K25a4. Escape from the siren, ATU 316. .15.16.27.29.31.

A man (rarely a woman) is at the mercy of a water-chthonic creature (usually sirens, fish, sea monsters, and sometimes a sorcerer). The antagonist lifts the kidnapped person a limited number of times above the water (above the ground; usually after he is bribed with gifts, begged, provoked). After that, the prisoner is saved (most often by flying away as a bird).

{The reference to the Mari text in Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974 and later in Uther 2004 is wrong, there is a different story; the reference to the Karelian text there also requires verification from the original source} .

Sicilians, Bretons, Germans (Harz), Icelanders, Swedes, Karelians.

Southern Europe. Italians: Calvino 1980, No. 30 (Veneto) [=2017:110-113; a fisherman caught a huge crab and took it to the king; the princess asked to buy it, let the crab into the pool; noticed that every day from noon to The crab goes missing for three hours; once she threw money to a tramp, it fell into a ditch with water; the tramp climbed there and entered the pool hall through the underground passage; at noon they pulled out the fairy and the crab; the fairy touched the crab with a stick, a young man came out of the shell; they were feasting, and then the young man disappeared under the shell again; the next time the princess entered the underground hall with the tramp; the young man: to free him from the power of the fairy, the princess must sing and dance on a cliff above the sea; the fairy will love it, she will ask her to continue; she must ask her for a flower that is in her hair; it has her power over the young man; the fairy threw the flower far into the water, the princess swam, the crab began to support her underwater; after receiving the flower, the young man came to the princess's father 24 hours later, accompanied by his entourage, and asked for her hand]: 83-86; Gubernatis 1869, No. 23 (Tuscany) [ A partial retelling in Cosquin 1886:170; dreaming of her son, the princess turns to a sorcerer. He promises her a child on the condition that he spends the first 10 years of his life with his mother and the next 10 years with him; a daughter is born; the mother does not want to give her away and tells the teacher to keep an eye on the girl; the sorcerer, disguised as a merchant, suggests changing the iron rings to silver ones; an interested teacher goes outside, while the sorcerer takes the girl to his castle; another girl lives there, who helps the kidnapped person; the mother of the kidnapped asks the young man to save her daughter by promising him her as his wife; he finds the girl; her friend teaches what to do, but she is wrong and the young man falls asleep; a friend carries her daughter princesses to the high tower; the young man goes in search again; the magician takes the princess, her mother sends the young man to search; the lion, the eagle, the ant argue over the horse carcass, the young man divides it between them, they give it to him the power of seven lions, seven eagles, seven ants; after becoming an eagle, a young man flies to the princess's tower; becoming an ant, he penetrates inside; the princess explains to uproot the tree, dry the spring, and an eagle at the bottom, there is an egg in it; if you throw it at the sorcerer's forehead, he will disappear with his tower; strong as seven lions, a young man knocks down a tree, defeats an eagle with the power of seven eagles, breaks an egg, and finds himself with the princess on the island; a sailor kidnaps the princess, pretends to be her savior, but the deception is revealed and the young man marries the princess; the sorcerer (this is the last thing he could) made the land swallow up the young man; the princess gives a glass ball to the sorcerer and the sorcerer shows her husband; she gives a silver ball, the sorcerer brings her husband closer to the princess; a golden ball - the sorcerer puts the young man in his palm; he becomes an eagle, flies away]; Basile 2018 (Naples) []: 418-425; Spaniards [{the origin of this text is not specified, but there is another one from Huelva as well as Latin American versions}; a fisherman caught a siren in the net; it threatens to eat it if he would not give up the one who would be the first to meet at home; the fisherman thought that a dog would come out, but his son came out; he went to say goodbye to friends; saw an ant, a wolf, an eagle arguing over a dead donkey; a young man gave meat to an eagle, bones to a wolf, an ant skin; they gave the young man a piece of ear, a feather, a paw that could be used to take the form of a wolf, an eagle, an ant; becoming an eagle, the young man flew to the princess; she brought it to his room, where he took on a human form; not only the princess, but also the king himself likes him; but the siren took him away; the king and the princess went in a boat, showed the siren a silver oar; for that the young man stuck out of the water, but only up to the neck; they showed gold - waist-deep; the young man became an eagle, flew away; then the siren told the earth to open and the princess, when she went to the palace, failed; the young man in the image an ant has entered the underworld; the princess is guarded there by a giant; the young man also gave her the image of an ant, both returned to earth; wedding, everything is fine]: Camarena, Chevallier 1995, No. 316:115-117; Catalans [ the fisherman caught a siren; she tells him to give the soul of the first to meet him at home; this is his son; a young man helps an eagle, a wolf and an ant, they give him the ability to take their form; when