F57. Persephone, ATU 425E. (.15.31.)

A girl or her father (rarely a mother) picks a plant (usually a flower) and as a result runs into a character who looks inhuman and/or lives in the lower world. The girl becomes the character's wife. In some cases, a plucked plant is the character's hair, but in most cases there is no direct association of this kind.

Spaniards [rosemary is the character's beard], Italians (Piedmont, Umbria, Abruzzo [cabbage - hair], Calabria [cabbage is the door of the house], Puglia), Lithuanians.

Southern Europe. Spaniards (Ciudad Real) [the poor man has three daughters, one dress for three; he goes for brushwood, picks rosemary, hears a voice: who is dragging me by the beard? the door opens, someone asks him to bring his daughter, gives clothes, offers to eat 3 nuts and 2 figs; the father brings the eldest daughter, who eats two nuts out of three, her voice sends her; the same with the middle daughter; the youngest gives two out of three to her father, asks her to stay; her husband is with her at night, but she does not see him; she asked for time off for her sister's wedding, her husband tells her not to tell anything, not to kiss anyone; then to her father's funeral; there she kissed her aunt, who asked her, advised her to light a candle at night; a drop of wax woke her husband up, he says that in two days the spell would be broken, teaches her to find him, not to be afraid of animals along the way, choose a room by the road for the night; she gave birth, her husband's mother praised the child, her husband's crocodile skin came off, everything is fine]: Camarena, Chevalier 1995, No. 425E: 253-258; Italians (Piedmont, Monferrato, 1869) [the girl, having pulled a head of cabbage out of the garden, found a room under him; went down to the snake room; he promised to make her happy if she kissed him and slept with him; the girl agreed; Three months later, the snake has human legs, then a man's body, and finally the face of a beautiful queen; he marries a girl]: Aprile 2000, No. 425E: 726; Gubernatis 1872 (2): 418; 1874 (3): 660; Italians (Lombardy: Pavia) [poor father of 5 daughters began to pull turnips out of the ground, fell down, oimé exclaimed! (Oh!) ; a monster appeared - a half-frog half-human, his name is Oime; tells him to give him his daughter no later than a year later; gives him a purse of money; the youngest daughter comes to the underground palace; the monster gives her a sleepy drink so that she did not know who she was with at night; her father comes to her and advises her not to drink the potion; in the evening, O. asks the lamp if the girl is awake, she replies that yes; the girl is in the forest with her born as a baby; comes to another country, she was put in a barn; the monster finds her, the spell dissipates; both end up in the garden where turnips grew, the girl's husband turns out to be a wonderful young man]: Aprile 2000:427; Italians (Umbria: Castel Viscardo, 1969) [after picking the chicory, the father of three daughters exclaims: "oimè" ("Oh!") ; a serpent appears, demands one of his daughters as his wife; the youngest agrees and goes with the snake in an underground palace; her husband is a serpent during the day and the king's son at night; the king himself languishes in detention with sorcerers ; the girl opens three rooms in which she discovers three women preparing everything she needs for the newborn; after giving birth to a son, the girl must leave the palace; with her what is prepared for the baby, and the ball she comes to Rome for, where she is allowed into the royal palace]: Aprile 2000:731; Italians (Abruzzo, Penne, 1969) [a woman picks a head of cabbage; a snake underneath it; he complains that she tore out his hair; receives a woman's daughter as compensation; at night, a serpent turns into a human]: Aprile 2000:731; Italians (Calabria, Portosalvo, 1957) [after plucking a head of cabbage, a girl goes down to the underground palace; there is a serpent, she stays with him; he asks her to go to the king to ask permission to spend the night "for the soul of the son he lost"; at night the serpent sings a lullaby to the sleeper to the baby; the ladies of the court hear him; he tells the girl that time is up and the next day he will become a bird; but witchcraft can be destroyed if she cuts off his wings; the girl succeeds, husband turns into a beautiful young man; the courtiers recognized him as the royal son]: Aprile 2000:736; Italians (Calabria, Vallelonga, 1955) [a father with 7 daughters comes to the garden; plucks a head of cabbage; the bird says that this is the door of his house, demands that his daughter be given to him; the seventh agrees; the mother visits her and gives advice; the bird turns into a young man; the girl opens the forbidden room; witchcraft will dissipate if roosters will not sing in the morning and the stars will not give off light; a girl comes to live in the royal palace; the extermination of roosters]: Aprile 2000:736; Italians (Puglia: Galatone, 1969) [girl rips chicory, there is a hole under it; when she goes underground, she meets a snake; this is an enchanted prince, at night he turns into a handsome young man; gives birth to a son, his father takes care of him; after sleeping three days and three nights in a row, a girl helps her husband get rid of the spell]: Aprile 2000:739; Sardinians []: Aprile 2000:740.

Baltoscandia. Lithuanians (Zemaites) [King Dibinskis has only daughter; everyone gathered for church in the morning; the daughter, without telling anyone, ran to the garden to tear the grass; the one she tore was not good for her, and not the right one it was; without waiting for the girl, people went to church; appeared and wrapped around the girl's neck; demands to marry him, otherwise he threatens to strangle him; parents had to agree; he crawled away; the king placed the soldiers around the court and ordered, ordered the snake to be chopped when it appeared, the bride disappeared into the basement; the warriors could not kill the snakes, the basement doors opened themselves, the priest married the snake to the royal one; We lay down together in the evening; he began to rub and, taking off his skin, turned into a young man; Why am I torturing you? I'm bewitched and you will be as royal; That's where you disappeared]: Daukantas 1984, No. 487:58-59, No. 487.