K27g5. Wooden axe. 16.27.28.30.31.34.

A person tries or should try to cut or dig with a wooden tool instead of an iron one.

Bretons, French (Upper Brittany), Croats, Czechs, Western Ukrainians (Transcarpathia), Sarykol, Swedes, Altaians.

Western Europe. The Bretons [the king's son got lost hunting, lost all his money and his head at the inn; Barbower Greenbeard tells him to come in a year; the old man gives a ball, which rolls to Castle B. scissors cut their way through the thorny bush; when three birds arrive, they will throw off their clothes from their feathers, swim, jump on the younger Quantic's back; she brings the young man to her father; B. gives tasks, K. teaches what to do; 1) cut down an oak grove with a wooden ax (hit once, all the trees will fall down), 2) demolish the mountain with a wooden pickaxe (the same), 3) get her grandfather's anchor from the bottom of the sea (K. tells her to cut off her head, throw into the sea, do not sleep; anchors, B. has not yet fallen asleep, puts K.'s head to the body); 4) B. is ready to give it to young K. if he identifies her among the three mice in the bag (K.'s two sisters rush to the young man's hand, she herself hides in the corner); when she enters marriage, K. throws a candlestick on the bed, it falls into the abyss (this is the work of her sisters); the spouses return to the young man's father, who inherits after the death of his father throne]: Lopyreva 1959, No. 32:122-129; the French (Haute-Brittany, 1879) [the boy {rather a young man} was collecting brushwood in the forest; the gentleman gave him money on the condition that in a month he would come to the same place; A month later, the young man did not find a master, and there were three girls on the pond: in white, gray and blue clothes; the one in white sent him to the master and taught him to refuse when he offered food: I must serve you , not you; gentleman is happy; in the morning he gives me a lead ax, a paper saw and a wheelbarrow made of oak leaves; you have to cut down the forest in a day and stack logs; a girl in white gives a magic wand, according to her everything comes true; the next day: in a day, there should be an orchard and a pond with ducks on the site of the hill (the same); then: get a dove from the top of a marble tower with steep walls; girl: cut me into pieces, cook me in a cauldron and make a step out of each bone; the young man did not put the little finger of his left foot in the cauldron; when he went down, the girl was whole, the young man admitted that he had hidden his little finger and she allowed keep it for himself; when the master offered to choose a bride among three sisters, the bride taught the young man to recognize her by the absence of a little finger; after the wedding, the master hung the newlyweds bed over the failure; He asks three times: son-in-law, are you sleeping? the wife will tell her not to answer for a third time, and then race away on a horse named Little Wind; then the master asks her daughter; the third time she did not answer, ran away, and the master and wife cut off the ropes; Having caught up with the young man, his wife reproaches him: you have saddled the Big Wind, now someone will die; chase; the wife has turned the horse into a garden, herself and the young man into gardeners; the gentleman and his wife ask if they have seen the fugitives; in answer: three pears for su; - That's not it! - Four for soo! next time: church, altar and priest; he mumbles when asked by the pursuers: Dominus vobiscum; for the third time, the river, the boat and the carrier; -Just transported them; the gentleman and his wife got into the boat, she sank and they drowned; the couple rode home safely]: Sébillot 1880, No. 31:197-205; the French (Haute-Brittany) [two women were giving birth in the evening from church, lost their way, came to the ogre; his wife hid them in chests in the barn; one gave birth to a boy Pierre, the other to Françoise; the cannibal found them but did not eat them; when P. grew up, the cannibal sent him to cut down the forest with a wooden one with an ax; F. went to bring him lunch; the woman gave her a magic wand; on her order, the trees fell; the same when Pierre was told to fill the pool with water, carrying the water with a pen; F. overheard that they wanted them cook and eat; put the cannibal's son in P.'s place, told the wand to leave the house; the children ran away, the cannibal ate his son, chased the children; F. tells the magic wand to divide the waters of the river to pass dry; when the cannibal followed, the waters closed and he drowned; P. F. came to Christians, grew up, P. got married and F. got married]: Sébillot 1894, No. 4:49-51.

The Balkans. Croats [while hunting during a thunderstorm, a man noticed a damn son showing a fig to St. Ilya; shot him with a gun; hell made the river full, turned old man, offered to transport it; let the man give him what he did not know at home; wife gave birth to a son; hell, his wife and daughter came by queues every day until the young man grew up; the pop gave the young man a book that would protect him from the devil; but the devil's daughter persuaded the young man to look at her; he looked and immediately disappeared; hell says until evening cut down the forest with a wooden ax, sow corn and bake cakes; the daughter has fulfilled the devil; build a church with 9 towers and have a service at lunchtime (the same); the daughter tells the devil to run; the devil pursues; turned into an old man with a girl; next time the wife is chasing the devil; the lake and the duck; do not raise your head, otherwise your mother will tear your eyes out; but the young duck looked up and the devil snatched them out; but the daughter convinced her mother to get her eyes back; she became a Christian, all is well]: Eschker 1992, No. 9:56-61.