the siren is almost grabbed him, he turned into an eagle and flew to the king's palace; the princess caught an eagle and he became human again; the siren tries to grab the young man again, he escapes as a wolf; an ant; marries princess]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 75:316; ladins [the fisherman has five children and his wife is pregnant again; the fish promises to send him a rich catch if he promises to send her a son in 12 years, who will be born; when his son is 12, he went on a journey, promising not to approach the water; a bear, an ant and a raven argue over a fallen horse, asking the young man to divide it; he gives the brain to an ant, meat to a bear, giblets to a crow; they give a fur, a leg, a feather that will allow the young man to turn into a bear, an ant, a crow; the dragon has kidnapped the princess, the king promises a reward to whoever returns her; becoming a raven, the young man flies and sees the dragon disappear underground; in the form of an ant penetrates there, there are 12 princesses; everyone is ready to marry him, but he decides to marry the one that the dragon kidnapped last; to To kill a dragon, you have to break a snake egg against its nose; people do not have the strength to do it; the young man became a bear, broke an egg; after becoming a raven, the young man flew back to the king and promised him to give him his daughter; then brought the princesses to the ground; they ask them to help them cross the river into the ford; the young man says that he cannot approach the water; as soon as he entered the water, the fish grabbed him; the fish like singing; the girls began to sing; promised to sing more if the fish opened its mouth; as soon as she did, the young man flew out like a crow; wedding]: Uffer 1973, No. 34:128-131.

Western Europe. Bretons [the fisherman has 6 children, the catch is always poor; he has caught a mermaid, she promised a rich catch, but wants to kiss a boy whom the fisherman's wife just gave birth to; after baptizing the baby, the fisherman brought it to the mermaid; she gave it a piece of gold to be put on the edge of the hearth; then gold would fall from the chimney all day; the mermaid tried to pick up the child, but the fisherman took it away; the mermaid disappeared saying that the boy (his name is Fanch) still belongs to her; the fisherman became rich; people thought that the fisherman sold himself to the devil, stopped communicating with him; F. reached the age of 18, went on a journey, taking a servant; father forbid him to approach the seashore; the wolf, the hawk and the bumblebee argue over the horse's carcass; F. divided: meat to the wolf, giblets to the hawk, blood to the bumblebee; they gave F. the ability to take their form; F. for testing became a wolf, the servant got scared and rode away; there was a pond in front, there were geese; F. swam on horseback, giving the geese bread; the main goose promised to help; on the way ants, F. gave them all the rest of the food, they promised to help; F . came to the castle, there is food and wine, a soft bed; in the morning the old woman throws a purse with money into the well and tells her to get it, letting the sink scoop out water; otherwise she will kill; F. calls the goose, she dives, brings; the next day is to divide the three varieties of grain (ants divided); on the third day, find out in the dark which of the three sisters is more beautiful, for three old women are the enchanted daughters of the Spanish king; let F. marry beautiful; the bumblebee will buzz around the head of the one to choose; the old women have become princesses, but F. said that he is still too young and will come to Spain later; returned to Paris, lives in front of the palace, sees the princess, became a hawk, let the princess catch himself; at night he becomes a young man; the pregnancy is obvious, the king was told he ran into his daughter's room, F. opened, had to marry him to a princess; her former fiancé, a Turkish prince, invited F. to go by sea, pushed him into the water, F. was picked up by a mermaid; two years later, F. asked her to lift him above the water for a while, flew away hawk to Paris; tomorrow his wife's wedding to a Turkish prince; F. came to the wedding in a luxurious outfit, opened to his wife; the princess asks the king and Turkish fiancé what key to keep: old and found or made in return; both say old; F. tells the Turkish prince to be thrown into a hot stove; all is well]: Luzel 1887 (2), No. 10:381-418; French: Cosquin 1886, No. 15 (Lorraine) [three stray shoemakers walked; the youngest took the middle road, the older two along the side road; the youngest divided the dead lion between the lion, giving it three quarters, the eagle and the ant, which got a quarter; they They gave a hair, a feather, a leg so that the young man could turn into any of them; as an eagle, the young man flew to the shepherd's hut; he says that the king will give his daughter for someone who will free her from the seven-headed monsters and a giant; the young man entered the princess's room as an ant; she says that others could not cut off the monster's seventh head, and if not cut it down, the other six grow back; the young man needed 2 hours to cut down one head; the next day, 4 to cut down 2; then 8 hours to cut 3; then 10 to cut down the seventh; the princess taught them to get three eggs, throw two eggs at the giant, he would die and one against the wall, a luxurious crew will appear; the princess gave the young man her handkerchief; they boarded the ship, sailed to the king; the princess's former admirer pushed the young man into the