B70. Bunny ears.. 29.32.34.-.40.

A person beats hares, foxes, and other small animals (one or many) that are defenseless (usually locked in his house). History explains the coloration of the tips of the ears and tail in these animals. Cf. M45A motif.

Mari, Kalmyks, Oirats (Turguts), Altaians, Kets, Ents, Nenets (?) , Dolgans, Central Yakuts, Evenks (Turukhans, Ilimpic, Verkhneangarsk, Buryatia, Tungiro-Olekminsky, Sakhalin and the Far East), Nanai, Ulchi, Negidals, Udege, Orochi, Ainu, Forest and tundra yukaghirs, Asian Eskimos.

Volga - Perm. Marie [the hare asks who is stronger: to the sun, to the wind, to the cloud; in the end he runs to her grandmother, who showed her strength to the hare by hitting him with a frying pan; that's why the hare the tips of the ears turned black]: Genetz 1889, No. 2 in Chetkarev 1941:46.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. The Kalmyks [when their father was not at home, brother and sister were baking pretzels in ash; their dead mother came in; at that time, the deceased was coming back to life three years later and returning; brother and sister were frightened, accidentally hit her with fire tongs saying, "You've been dead a long time, why are you scaring us?" ; the mother turned into a gray hare, the place from being hit with forceps fell on the hare tail, now it is black; and the man has stopped coming to life]: Tyaginovan 2011:45 in Basangova 2019:104.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. The Oirats (Turguts) [the widow did not tell her daughter to eat any delicious food without her; she began to eat; the deceased husband got up from the grave, looked like a hare, came and condemned the girl; she cut his lip with a stick the end hit the tail, staining it with soot; now the hare has a split lip and black tail; after that, people have stopped resurrecting]: Potanin 1883, No. 8:348; (cf. The Altaians [the ermine quarreled with the hare, went to sort out the bear; touching the smoky cauldron, he ran the hare over the ears so that the hare was not all white and the ermine could recognize him; the ermine grabbed the tail, the tip turned black]: Paderina, Plitchenko 1986:25-27).

Western Siberia. Kets [animals died of diseases; sent hares to the chief shaman; they made a plague for him, he shamanized for a long time; the hares laughed, he hit them in the ears with a wand, the tips turned black; animals did not die anymore]: Alekseenko 2001, No. 29:84; Ents [the ermine climbed into the plague to eat; the woman began to chase him, he dropped the stick on which the kettle hung above the fire; since then, the tip of the tail has been black]: Sorokina, Bolina 2005, No. 46:194; (same text for Taimyr Nenets in Nenyang 1997:143).

