Europe. The Basques [the king and the vulture argue who will fly higher; the king hides in the feathers of the vulture; when it starts to descend, the king screams that he is taller]: Barandiaran 196:151; Sicilians [birds decided to choose the one who would fly higher as king; the king hid under the eagle's wing (or sat on its head), became king]: Dähnhardt 1912:163-164 (=Kabakova 2006, No. 77:134-135; =Lo Nigro 1957, No. 221:12- 13).
Western Europe. Welsh, Friezes: Uther 2004 (1), No. 221A: 139; the Dutch [birds competed to see who would fly higher; the eagle rose above everyone else, but the king sat on its tail and at the last moment was in front; the birds decided to kill the king, he hid in a tiny hollow; the owl was left to guard, she fell asleep, the king flew away; so the birds are angry at the owl and she dares to fly only at night] : Soer 1979:36-38; the Flemish [the birds are going to choose a king; it will be the one who will fly closest to the sun; when the eagle realized that everyone was behind, it began to descend, but then heard a voice from above the king that hid under his wing; the Lord still established the eagle as king, but also gave the king the name "king"]: Dähnhardt 1912:166-167; Van den Berg 2000, No. 93 [the birds are going to choose a king; they will be the one who will fly closest to the sun; the king hides by the eagle in feathers, flew higher; the light of the sun made his feathers red], 94 [the birds are going to choose the king; it will be the one who flies closer everyone to the sun; the king hid in feathers by the eagle, flew higher; everyone was outraged by the deception, the birds outlawed the king], 95 [when they learned that the king had deceived everyone, the birds wanted to kill him, but the owl began for him to intercede; this allowed the king to escape; then the birds attacked the owl; since then they do not like both the king and the owl]: 110-111, 111-112, 112-113; the Scots (West Highlands) [the king and the eagle argued whoever flew higher; the king rushed up, and the eagle began to rise in circles; the king hid under the eagle's wing (or hid right away, still on the ground); when the eagle, exhausted, asked where you were, king, he answered from above]: Dähnhardt 1912:166; the British [Alexander Neckam, ca. 1200; the birds decided to elect the one who would fly higher as king; the king hid in the eagle's feathers, gave a voice when he reached the highest dots; sicque nomen reguli obtinuit]: Dähnhardt 1912:161; Irish: Muller 2006, No. 49a [west in 1970; the birds decided to choose the one who would fly higher as king; the king sat quietly on the eagle's back and he was victorious; going back, the eagle threw him off and wounded him, so the king could not build a nest on his own; he was helped by a sparrow and a swallow; for this he gave them the right to live near houses; other birds of the kings punished (corncrake - screams at dusk; owl - does not see during the day, lark - nests in pasture, cows trample on them for a year, crows - make a nest at the top of trees, where it is damp and cold, the cuckoo - without own nest); the king remains the king of birds, but only flies from bush to bush because of the hump left since the eagle hit him]: 75-76; Dähnhardt 1912 [as otherwise; Eagle beats The king, so he can no longer fly high; or after the King was elected king, the Eagle raised him in his claws in the sky and threw him off; some of his tail feathers were then lost]: 171-172; Plé nard 2017 [the birds decided to choose the one who would fly higher as king; the wren clung to the eagle's tail, and when it was tired and could not fly higher, it flew out and was taller than the eagle; the eagle hit it with its wing and now wren does not fly above the bushes]: 158; French: Arnaudin 1967, No. 16 (Gascony) [the eagle feels sorry for the king, and he says he can fly above him; sits imperceptibly on the eagle's head; the eagle flies, and the king answers each time that he is ahead; the eagle admits defeat], No. 16:182-184; Kabakova 1998, No. 65 [God brought the birds to a high mountain to make king whoever flies higher; king hid under the wing of an eagle, was taller; since then it has been called the king]: 81; Dähnhardt 1912 (Auvergne, Gascogne, Montferrat, Champagne, etc.) [the birds decided to choose the one who would fly higher as king; the king hid under the eagle's wing was above everyone else]: 164-165; Bretons: Dähnhardt 1912:164 [proverb: the eagle flies for the king; also a song about how all the birds came to the king's wedding, only the offended eagle did not come], 168 [the birds choose the one who will fly higher as king; the robin sat on the eagle and was taller than him]; Germans: Dähnhardt 1912:162 [many sources, including Wossidlo, Mecklenburg; the birds decided to elect as king the one who would fly higher; the king hid in the eagle's feathers; when he realized that the eagle would not fly higher, rushed up, becoming king of birds], 162-163 [more in the 15th century manuscript], 167 [1834; the birds decided to choose the one who would fly above everyone else; the king hid under the eagle's wing, but the falcon noticed this and said; therefore, an eagle was made king, and the king was called "king"]; the Germans (Rügen Island) [the birds decided to choose the one who would fly higher as king; the king hid under the tail of the stork, flew to the last moment was the tallest; the birds chased the king to kill, the noth hid in the wormhole; the birds flew away, leaving the owl as a watchman; but in the afternoon the owl fell asleep; the king flew out and disappeared into bushes]: Haas 1903, No. 178:161-162; the Germans (Mecklenburg) [the birds agreed to make king whoever flies higher; the king hid under the heron's wing and at the last moment flew above it; the indignant birds chased him, but he hid in a mouse hole and continued to shout: I am king; the birds decided to starve the king and guarded the owl: she has big eyes and sees at night; but at noon, in bright light, the owl closed its eyes and fell asleep; after that, the birds began chasing owls and owls chasing mice]: Bartsch 1879, No. 25:518; Germans (Upper Palatinate) [the birds were about to choose a king ; let it be the one who flies above all; the eagle rose above all, but the king sat quietly on his back and at the end flew above the eagle; the birds do not want the smallest king; the king begged the birds don't punish him; but he hasn't been flying above the fence ever since]: Schönwerth 1981:19.