sea, swallowed by a whale; the deceiver forced to tell the princess that he saved her; the beggar began to play the violin, the whale swam to listen; the beggar promised to play more if the whale showed the prince's head; if he showed to the hips; to the knees; in whole; the prince became an eagle, flew away; disguised as a beggar, he came to the princess's wedding; she recognized her handkerchief; the deceiver was thrown into the fire with fireworks crackers; the hero's wedding with the princess]: 166-170; Delarue 1957 [the plot is rare, Two dozen versions are known from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Lapland, Scotland, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, as well as from Canada and Antill {summaries of the last two are given}]: 274; Scots [ The siren asks the fisherman for his son in exchange for a rich catch; he says he is childless; she gives three seeds for his wife, a mare, a dog, and three seeds to plant; a wife, a mare, a dog give birth to three sons, foals, puppies; three trees will grow, if one of the brothers dies, the tree will dry up; since then the catch is rich, but when the eldest son is 3 years old, the father must send him to a siren; she extends the deadline twice, but A 14-year-old boy tells him to make a sword for him, goes by himself; helps a dog, a falcon and an otter to divide the sheep's corpse fairly (three parts for a dog, two for an otter, one for a falcon), they promise to help; he he hires to herd the king's cows, but the pasture is scarce, the cows are not milked, so the shepherd is not fed; the next time he came to the green pasture; the giant said it was his, wanted to eat it, but ran the dog jumped on his back, the young man cut off the giant's head; next time the same with the second giant; the princess must be given to the three-headed monster; the young man goes with her three times to the lake, cuts off head; every time the general attributes victory to himself; before the battle, the young man falls asleep every time, the princess wakes him up with one of her jewelry on him; the general is unable to raise his severed heads, the princess marries the young man; the monster drags him into the lake, the princess buys him with her jewelry; first asks only to show her husband, but then gives him all the jewelry and the monster gives the prisoner; but then kidnaps the princess herself; the blacksmith replies that the monster's life is in the egg, in the trout, in the crow, in the white-footed fallow deer on the island; the dog, the falcon, the otter help catch them all, the monster returns the princess, dies; there is a castle nearby, from where they do not return; the young man goes, the old woman kills him; the tree has dried up at home; the same with the middle brother (the princess takes him for her husband, they are so similar); the youngest cuts down the old woman her head, but she picks it up, puts it back; a dog rushes at her, her younger brother kills her with her own sword (or rod? Slachdan druidhach), he also revives the brothers; the older brother receives the throne of his father-in-law]: Campbell 1890 (1), No. 4:72-85; the Irish [like the Scots?] : Uther 2004 (1), No. 316:203-204; Germans: Koehler at Cosquin 1886 (Bavaria) [the young man is promised to a siren (as in the Scottish version); the young man leaves, resolves a dispute between a bear, a fox, a falcon and an ant that are not can share a horse carcass; marries a princess; after many years she is at the mercy of a siren; the wife consistently offers that golden comb, ring, shoe; each time the siren lifts the young man higher above the water; (hereinafter referred to as Epirus and Tuscany)}]: 171; Grimm, Grimm 1987, No. 181 [=Grimm, Grimm 1987:410-413; a woman rises to the impoverished miller from the pond, promising to make him rich, if he gives what is now born in his house; he promises; it turns out that his wife has given birth to a son; a young man grows up, becomes a hunter, marries; one day he goes to the pond to wash his hands, is dragged under water; his the wife dreams of her climbing the mountain three times, where the old woman teaches what to do; you must leave a comb, a flute, a spinning wheel on the shore of the pond; each time the object is washed away by a wave, the husband sticks out for the first time the water's head, the third one jumps ashore; the spouses run, they are covered by a wave, the wife turns into a toad, the husband turns into a frog, the wave takes them far apart; they regain their human form, graze sheep; find each other]: 527-531; (cf. Germans (Upper Palatinate) [a rich gentleman does not marry for a long time, because he dreamed of a girl he fell in love with; once he saw her at a spring, and then she ended up at his house; told me nothing ask questions; gave birth to 6 children, and when the seventh son was born, she was very worried about him; explained that if six would remain with her husband, the seventh should be returned to the water; when the young man reached the age of 25, he went on a journey away from the water; but one day he went by ship; a storm began; he had to jump into the sea to prevent everyone from dying; there was a siren waiting for him; after 4 weeks he could look out water to meet his mother, but forgot about it; he had 7 children; one day he saw a girl on a ship and recognized her as his sister's daughter; he stuck his head out above the water and screamed; on the water a blood stain blurred; his mother found his corpse in the garden; took it in her arms and jumped into the well; no more news of them]: Schönwerth 1981:10); Dutch: Uther 2004 (1), No. 316:204.

