B93A. Bird bridge over the sky river.. 22.26.34.
Once a year, birds form a bridge across a heavenly river from their bodies. Usually, the feathers on their heads wear off as a result.
Vietnamese, (Thais), Koreans, ancient Chinese and Chinese folklore, Mongols.
Burma - Indochina. Vietnam: Karpov, Tkachev 1958 [the daughter of the god Thick Ny fell in love with shepherd Nguu Lang; God placed them on the opposite side of the Milky Way, the heavenly river; with pity, allowed them to meet on the seventh day seventh month; ordered the carpenters to build a bridge; they did not have time, God turned them into crows; on the seventh day of the seventh month, crows stretch out in a chain, TN and NL go along it towards each other; turned carpenters quarrel in ravens, plucked feathers out of each other's heads]: 321-322; Landes 1886, No. 47 [a young woodcutter sees heavenly fairies bathing in a spring; hides one of them's clothes, she has to go with him, he hides her clothes in a rice barn; when the child is three years old, the wife finds her clothes; leaving her son's comb, flies away; taking the boy, the husband comes to the spring; there the fairy maids came for with water, the boy throws his comb into their jug; the wife recognizes the comb, tells her husband to hand the handkerchief, with its help he flies to his wife; after a while she sends her husband and son to the ground in a drum tied by a rope, promising to ask Buddha for permission to marry a mortal; in the middle between earth and sky, the torons began to peck at the rice grains on the drum; fairy maids took this as a sign that those who descended reached the ground, cut the rope; father and son fell into the sea, died; as punishment, Phat Ba turned the fairy into a Morning Star; the husband became an Evening Star; every year in On the 15th day of the 7th month, maids make a sacrifice, and the vorons form a chain so that the couple and their son can get together and meet; therefore, crows have a bald head; on this day somewhere a funeral ceremony is mandatory; the Morning and Evening Stars are always eager to meet]: 123-126; (cf. Thais [the niece of heavenly king Phra In (Indra) chose a shepherd as her husband; her father sent her to earth; sent Raven to tell the Raven that the couple should meet every seven days so that his wife there was time to spin and weave; the Raven met Vulture, was frightened, lost the letter; wrote a new one, writing in it that she was told to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month; Phra In punished her that this day she loses all her feathers; turned her lovers into stars, they meet once a year]: Vathanaprida 1994:105-108).
China - Korea. Koreans [the king's daughter is Jinknyeo (Weaver), her father married her to Kyeonoo, a good shepherd; then he got angry with the young, sent his son-in-law east, daughter to the west; their tears cause heavy rains; they can to meet once a year on July 7, after which the rains stop; for this purpose, the crow and forty make a bridge out of their bodies; their heads are bald, as the Shepherd (Altair) and the Weaver (Vega) are stepping on them]: Choi 1979, no. 723:315; Chinese (ancient to modern times): Riftin 1972 [Nyu-lan's younger single brother works hard, the older married man eats well; the ox suggests that N. break the plow, plough, plough handle, plough, plough handle, return home early, eat what is cooked; the elder offers to share, the ox tells N. to take only him, the ox, to go south; says that on the seventh day of the seventh moon, the Southern Gate of Heaven, granddaughters, will open Wan-mu will arrive to wash clothes; the seventh from the west side is Zhi-nyu; N. hides her clothes, C. becomes his wife, her sisters fly away as doves; when her daughter is 6 years old and her son 3 C. offers N. return her clothes; N. returns, C. flies away; the ox tells him to slaughter, burn his bones, put on his skin, take his son and daughter in baskets; the guards of the heavenly gate (gold, silver lions, devil) say, I am the husband of your seventh aunt, and these are her children; you need to identify your wife among seven girls in the house; you have to let my son go, he will rush to suck his mother's breast; father-in-law suggests 1) hide; C. says that her father will first become a bug, then an apple in the chest; when it's N.'s turn to hide, C. turns him into a needle, her father-in-law does not find it; 2) race; you have to throw red seeds and sticks behind for food, father-in-law picks them up; at the end throw the hairpin in front of him; N. throws behind, a heavenly river appears; wife, children, mother-in-law