B33F. An old woman at night unwinds her yarn .14.15.23.27.29.31.

A character performs actions that determine the change in dark and daylight hours. It's always about yarns, threads, ropes, fabrics that the character unwinds or winds, or with which the hero ties the person responsible for the daily cycle.

Tunisian Arabs, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians (Campania), Ancient India, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Moldovans, Albanians, Greeks, (Megrelians), Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Eastern Sami.

North Africa. The Arabs of Tunisia [in the east, God created a veil of darkness by placing it above the seventh sea; in the evening, an angel collects the veil, stretching it between his fingers, then stretches his wings to the extreme limits earth and sky and covers the entire west with darkness; in the morning he puts darkness like a veil and places it over the Seventh Sea again]: Ayadi 2008, No. 5:15).

Southern Europe. The Spaniards (Granada) [when dying, the father tells each of his three sons to go water the flower garden at night after his death; the father was buried in the crypt; the elder went to water the flowers there, the roof of the crypt became beating against the floor, the walls against each other, the young man ran away; the middle brother did the same; the younger one watered until everything calmed down; a beast came out of the crypt and turned off the lantern; the young man saw a light in the distance and went there; I came across an old night woman, politely asked what she was doing; "I'm shortening nights and lengthening days"; he pushed the old woman, she fell down and the night continued; the young man went to the fire of 41 sleeping robbers; lit the flashlight, the robbers woke up and wanted to burn the person; but when they found out that he had been able to lift la cardera {cauldron?} , made him chieftain; vowing to return, the young man came again to his father's grave; there the beast crumbled into pieces; the father promised his son good luck; came to the old woman, picked her up from the ground, dawn came; brothers the young man did not say anything; he got on his horse and returned to the robbers; persuaded them not to steal wine from the poor, but to rob the palace; he climbed first and cut off them as the robbers got up heads; in one of the chambers, a young man saw three princesses sleeping; the youngest took off the ring from his finger and cut off a piece from her skirt; the king wants to know who killed the robbers; many noble imposters have come; the princess said that someone had visited her; decided to have a tavern where they drink and feed for free, but let the visitors tell stories; the brothers also came there, the younger one told everything; the elders are ashamed of not fulfilling their father's requests; the youngest showed his princess ring and became the royal son-in-law]: Camarena, Chevalier 1995, No. 304:43-47; Portuguese [young man with brothers and father leaves home; they spend the night in the palace, where invisible hands serve food, etc.; kill the monster; the fire goes out, the young man goes after the fire; the old woman (sun and moon) gives two threads: one to create day and the other to create night; teaches how to find light; a young man meets robbers (giants) and, thanks to his ingenuity, defeats them; throws them into a well; killing snakes, giants, etc., he saves three sleeping princesses; kisses the third, pulls out fire; picks up various items belonging to each princess; saves their parents, the king and queen; returns to sleeping father and brothers; shows items taken, recognized as princess and parents {princess?}] : Cardigos 2006, No. 304:63; Italians (Campania, Naples) ["when Night hung black dresses to protect them from moths"]: Basile 2018:179.