The Balkans. Greeks: Hahn 1964 (1), No. 5 (Epirus) [the childless king wants a son so much that if he were born, he would even agree to give him to the dragon; the son was born, grew up, the dragon demanded that he be given, king agreed; the prince himself goes to the dragon; helped the lion, the eagle, the ant divide the dead donkey; they gave him the ability to turn into a lion, an eagle, an ant; the king has sheep, but their milk is impossible deliver, because evil dogs attack a person coming from the pasture to the castle; the prince escaped from them as an eagle, then also in the form of an eagle brought milk to the castle, entered there in the form of an ant, the king married him to his daughter; becoming a lion, the prince defeated the attacking enemies; one day he comes to the spring and the dragon swallows it; the king found a man who looks like his missing son-in-law, told his daughter that her husband returned, but the wife exposed the deception; hangs apples at the spring; in order to get them, the dragon raises the young man above the water, so that his head is visible; the next day to the waist; then whole; the young man became an ant then with an eagle, flew away]: 85-89; Paton 1900, No. 5 (Lesbos) [the sea monster lets the fisherman go for promising to bring his son; the fisherman asks his son to be the first to get on the boat, the young man refuses, the fisherman is swallowed; the young man shares bones, meat, fat of a killed beast between a lion, an eagle, an ant; they give it strength, speed, the ability to crawl through cracks; comes to crippled shepherds; the princess demands milk with foam, they do not have time deliver milk so fresh, cut off its nose, ears, etc.; the young man delivers an eagle with the speed of an eagle; at night he comes to the sleeping princess, lies down with her; as soon as she raises the alarm, she hides as an ant; she scratches her lover's face, the next day identifies the young man when he brings milk; agrees to be with him; the young man teaches her to ask her father to pass her off as someone who will pick up a block of marble; the young man does this by urging the power of a lion, the princess throws an apple at him, choosing her husband; he leads troops to war, leaves three carnations, if they wither, he is in trouble; they wither; the princess comes to the sea; the monster asks for an apple for the young man he swallowed; the princess tells the young man to stick his head out of his mouth; the next time his torso, the third time he stands on his back; calling for the power of the eagle, the young man flies to the shore]: 113-115; Bulgarians [a childless fisherman asks God for a child; a fish (a siren - a "sea samovel") promises that the fisherman's wife will give birth, but the boy will have to be given to her; the fish is told that the boy is dead; he grew up, went to wander, warned not to go to the shore; from an ant, a falcon, a lion {obviously, by resolving their dispute when sharing the animal's carcass}, the young man gains the ability to transform into any of them; thanks to this abilities, the young man gets a princess and smashes enemies; he swallows the sea or river, the fish swallows him; his friend puts on his clothes and tries to impersonate him, but the wife exposes the substitution; brings to On the shore, three golden apples (a golden spindle, a needle, a loom that work themselves), consistently promises them to the fish if it lifts the young man above the water up to the neck, waist-deep, whole; once above the water, the young man turned into an eagle, flew away from the fish]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, no.*316*: 119-120; Hungarians [The nix of the mill-pond]: Domotor 1988, No. 316:456.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Crimean Tatars (Alushta district, Biyuk Lambat) [(the beginning of the text resembles a fairy tale; then the genre changes); war has begun; the padishah's son-in-law turned into an iron lion, smashes enemies, then again becomes human; goes down to the well to wash; gone; his companions replace him with another young man; the wife says that a real husband would first fly as a bird, then crawl with an ant; the companions say the truth; the padishah's daughter took a chest of gold and diamonds, came to the well; below Kökce Obur holds her husband; the wife continuously hits the drum; KO agrees to raise the young man's head above the water if his wife leaves she is gold and a diamond; then the same to her shoulders; to the waist; to the knees; to the ankles; to put it completely in the palm of his hand; the young man flew away as a bird, and KO grabbed his wife; the young man flew to his wife as a bird, told him to find out what