remain on the other side; on the seventh day of the seventh moon, all birds rise to the sky, mother-in-law pulls a feather from each, builds a bridge from feathers - the Milky Way; N. (Volopas) and C. (Weaver); on the sixteenth day, C. returns, during which time he washes all the dishes (each item numbered 360), washes, darns the sky, an-mu's granddaughters will arrive to wash clothes; gray from the west]: 294-303; Wilhelm 1921, No. 16 [The shepherd (Kuhhirt) always has well-fed cows; in the mountains, a cow tells him that this evening nine daughters of the Jade Emperor are swimming in the sky; the seventh is spinning cloud silk for the Heavenly Lord and his wife, so she is the Weaver (die Spinnerin); the one who hides her clothes will become her husband; the cow brings the Shepherd to heaven, there are jade trees, jasper grass; the Shepherd hides the red The Weaver's robe; she agrees when, on the advice of a cow, asks willow if she can marry; willow replies that yes, it is the seventh evening; seven days later, the Weaver runs away to prepare clothes for Heavenly Lords; The Shepherd pursues, but she draws a line across the sky with a hairpin (Haarpfeile), a heavenly River, the Milky Way, appears; every seventh evening they meet again, at which time crows are not visible on earth, they all form a bridge across the heavenly river; the rain at this time is the tears of the Shepherd and the Weaver; once the Shepherd was angry at the Weaver that she did not cross him, threw a yoke at her; it can be seen in the form of stars under Weaver's feet; she also threw a spindle at him, it's under his feet]: 31-34; Williams 1974 [story by philosopher Huai Nan Tzu; "shepherd Ch'ien Niu (cow shepherd, Altair) and Chih Nü (maiden who spins, Vega) went down to earth, met, got married; returning to heaven, they did only each other, quit their jobs; the ruler and ruler of Heaven decided to separate them; their ruler a silver pin drew a line between them - the Milky Way, the river; the ruler took pity, allowed them to meet every seventh day of the seventh month; magpies make a bridge of their bodies in the morning of this day; tears lovers are the heavy rain that falls at this time"; two stars next to Vega are her children from Altair; Yangtze is the earthly extension of the Milky Way, whose waters become dirty when in contact with with earth; The spinning maiden is the patron saint of embroidery and weaving]: 373-374.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Khalkha Mongols: Beningsen 1912 (Dunsurun) [Tushmyra's clever son (ST) is friends with Khan's stupid son (SC); heard that people want to kill the Soviet Union and persuade Khan to appoint him heir to the ST; reports this to a friend, they run; Chutkur children cannot share an invisible hat; ST suggests giving it to the first to reach the tree and back; covered with a cloak and wearing a hat on top, disappears with the CX; the same with girls who are shulms (friends get a pair of flying gold and silver shoes each); in the forest, CX falls asleep, and ST sees people who tried to find the treasure at night and left in the morning; under white and under black Friends found silver and gold, silver and goldfish with stones; then they eavesdrop that the king will be chosen by someone who will vomit goldfish and silverfish; friends showed fish, both were offered to become kings, but ST refused; the new khan got the young widow of the former king; she never combs her hair in front of her husband and his friend; ST watches; Khatun went out at midnight and flew away; in the cave her lover blackbearded Dam Dargie; promises to strangle her husband in three days; they play checkers; when they return, ST advises CX to play checkers with his wife, mentioning the name of King Chutkur DD; say that he plays worse than him; Khatun is excited DD complains; in the morning, ST advises the CX to beat his wife with a whip so that she gets up early; the next day, an iron loop descended into the CX yurt, but ST cut it off; DD promises to fly as an eagle; ST throws the eagle into the fire; only Khatun snatched him out with forceps; DD wants to drive his mistress away, but she begged to be allowed to meet him at least once a month; DD and Khatun meet when the moon comes close to the Pleiades; DD is on moon, khatun on the Pleiades]: 26-32; Potanin 1983, No. 11 [Burkhan-bakshi sends the Cuckoo every summer to find out what bread is; back the Cuckoo returns over the heads of forty, who stand next to each other and they form a bridge; that's why their feathers on the crown are wiped off in the seventh moon]: 349.