Tibet is the Northeast of India. Tibetans [the birds choose the leader, the Magpie suggests the leader who will fly higher; the Bat hid under the Eagle's wing, was taller, but the birds refused to make her chief; Magpie: then the one who first notices the dawn; everyone looks east, the Bat looks west, sees the mountain crests lit up; the birds are dissatisfied again; Magpie: the one who sings the best; Bubu's Cuckoo songs ("I'm -first") liked it more than others; Bubu trained for so long that she became hoarse, the Cuckoo took the championship]: Cassis 1962:75-77.
Malaysia-Indonesia. Galela [the birds decided to choose a king for themselves - whoever would fly higher would bring a piece of sky; the hummingbird hid a piece of bark in advance, quietly sat on the back of a rhino bird, and when he was also tired, flew up above all; when he returned, he presented an imaginary piece of heaven; but the birds decided that such a small king could not be, they chased the hummingbird, which hid in a mouse hole; they guarded the big-eyed owl; that fell asleep, the hummingbird slipped away; the birds began to beat the owl, so it doesn't fly during the day]: Bezemer 1904:388-389.
The Balkans. Ancient Greece [Perry 1952, No. 434; the king rises on the eagle's back, the first reaches the goal]: Gasparov 1968, No. 386:179 (=1991:201); Croats (Herzegovina) [Sycu as king of birds every day he relies on a bird; he became king unfairly; at a bird meeting, the birds decided to choose as king the one who would fly higher; the owl hid under the wings of the Eagle, fluttered out at the last moment, turned out to be winner]: Gora 1997:576-577; Hungarians [birds decide to choose the one who will fly higher as king; the king hides under the eagle's wing and is taller than it at the last moment; the birds are angry at the king for deception; he hid in the horse's skull; the birds guarded the owl, she fell asleep or blinked too often, the king flew away unnoticed; then the birds began to chase the owl, which had not since decides to fly during the day; hunters put owls in a cage to prevent other birds from pecking them]: Kovács 1987, No. 221:290; Greeks (Agrinio in Aetolia) [God suggested that whoever takes off be king of birds taller; the birds were unhappy because they knew that the eagle had no competitors; only the robin agreed; sat on the eagle's back, was taller]: Dähnhardt 1912:168; Romanians: Dähnhardt 1912 [birds choose the one who flies higher as king; the king defeats the eagle without deception; or the nightingale hides under the eagle's wing]: 168; Gaster 1915, No. 98 [birds decide to choose a king; the eagle suggests someone who will fly higher ; flies up above all; as soon as he was about to descend, the king hiding under the eagle's wing flew higher; was declared the winner; (since then he has been called the "little king"); realizing the deception, the birds they chased the king, who hid in a crack in the tree; the birds decided to guard; when it was the owl's turn, she fell asleep, the king flew away, and the birds began to chase the owl; now she is afraid to fly during the day]: 300-301.
