B56A. A crocodile without a tongue. (.12.13.22.23.52.53.55.57.59.62.63.64.68.)

The reptile's tongue is cut off or mutilated (there is no association with fire). See motif B56.

West Africa. Dogon [The crocodile put his tongue to dry; the Dog did not have a tongue, it stole the Crocodile's tongue; he has been trying to grab the Dog every time it comes to the water]: Palau Marti 1957: 88.

Sudan - East Africa. Somalis [The Jackal did not have a tongue; he asked the Crocodile to lend him his tongue to shout mashharad at the wedding; he did not return it, now does not go to the river]: Kapchits 1997, No. 8:18.

Burma - Indochina. The Burmese [when they saw the fat Crocodile, the Raven offered to take him from the shallow river to the big one; when they moved far from the river, the Raven told the Crocodile that he would now die and he would eat it; the carter felt sorry for the Crocodile, brought it on an arba to the river; in the water, the Crocodile grabbed the buffalo by the leg; the Rabbit shouted for the carter to hit the Crocodile with a whip, he let the buffalo go, the carter escaped; the crocodile waited The rabbit pretended to be a log; the rabbit said logs float downstream and crocodiles went upstream; the crocodile swam downstream; the next day the Rabbit said the opposite; but the Crocodile did not swim upstream , but stayed there; the Rabbit came up to him, ended up in the Crocodile's mouth; said that the Crocodile could not laugh; the Crocodile said "haha," the Rabbit jumped out, pulling out the Crocodile's tongue; gave it to the Cat; he found it in place of the tongue, a new plant called Cat Language]: Aung 1957:21-24.

South Asia. Bhuya [The crocodile carried people across the river, but ate one of the two; Bhimsen was alone; he climbed into the Crocodile's stomach, slaughtered him, the Crocodile regurgitated him, B. pulled out his tongue]: Elwin 1949, No. 11:170.