South Asia. Ancient India (Rigveda; materials identified and sent by Y.V. Vasilkov) [RV. I. 113.14. She (Usas - Morning Dawn) has flashed forth with her ornaments at the doorposts of heaven. The goddess has removed the black raiment. Awakening (the world), with her ruddy horses, Dawn drives hither with a well-yoked chariot. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology: she removes the black robe of night; Elizarenkova: the goddess took off her black outfit]. (This is really "attire", "outfit" is nirnija). RV.I.115. Verses 4 and 5 are more enigmatic and have occasioned much discussion: many scholars believe that both verses contrast the sun of the day with the "night sun," the dark side of the sun that, in the form of a wheel, travels invisibly from west to east to position itself for the next daily rising. Thus, in such interpretations, in the first half of verse 4 Night gathers up the dark garment she was weaving (see II.38.4) at the advent of the rising sun, but wathes the night sun in her garment in the second half of the verse. Two sides of the sun, bright and dark, are also referred to, more clearly, in the second half of verse 5. Although these interpretations have much in their favor, we still remain uncertain about what verses 4 and 5 are actually depicting. 4. This is the Sun's divinity, this his greatness: in the middle of (her) work (Night?) has gathered together what was stretched out. When he has yoked his tawny horses from their seat, just after that Night stretches her garment for him (Vµsas - "apparel", "blanket"). Wed. Erman, Essay on the History of Vedic Literature: Ushas (Morning Dawn) drops the "black veil of night" 5. The Sun takes on his own form in the lap of heaven, for Mitra and Varuna to see. His one surface, gleaming, is unbounded; the tawny (horses) together bring the other, the black one. RV. I. 134.4. For you [Vāyu] do the gleaming dawns stretch their amazing garments in the distance, into the houses at the rays (of the sun) -their brilliant (garments) at the new rays. RV II. 38.4. To Savitar [Savitar, who represents the power of the sun, the motivator god, sets everything in motion in the morning and calms him down in the evening]. 4. The weaver rolled the stretched (fabric) again. In the middle of his work, a skillful person did his job. He got up and gathered. He separated the times of sacrifice. (that is, morning and evening dawn). Without stopping, God Savitar came. 4a. Weaving (vayanti)... - That is night. She rolled up what had been woven during the day. In other words, night has come. - Quite the opposite: this night is rolling its veil (cf. I. 115.4). And this, like nightfall again, is led by the solar motivator god Savitar 4. Once again the weaver has wrapped up what was stretched out; in the middle of his work the mindful (worker) has set down his craft. Having pulled himself together, he [=Savitar] has stood up. He has always kept the seasons separate. As Proper Thinking, god Savitar has come. RV IV. 13.4. You (Agni) drive with the (horses) that convey best, as you unravel the thread, stripping off the black garment (of night), o god. The rays of the Sun, shaking the darkness like a hide (for tanning), have set it down in the waters (vasman - "apparel", "blanket").

The Balkans. Bulgarians [the youngest of three brothers on guard at night, kills a monster (lamia, dragon); fire (covered in monster blood) goes out; sees fire on the mountain and goes there, meets an old woman (named Day and Night, Evening Star), she spins; he makes her spin only black yarn until he returns; by the fire, robbers, they test the young man (they tell her to get a boiling pot out of the fire), admit in it a strongman; ordered to help rob (kill) the king (kidnap the princess); after entering the palace, the young man kills incoming robbers one by one; kisses the sleeping princess, takes her ring, kills a snake, or lamia who was ready to kill the princess; to find the hero, the king sets up an inn, feeds visitors for free, but for this they must tell stories; the young man talks about what happened, shows a ring and his knife stuck in the wall; the king gives his daughter for a young man (and his eldest daughters for his brothers)]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, No. 304:106-107; Macedonians (Prilep) [y Gentlemen have two balls of yarn, white and black; when he unwinds white, day falls, and when black, night; the balls are connected together, so day and night follow each other other]: Kovachev 1914:55; Albanians [the sister's three brothers are married to the Sun, Month and South; they decide to visit them; they spend the night three times, each time one brother guards the others' sleep; the elder killed lamia, did not tell the brothers about it; the same middle one; the youngest too, but the lamia managed to extinguish the fire with her tail; the young man sees the light in the distance, goes there; on the way he meets the mother of the night, asks her to prolong the darkness; she promises to do it, but he does not believe it and connects her; when he goes to the light source, he sees a huge cauldron with 12 ears standing on fire; picked it up, lit the torch, and put it in place; 12 robbers They are amazed at this force: they can only lift the cauldron together; they led the young man to rob the king; after breaking through the wall, they climbed into the stable; the young man stayed outside; raised the alarm, cut off the heads of the