K154. The inscription on the skull .13.23.27.29.30.32.33.

A man finds a skull with a mysterious and dark prophecy written on it. Then it turns out what it means.

Kordofan, Tamils, Bosnians, Serbs, Greeks, Crimean Tatars, Adygs, Balkarians, Nogais, Armenians, Persians, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks.

Sudan - East Africa. Kordofan (language not specified) [the fakir was walking through the desert, saw a skull; it says: he killed 14 people during his lifetime, I will kill 14 more after death; the fakir brought the skull home to destroy it; told his daughter grind the skull into flour; to check if she had crushed the skull thinly, the girl tried a pinch on her tongue; the fakir scattered the bone meal downwind: he would not kill anyone else; the girl became pregnant; the fakir I wanted to kill my daughter, but the doctor confirmed that she was a virgin, although pregnant; when the boy was born, he came to the garden, there was a tower, a rope hung from the window, and sleeping warriors around; a boy climbed into the room on a rope; there is a woman, she has a man's head on her lap, she combs it to make a woman's hairstyle; woman to man: when I dress you up as a woman, everyone will accept you for my maid; remembering everything, the boy returned to himself; that woman's husband dreams that he has grown a sweet melon, but a bird comes to peck at it; he called the fakirs to explain the dream; if after 5 days will not be answered, he executes them all; the boy asked his grandmother to persuade his grandfather to tell him why he is so concerned; let the grandfather tell the rich man that only a boy can solve the dream and bring him; boy He ordered him to be brought to the tower; pretended that his knife had been lost; let the rich man's wife and her maid also take off their clothes for inspection; the rich man saw that the imaginary maid was a man; the rich man ordered his wife to be executed, The maids and warriors who were supposed to guard the tower were 14 in total; the fakir understood the meaning of the inscription on the skull]: Frobenius 1923, No. 2:31-37.

South Asia. Tamils [the pandit knew many languages and could even read minds; came across a skull with a strange inscription: life is hard even when we died; brought it to him; the rumor spread, everyone became say that a pandita has a skull in his house; the local boss took the skull, powdered it and threw it into the river; now the pandit understands what could be worse if your skull was crushed into powder]: Blackburn 2005, #54; Ancient India [Persian "parrot stories" draw directly on an Indian prototype that already included a fairy tale of "fish laughter"; a similar version in Indian literature: Der Textus ornatior der Śukasaptati/kritisch hrsg. von R. Schmidt//Abhandlungen der Philosophisch-Philologischen Classe der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Bd. XXI, Abt. 2. München: Verlag der K. Akademie, 1898. Nos. 5-17. This story may be among the Seventy Tales of a Parrot from some other collection, as evidenced by the fact that it is about King Bikrmakir (Bakmagar) and his wife Kamjuy from cycle about Tsar Vikramaditya (Vikramark, Vikram) and Queen Kamakalik]: S.Yu. Neklyudov, personal report 25.09.2021.