Mesoamerica Tepehua [some characters don't like the musician's performance; they invite him to a party, feed him, offer more and more servings; he can't anymore; they call him to play ball, kill him with their own with iron balls; his pregnant wife wants to have an abortion, a baby from her womb tells her to wait, give birth to him where she is swimming; she gives birth and buries a dead baby; corn grows on his grave; the woman cooks the cake, she is bitter, the woman throws it away; the turtle puts it on her back, the cake turns into a boy; the baby is dirty, since then the picture can be seen on the tortoise shell; the turtle makes him arrows, but tells him not to shoot poor fish; the boy asks the scorpion to take him to his real mother; finds his father's musical instrument under the roof of the house; the opponents hear the game again, call the player to their place to put him to the same tests as his father; he is fed for slaughter, but he asks the shrew in advance to hole his food vessels; during the game, he hits the balls, killing opponents; spares three for showing where his father's bones are; revives his father, brings him home, forbiding him to open his eyes; a leaf falls on him, opens his eyes, turns into a deer; the son gives him the handkerchief is the tail; tells the crocodile to open its mouth, pulls out his tongue; asks San Pedro to let him go with his mother (to heaven?) ; the mother turns into a holy rose; the snake moves, producing thunder, lightning, clouds, rain; the young man waves the crocodile's tongue, causing a stronger thunderstorm; Thunders lead the young man to San Pedro ; he admits that he missed him with his mother; tells him to share his weapon between the Thunders]: Williams García 1972:87-92; Totonaki (Chicotepec) [man played violin; Thunder sent to a messenger ordered to appear; let him tell him who allowed him to play, they don't like it; he was asked to sit in a chair and then compete in the run; at a distance he saw him lying upside down pajaro de primavera; not wanting to step on him, the man hesitated and lost the contest; he was killed and buried; his wife remained pregnant; the thunders caused her and, under threat of death, forced her to miscarry, the child was buried in the courtyard of the house from where they ran the town hall; eight days later, a corn shoot grew on this site, and the cob ripened on it; the thunders called a woman and told him to pick him up; she ground the grain , cooked a tamale; he turned out to be bitter and she threw it into the river; downstream the old woman heard crying and picked up the baby; brought it home, her husband is also happy; the boy grew up quickly, calls the couple parents; asks where the father goes; old woman: take care of animals {fish, but it is more often referred to as animals}; these animals lay motionless; kingfisher and other birds that eat fish, they came to eat them; the young man asked for permission to go with his father; started shooting at kingfishers and killing them; promised that now the fish ("animals") would multiply; the next time he went alone and started shooting fish in their heads, they have fins, a tail in their backs; tomorrow or the day after tomorrow God's children {i.e. people} will appear, they will need animals {i.e. there must be a lot of fish and it should not be concentrated in one place}; the fish started moving {i.e. blurred}; the next day the young man came back with his father; he: how to catch now; then the young man gave his father a net; people would appear - it will be for them necessary; the young man came to the crocodile, he wanted to eat it; the young man asked him to open his mouth to climb into it, cut off his tongue and said that he would now be called a crocodile; when the lightning flashes, they they will honor you {that is, lightning is made of the crocodile's tongue}; the young man told the old woman he knew that he had a real mother and his real father was killed; the young man came when his mother sadly sang and made clay pots; hiding in a tree, he broke the pot with arrows; she began to swear; he went out to her, told her not to swear and called herself a son; sat on her knees and spoiled her; told the whole story about his father's death and his appearance; he was the corncob; he assured him that he would not be killed; he opened his father's house and all the violins, guitars, drums and flutes were there; he started playing the violin, the Groms are messengers were heard and sent for him; he volunteered to go; when {people} come, you will be called rain/storm clouds, for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow God will increase the number of his children {i.e. people}; and they agreed to be under his control, be clouds, not who they were; they were given their horses - white clouds, and given their machetes; and they would produce lightning, scream {thunder} and pour water; in the morning clouds appeared in the east, it rained, and a thunderstorm began; while running, he did not look at the person lying down and ran first; the second test was to eat a lot of corn porridge; he agreed with Agouti to make her a hole in the bottom of the porridge jar gnawed; the porridge flowed out, and the Thunders believed that the young man had eaten everything; then he took his father out of the grave to revive him; but he should not be afraid; but when he heard the rustle of a fallen leaf, Father got scared and turned into a deer; now people will eat you, hunters will kill you; this young man is Wonder Man]: Aschmann 1977; mountain totonaks [see J4B, K27 motif; girl rejects suitors; the musician turns into a flea, penetrates it, clinging to his clothes; at night he becomes a man; plays the violin; four Thunders hear a game, tell him to shoot him; a woman gives birth to a boy, he dies; she buries him, corn grows on the grave; the woman makes bread from the green cobs; he is bitter, she throws it into the river; it is eaten by fish, the Turtle carries a piece on its back; the piece turns into a boy; when he grows up, she leaves it on the shore; the crocodile wants to swallow it; the young man tells him to open his mouth, cuts off his tongue, cuts it into four pieces; puts them with river foam in four reeds; pieces the tongue turns into lightning; it gives them to the Thunders, tells them to make thunderstorms and showers (there were no clouds before); the young man is corn, revives annually]: Ichon 1969, № III-5, 11:65, 69, 72; Nahuatl district Huasteca [lightning came from crocodile language]: Greco 1989:183-187; Veracruz Nahuatl: González Cruz 1984:219-221 [when a crocodile opens its mouth, the hero cuts off its tongue], 225 [lizard language in punishment cut in two]; Law 1957 [the devil's daughter became pregnant by a bird dancing around her; when she gave birth, the devil collided the baby, made a balloon, gave it to red ants; three days later, the baby Tamakasti was intact, told the ants to rebuild his body; he was thrown into the pond, the fish swallowed it, carried it to the black ants, he was reborn; the devil threw him into the lake, he swam for three days there in the shape of an egg; his grandmother and mother could not catch him with a net for a long time; his mother cried, he felt sorry for her, he let himself be caught; his grandmother put him in the deck; after 30 days the deck burst, it came out many different animals; the boy's father came, the grandmother was spinning; he began to fly a bird around the nanchi tree; the grandmother could no longer weave; ate the ripe fruit; she liked it, she decided that her grandson threw it off for her; she was bitten by big lice, she cut off her hair, became bald; the bird threw a ripe fruit on her head for trying to kill him after birth; the next time T. became a cat, stole it from her one of the bananas she baked; shot many birds; the grandmother complained that he killed their chickens; he revived them; Grandpa T. invited his grandmother to eat it; T. told the bat to kill his grandfather; he buried them from the attic blood, the grandmother decided that it was her grandson's blood, began to drink; called her husband, found him dead; T. brought water, said that he did not kill his grandfather, because he went to get water; the grandmother wanted to cook T., he threw it into the cauldron himself; He burned the bones along with his grandfather's corpse, told the Toad to throw the ashes on the other side of the sea; the Toad reached the shore, threw a deck of ashes, it burst, mosquitoes, flies and mosquitoes appeared from the ashes; the lizard was also only said that she carried the deck with ashes; took Skunk overseas; T. (or someone else?) split the lizard's tongue in half; T. told his mother that he would go to his father; on the way he sat on a stone, he swallowed it; he cut the heart of the stone with a sword; T. came to his father, brought Fox and the musicians; {hereinafter European a tale of matchmaking and marriage trials; T.'s rival - South Wind}]: 345-355; mountain camps: Elson 1947 [Lizard tongue cut in two as punishment]: 213-214; Foster 1945a, No. 5 [Crocodile speaks a person who can eat it; a person asks to show how he is going to do it; a crocodile opens its mouth, a person throws a stone at it, cuts off his tongue]: 199; itsa [The dog did not have a tongue, she was thirsty and unable to drink. On the river bank I saw a crocodile with a huge tongue. The dog tells the crocodile that he can eat it when she is drunk, asking him to borrow his tongue for this purpose. The crocodile gives. The dog was like this. The crocodile is still waiting for his tongue to be returned, the dog does not come to the river]: Lois, Vapnarsky 2010:85-86; chol [the dog did not have a tongue; leaning towards the water, it tried to drink, but it can't; The crocodile swam with its mouth open; he waited for butterflies to sit in his mouth to swallow them; seeing his long tongue, the dog asked him to borrow to drink; the dog sticks his tongue out of his mouth when tired]: Vázquez Álvarez, Coon s.a.; pipili [the woman's head goes at night, leaving her body, to the giant's sesimite lover; the neighbor informs her husband, advises to pour hot coals around her neck; the head is attached to the husband's back; he asks her to get down until he climbs the tree for the fruits of the boot; throws heavy bunches specifically at his head; his head rushes after a deer running by, attaches to it, falls into the abyss; the priest advises her husband to follow in the footsteps, collect all the hair that has fallen from his head, bury his head with his hair; a mountain tree grows in this place ( Crescentia L.); three boys and a girl are inside the fetus; they ask the father where their mother is; the sisemite giant and the cannibal Tanteputz (the man's wife's parents) raised them; Mother Moon sent bamboo with her to feed the children with milk; the messenger handed it over to the Crocodile, but he drank the milk himself; the Rabbit came to ask where the milk was, asked to open his mouth, saw milk, cut off the Crocodile's tongue; since then, the crocodile was ashamed hides in deep waters]: Hartman 1907, No. 1:144-145.