robbers as how they got out; left his knife there; on the way back he freed the mother of the night; the king found the dead robbers and the knife; ordered to set up a tavern where food is free, but let everyone talk about it What he did; the elder and middle brothers told how each killed a lamia, the youngest also about the robbers; the king gave his daughter for him; on the occasion of the royal wedding, they released prisoners; half of them were one made of iron; the young man persuaded the king to release him too; as soon as the king broke his shackles, the monster swallowed the princess and flew away; the young man asks the king to give him iron shoes and a staff, promises to return the princess in a year; comes to a sister whose husband is the Sun; she hid her brother, the Sun senses a man, but promises not to touch her brother-in-law; advises to ask the Month; he sends to the South; the South also does not know where the Iron Man directs to a huge falcon, telling him to come up from behind and threaten to slaughter him if he does not tell him where the Iron Man is; the falcon tells you to cook meat and fix its wings - he is too old; they are flying to a high mountain, The young man cut off the last piece of meat from his thigh; when he reached, the falcon regurgitated the piece and grew it back; the wife hid the young man, but the iron man found him, drank blood, and spit out his skin and bones; the falcon saw flew between the crushing mountains, took swallows in his beak of milk, revived the young man with it; he taught his wife to pretend to be dead and ask her husband where his strength is; iron; in a broom; the wife burned a broom, but nothing happened; pretended to be sick again; iron: there is a boar on the mountain, he has a silver fang, a hare in his fang, there are three pigeons in the hare, they are strong; the young man came to the shepherd, began to ask about the boar, he heard, young man began to fight him; boar: I would like to sharpen my fangs racine de gouet; young man: I would have flour, fried fish and wine; the shepherd brought everything, the young man killed the boar, took out pigeons; twisted his heads, the young man came to to the iron man, killed the third, the iron died; the falcon brought the young man and princess to the king; everyone is happy]: Dozon 1991, No. 15:121-134; Moldovans [three fellows kidnapped three princesses; the king promises a reward for whoever finds his daughters; Calin the Fool and his two older brothers go in search; K. guards at night, kills three-, four-, eight-headed dragons; the latter's blood has filled the fire; K. goes into the world, met, tied Evening, Midnight, Dawn, so that the day would not come until he returned; 12 dragons and their mother sleep around the fire; K. takes coal, but also meat; dragons woke up , they tell them to bring the daughter of the Red King (they themselves cannot, because they are afraid of a puppy with a rooster); K. leads the dragons with him, kills one at a time when they climb over the city wall; K. took the ring off his finger princesses; cut off dragons tongues; killed one dragon in their lair, and the other ran away; fed and let go of the bound Evening, Midnight, Dawn; passing through the golden, silver, copper forest meets three kidnapped princesses, each cooks food for her dragon; kills two dragons; when she fights a third, both call a crow, but K. calls him the blessed king, the raven pours water on the dragon's flame, he dies ; when K. fell asleep, his brothers cut off his legs; he was found by an armless one; K. grabbed the runaway dragon, which showed the lake; when K. and his sister plunged, their legs and arms grew; they killed the dragon; the princess they give it to a gypsy who allegedly killed dragons; K. sends his ring, is recognized, showed his tongues; a gypsy with a bag of nuts was tied to the horse's tail; where the nut fell, a piece of body fell off there; K. gave the princess still betrothed; K. came home, his wife was made a maid; he offered to throw a core up; when it fell, it crushed his brothers]: Moldavian tales 1969:158-168; Greeks: Legrand 1881 [father tells his three sons to pray at his grave for three nights and pass off his three sisters as the first to marry them; after reprimanding the prayer, the eldest returns to the house; at which time a strange-looking man comes, almost freak; only the younger brother insists on giving him his sister; the same with the middle brother and middle sister; a woman comes to the youngest with two balls of thread, black and white; it depends on her whether it should be night or day; the young man asks him to unwind the black thread more slowly so that he could finish reading the prayer before dawn; she refused; then he tied it to a tree, and went to where the light was seen; there 40 dragons around a huge boiling cauldron; the young man picked it up and put it back; they ask for help to steal the princess; going up to the tower, the young man tells the dragons to go up one at a time and kills each; in kissed the princess in bed and exchanged rings with her; returned home, untying the mistress of night and day; to identify the hero who killed dragons, the king tells everyone to come and talk about his life; the princess recognized the young man and her ring; the wedding; the young man noticed a golden key in his wife's hair; opened the locked door with it, pulled the ring, the dark figure fell off it and took the princess away; the