The Balkans. Bosnians: Georgevitch 1918:58-59 (Sarajevo) [ballad "Death of Grozdana, Dusan's daughter"; Serbian king Stepan Dušan (1331-1355) hunted, got nothing; the horse scattered fallen leaves, the vizier Theodore noticed the skull and kicked it; the skull warns not to do so: the vizier is not a king, but he, the skull, was king and will be king again; S. ordered to take the skull, threw it into the fire, it is unharmed; then he bored the skull in powder, which he placed in a gold box; the next Easter, S. forgot to take the keys to his room; his daughter Grozdan went into it, found the box, smelled the contents and became pregnant; S. ordered hang his daughter on a dry olive tree, after which the olive was covered with fresh shoots; S. repented and buried G. with honor], 61-63 (Mount Majevitsa) ["How Tsar Constantine (Kostantin) was born"; returning from hunting, Tsar Jews saw a skull on the ground and kicked you with his foot; skull: don't kick, I will bring justice to you; the king took the skull, burned it, wrapped the powder in a rag and put it in a chest; the princess found a rag, smelled the powder and put it back; when she became pregnant and said that the powder caused the king to predict the skull, put his daughter on the ship and sent her to sea; she gave birth; the ship washed ashore; the son said that they should come to a place where evil fights evil; at the place where Istanbul is now, they saw a snake biting a thorny bush and its needles dug into its body; the young man decided that there was no need to go any further; to him Sickness {Plague} came, ordered her to be married and promised to build a city; he followed her on horseback, and the city wall rose behind him; but where he looked around, the wall did not grow, so he stayed open; the mother advised her son not to marry the Disease; he walled up the Disease and therefore diseases are especially rampant in Istanbul; the young man became King Costantin, his name is from the word "bone" from which he was conceived; took the kingdom from the king of Jews]; the Serbs [the royal horse stepped on the human skull; the skull: although I am dead, I can cause you much trouble; the king got off his horse, picked up a skull, He burned it, bored it in powder, wrapped the powder in paper and hid it in a chest; the princess unlocked the chest, found the powder, licked it and became pregnant; when the king took the newborn boy in his arms, he grabbed him by the beard; to check whether the child was acting consciously, the king offered to bring him hot coals and rubies; the child did not hesitate to reach for the rubies; when the boy became a young man, the king sent him into the world , telling him to stop where two evils are fighting each other; at the site where Tsargrad was later built, the young man saw a snake wrapped around a thorny tree; he looked around and said, "Here I will stop "; immediately behind a wall grew, but there was no wall between it and the plant; therefore, even now there is an empty opening in this place in the wall around Tsargrad; if the young man hadn't looked back and said these words, the wall would have been solid; the young man became king and conquered his grandfather's empire]: Georgevitch 1918:60-61 (=Eschker 1992, No. 83:268-270); Greeks (Asia Minor) [the wife wrote to her husband in Istanbul to come urgently; on the way he noticed a skull that read: one killed me, I would kill nine; the man cut out part of the skull with the inscription, wrapped it in a handkerchief and took it with him; at home, the daughter found a handkerchief, licked it, became pregnant; her father shot her, but he kept the boy born; the king dreams: in front of him is a table and bread for him, but nine wolves came and began to eat; the king is looking for someone to explain the dream; the messenger tells the boys to let his horse pass; the son of the skull says he knows about the king's dream; the boy was brought to the king; the boy demands bread, also a melon, a knife, otherwise he would not say anything; explains that there are 9 men in the palace; nine girls were brought, they turned out to be men who slept with the king's wife; they were beheaded, the king gave the boy a village]: Dawkins 1916:541-545.