K100H. Test of Gratitude, ATU 751C*.
.12.-.17.23.27.-.29.31.
The character satisfies the wishes of each of several men, and later visits them again. Most are ungrateful and drive him away. In response, the character deprives them of what they have gained.
Mosi, Sudanese Arabs, Egyptian Arabs, Maltese, Italians (Tuscany), Flemish, French (Upper Brittany), Qatar, Arabs (?) Iraq, chemical plowmen, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Romanians, (Gagauz), Russians (Vologda), Western and Eastern Ukrainians, Belarusians, Ossetians, Georgians (Rachins), Svans, Latvians, Lithuanians, Finns.
West Africa. Moshi [a poor orphan, a blind man, and a leper came to Wende; the first asked to get him out of poverty, the second to regain his sight, the third to restore his health; W. complied with the requests by hitting everyone with a whip; soon came to everyone under the guise of a beggar; the former blind and leper drove him away, and the rich orphan warmly received him, fed him, etc.; W. summoned three again, lost his sight again, and returned leprosy to the leper]: Tauxier 1917, No. 67:466-467.
Sudan - East Africa. Sudanese Arabs: El-Shamy 2004, No. 751C*: 412-413
North Africa. Egyptian Arabs: El-Shamy 2004, No. 751C*: 412-413
Southern Europe. The Maltese [in defiance of Christ's advice, St. Peter makes a poor woman rich; in the guise of a beggar, he comes to her palace to ask for food; a woman drives him away; loses everything]: Mifsud-Chircop 1978, № 751C*: 237 (the page number is hard to see); Italians ( Tuscany) [motive present]: Mifsud-Chircop 1978, no. 751C*: 237.
Western Europe. Flemish: Uther 2004 (1), No. 751C*: 404; French (Haute-Bretagne) [Lord, St. Peter and St. John set off in the guise of beggars to travel across the earth; a poor woman sheltered them for the night and fed them; when they left, St. Peter offered to reward the woman; the Lord warned that when she became rich, she was unlikely to remain as kind-hearted; a year later they came again; the woman became a wealthy peasant; called them idlers and offered to work better; sheltered them, but refused to feed them; in the morning she picked them up early and told them to go to work in the fields; began to beat St. Peter, but those who came continued to lie on the bed; hurried to work, thinking of bashing the one in the middle when she returned; the Lord invited St. Peter would change so that his mistress would not beat him again; in the end he received him again with a stick; then with St. Peter was replaced by St. John; the hostess began to beat the one who was closer to the wall; the Lord came to the current, threw the coal and blew, all the chaff separated from the grain; the hostess decided to do the same, her grain burned down; now she has begun to beg those who come for breakfast; Lord St. Petra: See, she'd rather be poor than rich]: Sébillot 1880, No. 53:317-319.
Western Asia. Arabs (?) Iraq, Qatar: El-Shamy 2004, No. 751C*: 412-413
South Asia. Himachali is a plowman [three brothers, they have a pear tree; each takes turns guarding it; the fairy comes three times, each brother shares pears; she rewards them with a promise to fulfill every wish ; the eldest wants a sorbet in the river instead of water, the middle wants the many pigeons living around him to become his sheep, the youngest wants a princess; the wishes of the first two are fulfilled immediately; the princess's father agrees to give to whom the planted vine will bring grapes on the third day; the young man's vine brings her; after a while the unrecognized fairy visits her brothers; the first two are rich and drive her away, she deprives them of their gifts; the youngest is friendly and generous; lives happily ever after with his wife]: Seethalakshmi 1960, No. 12:49-51.
The Balkans. Bulgarians [God tests the faith of three brothers whose prayers he fulfilled; the two eldest did not live up to his trust; he came to the youngest's house in the guise of an old man with festering wounds; he was warmly received; explained that only the flesh of a slaughtered and baked male child, the only one with his parents, could cure him; the couple decided to sacrifice their son; the child survived in the oven, and the coals turned into gold]: Rakhno 2014:52-53; Bulgarians [four brothers went to work; God took the image of an old man and went with them; one would like the water in the spring to turn into wine; the other would like the water in the spring to turn into wine; the second would like instead graves and two poplars, a pile of grain and oxen appeared; the third is for crows to become sheep; each explains that he wants to start his own business primarily to help the poor; God fulfills his desire everyone; comes to the wedding with the fourth; says that the bride should be given to the young man he brought; arguing: who will have a vine stuck in the ground and immediately bring grapes; God did it, those gathered for the wedding have dried up; after a while, God, in the form of an old beggar, visits those whom he has benefited; the first three refuse to shelter him; God turns wine into water, sheep into ravens etc.; the wife of the fourth takes care of the guest, but says that they are so poor that they bake cakes from manure; God turns cakes into bread; orders one of the children to be killed, baked and served to him; parents do; God tells you to open the stove; the child is alive and well, playing with golden apples, gold coins around; the couple got rich]: Leskien 1915, No. 21:87-93; Macedonians: Uther 2004 (1), No. 751C*: 404; Romanians [the poor man sends three sons to look for work; God meets him; the elder wants to become a priest, the middle one to have his own flock, the youngest to have a faithful wife; after a while God is in guise The elder comes to check how grateful the beneficiaries are; the priest did not let him into church, the shepherd drove him away with dogs; only his younger brother received the guest, although his house was empty; God met St. Peter and they are back again; Peter sees the priest turned into a horse and gives it to the gypsy to carry coal; the shepherd hid the money in a hollow, found it and took it away by the gypsies; the poor neighbor did not even give straw put it under his head; at night, the neighbor's house burned down; when leaving, God advises the poor man to pour coals into the corner of the barn for the night; cattle there in the morning; the neighbor also poured out the coals - the stable burned down]: Bîrlea 1966:460; (? Gagauz people []: Anikin 1985:92-96).
