B123. A fly instead of a nail, ATU 772* .27.28.31.
A fly sits on the chest of the crucified Jesus. Stalkers who intend to drive a nail into the heart do not do so, believing that the nail has already been hammered in.
Serbs, Belarusians, Northern Ukrainians, Russians (Arkhangelsk), Estonians, Lutsies.
The Balkans. Serbs: Uther 2004 (1), No. 772*: 427.
Central Europe. Belarusians (Gomel, 1983) [Christ was crucified, his legs and arms were nailed, they wanted to drive a nail into his heart; Gypsy: don't touch it, they've already slaughtered; and a fly was sitting there; so gypsies can swear their souls, and others can't]: Belova 2004, No. 130:79; Ukrainians (Chernihiv) [gypsies can fear with impunity, because the gypsy woman saved Christ by saying that the fifth nail had already been hammered into his forehead (and there was a fly sitting there); the gypsy said that the nail was already hammered there]: Belova 2004, No. 131:80; Ukrainians (Rovenskaya, 1982, Zap. Alexander Gura) [the Jews hammered nails into Christ's arms and legs and tell the gypsy to hammer the fifth nail in the forehead; the fly sat there]: Belova 2004, No. 132:80; Russians (Arkhangelskaya, Kargopol) [the fly sat on Christ's chest , so they didn't drive a nail into the heart and God allowed flies to eat "ahead of people"]: Belova 2004:80 with reference to Kaspin, Frost 2002:161; Russians (place?) [the fly is not an unclean creature; when Jews were about to hammer the fifth nail into Christ's body, they saw a fly at this point and thought the nail had already been hammered]: Ethnographic collection VI, part 1:126 in Dä hnhardt 1909:214 (not in SUS; available on the Internet, but does not open in Pook); (cf. Poles [crossbill tries to pull nails out of Christ's hands and feet]: Krzyżanowski 1963, No. 2533:184).
Baltoscandia. Lutsi (informant Catholic born 1837) []: Annom et al. 2018:45; Estonians (southern Estonia) [P. Voolaine: In addition to Lutsi, where the motive is popular among Estonians and Latgalians, it exists in southern Estonia Estonia]: Annom et al. 2018:45; Estonians [guards should have driven a fifth nail into Christ's body, but they saw a fly there and thought the nail was already hammered]: Hurt, hand in Dähnhardt 1909:214 ; Estonians [the guards were supposed to drive a big fifth nail into Christ's chest; the mouse hid it, and the fly sat where they were going to drive him; and since it was twilight, the guards mistook her husband for a nail hat; for this, the fly is allowed to take food from the table and the mouse can hide in the ground]: Hurt, hand. in Dähnhardt 1909:214-215; Estonians [two options; guards had to drive it into the chest Christ's big fifth nail; Christ's followers (Mary and John) buried him in the ground; when a fly sat on Christ's chest, the guards thought the nail had already been hammered; in the same place where the nail was buried in the ground, it grew wolf (Anchusa oficinalis L.) is a hard-rough plant that is difficult to grasp with bare hands]: Hurt, hand in Dähnhardt 1909:215.