is the power of KO; the wife, whom another girl approached, ask; KO: in a broom; young man: ask again; KO: there is an ajdaha with 40 heads; you need to cut off heads, cut out the heart; there is a box in it, there are three sparrow; the young man flew to the shepherd; persuaded him to let him herd the sheep for himself; the owner does not order Azhdakh to herd in the pasture; the young man drives the sheep there; he and Azhdaha drive each other into the ground; the shepherd for the night returns; so three days; the third time the owner gave him a fat cake, the young man killed Azhdaha, took out a box; made the pasture vacuum land (belongs to everyone); killed sparrows, the witch died; brought two more women, he now has three wives]: Radlov 2021, No. 44:136-148; Turks [when dying, the padishah tells three sons to marry three daughters; these are three old men, one older than the other; the youngest son insisted that his father's will be fulfilled; in a dream he was shown a portrait of a beautiful woman; when he woke up, he went to look for her; he went to his older sister, her husband, the padishah of the devas; he gave the young man the ability turn into a deva; middle sister behind the ant padishah (ability to become an ant); the youngest behind the nightingale padishah (nightingale); when he reached the goal, the young man became a nightingale and sat on the girl's chest; she put him in a cage, brought him to her place; he went to bed with her for two nights, and woke up on the third; says that her father will give the groom difficult errands; to get crying pomegranates and laughing quince; the young man became a deva brought pomegranate and quince; get the mirror of the padishah devas, in which the beholder sees all his ancestors; the young man entered as an ant, got a mirror; on the way back he went swimming, the Sea Maiden fell in love and took it him; 40 companions looked like a young man, brought a mirror; the princess asked the imaginary groom to become a nightingale, he could not, confessed everything; the girl took 40 gold balls and gave the Sea Maiden one at a time as she showed Shahzade's body above the water; when she picked everything up, he turned into a bird and flew to his beloved; they achieved their wish goal]: Stebleva 1986, No. 40:163-169.

Baltoscandia. Danes [the poor man went to sell the canvas; in the forest at the spring, an old man offers to buy for a promise to give what his wife wears under his sash; the poor man thinks it's a bunch of keys, but the wife is pregnant; the poor man brings the baby, the old man dips him in the spring and gives him the name Grünhut ("green hat") - you can't baptize again; turns him into a hedgehog, deer, falcon, again into a baby; enough poor man for restraint promise, tells him to bring the boy when he is 10 years old; tells the boy to be a hedgehog, a deer, a falcon for five years; he is now Knight Grenhat, he can turn into these animals and summon him if trouble; the old man tells him to be hired by the groom to the king, to be afraid of the Red Knight; G. hired a prince, the KR serves him; the princess fell in love with G.; the KR himself wants to marry her; tells the prince that G. can get the most beautiful girl; in the guise of a hedgehog, a deer, a falcon, G. penetrates an overseas princess, promises to marry a prince, she leaves with him on a ship; the Kyrgyz Republic pushed G. into the sea, brought the prince a princess himself; a mermaid saved G., he is in her palace; the princess pretended to be dumb; they want to burn her; the mermaid let G. save her, he appeared in the guise of a hedgehog, threw a fire; the princess revealed the secret to the prince's sister, who fell in love with G. both fell silent; they want to burn them, G. threw a fire in the guise of a deer; they fell silent again; the mermaid does not want to let G. go - let them burn them so that G. forgets them; he only asks to raise him above the water so that to see a fire; flew away with a falcon, scattered a fire; the prince married an overseas princess, G. married the prince's sister, and the Kyrgyz Republic burned]: Grundtvig 1878:192-227 (=Suritz 1991:67-74); Swedes [story for Sweden not typical, only one version in the Gustav Adolf Academy edition]: Liungman 196:62; Norwegians [the young man is given to a fish or a siren; overcomes it with the help of a dead woman or old woman; she turns into a princess and marries a young man]: Hodne 1984, No. 316:77; Icelanders [a king named Mani has a daughter, Mjadveig; when her mother died, the king went to look for a new wife; on the island a woman with her daughter; says that she is the queen herself, and her husband was killed by enemies, she fled to the island; the king