Central Europe. The Luzhitans [birds choose the king, the big ones offer the Stork, the little ones - the Wren; decide to choose the one who will rise higher into the sky (Wren sits on the tail of the Stork); who will dig deeper into the sky the ground; the stork is stuck in the swamp, the wren hid into a mouse hole; big birds tell Owl to guard the hole because she has big eyes; the owl closes one eye first, then both; the wren flew away, became king birds; big birds have been chasing the Owl ever since]: Veckenstedt 1880, No. 45.4:424 (=Dähnhardt 1912:170-171, Romanenko translated 1962:136-137); the Poles [at the suggestion of the Magpie, decide to elect king whoever flies higher; the Eagle rises three times, but each time Korolek hides under his wing says that he is taller; the third time the deception is revealed, the king is driven and he hides under the fence; var: Korolek kept shouting that he was king; the birds drove him away, he hid in a mouse hole; the birds explained to the Eagle that Korolek was not the king of birds, but of mice]: Dähnhardt 1912:171; Ukrainians (Galicia, Transcarpathia, Ternopil, Kherson) [Election of the king of birds; Birds want to choose the one who will fly higher; the king hides in the eagle's plumage and is taller than it (less often the episode is a sequel : choose the one who goes deeper into the ground; the king climbs into a mouse hole)]: SUS 1979, No. 221:88-89.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Armenians: Harutyunyan 2007 [God promised to make the first person to fly to him king of birds; chapar (chapar - "wattle fence", cit - "bird") climbed under the eagle's wing, he soared up; when he sat down to rest, H. came to God; God ordered to bring a twig so that it would not be short or long, crooked or straight; since then he has been looking under the fence, saying, No, no, not the same, no]: 46; Lalayants 1904, No. 10 (Elizavetpol Gubernia) [the same text, apparently; the bird is a jay]: 206; Azerbaijanis [the man promised to appoint the bird that would fly the highest as padishah; an eagle flew up, but a finch flew out of its feathers and turned out to be more above; the man told him that since he won by cunning, let him complete another task: he would bring the stick neither straight nor crooked; the finch is still looking for it, and the eagle became the padishah of the birds]: Nabiev 1988:267 .
Baltoscandia. Lithuanians [the birds were going to choose the one who would fly the highest; the Stork and Eagle flew above the others, then the Stork fell behind; the Eagle was confident of victory, but Korolek flew unnoticed on his back and when the Eagle was tired, flew higher, became king; ashamed of deception, Korolek has been hiding in the bushes ever since, other birds yell "Little King!"] : Lebite 1965:392-393; the Swedes [the birds decide to choose the one who will fly higher as king; the eagle flew the highest, but it turned out that the little bird hid in its feathers and defeated it; so it called the king]: Bolzamo 2011, No. 89:142; the Finns [the birds decided to choose the one who would fly the highest as king; the eagle flew higher, but when they became tired, the tit sitting with him was even taller on the back; when the tit was made queen, the eagle cried]: Rakhimova 2000:178; Latvians [the swallow bets with the hawk - who will fly higher; hides on the hawk's back]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 221A: 265; the Danes [hiding on the eagle's back, the king flew above him; the furious eagle put him in prison, leaving the swallow to guard; he got out, hid in the fence; the swallow is still flying and looking for him]: Dähnhardt 1912:174; Norwegians [birds choose whoever flies higher as king; a little bird sits on the eagle's back, turns out to be taller]: Hodne 1984, No. 221A: 25-26.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. The Tuvans [the hawk carried a marmot from under the eagle's nose; they insulted each other and argued who would be the khan; the birds thought that the one who would fly higher; the bat climbed under the bald man's wing vulture and turned out to be the tallest; small birds demanded that the bat become khan, while the big ones did not agree; the raven made the birds speechless and no longer argue]: Vatagin 1970, No. 31 : 188-190; the Oirats (durbuts) [the birds decided to choose as king the one who would rise higher and then descend faster; the bat Sarisyn Bakbagay sat quietly on Khan Garida's back, taking a stone with him; when he asked who was taller than him, the SB replied that he was; pressing the stone to his chest, the SB jumped from HG's back and quickly reached the ground; they did not make him king, but released him from tribute and decided what the birds should do a nest for him]: Potanin 1883:173; the Mongols (Khalkha) [Khan-Hurmusten Khan in heaven promised to give his daughter to whoever would fly higher and whose song he would be the first to hear; The Bat sat on the shoulders of Kite, the first turned to Khan; the Kite threw her down; when she fell, she screamed, "Soft Earth, Soft Earth"]: Potanin 1981:343 (quoted in Dähnhardt 1912:168).
(Wed. The Midwest. There is a high probability of European borrowing. Ojibwa (oriental?) [Algic Research, 2:216; birds compete to see who will fly taller; the eagle is taller, but the hemp quietly sat on his back and turned out to be even taller; the eagle was considered the winner, because it not only flew higher, but he also raised hemp; that's why eagle feathers adorn warriors]: Swainson 1885:65 (retelling in Dähnhardt 1912:168).