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Crimean Tatars (Miskhor) [a man walked and saw a skull; it says: What did this head see and what else will it see? the man brought the skull home; one day the wife looked for something, found the skull and threw it into the fire; the returning husband collected the ashes and hid it in the chest; the daughter found a purse with ashes, licked and became pregnant; gave birth son; after 12 years he was sent to school; he was teased as a bastard; after learning from his mother who he was, the boy left; he began to live with a merchant in the city; if he sells goods, they are immediately bought; speaks to a person who enters the store to a woman who had a dream and he is ready to explain it: you saw a snake wrapped around you; there is a pot of gold hidden in your house, take it; the woman wanted to share the gold with the boy, but he refused; she began to talk about his abilities; Bey asked him to explain his dream - 40 snakes strangle him in his dream; when he heard the answer, the servants gave the boy an arap to kill him, but the arap hid him; next time the boy told the dream to Bey personally; there were 40 beauties in the house; the boy asked Bey to tell them to split into two groups and undress; 20 turned out to be men; be1 executed everyone, and made the boy an adviser]: Zherdeva 2020, No. 34 ; Adygs (Temirgoyevtsy) [Efendi Gassan collected medicinal herbs, saw a skull with the inscription "7 people still must die from me"; G. brought the skull home, burned it, tied the ash in a handkerchief and hid it; went to Mecca; his daughter Fatma went through medicinal herbs, found ash in her handkerchief, licked, became pregnant, gave birth to a boy; when G. returned, he fell in love with him, he was named Isaac; when I. was 12 years old, he bought a merchant, gave an education; childless husband and wife bought I. for a triple price; fearing for him, they are not allowed to go outside the fence of the house; he went out, the king noticed him, sent him with a letter to the head of the fortress; on the way, the princess called I. to her place, read the letter (which contains the command to kill the applicant), replaced I. with an order to marry I. to the royal daughter; when he learned about his son-in-law, the king decided that it was the will of Allah, fell in love with I.; he sees the queen, the mother of her wife; says out loud that she wants to prove that she has not seen anyone else; men but her husband; the queen demands that I. explain; I. asks for the keys to him, found 7 chests, each man; I. cut off their heads; the queen was executed, the tsar died, I. reigned]: Vasilkov 1905, No. 4:69-79 (=Aliyeva 1938, No. 33:253-260); Balkarians: Malkonduev 2017 (Western 1965) [When leaving the village, a man saw a skull on the stake with the inscription: "Ten people died because of this skull. Nine more will die"; the man threw him away, and on the way back he found a cloth bundle, gave it to his daughter, left her in the care of a neighbor and went on Hajj; the neighbor began to bother her; the girl decided that there was poison in the nodule and decided to poison himself; found white powder in the nodule and ate; when the father returned, she gave birth to a boy; he is not childish; fishermen caught an unusual red fish, brought a khan; hansha: if male, don't carry it; at that moment the fish cracked in half and died; Khan: If you don't explain why the fish cracked, I'll kill everyone; the boy tells the teacher to let him speak on the day appointed by the Khan; asks to bring two Hansha servants and undress them; everyone sees that they are men; seven more are hidden under the house]: 487-490; Tulchinsky 1903 [an old widower found a skull in the cemetery with the inscription: "During my lifetime, my the owner killed a hundred souls, and I, a dead head, are destined to destroy a hundred souls too"; the old man decided to destroy the skull, threw it into the fire; one bone did not turn into ash, but only turned white; her old man source, wrapped it in a rag and gave it to her daughter for preservation; went to Mecca, and the daughter became ill and suffered greatly; she decided that the powder given to her was poison and drank it; after that she recovered and became pregnant; when she returned, the father decided to kill his daughter, but spared him; she gave birth to a boy; he grew up handsome and intelligent; one day the boys caught a goldfish and carried it as a gift to the queen; she said that if a fish until she took her; when she found out, the fish jumped out of the water, fell back into the bowl and died; the king told the boy's teacher to find out the cause of death of the fish, otherwise he would execute; the boy promised to answer; boy to the king: do not seek the truth that is bitter for you, but if you insist, I will only give it to you without strangers; when the courtiers came out, the boy explained that the fish should be outraged by the queen's hypocrisy, for all her ladies of honor are young men in disguise; the king ordered the execution of all hundred young men, the queen torn with four horses, and the boy rewarded; when the boy grew up, the people made him a foreman, and Ak- suki ("white bone")]: 58-61; Nogais [the legend about the origin of the founder of the Nagai rulers Egide; the shepherd found a skull with the inscription in the steppe; ground it into flour, hid it in a chest; found his daughter the bundle, licked, gave birth to a boy Bar-Kai; living