Eastern Siberia. Dolgans [the old man pretended to be sick, told his son to bring the hare shaman and all the hares as clerks; during the campaign, the old woman closed the door; the old man began to beat the hares with a cauldron hook; one jumped out the chimney, got hit in the ears, they turned black; the same with arctic foxes (the tip of the tail is black); God turned the old man into a daw in punishment (the origin of jackdaws)]: Popov 1937:38-39 (quail in Efremov 2000, No. 10:199-201, but the translation of the Dolgan bird's name is not "jackdaw", but "jay"); Efremov 2000, No. 5 [Evenki (sic!) they are starving; the old man pretends to be sick, tells them to bring a hare shaman, many hares with him; the old man and the old woman hit the hares, the shaman and his wife jump into the chimney; the old man hit the shaman in the ears (black mark) old woman - on her legs (they have grown together into a separate joint); hares that have bred again do not speak and avoid people]: 185-187; central Yakuts: Ergis 1964, No. 12 (2nd Nakharinsky Nasleg Megino- Kangalassky ulus) [The ermine fell into the pipe of the house of an old man named Hare Stomach, scalded, has since become dark red white; lives with an old man, secretly eats oil; the old man hits him with his head on tail, Ermine runs away, the tip of the tail remained black]; No. 15 (2nd Nakharinsky Nasleg of Megino-Kangalassky Ulus) [The hare covered his back from hunters' bullets with a long fluffy tail; went to drink by the ice-hole, froze to the ice; the old woman hit him in the ears with his head, the tips turned black; the hare ran away with his tail cut off, since then with a short tail]: 66, 69-70 (summary in Ergis 1967a, No. 22-23:165-166; retelling both texts in Sivtsev-Omolloon 1976:20-21, 29-32; Sivtsev, Efremov 1990:14-15, 21-22); Evenks in Sakhalin and the Far East []: Avrorin, Lebedeva 1966:213; Verkhneangarsk Evenks (Baikal district) [the old man pretends to be sick, tells the old woman to call the hare shaman; puts berries in the old man's nostrils, closes all the cracks in the yurt; the hares came and began to sing; the old man began to beat them with a stick, a hare shaman hit the ears, he jumped into the smoke hole]: Vasilevich 1936, No. 24:25-26; Evenki [the man pretended to be dead; the hares brought him to the plague; the wife closed the holes, began to hook the hares, who hangs a kettle; hit one in the ear, he jumped out the smoke hole; since then, the hares have black ears]: Voskoboynikov 1960a, No. 8:51; Evenki Buryatia [lazy hunter pretended to be dead; The fox called Zaitsev, ran away herself; the hares carried him to the shore; the hunter's wife asked her husband to be brought into the house, closed the door; the hunter killed the hares with a stick, one jumped out; when hit with a stick, his ears turned black]: Voskoboynikov 1958:52-53; Evenks: Lebedeva 1966 [Evenki tales on this story fall into two groups; 1) the old man, pretending to be sick, calls a hare shaman; others come with the shaman hares sing along while camping; after luring hares into the house, the old man and his wife kill them; one shaman hare escapes; 2) in the forest, the old man lies on the ground, putting lingonberries in his mouth, ears, eye sockets, nostrils or rose hips; hares (or hares along with foxes) take him for a dead man and carry him home; further as in (1)]: 192 (Vasilevich 1936:25, 230-231); Bereznitsky 2005, No. 48 (Amur Evenks) [old man invites hares to visit, tells his wife to close the entrance to the plague, they killed almost all the hares, one ran away, but his ears remained black (the grandmother hit them with a poker)]: 477; Turukhan Evenks (Tura): Vasilevich 1936, No. 23 [the old man falls ill, the Hare shamanizes, follows other hares; the old man tells the old woman to close the door, give him an iron sword; hits the Hare in the ear, it turns black; the old woman hit the tooth {in the tooth?} , now the hare teeth are big; since then the Hare has not been able to walk on the cloud, began to live on the ground, began to eat talinka]: 25; Turukhan Evenks [animals go to the old shaman Macedonma; no one takes in his Squirrel's boat; after shaking, M. lets the hare shaman shamanize, he predicts bad things; M. realizes that his plan has been revealed, hits the animals with a copper hook from the tagan; the hare hit in the ears, their tips are soot; Ermine on the tip of its tail, Musk deer on the sides (it is stained), Lynx is the same, Wolverine smeared everything; Columns jumped over the fire himself, all scorched; only the Squirrel remained clean and unblemished]: Osharov 1936a: 39-40; Ilimpic Evenks (p. Chirinda, western 1985) [The hare sees glare in the ice-hole, takes it for fish, lowers its tail into the water so that they cling, the tail freezes; the old woman hits with a poker, but only touches the tips of her ears; the hare ran away, cutting off his tail, since then he short, and the tips of his ears are black]: Yermakov 1988:19-20; Tungiro-Olekma Evenks (Tungirikan) [hunger in spring, the old man lies on a hare path, freezes; 30 hares bring it to the old woman, they say that the old man froze on their path; the old woman tied the door with a belt, the old man jumped up, began to beat the hares, ran away alone; the old woman hit the hare's ear with a poker, since then the hare's ear has been black]: Kozlovsky 1936, No. 4:229- 230; Far Eastern Evenks (Uchurian?) [the old hunter fell ill; hares were invited, they invited their shaman; they closed all the cracks in the plague; the hare shaman realizes that they are trapped; the old man killed the hares with a stick, but only touched the shaman the tips of the ears, since then they are black]: Myreeva 2009b: 168.