Honduras vs Panama. Bribri [the sun is wrapped in Crocodile's tongue]: Bozzoli, Cubero Venegas 1989, No. 12:20; cabecar [sun rays - Crocodile's tongue]: Stone 1962:66.

The Northern Andes. Ixka [The dog went to the river for a drink but could not because it was without a tongue; borrowed its tongue from Cayman and did not return it, Cayman was left without a tongue]: Bolinder 1925:48; guajiro [dog borrowed the crocodile's tongue and did not return it; since then, the dogs have not approached the water; one came up, the crocodile grabbed it and took it away]: Wilbert, Simoneau 1986 (1), No. 72:193.

Llanos. Guayabero [A mosquito in the form of a man married a girl, drank her blood; he was killed, burned, the ashes were placed in a vessel; Cayman opened it, the mosquitoes flew out, ate his tongue; the sun told him to live in water]: Schindler 1977a: 229-231.

Southern Venezuela. Piaroa [hot chicha burned Cayman's tongue]: Boglar 1977:280; sanema [Cayman Ibaramyo has a fire in his mouth, people eat meat raw; boy finds charred leaf in I.'s cave; father the boy arranges a holiday; the Tinama chicken, then the Dog defecates at the dancers, everyone laughs except I.; the bird as red as fire defecates into I.'s mouth; he laughs, throwing fire out of his mouth; his tongue burned down, now the Caymans have no tongue; a black and white bird carries a fire in its beak, hides it in a tree; I.'s wife tries in vain to fill the tree with urine]: Barandiaran 1968:4-7; Yanomam [Cayman kept the fire in his mouth, so his tongue is short and his mouth is red; his wife is a Frog; Bird people find baked caterpillars near his house; they danced; Ant Thrush beat himself in the chest, but Cayman just smiled; Wren is dancing, Cayman laughs, fire falls from his mouth; the frog fills most of the coals, but the Oropendoles have managed to carry the coals away, put fire in the core of the trees; the frog curses people, says their kids will get burned]: Wilbert, Simoneau 1990b, No. 50:116-119.