away from people and hunting, B. marries a swan maiden; she gives birth to his son Kutla-kaya (Edige's father) and leaves; in another version, to the lake shore three swans flew in, took off their clothes, became girls, swam; Kutly-kaya hid his youngest's clothes and married her]: Kapayev 2012:257-258; Armenians: Gazarov 1889, No. 1 [the merchant saw him swimming along the river the skull and repeats: "During his lifetime I killed a hundred people, but then I will kill another hundred"; the merchant brought the skull home, the source, poured the powder into a bag, hung it on the wall; left on business, a 13-year-old daughter remained in the house from the first wife and her stepmother who tyranted her; the girl decided to poison herself, swallowed the powder, believing it was poison; became pregnant, gave birth to a son; the stepmother was childless and fell in love with him; the boy became a young man; the king saw how A fish jumped out of the pond and laughed; if the wise men do not give an explanation after 40 days, they will be executed; that young man took the king to his 15-year-old daughter's room, told him to break the floor; there are many lovers there princesses; the king hanged both them and their daughter, made the young man the first vizier, and then handed him the throne]: 77-79; Nazinyan 1969 [brother and sister lived poorly; brother went to cut firewood, heard a voice: whoever will take me, will repent, and whoever does not take it will also repent; this was what the skull said; the young man burned it on a pile of collected firewood; the next day he found a bead in the ash, put it in his shirt pocket; the sister began to wash the shirt, found She swallowed a bead by accident, became pregnant; as soon as his son was born, he immediately spoke and went to his uncle's arable land to bring bread; quickly plowed the whole field; his name was Chicó; he volunteered to explain the king's dream ; tells the king not to tell, he already knows what the king saw: red and green shadows above the palace, and trees grew around; indicated where the gold was buried; the fortuneteller asks C. to stay with him, paid him mother weighs as much gold as C. weighs; the fortuneteller tells her daughter to kill C. and prepare his brain: he will eat it and become as smart; C. girl: the fortuneteller will not make him wiser, give him bull brains; king dreams again: the White and Black Seas are mixed; the fortuneteller regrets that C. is not there, he comes out of the chest; asks the king to make him king for a few minutes; cuts down the head of the fortuneteller, his enemy; explains dream: the king's wife is cheating on him with Nazir; Nazir and the queen run away; C. comes to his grandmother, asks him to give him the last goose, offers Nazir for 3 rubles; Nazir gave one, took the goose to his wife, ordered him to fry and send him with a person who will show her finger; C. heard, showed his finger, took the goose, wrote on the door: I am Chico, and you are Nazir, it's a small problem, and the big one is ahead"; told my grandmother to dress it as a girl, to give Nazir as a maid; held his head under the press, wrote the same inscription again; appeared under the guise of a doctor, cut him with a razor and rubbed salt (the same inscription); the king dreams: in front of his house the snake died; C., under the guise of an angel of death, put Nazir and his wife in a coffin and brought them to the king]: 83-92.

Iran - Central Asia. Persians (literary tradition, 1313-1316, The Pearl of Conversations, Indian source) [Story 40: A wealthy merchant saw a skull rolling on the ground like a ball with a hand inscribed on its forehead destinies: "This head will kill 84 people during its lifetime, and after death the same number"; at Satan's instigation, the merchant brought the skull home, threw it into the fire, sifted the ashes, put it in the box, and the box in the chest, handed it to his wife, ordered her to take care of it and not open it; the merchant's 12-year-old daughter opened the chest, found nothing but ash, sucked a pinch like salt, closed the chest again; when signs appeared pregnancy, told her mother everything; gave birth to a handsome boy, he was named Mashalla; after 7 years, the merchant returned home, decided to raise the boy; overseas merchants brought jewelry, the merchant bought 9 pearls; M.: 2 out of 9 are fake, it is better to return them; the merchant brought the boy to the sellers; M. separated the enamel under which there was cinnabar in front of their eyes; the sellers asked the merchant to sell them the boy and he advised the merchant to agree; at home, the sellers began to raise M. as their son; one day, the local Raja Bikrmakir wanted to retire with his wife Kamjuy; he had 83 more wives; the fisherman brought him a few curiosities with a fish body and a human head; B. ordered them to