brought her home; the new queen, taking her daughter, invited M. to take a walk; then she changed clothes with her daughter; witchcraft gave her daughter the appearance of M., and tied her up and abandoned her; in a dream, her mother came to M., untied her and gave her a handkerchief containing an inexhaustible supply of food; the Queen sent her daughter to check what had happened to M.; she became tell M. that her mother was to blame for everything, grabbed her handkerchief and ran away; M.'s mother in a dream taught her how to find a house on the sea with everything she needed to live; one day she saw ships approaching, she rushed into the house and lost her golden shoe; the queen was on the ship, who had come to free M.; everyone began to try on the shoe; the stepmother cut off her daughter's fingers and heel, and then the shoe fit over her leg ; the Queen married her, but heard birds singing; birds: blood in the shoe, M., the daughter of King Mani, is here by the sea (not in the city); the Queen touched the imaginary M. with a magic rod, who turned into monster; he was killed, 40 kegs of meat were salted; the Queen found the real M.; the Queen does not want to eat anything, but when she was offered corned beef, she ate all 10 kegs of her daughter's meat in 10 days; she was blown up with the ship where the barrels of meat were located; the Queen brought M. to his state; after the death of his father he reigned; M. gave birth to a son; went to wash, but forgot the soap; sent a maid to pick him up; a woman appeared (this is was the sister of the monster queen) and offered to change clothes; then she took the form of M. and sent her under water to her brother; everything in the kingdom began to wither; soon the shepherd accidentally saw how from under the water a glass palace rose, and in it M. with a chain around his neck; the shepherd put a ring on the finger of the dwarf's son; the dwarf came out of the stone and asked how he could thank him for it; the shepherd asked him to explain that he saw; dwarf: M. is bewitched, will appear above the water only once more; we must cut the chain; gave an ax; when M. appeared, the shepherd began to cut the chain; then the brother of the monster woman appeared; the dwarf threw something at him eyes, he went blind and died; the imaginary M. was touched with a magic rod, she became a monster, she was executed; the shepherd brought the real M.; all is well]: Poestion 1884, No. 9:62-74; Icelanders [shortly before death, the king sends his son Sigurd to another country to take his intended princess; news of the king's death comes, S. and his young wife return; in times of calm everyone falls asleep, S. also descends sleep; the queen stays with her baby; a stone boat comes up with a giantess in her; she takes off all her clothes, puts her on and looks like a woman; puts the queen in a stone boat and tells her to sail to the lower world to her brother; a fair wind immediately blew out; the king was surprised that his wife began to reproach him; the child cries, he could not be reassured; when they reached the city, the child is calm only in the arms of the nanny; the king, and then others see that the Queen's character has changed for the worse; two young men hear and see through the crack how the Queen says out loud: if I yawn a little, I'll be a woman, if I'm very much, a giantess; becomes a giantess; her three-headed brother rises from under the floor with a tray of meat that she eats; at this time, in the nanny's room, where the baby is, a beautiful woman with iron rises from under the floor with a hoop on his belt, a chain to him; breastfeeds the baby; the next day, the same; the woman says she stayed for the last time; the nanny told the king, he came with a sword, cut the chain; it's scary underground rattled; the Queen said that the three-headed let her see the baby three times for promising to give in to his harassment; the imaginary queen was stoned and the corpse was torn apart by horses; the nanny was given with a rich dowry for a noble man]: Poestion 1884, No. 25:289-297; Lithuanians [the Queen goes to see the world; divides carrion between a lion, a hare, a dove, a starling, an ant; they give it the ability to transform; in the form of a starling, the young man lets himself be caught by the youngest of the three queens, at night he gets out of the cage in the form of an ant, becomes handsome; the girl says that the king tells him to identify which sister is the youngest, she will have a white handkerchief in her hand; he gets a wife, forgets his ring on the window, so the mermaid drags him to the bottom; the wife forged a sparkling apple, promised to show the mermaid, if she picks the queen out of the water; he