Amur - Sakhalin. Nanais: Aurora 1986, No. 15 (Naikha Nanai) [Crucian and Raven mow reeds, Raven offers to compete, whoever collects the sheaf faster, wins, wants to eat Crucian carp, he hides in lake; Bear drinks the lake; The crow does not know which crucian carp is; another Fox scratches the Bear's ass, the water flows out; the fox at the ice-hole has lowered its tail into the water, says it will recover this way; the Bear's tail froze to the ice, he tore it off; The fox pretends to glue his eyes; The bear forcibly erased the glue; The fox offers to ride down the mountain, puts a spit, the Bear ran into, died; Hares, Foxes ask the old man for a cauldron, an ax , a knife, they forget to leave meat for him, brush their teeth, throw it into the cauldron; the old man is not offended, calls everyone to him, closes all exits, kills hares and foxes with his wife; one fox, one hare ran away through the hearth, their ears turned black], 16 [no episode with a frozen tail; The foxes urinated in the cauldron, brought it to the old woman; she closed the exits, interrupted the fox; (hares and the old man do not participate)]: 71-73, 75-77; Medvedev 1992 [poor the old man ate bird cherry, put berries in his ears, eyes, mouth, nose and lay down; hare: if he died of thirst and hunger, then berries; from the cold? but there he has an ax, a flint; he called hares, ferrets, squirrels, foxes and other animals; the old man was thrown into the water, but his wife ran and told her to be taken home; the animals came in, the old woman closed all the exits, the old man he jumped up, they began to beat the animals; the hare ran away through the pipe, his ears were stained with soot; the old men took off their skins, hung them on the hang; the wife of the rich old man told her husband, he decided to repeat everything; the animals carried the old man came home; but then a hare came running with dirty ears: people are deceiving us; the old man was thrown into the water; he managed to throw his ax, killed only one hare]: 262; Negidals: Khasanova, Pevnov 2003b, No. 70 [the old man lies down in the taiga on the snow, lowers his pants, shoves rosehips in his ass; calls for help from larch and oaks; the hares think that he is dying, bringing him to his house; the old woman closes holes, they hit hares, one hit the ears with a poker; when the old man tries to repeat the trick, this escaped hare warns the others, they throw the old man], 71 [the poor man lies in the forest on the snow, he shoves rose hips into his ears and nose; squirrels and other small animals drag him to his house; he tells his wife to close windows and doors; old men and their granddaughter beat animals; Fox, Hare hit ears, Ermine, Partridge at the tip of his tail; these marks have been preserved; a rich neighbor tries to repeat the trick; when animals drag him, he hurts, he jumps up; next time the poor man smears the tree with glue animals and birds stick together; the rich man sticks himself with his wife and granddaughter; they turn into influxes on the tree], 72 [in the taiga, an old man lies on the snow, puts rose hips in his nose and ears; Hares they bring him to his house; he tells his wife to close the holes in the house, hits hares; the old woman hit the ears with one poker, he ran away, the tips of his ears turned black; the rich neighbor tries to do the same; the hare grabs his beard, he jumps up, hares run away]: 138-139, 141-143, 144; Udege people: Bereznitsky 2005, No. 47 [the poor brother pretended to be dead, the hares took him to them, he killed them with a log, alone ran away, the tips of his ears remained soot; the rich brother also lay down on the path; the escaped hare explained to others, they threw the rich man into the ice-hole]: 476; Lebedev 1998, No. 35 [the old man lies down by the hole with his nose in his nose rosehip berry; The hare thinks that the old man died from this, tells the old woman; she tells the hares to bring the old man, closes the door; they kill hares, leave him alone; the old woman hit him with a cauldron hook, with Since then, the hare has black spots on his ears; a rich old man tried to do the same thing, hares threw him into wormwood]: 255-261; Sangi 1989 [poor Jenku-Mafa pretends to be dead, hares tell about this to his wife; she tells him to be carried into the house; DM jumps up, kills hares, runs away alone (the old woman hit him with a poker, missed, his ear turned black); rich Ba-Mafa tries to repeat the trick the escaped hare warns others, they run away; DM smears the tree with resin, birds stick to it; BM sticks by itself, followed by his wife and dog; they turn into tree growths (origin growths)]: 261-284; ulchi: Voskoboynikov, Menovshchikov 1951 [the old man lay down in the forest as if he was sleeping; the fox decided that he was dead, called hares, foxes, ordered to save the old man; they brought him to his house, old woman asked him to be brought into the house, closed the door, windows, stove; the old man killed the animals with a stick]: 363; Sunik 1985, No. 4 [the poor old man told his wife to chew eggs, calls fish by the ice-hole, catches; pretended to be dead, putting rosehips in his nose, ears, and eyes; the fox called foxes, hares, sables, squirrels, they brought the imaginary deceased home; the old woman closed all the holes in the house, the old man killed the animals; the rich old man told Call fish to his wife, killed her in a hurry, did not catch fish]: 129-131; Orochi [the poor old man pretends to be dead in the forest; all the animals carry him to his house; the old man comes to life, beats animals with his wife; those parts of the body that were beaten or stained with soot have turned black (the origin of animal color); a rich old man does the same; his house has many cracks, animals run away; the rich becomes poor, poor to rich]: Avrorin, Lebedeva 1966, No. 10:135-136.