be thrown into a basin of water and looked; and K. turned away and ordered a veil to be hung between her and the fish: there are also males; fish they opened their mouths and laughed; K. said she would not eat or sleep until it was found out why the fish laughed; B.: whoever finds out why the fish laughed will be rewarded; M. came to the Raja and asked me to listen to him in private, and it would be better for the lady not to ask me so as not to repent or regret it, as happened to the grocer's wife; story 41: the grocer became impoverished and became a lumberjack; The tree was inhabited by a genie: if you chose this craft out of need, come here every day and take 20 dinars; but don't talk about it; your wife made you tell me, money did not appear under the tree anymore; E. did not understand the hint; then M. spoke about the regrets of the mother of the slutty woman; Story 42: The brahmana's son reached adulthood, but lived at his father's expense; asked him to be released on a journey; began to serve a hermit; he gave him an inexhaustible purse with money, but told him to keep a secret; when he returned home and became rich, the brahmana's son fell in love with a slutty girl; her mother advised her daughter to find out the source of the wide the lover's expenses; she found out the secret, the mother and daughter stole the purse and fled; but the purse did not give more money; K. again did not understand the hint; then M. told the Raja to go to the harem and undress all his wives; among them a young man in a woman's dress appeared; the Raja ordered everyone, including K., to be drowned; the prediction came true; the fish laughed because the truly virtuous would not be hypocritical]: An-Naari 1985, stories 40-42: 201-209; Persians [a variant similar to that in al-Nairi]: Osmanov 1987:256-260; Persians [a brief retelling of Osmanov's version; a man finds a skull, it says: 40 killed, 40 I'll kill; he rubs the skull into powder, which his daughter accidentally eats; she gives birth to a child; the king demands to know why the fish smiled; the young man explains: the touchless princess has 40 lovers; they are executed, prediction skulls fulfilled]: Marzolph 1984, No. 875D: 157.

Volga - Perm. Bashkirs: Barag 1989, No. 75 [the old man found a skull, it says: "The cause will be one birth and death is forty-one"; the old man burned the skull, hid the ash at the bottom of the chest; his daughter Gulfarah found a knot, unfolded it, licked it, became pregnant, gave birth to a boy; at the age of 10 he could solve dreams and knew what anyone was dreaming about; the old woman dreamed of four snakes in the corners of the house; the boy said that there gold was buried, the old woman did not believe it, the dream interpreters decided that the dream was bad; in the goose brought by the old woman they found a note thrown by the boy about gold; checked, found gold; interpreters they hired a murderer to get rid of the boy, but he said that the hired man would kill him for 40 gold and lose a hundred; the king had a dream, no one could guess: the king was attacked by 41 snakes, and the dove dispersed them; the boy bought from prison for 100 gold; he explained: 40 snakes are interpreters, 41 is a vizier, they want to kill the king, the dove is himself, the boy; the king executed interpreters and the vizier, put a boy in their place]: 362-363 ; Bessonov, 1941, No. 71 (from 1877-1909 recordings) [the old man found a human skull that read: "During his lifetime, eighty people killed and eighty more will be killed"; the old man tortured it into flour and brought it home, thinking it was real flour, the old man's daughter took it in her mouth and became pregnant; the boy born, Gaip-Nazar, began to understand animal language; merchants began to ask the old man to sell them GN; Mr. asked his grandfather to agree He gave it to the merchants; they took it to their king; the king's vizier put his beloved wife beside him, and ordered the other thirty-nine wives to fish in the river; they put the fish they had caught in the basin, filled with water, and brought it to the vizier; the wife sitting next to him covered her face; the vizier asked why she was doing this; the wife replied that she was ashamed of fish males; the fish fluttered and began to laugh; the vizier was surprised and ordered the scientific mullahs who were in his city to be convened to find out why the fish laughed; none of the mullahs could cope with it; when GN was called, he went to the fish, overheard them, and said to the vizier: "This woman is ashamed of us, and she secretly hides her lover in her house from the vizier"; the vizier gathered forty of his wives into the house and ordered people to be summoned; when they began to search the wives, they found forty lovers hidden from the vizier; the vizier ordered both wives and lovers to be beheaded]: 319-320.