young man went in search; came to the older sister's castle; her husband called the birds, but only the lame eagle knew where the sorcerer's castle was and carried the young man there; taking the princess, they flew back, but the sorcerer, to whom everything tells him a flying horse, caught up with them, took the princess and cut the young man in half; the eagle brought halves, the sister's husband revived them with live water; the young man came to his middle sister; her husband explains that it is necessary to get the same a winged horse like a sorcerer; the young man came to the mountain, tamed the horse, took his wife home; the sorcerer's horse could not catch up with them]: 145-160; Hahn 1864 (1), No. 52 [the robbers stole the sister of three brothers; they went in search ; in the evening they made a fire; on the first night, the elder brother was on guard; lamia came, he killed her, did not say anything to the brothers; on the second night the same with his middle brother; on the third, the youngest killed three lamias who had come; but the fire went out, the young man went to look for fire; saw a light in the distance, went to it; he met an old woman, who replied that a distant fire is a fire of robbers; and she herself brings the day into the world; the young man asked her to stay in place while he went to get the fire; she promised, but he did not trust her, tied her to a tree; 40 robbers are sitting around a cauldron with 40 ears; the young man removed the cauldron, took the fire and put it the cauldron was back; when the young man returned to the old woman, untied her, came to the brothers; it was dawn and they moved on; but the robbers brought the young man to them, told him to climb into the royal treasury; he found the sword and cut off the heads of all the robbers who crawled through the hole one by one; after drinking water from the bowl, the young man left; to find out who killed the robbers and saved the treasury, the king set up an inn where everyone was supposed to to talk about his adventures; the young man also came and began to talk; the king married him to his daughter, and his brothers to the daughters of nobles]: 286-288.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. (Wed. Megrelians [Tsagareli, Megrelian Studies, vol. 1:10-13; when dying, the king orders him to guard his grave for three nights and pass off his three sisters as those who ask; the elder hears a rumble and sees someone dig up the grave, grabbed the corpse, cried over it, and then buried it and disappeared; the same with the middle brother; while they were away, the youngest gave the three sisters to those who came for them; the youngest cut the monster in two, but his blood filled a candle; the young man noticed the light, went to it, telling the rooster not to scream so that morning would not come; after crossing the river, the young man saw demi (=devi) sitting by the fire; grabbed a smut and ran; the smut went out when crossing; he returned but captured; the demis are told to get three princesses out of the castle; the young man climbed the wall and killed all the demis one by one as they got up; entered to the princesses, gave each a ring (his youngest), returned, took fire, plunged his sword into the stone, allowed the rooster to sing, returned to his father's grave; the king promises daughters to whoever pulls the sword out of the stone; he could only a young man married his youngest, gave it to his older brothers; the king gave the younger a flying carpet, the young and his servants flew it, but the flying monster took the princess away; the young man went in search; he came to three demi, married to his sisters; they said they saw Kazha-Ndii-Kerkun ("fast silicon-like demi") carry a gold-haired beauty and they only managed to tear out the curl of her hair; the young man recognized his wife's curl; demi- his sons-in-law gave him a horse and a dog; he came to K.'s house; when he was taking his wife away, the gate called K.; he easily caught up with the young man, chopped them to pieces; the dog collected them, loaded them on a horse, he came to the demy-sons-in-law; the youngest he revived him, gave him a three-legged horse; when K.'s horse caught up, the three-legged one and K.'s horse slowed down; the young man cut K. in half and returned his wife]: Wardrobe 1894, No. 2:112-118); Armenians: Harutyunyan 1980s [Beetle u Zhamanak ("time") is a personification of time, a gray-haired old man sitting on top of a high mountain (in the sky); as a time manager, he holds two balls in his hands - white and black; one ball lowers on one side of the mountain, while unwinding it; the second ball winds it up, raising it on the other side of the mountain; when the white ball, unwinding, reaches the bottom, brightens and rises sun; when J. J. wraps a white ball, and black, unwinding, descends, darkens and the sun goes down]: 449; Gullakian 1983 [the boy knitted an old man who was wrapping black and white yarn - night and day]: 195; Azerbaijanis [40 sons of the king are going to marry 40 sisters; the king orders not to stay overnight in the destroyed building and in the steppe; the brothers spent the night at the dilapidated minaret, where white diva; only the younger Melik-Mamed is awake; killed the diva, refusing to hit again, hid the corpse; elsewhere the same, a black diva; at the third night MM came to the old man, he winds the threads around black (night) and white (day) balls; MM tied the old