B88. Job... 11. (.14.) .17. (.23.)

All of a man's children die. He asks God to explain why he suffers so much.

Bantu-speaking Africa. Ila [a woman lost her parents as a child; then all her children died; she tried to build a tower up to the sky from logs to talk to Leza; but the building fell down every time; then went to the end of the world to go up to heaven; people she met said that none of her loved ones died; she did not reach heaven, died on her own]: Smith, Dale 1920:197-198 (parrinder retelling 1967:30-31; Werner 1933:40-41); lozi (rotse) {apparently two different retelling of the same text}: Parrinder 1967 [God and his wife lived on earth; Kamonu man imitated God in everything, in particular, extracted and smelted iron; God forbid him to kill animals, allowed him to farm; buffalo poisoned crops, K. killed him; God sent misfortunes to K., his vessel crashed, his dog and child died; K. came to God to complain He saw his vessel, dog and son there; so that K. would not bother him, God and his wife moved to the island, then to the mountain, but K. came again; the Wagtail Fortuneteller advised him to hide in heaven, God and his family climbed there on a web; the fortuneteller advised to pull the spider's eyes out of the body so that he would not remember the roads; K. and his people began to build a tower of logs, it collapsed with them; people welcome God at sunrise and his wife at sunrise]: 37-38; Zhukov, Kotlyar 1976, No. 7 [Nyambi created everything, Kamonu repeated after him, began to kill animals; his dog died, the pot crashed, the child died; he came to N. and saw them there alive and intact; N. settled on the island, but K. sailed to him on a raft; on the mountain he also came; then, on the advice of the soothsayer, asked the Spider to weave a web to the sky, went up there, gouged out Spider's eyes, began to live in the sky; K. called people to build a tower out of logs to the sky; it collapsed; in the morning, at sunrise, people greet N., and when they see the young moon, they turn to Nasilela - wife N.]: 39-40; chagga [all sons die, he is angry with God; asks the blacksmith to hit God; comes to sunrise, where shining people open the gates to God; complain about the stench of God man, they lead him to God; man asks for the return of his sons, God says that they are standing side by side; they radiate, man agrees that they now belong to God; on the way back he finds a treasure elephant tusks, made rich]: Parrinder 1967:30.

(Wed. North Africa. Tunisia [The poor man has a daughter named Sabira, who is very patient and obedient. The poor man began to praise his friends for how patient she was. When these conversations reached the prince, he decided to test it. He married Sabira, hiding that he was a prince. After the wedding, he brought her to a small house with only one room, and left it a month later, telling her to stay in this house. A year later he returned, saw that his wife had given birth to a son and named him Muhammad. She asked her husband to bring some clay, he brought it and left it again for 3 years. Three years later he came back and took his son. Sabira made a woman out of clay and named her Um Tufeil. Sabira began to tell her what happened to her. The next time the prince returned to her, he said that her son had died. She replied: "May Allah reward me with another son, and I will name him Ahmad." The prince was surprised at her patience. And that's what happened. Her second son was born and she named him Ahmad. The prince took it too. Sabira did not say anything to him but went to share her grief with Um Tufeil. A few years later, the prince returned, saw Um Tufail in the corner of the room and asked Sabira about her. She then said to him: "Break it." When he crashed, Sabira told him it was her friend she was talking to. The prince was surprised, ordered to bring rich clothes, dressed Sabira in them, took her to the palace, and the king himself went out to meet her, who told her that her husband was a prince and that her children were alive and that she was invited to the celebration of their circumcision. She couldn't believe it was all true]: Al-Aribi 2009, No. 51 in Korovkina MS).

Western Asia. Old Testament [pious Job is rich and has seven sons and three daughters; Satan offers God to deprive I. of everything to test his devotion; I. is broke, his children are dying; he complains to God , invites him to kill him; God lists his actions on the structure of nature, ironically asks if Job was at the same time, if he knows how things work; Job repents, becomes rich again, and With many children, dies when he sees his great-grandchildren]: Job, 1-42.

(Wed. South Asia. The Bengalis [god of fate Sani (Saturn) and the goddess of good fate Lakshmi argue which of them is taller, more important; decide to ask a rich man named Sribatsa ("son of Sri", i.e. Lakshmi's son, "son Good luck"); he puts Sani on a silver chair, L. on a gold chair; Sani furiously promises to chase S., L. to help him; S. and his wife Chintamani leave home, sewing all their money into a mattress; by the river the carrier undertakes to transport the mattress first, it sinks, the river immediately disappears; in another village, people who swam kidnapped C.; C. finds a cow that defecates with gold; C. asks L. to make it ugly; the same kidnappers take the gold of S. and himself; the couple get to know each other but keep it a secret; S. is thrown overboard; he ends up in the garden of an old woman bringing flowers to the palace; there are all the trees they bloom in the garden; an old woman brings him to the king, he is appointed chief of customs; he stops the kidnapers' ship, returns gold and his wife (she is beautiful again); the king sends them home with with gifts; L. won]: Day 1914, No. 6:108-116).