Japan. Ainu (Hokkaido) [zap. Chamberlain; Okikurumi went into a house on the mountain, where six beautifully dressed men quarreled loudly; O. said they were Hares, that the children in the sky were playing snowballs, they fell to the ground; so that the heavenly snowballs would not disappear For nothing in the world of people, they were turned into hares; they must be quiet; O. began to beat them with smut, the hares ran away; therefore, there is a hare god, the hares are white, because they are made of snow, and their ears are black, stained with coal]: Hitchcock 1890:486 (same in Brauns 1883:257).

SV Asia. Forest Yukaghirs: Jochelson 1926, No. 5 (forest, p. Ridiculous) [the old woman sends her husband to get hares; he cuts off the willow, hides under the branches; hares come; the first jumps off in fear, then everyone gathers, carries the old man to his house; the old man hits the tambourine, asks his wife to close the door, kills hares; the wife asks why he did not leave her alone; finds one under a pile of brushwood, hits the cauldron, touches only the tips of her ears; finds a partridge for her only the feathers on the tail are touched; these hare and partridge escape, the current ones come from them; hares now have black ears, partridge has the tip of their tail]: 254; Zhukova, Prokopyeva 1991, No. 6 (p. The ridiculous Verkhnekolymsky ulus of Yakutia) [the hares had long tails; in winter the old man and the old woman ran out of food; the old man put on clothes made of hare skins, lay down on the hare path; the running hare became his tug, the old man showed no signs of life; the hare ran for help, hares from all over the forest came running; they thought that the old man was dying, brought him home; the old man hinted to the old woman to close the windows; wanting cheer up the old man, the hares began to dance; the old man jumped up and began to beat the hares with a stick; only one managed to escape; the old man managed to cut off his tail, and the old woman hit his ears with a head; therefore, hares have short tails and black ear tips]: 147-148; Lebedeva 1993 (forest?) [old man Samteney catches hares and partridges in snare]: 60-65; tundra yukaghirs [(summary); the fox deceived the old man and ate his supplies; the old man invited animals into his home for camlania; kills everyone, including including the deceiver fox]: Gogolev et al. 1975:241.

The Arctic. Asian Eskimos [a man comes to an old woman, asks what kind of skin she is scratching; she names different animals, finally a wolf; he himself is a Wolf, runs away, brings many animals - bears, wolves, foxes, mice, wolverines; she invites them into the house, promises to feed them berry pudding, does not tell them to bring in leather or spears; closes a smoke hole, kills smoke-blind people one by one with a knife, extracts many skins]: Bogoras 1913, No. 8:429-430.