Central Europe. Russians (Vologda), Ukrainians (Ugric Russia, Transcarpathia, Galicia, Kievskaya), Belarusians (Dobrovolsky 6:306-307) [There is no truth in wealth: a good poor man gets wealth, becomes stingy and drives away the poor]: SUS 1979, No. 751C*: 187; Eastern Ukrainians (Kiev): Rakhno 2014:51-52 (Kanevsky University, p. Dudari, recording by P. Chubinsky) [three orphan brothers went to work; the old man offered them to be their foster father; married; the eldest wanted to have oxen and cows, the middle one wanted to have a mill and a pond, the youngest wanted to give birth to him bread; then he would not forget God and help the poor; the grandfather went around the world, and he was God; he came to his older brother, begged for alms, he refused; the old man looked at his house and household - everything broke out and burned down; the same with the average (did not give flour, the mill burned down); the youngest took it to his house; after learning that the old man's fatal illness can be cured if you bake the child, the mother put him in a frying pan and I put it in the oven; when I opened it, the child is safe there, playing; old man: God gave it for not forgetting the poor], 52 (Zvenigorodsky y.) [three comrades; one wanted a herd, the second wanted an apiary, the third a wife with whom he would live in harmony; God gave everyone; came with the apostles to check hospitality; the first two refused, the sheep became daws , the hives with stones; the third's wife disguised God from rags into a white shirt; the old people asked to donate the child to them; the wife left him overnight in the melted oven; in the morning he plays there with chervonets].
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Ossetians [Uastyrji, in the form of an old man, promised three brothers working in the field to fulfill their wishes; the eldest wished them a great harvest, the middle wished herds, the youngest, on the advice of his mother's brother, a good wife and hostess; W. brought him to the wedding, saying that this girl should be his wife, not who she is now marrying; let him be the first to warm up from the glass in the old man's hands (and intended for the groom); this was successful, a dispute began - who is the real groom; W. ordered both to stick a dry branch into the ash of the hearth and cook a rooster; who will have a branch green and the rooster will jump out of the cauldron alive, this is the real groom; he turned out to be a young man whom W. patronized, he got a wife; a year later, unrecognized W. came to test the brothers; the first two refused to give grain and meat, W. turned them into stone ; to the youngest, the imaginary beggar said that he would be cured if someone stabbed his child and he rubbed his blood; the couple agreed; W. took out the boy's heart, rubbed his blood; the imaginary beggar was younger, and the child came to life]: Miller 1881, No. 16:156-158; Georgians (Rachins) [three poor brothers went to look for food; an old man comes out to meet everyone; the elder asks for a large field, a house, a herd of sheep; the middle one house, horses, bulls, wife; the youngest is a house, two horses, one boat {forgot what it is}, a wife; everything appeared, but the wife is not; old man: she is now marrying another, I'll go take it away; brought a poor brother to that house , he sat next to the bride; the audience decided - let the old man judge who is the groom; the old man: let everyone throw a vine that blooms in the fire into the fire is the real husband; the poor man's vine has blossomed, he got a girl; later the old man comes to each of the brothers disguised as a beggar; the older and middle chase him; the youngest's wife sends him a horse, she falls dead as soon as the old man sits on her; the same a second horse and a boat; the wife brings the old man into the house herself; sent her son to the cellar for wine, who slipped and drowned in wine; so to each of the three sons; out of respect for the guest, the woman did not say anything; children and animals came to life, a lot of good things appeared in the house; and the older brothers became poor again; the old man was Jesus Christ himself]: Lominadze 1892, No. 1:24-27; Svana [the elder brother got the house, the middle brother got the house, the middle brother got the house land and forest, the youngest - lamb and a pound of incense; he lit frankincense on mountain; George and the Savior went down, asked their younger brother, took the lamb to heaven and cooked it for God; after eating, God gathered the bones, kicked them, turned them into a cash cow, and a calf next to them; George and the Savior took it to the man; George advised to pray to the Savior for a wife; George and the Savior, in the guise of old people, came to king, where there are two suitors: one with a golden beard and the other with a gold tassel; the king orders to beat and drive the old men, but G. broke the door; king: let both grooms and your friend (i.e. that third brother) throw into the fire hats: whoever comes out of the fire bound in gold will take the king's daughter; the poor man's hat is in gold; king: let everyone stick a vine in the firewood: whoever takes roots and bears fruit, he will marry; the poor man won again ; king: no, let the daughter give the chosen one a goblet; she gave a golden beard, attacked a golden brush, tied it to a tree; G. untied it, they killed each other, the woman went to the poor man; G. gave a towel, it turned into a house and a banshue, flour in bins, wine in jugs; G. and the Savior persuaded God to give their spouses two children; under the guise of beggars, they came to man; his wife secretly let them in; the sons went after with wine, they drowned; the wife did not show it, but the man began to grieve; G.: this is your punishment that you did not want to let the poor in; revived the children; God decided to destroy all the fields with hail, and G. warned that man and he compressed everything in advance; G. persuaded God not to burn the human economy]: Nizheradze 1890, No. 2:176-187.
Baltoscandia. Latvians [poor people welcome the traveler; he gives them a palace; a year later, the palace owners drive the wanderer away; a lake appears on the site of the palace]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 751C* (1): 318; Lithuanians (Kerbelite), Finns: Uther 2004 (1), No 751C*: 404