became a dove, returned to his wife; for this, the mermaid made sparks fall from the royal's mouth; the Queen must pull out a silver bullet, shoot into a wife, then she will recover; turning into different animals, he kills a lion, a hare inside a lion, then a dove, a starling, a bullet in it; everyone is happy]: Lebite 1965:212-216; Latvians [Mermaid . The son is promised to a mermaid. The old man gives him a ring that protects him from the mermaid. The son settles a dispute between animals, and they give him the ability to transform into an eagle, a lion, a dog and an ant. He flies to the royal palace, marries the king's daughter. While hunting, the son chases a female deer, jumps after her into the water, but cannot get out of the water - the ring remains at home. The wife goes looking for her husband. A female deer, a mermaid, allows her wife to speak to her husband, and he tells her to bring a ring. The next day, after receiving golden apples, the mermaid allows her wife to kiss her husband. Along with the kiss, the husband receives a ring. As a punishment, the wife must burn for seven years. The husband and the mermaid try to overcome each other through various transformations. Finally, the mermaid turns into stone. The husband throws a stone into the flame and it becomes a wife]: Aris, Medne 1978, No. 316:275; Western Sami [Njávešeadnidattera met a prince, he loved her; ugly Háhceš eadnidattera tried in vain to seduce the prince; before the wedding, the king: the son will be given to the one who picks the berries faster; H. filled the basket with stones, put berries on top; but the king exposed the deception and chose N.; N. and her brother sailed on a ship; H. jumped from the shore to the ship, sat between N. and her brother; brother tells her sister to dress well; N. does not hear, asks again; H.: brother tells you to dress and jump into the water with a duck; H. cut off her legs, then she was able to put on N.'s shoes; crow: why is the blood flowing? H. was brought to a dark room, but it was not light; H. complains that the bed was hard; the prince ordered to bring the softest underwear; H.: sticks, etc.; then said it was soft; but the prince could not lie on it, and the bride smells bad; the brother said that H. is not his sister; the healer tells me to play the violin on the shore for three evenings; the mermaid raised N. above the water; she asks for closer - water in her ears, the sound of the sea in her ears; brother grabbed the girl; she turned into different objects and creatures; when she became a spindle, my brother broke it, threw half into the sea, and the other became N.; N.: I will not return to the castle until H. is burned; H. almost extinguished fire with their urine, but it was burned and there was no trace left; N. was brought into the room, it was lit up]: Pollan 2005, No. 15:76-79; Karelians [brother joined the army, sister stayed at home; brother drew sister on a tinder, I took it with him to the palace; the royal son saw that if my sister is really so beautiful, I will marry you and take you to the palace; my sister makes excuses: I will go when I wipe my father's millstone; I'll rub the bottom of my mother's spinning wheel with a bench; I'll wipe my parent's stupa; my brother crushed the millstone, cut the bench, broke my stupa; sailed in a boat with Pyatnashka's dog; from the shore, Syuoyatar asks to pick her up; sister does not want to, brother takes it; S. makes brother and sister deaf and replaces their words; instead of "adjust your jewelry" - "jump into the sea"; "undress and jump into the sea"; "cut out your eyes, break your arms and legs, jump into the sea" sea"; she did not maim herself, but jumped into the sea; S. persuaded the young man to marry her sister, put on her clothes; the Queen married S., but since she was ugly, he threw his brother into a hole with snakes; but the viper hugs and lulls the guy; the sister is engaged to the son of the sea lord; embroiders a brocade shawl, asks for permission to take it to the Queen; she is allowed to get up a little out of the water, but is held on a silver chain; Tag tells everything, hands over a handkerchief; a widow living by the sea tells the Queen everything; now the girl hands over a shirt for the queen; he realizes that this is not S.'s job; the widow tells him to forge a braid cut a silver chain and pull the girl out of the water with another chain; the girl turned into a mosquito, a lizard, a snake, a spindle, a rolling pin; the queen did not let go; burning resin was poured into the pit, covered with red cloth , called S., she fell, burned down; ordered her hair to become gnats and worms; the Queen made his wife's brother first assistant]: Concca 1991:65-76.