man to make the night go on, came to the house where 40 giants married with 40 kidnapped princesses and sisters; MM bribed the old woman, who gave cotton wool to the watchman bell did not ring; MM killed the giants who came out one at a time, plunged a sword into marble in the palace of the princesses's father, returned to the brothers; no one can pull out the sword, only MM himself; the king gives his daughters to his brothers; on the way back, the serpent king brought MM to him, ordered Sanam with 40 braids, the daughter of the underground king, to be kidnapped; having received a magic tablecloth from the snake, MM fed a lion, an ant, and a bird of Zumrud Gushi along the way, they gave fur, etc.; the underground king has 99 heads on the roof; he tells 1) to defeat the lion (the lion who was fed by MM won); 2) collect the sown millet (the ants collected); the last seed was brought lame ant); 3) hang the scales in the air (MM agrees with the old woman that she will cut off one of the princess's braid, the Zumrud-gushi bird hung the scales on her); MM received the princess; freed Jansyn-Kos on the bridge; he pursues, took away the princess, disappeared; Zumrud-gushi revived MM with live water; explained that J.K's death in a needle, in a needle, in a sparrow, in a cage, in an elephant in the forest; MM took it out, broke a needle, J.K. died; the king of the serpent gave in Princess MM; feast at home, MM lives with two wives]: Bogoyavlensky 1892c, No. 6:308-318; Turks: Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 213.III.2 [the young man's fire goes out; he follows the fire, meets an old woman, who spins and then dissolves yarn; 40 giants agree to fire if the young man gets them three daughters of Padishah Peri; or 40 giants or robbers cannot enter the palace; young man climbs there and then cuts off the heads of each of the incoming robbers]: 251; Kunos 1901 [when he dies, the padishah tells him to guard his grave for three nights; whoever copes with this will receive the throne; three sisters must be passed off as the first to come to marry; the eldest son hears a rumble and noise at night, runs in fear; the middle son is the same; the youngest Mehmed kills the dragon; he asks to be hit with a sword a second time, M. says that his mother gave birth to him once; saw an old man with white (day) and black (night) balls; tied his hands so that he would not let go of the day, came to 40 robbers, offered them help steal treasures, killed one at a time, when they went up to the wall; cut a snake; saw three princesses sleeping, fell in love with the youngest; returned, cutting off the dragon's nose and ears; untied the old man; the elder brother had already become the padishah; at the insistence of the younger , the sisters were given to the lion, the tiger, the bird Anka (he is the padishah peri); the king of the castle, where M. killed 40 robbers and a snake, agrees with the vizier to identify the hero by arranging a bathhouse for all men; M. identified: he does not have sword; he asks the younger princess; king: but the demon whirlwind wants her, so she sits in a steel room; M. received the princess, and his brothers received her sisters; as soon as M. left for the forest, the whirlwind took his wife; M. goes in search, visits three sisters, each husband shows the way; M. takes his wife, jumps away; the whirlwind woke up on the fourth day, slowly packed up, easily caught up, tore it to shreds; allowed his wife collect the bones; she loaded them on her horse, told them to go where they needed to go; he came to Anka's wife; Anka gathered all the birds; the old owl was the last to appear, she was alone in the Garden of Eden; from there she brought live water Anka revived M.; he returned to his wife: let her know what the whirlwind's life is; he confesses: there is an island on the seventh sea level, there is a bull, a box in it, a dove in the box; there is a spring on the mountain, 40 sea horses once a year they come to him, we must tame one, he will deliver him to the right place; M. took out the box, took his wife, killed a pigeon, the whirlwind died, M. became a padishah]: 112-133.

Baltoscandia. Eastern Sami [(p. 294: the text is restored from fragments and various sources); the wife warns her husband not to go to tear birch bark in the moonlight; Oaz jumps from his eye to his neck and tells him to take it marries, does not get off; her daughter Vostroeye jumps on her chest, Burnt Stump and Shaggy Mouse on her son's feet; O. and her children eat up the old man, his wife and daughter Akkaniidi; eat the old man and his wife; A. puts to sleep Hemp, the Mouse, meets the son of the Sun Peywalke; Vostroeye remains on guard; A. does not notice that she has a third eye on the back of her head; O. and his children sewed A. in seal skin, thrown into the lake; A. comes to the house where Ninas, chief among the Spolokhov, lives; becomes his wife; he gives her a ball, A. follows him to his mother; N. tells her what to say for his mother to take her across the river; mother N. never sees him, for he appears only at night; weaves the base of the night sky, and A. weaves stars on it; N.'s mother covers the ceiling of N.'s bedroom with a blanket, he thinks it's still night; jumps out burned by the Sun; A. tries to obscure it, the Sun grabs it for his son Peywalke, throws it to the moon - mother A.; A. is seen on the moon with a rocker arm and buckets of water on his shoulders]: Czarnoluski 1962:68-79.