Turkestan. Kazakhs (Tokrau, eastern Kazakhstan) [bai saw a skull in the steppe; when I passed by, the skull said: "During my lifetime, I cost the lives of eighty people and now I still cost forty lives"; bai took the skull , burned it, wrapped the ashes in a rag, put it in a chest; his daughter (or sister), fumbling in the chest, found a cloth, licked the ashes, conceived, gave birth to a boy; bai gave the child to an old woman, she raised it, gave it to teaching a mullah; the khan had a dream and immediately forgot it; gathered the mullah and ordered him to tell about the dream and solve it; the mullah returned home, crying; the boy, who is already seven years old, promised to solve; the boy bayu: in in a dream you got on a horse (you rule the people), crossed the bridge (the bridge is your justice, and the tree is your people, its fruits are the tribute you pay), and at the other end there are 40 dragons (viziers); they wanted you break (conspiracy to kill bay), but the yellow bird (this is me) saved you; the khan executed the viziers, made the boy's vizier]: Potanin 1916, 41:146-147 (=1972:144-145); Babalar Sozi 2011, No. 51 (translated by Ruslan Bayastanova, April 20, 2017) [A shepherd herds sheep, finds a skull covered with inscriptions. On the left temple - "If you try it with my mouth, I will be born by mouth", on the forehead - "I will become a son who does not have a son", on the right temple - "I will decapitate forty-two people - I will become a khan." An intrigued shepherd burns his skull and collects the ashes into a bag. The shepherd's fifteen-year-old daughter finds him thinking about the bag, wondering what the substance is in the bag. Her father scares her, says it's poison, forbids her to try it. The daughter does not listen, she secretly tries the powder from the bag. She reaches orgasm, after a while she becomes pregnant. The mother asks her, the daughter talks about what happened, the mother tells her father. The father decides to marry her, suggests that Selim, the son of a poor man, marry his daughter without dowry, says that the girl is pregnant, says that the baby will be born by mouth and that he will take it for himself newborn. He promises to separate the young people into a separate yurt and give them a lot of cattle, asks them to keep everything secret. Selim agrees. The shepherd announces the born child as his son, tells everyone that his wife gave birth, feasts for thirty days, treats everyone. The boy is growing rapidly; at the age of seven, his father sends him to teach a mullah. At the age of fifteen, the boy studies with forty mullahs and surpasses them. He returns home and helps his father in the household. He herds sheep, meets a woman running with two geese. She asks her, the woman says she had a bad dream - as if the threshold of her house was on fire. Scared of sleep, she goes to the famous forty mullahs to explain the dream to her. The boy asks her on her way back to tell us what the forty mullahs said. Mullahs tell the woman that she needs to leave home, otherwise she will be unhappy. Hearing this, the boy goes with the woman and helps her move to another place. Then he comes back, digs up the ground where the threshold of the house was and finds a gold bar the size of a horse's head. He gives the bar to his father and says that forty mullahs will soon appear and demand it, supposedly, for further training. Mullahs take the boy despite his father's protests. They start demanding that the boy show where he hid the gold, they torture him. The boy won't confess. Meanwhile, the khan of this country has a strange dream - he crosses the river on horseback, forty fish cling to the horse's legs, the horse almost falls, and black and yellow appear in front of the khan in the middle of the river snakes trying to bite. Khan barely escapes from them, crosses the river, finds himself in tall grass and a blooming garden, and having fun there. When Khan wakes up, he summons forty mullahs and requires them to figure out the meaning of the dream. The mullahs are confused, the furious khan gives them three days, then, if they do not explain their sleep, they will be beheaded. The mullahs cannot solve the dream, they decide to entrust it to the boy, then decide to kill him. The boy is promised they'll let him go if he helps them. The boy says that sleep will only explain to the Khan himself. The mullahs, looking forward to a big reward from the khan, agree. The boy and mullahs come to the khan, and the boy also asks to call the khan's wife and her yellow-faced slave. The boy announces to the Khan that forty fish are forty mullahs who are waiting - they will not wait for the Khan to die to take possession of his treasury. The black and yellow snake is Khan's wife and her lover, a yellow-faced slave. They want to lime the khan, after which the khan's wife would make the slave her husband