Guiana. Akawai: Brett 1880:127-128 [(=Brett 1868:377-383); Maconaima creates a tree with all the cultivated plants on the branches; Agusti finds a tree, eats alone; son M. The whitefish sends the Woodpecker to follow Aguti, who pretends to be a knock; the Rat finds a tree, S. tells him to knock him down; the lazy Monkey interferes with work, S. sends her to carry water in the basket; the stump pours water, fish in it; S. tells you to climb the kokorite palm tree; those who could not close themselves in the cave; a long night falls; S. throws kokorite seeds; when he hears that they no longer fall into the water, people go down; turn into animals; Cayman is left without a tongue for lying], 132-133 [Animal people mistakenly think Cayman swallowed fire, rip out his tongue as punishment]; Im Thurn 1966 [Aguchi finds a tree with cassava, bananas and other cultivated plants on branches; people cut down a tree; a stump turns into stone; water gushes out of it, someone has covered it with a basket; a curious Monkey lifted it up, the flood flooded it the ground; the first ancestors climb the cockorite palm; the Howler Monkey roars, his throat remains swollen; the man throws seeds down to find out if the water is deep; the first ancestors descend; the Trumpeter Bird has ants they eat their legs, now they are skinny; the man makes fire by friction; the Penelope marail turkey swallows a spark, wakes, his throat stays red; people think the fire has swallowed Cayman, they tear out his tongue]: 379-381; taruma [after Duid caught his wife in the river, he and his older brother Ajijeko lived in separate huts but worked together; if the food was raw, they knew that the woman only eats fruit raw ; she hid where the fire came from; when she had already given birth to many children and was old, A. came to visit her; at sunset he went back, leaving his bag, asked the woman to bring it, told her to come closer, grabbed it, threatened to rape her if she didn't reveal the secret of the fire; she sat down, spread her legs, the fire rolled out of her vagina; it was cold; to make it hot, A. mixed it with burning bark, fruit, pepper; let Duid keep; he was sitting by the river, Cayman swam out and swallowed the fire; returned it at the request of A.; the fire burned his tongue; soon the maroudi bird fell off the fire, flew away; returned at the request of A., his his burnt throat remained red; D. left fire on the trail; the Jaguar came, burned his legs, now tiptoes; Tapir burned his legs harder, they turned into hooves]: Farabee 1918:145-147; curl : Brett 1980:133; macushi [see motif J16; fish disappear from the top of the Sun; The sun grabs a thief, it's Cayman; tears off his tongue, throws him into the water, his tongue turns into mazie fish]: Soares Diniz 1972, No. 2:78.

NW Amazon. Vakuenai [Made of bone went with his men for fire to fire master Yáwali; he reluctantly gave, the Squirrel placed the fire in the vessel; Cayman opened it, swallowed it, disappeared into the water; when The vessel was reopened, so only smoke, which is called "belkin fire"; the UK found Cayman (and apparently forced him to return the fire); Cayman stopped talking, the fire burned his tongue]: Hill 2009:80-82.

Central Amazon. Munduruku [a hot stone is thrown into the crocodile's mouth, he burned his tongue]: Kruse 1949, No. 20:627-628.

Eastern Amazon. Urubu [while the Sun was gone, the ghost took his form, came to his wife, asked for food; she gave him hot cassava; he took it in his mouth, burned his tongue, threw himself into the river, became a caiman, now caiman without a tongue; the Sun came, the wife was surprised that her husband asked for food again; he explained that it was a ghost, brought his wife to the river, showed her caiman; we do not eat sloth meat because it makes him weak, but The sun eats in the evening, so it weakens at sunset; it illuminates the lower world at night]: Ribeiro 2002:606-607.

Southern Amazon. Nambikwara [only caiman had a tongue; he teases children that they don't have a language; children tear out the caiman language, divide between all humans and animals]: Pereira 1983, No. 54:88.