H7G. Life is like a candle. .15.-.17.28.

A person sees a lot of burning candles or lamps. When one of them burns out, one person dies.

Corsicans, Sardinians, Maltese, Aragon, Spanish, Portuguese, Ladins, Dutch, Germans (Pomerania), Palestinians, Luzhitans.

Southern Europe. Aragon [for various reasons (a pact with the devil or with a saint), in exchange for fulfilling his wish, agrees to die as soon as the log or candle that is currently burning burns out; then extinguishes the log (candle) and hopes that he will live forever; when he is tired of living, he himself asks to burn the log (candle)]: Gonz√°lez Sanz 1996, No. 1187:108-109; Sardinians: Cirese, Serafini 1975, No. 1187:268; Spaniards, Ladins: Uther 2004 (2), No. 1187:68; Corsicans [Headache, Colic, and Death decided to demand that the farmer give them a ram; the first one popped into his head, but he put his head under the cold water, the pain went away; the colic settled in his chest, but the peasant sat between two fires, Colic escaped the heat; the peasant was going to give the ram to death, but asked if she could to prolong his life; she brought him to a place where many candles were burning, showed his candle; when he found out that Death was unable to prolong the burning of the candle, the farmer did not give her the ram either]: Massignon 1984, No. 54:131 ; Maltese [the poor man meets Death in the image of an ugly old woman; she gives him the ability to see if she is at the head of the patient, and then he will die, or in the legs, and then he will recover; the poor man becomes a famous healer, gets rich; Death shows him a lot of candles, each of them the life of a person; a person sees that his candle (lamp) is about to go out; or tries to add oil from his wife's and children's lamps; Death blames him, he dies]: Mifsud-Chircop 1978, No. 332:88-89; Spaniards [the day laborer decides to take the first person as godson will meet on the road; this is Death; the boy has studied to be a doctor; Death the goddaughter gives him a blade of grass; he will cure everyone if he sees that Death is in their heads; if in his legs, he cannot be treated, the patient must die; the young man violates the ban three times; the first two times, when a young man is flattered by money and heals the rich, Death forgives; the second time he heals the princess promised to him as his wife; Death brings him into the room, where the candles burn, asks to find yours; it's a stump, it goes out, the young man dies], 167-170 [Aunt Poverty and her son Hunger have Tarro's dog; boys steal their pears; the aunt is kind to the wanderer; he fulfills her wish - so that the person who climbed the pear cannot get off without her permission; the boys stick, the aunt beats them; Death comes with a scythe; the aunt asks to pick her pears, Death sticks; the old people can't die suffer; they ask Poverty to break the spell; she removes on the condition that Death will not come to her and her son without her permission]: Malinovskaya 2002:79-81; Portuguese [Meleagr. Man in Heaven: Permission to Live Before the Candle Lights Out]: Cardigos 2006, No. 1187:265; the Portuguese [the poor man chose Death as his godmother because he is more just than God and the devil; Death gives the poor person or his son the ability to see her at the patient's bedside and, accordingly, determine whether he will recover or die; this doctor deceives Death without completing Our Father, which he was allowed to read before death, or by unfolding the bed; or a person changes clothes and disguises himself, but Death cannot be carried out; Death provokes a person to finish a prayer or by extinguishing his candle/lamp when leads to a place where each candle corresponds to one person's life]: Cardigos 2006, No. 332:83; ladins [during the wedding, the groom went to invite the godfather to a banquet; to meet a person offered to go together, but they turned back to the church, went through a door, and down a long aisle they came to a beautifully decorated church with lots of burning candles; the companion showed the groom his candle - she is already burning out; he went back into the yard in fear; it turned out that he had been away for a hundred years and died the next morning as a very old man]: Decurtins, Brunold-Bigler 2002, No. 104:270-271.

Western Europe. The Dutch [when the lumberjack had his 13th child, he was glad that Death offered him to grow up; the boy went to better schools; Death made him a healer; if he saw her at his feet the patient will definitely die, and if at the head, he will recover; when the king and the young man fell ill and saw Death at the foot of the bed, he told her bed to turn; Death became furious, brought the young man to himself and showed burning oil lamps: he only has a week to live; but as soon as Death turned away, the young man grabbed his lamp and returned to the ground; he regularly adds oil to it and is still alive]: Soer 1979:67-69; Germans (Pomerania) [when the poor man had his 24th child, the father cannot find a godfather; he met Death {mr.} and she agreed to be a godmother; let the boy become a doctor; he can see her at the patient's bedside; if in the heads, the patient will die, if in his legs, he will survive; the young man grew up, became a famous doctor and became rich; one day a dying count ate him a lot of money and the doctor told him unfold the bed; the count recovered; Death came in and said that he would now take him away for deception; the young man asked permission to read the prayer first, but after "someone like you are in heaven" he stopped; Death is gone saying that her godson had deceived her again; one day the doctor came across a dying beggar and he asked him to pray for him; when the doctor said, Amen! , the beggar jumped up; it turned out to be Death; she brought the doctor into the mountain where candles were burning {or lamps: Die Lebenslichter allen Menschen}; the doctor's candle glows slightly and flickers; Death: you had a long life, but you gave it to that count; the doctor tried to replace his candle with some child's candle, but didn't have time: his own went out]: Jahn 1893, No. 9:61-63.

Western Asia. Palestinians: Hanauer 2009 [Allah consistently sends three angels to bring a handful of dust from the earth; each time the earth groans and shudders; two good angels fail to carry out the commission; Azrael performs, is appointed to gather people's souls; exiled to earth for transgressions, works as a healer; when he dies, he teaches his son: if he sees him in the patient's heads, then the patient will die, and if in his legs, will recover; the son became famous and rich; one day, a rich man, to whom he told him that there was no hope, begged him, promising a reward; the doctor told him to turn the bed, but A. was in his heads every time; Then the son said to him: Dad seems to be coming; A. has disappeared, the rich man has recovered, but the doctor has lost his ability to see the angel of death; A. came to his son, about to take his soul; before that he showed the lamps which contain different amounts of oil; when he saw his own, the son tried to add oil to it, but knocked over the jug and died]: 159-164; Spoer 1928 [Headache, Fever, Death approach the shepherd; he promises to bring victims to them if they help him; the first two explain how to relieve headaches, fever; Death leads to the lower world, shows burning bowls of butter; the fire in the shepherd's bowl is almost out; the shepherd asks add oil, but Death says she can't do it, she obeys God's messenger Azrail; once on earth, the shepherd refuses to make sacrifices; the three go away]: 115-117.

Central Europe. Luzhitans [when the 24th child was born, the father cannot find a godfather; he met a person and he agreed; promised to help: let the person become a doctor and if he sees him at the head of the bed the patient will say that the patient will die, and if in his legs, let him treat him, the patient will recover in every way; one day a person saw a patient in the heads of a patient who paid well and was a friend; therefore, he unfolded his bed; the next day that man brought the doctor into the hall, where many candles were burning; each was someone's life; the man who was Death showed the doctor a dying candle; if he hadn't deceived him, if I unfolded the bed, I would live for a long time; the candle burned out and the man died]: Veckenstedt 1880, No. 23.1:341-342.