D4aa. A butterfly tries to steal fire .14.29.33.34.
Night butterflies are trying to carry away the fire that humans own.
Algerian Arabs, Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Kazakhs (eastern Kazakhstan, Mongolia), Tuvans, Tofalars, Darkhats, Buryats, Khalkha Mongols, Uzemchins (immigrants from Inner Mongolia).
North Africa. The Arabs of Algeria (Tiaret Plateau) [moths marry the princess; she promised to marry the one who would bring her fire; so at night, moths fly to the fire and die]: Aceval 2005, No. 124:144.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Crimean Tatars [a moth flies into a candle only because the devil sends it for fire]: Kondaraki 1875:147; Armenians [1) a moth flew to marry Satan's daughter; Satan ordered to bring splint; the moth began to circle around the splint, burned down; since then the moths have been flying to the fire; 2) the king promises to give his daughter for the one who would bring unquenchable fire; but all the daredevils fell into the fire and burned; butterflies, circling around the fire, and there are suitors of the royal daughter]: Harutyunyan 2007:48.
Turkestan. Kazakhs - oralmans ("returnees"; immigrants from Western Mongolia living in Pavlodar region. Kazakhstan) [The informant remembers that when she was little, they were sitting around the fire, and a night butterfly (devils of fillies) flew in. Her great-grandfather killed her. The informant asked "Why?" "Because Satan sent her to bring fire and to burn the butterfly in it"]: Arkhipova 2011:75.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Tuvans [four brothers Gadfly, Wasp, Night Butterfly and Oriole needed an ox, a drover man, fire to migrate; the gadfly began to chase the ox and still does so, the wasp is spinning above the man, the night butterfly flew to pick up the fire and was unable to fly away, the oriole began screaming at night, calling the brothers]: Calzan 1964:139-140 (=Taube 1978, No. 23:49-50); tofalars [hell sends moth to man to steal his fire; a man caught a moth, snatched his tongue so that the moth would not run with the devil; a moth flies to hell, but cannot speak; Damn sent him again, moth falls into the fire; the Tofalars say that the moth flies into the fire because it contacted the devil [Sherkhunaev 1975:240-263]; the Khalkha-Mongols [1) sent a butterfly from the country of the Chutghurs (Chutguriin ornoos), for her to bring fire. The butterfly can't pick up the fire and burns; 2) the chutgur sent butterflies to steal the fire. So when a butterfly sees fire, it wants to steal it; 3) a butterfly was sent from the land of the Chutghurns (Chutgurn Gazar) to put out the Buddha's candle (burkhny zul); 4) Damn sent the butterfly to our ground for her to bring fire. Therefore, butterflies rush to candles, to the fire and die]: Arkhipova 2011:75-76; Uzumchin Mongols (Uzumchins; Eastern Aimak of Mongolia, immigrants from the Shilin-Gol aimag of Inner Mongolia; a subgroup of southern Mongols and specifically chakhars, who are closer in language to the Khalkha than to the Oirats) [Chutgur Erlik Khan sent a moth (erveekhiy) to steal the fire; he tries and tries, cannot say chutguru, that this is impossible; they said: "put out the candle because the chutguriin ervaehiy is flying"; they were not killed on purpose, but they were not loved]: Arkhipova 2011:76-77; darkhats [Chutgur sent a butterfly for fire. The butterfly cannot bring fire, it burns in this fire]: Arkhipova 2011:76; Buryats (immigrants from Russia to Mongolia) [they said the butterfly came for fire; heard it since childhood; such a butterfly was called Udagan ervaechia; we were little then, we ran to kill such butterflies because she came to steal the fire]: Arkhipova 2011:77; (cf. The Mongols [the inhabitants of the sky owned the fire; sent the Swallow, she grabbed the fire from the hearth, the hostess managed to hit her tail with coal tongs, the tail remained forked, the Swallow brought fire to Earth; residents of the Lower World sent a moth to earth for fire; he pinched off blue fire from smoldering coals, since then the inhabitants of the Lower World have blue fire; {based on the materials of the Russian State University for the Humanities expedition under led by S.Yu. Neklyudov, the Mongols do not have this story and have no idea about the "inhabitants of the sky"; perhaps the recording was made in Mongolia, but not among the Mongols}]: Skorodumova 2003:34-35).