H7d. Death and a bundle of firewood, ATU 845. .15.-.17.23.27.-.32.
A person calls on Death, and when she comes, he asks her to help him pick up a bunch of firewood or carry a cart of firewood.
Italians, (Basques), Irish, French, Flemish, Germans, Frisians, Arameans, Nepal, Tamils, Ancient Greece, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Slovenes, Czechs, Russian written tradition, Russians ( Arkhangelsk, Bashkiria, Voronezh), Georgians, Pashtuns, Uzbeks, Latvians, Lithuanians, Finns, Karelians, Bashkirs.
Southern Europe. Italians [an old man carries a load of firewood, calls Death; she appears, he asks her to help carry the carts]: Uther 2004 (1), No. 845:476; (cf. Basques [{in Uther 2004 this text is mentioned as Spanish and meets the definition of plot 840, which is wrong}; the man who brought salt to the village is exhausted by the witches who destroyed his house; calls Death; when she appeared, he decided not to die]: Camarena, Chevalier 2003, No. 845:336-337).
Western Europe. Irish, French, Flemish, Germans (Bavaria (and probably somewhere else)), Friezes [the old man pulls a load of firewood, calls Death; she shows up, he asks her for help drag the cart]: Uther 2004 (1), No. 845:476.
Western Asia. Aramei [exhausted under the weight of a bunch of firewood, the man calls for death; Death asks what he needs; he asks for help lifting the bundle and putting it on his back]: Belov, Wilsker 1960:152 (= 1972:362).
South Asia. Nepal [The old man and Death; {ethnicity and the specific content of the text are not known}]: Jason 1989, No. 845:35; Tamils [an elderly woodcutter calls on Ema-Tutha (death messenger); that {or a person with this name - not clear from the text} appears and asks why his name was; woodcutter: please help me put a bunch of firewood on my back]: Robinson 1885, No. 15:38.
The Balkans. Ancient Greece: Gasparov 1968, No. 60 ["The old man once cut wood and dragged it on himself; the journey was long, tired of walking, threw off his burden and began to beg for death. Death came and asked why he called her. "I want you to lift this burden for me," said the old man. The fable shows that every person loves life, no matter how unhappy they are"]: 81; Perry 1965, No. 60 [The Old Man and Death: An old man plodding wearily along the road with a load of wood on his back throws down his burden in despair and calls upon Death to come to him. Immediately Death appears in person and asks the old man why he had summoned him. "In order," replies the old man, "that you may lift up this burden for me"]: 431); Hungarians, Slovenes [the old man drags a cart of firewood, calls Death; she appears, he asks her to help carry the cart]: Uther 2004 (1), No. 845:476; Bulgarians (the plot is mostly in written tradition) [an old man or an old woman drags a bunch of firewood and calls Death out of fatigue; when she appears, he asks her to help carry firewood]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, No. 845:299.
Central Europe. Czechs [the old man carries a load of firewood, calls Death; she appears, he asks her to help carry the cart]: Uther 2004 (1), No. 845:476; Russian written tradition: Tarkovsky, Tarkovskaya 2005, No. 18, 143 ["Proverbs, or Fabulous, by Jesop Frigi" by Fyodor Gozvinsky (1607, more than 20 copies of the 17th - early 18th centuries, including The Book Verb Jesop), which are a translation of the younger edition of fables Aesop, published circa 1479. Bon Accurus in Milan: the old man was carrying firewood, tired, put it on the ground and began to call for death; death came and asked why he called her; the old man was frightened and said to her, "to take this burden of firewood on him I laid the frame" (options: "And yes, bear my burden", "In order to take the burden of firewood and put it on your frame"); No. 101 ["The Spectacle of Human Life" by A.A. Vinius (1674, dozens lists of the last quarter of the 17th century, a printed edition of 1712, read and rewritten in the same 18th century), which is a translation and retelling of the collection of fables "Theatrum Morum", published by E. Sadeler in 1608 in Prague in German: the old man was walking with a heavy load on his shoulder, tired, calling for death; she appeared in front of him with her gun; the old man was frightened and said: "Not for the sake of praying, yes kidnap me. But may he also do me mercy, and in my difficult difficulties I will be able to bear the burden"]; No. 122 ["Jesop" by Simbirsk captain Pyotr Kashinsky (1675, out of two that have survived to us one of the lists dates from 1684 and the other to the first third of the 18th century), which consists of three books and is a free translation of fables from the collection "Przypowieśći Aezopowe, z Łacińskiego na Polskie z pilnośćiů przełozone. Przydane sů k temu przypowieśći z Gabryela Greka y Laurenthego Abstemiusa", published in Krakow around 1600: the old man carrying firewood from the forest was tired and began to call for death; when she appeared and asked why he called her, the old man said, "to be raised on his shoulder first" (Book 1: "The Parable of Jesop Franzky")]; No. 14 ["Wise Lochmon has amazing warehouses and examples" (the last third of the 17th century, at least two lists - the end of the 17th century and the first quarter of the 18th century), which are a translation of Saadi's Persianisches Rosenthal, published by A. Oleary in 1647 in Schleswig: a man was carrying heavy firewood, was tired, threw it off his shoulders and said that he would like death to come; she immediately appeared before him and asked what he wanted from it; the man replied: "I just clicked you to come and help me put firewood on my shoulder. But how do I not need you"]: 217, 255, 263, 348, 401, 447; Russians (Arkhangelsk, Bashkiria, Voronezh) [Old Man (Old Woman) and Death: An Exhausted Old Man Asks for Death; When Death appears on the call, he asks for help with the load or, conversely, refuses help]: SUS 1979, No. 845:215.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Georgians (1 entry) [a tired old man calls death; when Death comes, he asks her to help carry the burden]: Kurdovanidze 2000, No. 845:70.
Iran - Central Asia. Pashtuns [tired, the old man throws a bunch of brushwood on the ground, expresses a desire to be cleaned by Azrail; A. appears, the old man asks for help to put brushwood on his back]: Lebedev 1955:146; Uzbeks: Stein 1991 in Uther 2004 (1), No. 845:475-476.
Baltoscandia. Latvians: Arys 1968 [the old man drags a bunch of brushwood, laments if death would come soon; Death appears, asks what he wanted; the old man asks her to help carry the bundle]: 300-400; Aris, Medne 1977, No. 845 [The Old Man and Death. The old man, carrying brushwood, calls for death because it is very difficult for him. But when death comes, the old man, frightened, asks her to raise a bunch of brushwood on his shoulders]: 327; Lithuanians, Finns, Karelians: Uther 2004 (1), No. 845:476.
Volga - Perm. The Bashkirs [Kuntoir squandered his property; went to buy firewood, unable to raise a bunch; "Why doesn't Azhal (death) take my soul?" Too bad: why did you call me? - Help put the bundle on his shoulders; next time K. got lost, called A. to help him get out; K. stuffed it into the hollow of an elm tree and sealed the hole; he was decrepit, decided to die, opened the hollow, but A. ran away ]: Barag 1992, No. 47:97-98