and new khan. The enraged Khan orders the execution of forty mullahs, his wife and her slave. He gives the throne to a boy, becomes a vizier himself], 69 (translated by Ruslan Bayastanov, April 20, 2017) [Bai, a merchant named Mustakym, is very rich, richer than the Padishahs - usually in one shopping trip equips as many as 30 caravans. On the way, two bay cattle-breeders stumble upon a human skull with an inscription on their forehead. Unable to read the inscription, they bring a bayu skull. He reads the inscription, smiles, tells him to burn and crush the skull. The ash is put in a vessel, which is taken home and hidden in a chest. Mustakym has no sons, only a fifteen-year-old daughter. One day, while playing around, the daughter finds a vessel with ashes and tastes it. It makes you pregnant. According to the laws of that country, a woman who had a child out of wedlock was hanged. Therefore, bai's wife hides her daughter, walks with her belly full of cotton wool, imitating pregnancy. The girl gives birth to a boy, the mother passes off the newborn as her own. Bai leaves with caravans for a year, manages to hide everything from him. Bai returns, is very happy about the birth of his son, arranges a multi-day feast. The boy is very smart and surpasses all mullahs in his studies. Bai decides to teach him his trade, takes him with him, and goes to a neighboring state. The ruler of this state has 20 wives, and he takes turns sleeping with them. He takes them on fun trips with children. They go to a pond designed for fun. Children catch and let go of fish, admire the padishah, his older wife is indifferent to children and fish games. The padishah accuses her that she does not look at different fish, she replies that there is nothing to look at, fish are like people, some of them are good and bad, and perhaps slutty. Here a big fish (ide) sticks out of the water and laughs like a human being. When struck, the padishah cannot forget the laughing fish when he returns. He announces that whoever can solve what happened will cede his throne, crown and marry his only daughter. No one can figure it out; visitors are also required to participate in solving. Mustakym's son tries to guess, his father is frightened and persuades everyone not to take seriously the words of a thirteen-year-old child. The boy is delivered to the padishah, who needs a clue. The boy refuses, tells us to gather people, then he only undertakes to tell the answer. People gather, the boy first requires the padishah to cede the throne and crown, he concedes. The boy asks if his wives have a slave and tells him to call all wives with these slaves. Twenty wives and 20 slaves are brought in. The boy tells the slaves to walk back and forth, then orders them to undress. Slaves are undressed, all 20 are men. The boy explains that the fish laughed at the padishah's slutty wives, who accused fish of debauchery. A shameful padishah gives the boy the right to punish his wives. He orders the execution of everyone - 20 wives and 20 of their lovers, disguised as slaves. The people mock the padishah, who hesitates to give what he promised, calls Mustakym, and suspects that his son is not his. Mustakym's wife is delivered, who admits that the boy was born not by her, but by her daughter, and talks about the powder in the vessel. Mustakym explains the origin of the powder - when the skull he found was brought, the skull's forehead read "My name is Dagystan, during my lifetime I saved 40 people from death, but on the contrary, I will cause dead 40 people died." So he decided to check if this was the case, burned and crushed the skull, and hid the ashes. The calmed padishah suggests that since the boy is not born of a person, but of a gayyip (gayyip is a spirit, a ghost), then he should be named Ebini-gayip. Ebini-Gayip marries the daughter of a padishah, the padishah marries his real mother, daughter Mustakym]: 236-240, 306-311; Karakalpaks [a rich merchant went to foreign lands; on the way he saw a rolling skull; Hey skull, where are you going? - On that one. - You're a skull, why do you need that one? - When I was alive, I caused the death of 40 people, and I would kill another 40; the merchant put his skull in a bag and returned home; his daughter found a skull, turned it in her arms, became pregnant, gave birth to a boy; when he is 9 years old, he begged the merchant to take him with him; herald: a person who knows the language of fish will receive a thousand gold from the ruler; the boy went to the ruler; it turns out that the fisherman gave the ruler fish, and the ruler's wife exclaimed: this fish is male! and covered her face; the fish laughed back; boy: the fish laughed because the ruler's 40 wives had all male maids; the maids were checked were men; the ruler ordered their heads to be cut off; the merchant I came home with a thousand gold]: Aimbetov 2014a: 97-98.