Central Europe. Czechs [the king invites his three sons to go out into the world, find brides and bring gifts for him a year later - who is better; brothers shoot arrows in different directions; the youngest is Yarmil, his arrow falls into a hole in the mouse; the road down in front of Y. opened a marble castle; towards a girl in white, telling Y. to sit on her white horse; the horse flew to the castle made of gold and gems; I got off my horse, and the horse flew away; inside the hall one is richer than the other; the last one is empty, and the diamond says; to save me, keep me by your side and bathe me every day; under the diamond and gold there is a toad; he put it in his bosom; in the other food and wine appear by themselves in the hall; I stayed in the castle, but the more I washed the toad, the uglier it seemed; a year later I found a note: put me in a frying pan, cover me, bring it to my father as a gift; I. returned to his father with his brothers; the elder bride had a princess, the gift was a mirror; the middle bride also sent a mirror; I gave the box; diamonds on it; a little man jumped out of it and handed the mirror , and then disappeared; the king recognized Y.'s gift as the best; now the king tells his sons to return in a year and one day, bringing portraits of their brides; I returned to the toad; a year later a note: my portrait on in a frying pan, give it to my father; when I gave it back, the king said he had not seen such a beauty; a year and a day later, the king wanted to see the brides themselves; instead of a toad in front of Y. beautiful; tells me to go down to the basement, there 12 candles, in front of each shirt; I have to put out the candles, bring shirts and candles, be silent and not listen to anything; beautiful: these shirts are toad skins and the candles burned me; the monster nailed in the basement by the tongue bewitched my king father; nailed by a witch who is stronger than a monster; for three years you should not tell me what image I used to be or say how many skins I had; your mother is especially dangerous a witch who hates you; I brought a bride, the wedding of three brothers; the prince's mother convinces him that the witch is not her, but his fiancée; found out what she wanted; stole toad skins and candles from Y.'s wife's room and burned it them; wife: you have solved the secret, now I'm flying to a glass mountain, from where there is no return; I. goes in search; the juggler said that the glass mountain is in the east; there is a river around the mountain, there are three giants on the bridge; the maiden from white castle: tie the horse's hooves with rags and throw dust behind; spend the night in the mill across the river; the cook will bring the chicken to the miller, throw the bones under the millstones; let him give it to you, and you throw it in front of you when you want to climb a glass mountain; throw the last one behind you when you're at the top; when I threw bones, each turned into a step; when I threw the last one back, I appeared the road the horse climbed; a witch with 12 daughters lives in the castle; wife: the witch knows that you are here, be nice to her; when you eat after each meal, get up and leave, otherwise you will stay forever; the witch promises to give Y. his wife, but for three years of service; gives a wooden ax to cut down the forest; the wife put Ya to sleep, threw the powder, someone's hands cut down the forest; the witch gave a shovel to dig the mountain (the same); scoop out thimble pond (same); wife: now the witch will appear in a black cloud, hit her with my sword; the witch fell dead, my wife and I jumped away; when they found out everything, the king burned mother Y.; they arrived at the mouse court. : there are city gates, disgraced people welcome; everyone is happy]: Curtin 1890:331-355; Western Ukrainians (Gorinchevo, Khust District, Transcarpathia) [Count's son goes hunting every day. In the morning he wakes up, opens the window, sees that a woman is walking down the street, bringing her son to eat in a pot. The count's son, to test his accuracy, shoots at the pot and breaks it. Baba sees him laughing and says that she barely begged her son for food. She curses him to only marry Seipentel Ilona. The guy runs after his grandmother and asks where she is. She replies that where ninety-nine human heads are on the stakes, and leaves. The count's son does not find a place for himself, he is going to look for his betrothed. He sees how a bear crashes ants, feels sorry for ants, drives a bear into the thicket. Ants give him a pipe that he can use to summon them to help. The guy goes on, sees that the boys have caught a fox and hit it. He asks to keep it and pays them a crown. The fox gives him a pipe to play on, and she will come to his aid. The count's son comes to the water and sees the fish fighting. He throws bread to the fish. The fish calms down, thanks him and gives him a pipe to call for help. More often, he bumps into a hut, around 99 human heads on poles. He comes in and sees the woman he smashed the pot with on the stove. She serves him by telling him to look after her three mares. If he doesn't pull him back, his head will be on a pole. The guy falls asleep, and when he wakes up, he does not find mares. It causes ants with the help of a flute, who explain that the mares have become ants. Real ants will start biting them, then they'll start running away. When the first one runs and then the second one, you don't have to do anything, and when the third one runs, you have to whip it and say, "Be what you used to be!" That's what the guy does. In the evening, a woman checks, sees mares, gets angry and hits them with an iron club (these are her daughters). In the morning, she orders her daughters to go to the water and become fish. When the guy wakes up, he calls fish with the help of a flute. She reports that mares have become goldfish. Real fish will bite them. When the third one jumps out of the water, you should whip it and say, "Be what you were!" That's what the guy does. The woman gets angry in the evening, whips the mares with a fiery whip, accusing them of being in a romantic relationship with the guy. They deny it and tell their mother that she is wise and he is wiser. On the third day, the mares disappear again. The fox summoned by the flute explains that the woman turned them into eggs, put them in a basket on the stove, and sat on them herself. But the woman in the attic has a rooster. The fox will call the ferret, which will start chasing the rooster. The woman will get up from her eggs and climb to save the rooster. Then you have to run into the hut, whip the balls and say, "Be what you used to be!" The ferret starts chasing the rooster, the woman, when she hears a scream, climbs into the attic. The guy hits the balls, the mares are back in the barn, the guy sits on a chair. Baba is convinced that he is wiser than her. He says he served her faithfully and asks what he asks for his service. He wants to stay in service for three more years. Baba agrees, takes him to a big lake in the morning, gives him a wooden shovel, a wooden hoe, a wooden coinage, and tells this lake to fall asleep and walled up so that she can ride it on horseback, if not will do - be his head on the stake. His tools break immediately, he sits and grieves. Babina, Seipentel's daughter Ilona, brings him food and finds out the cause of his burning. After feeding him, she puts him into a deep sleep, whistling to the devils. They fall asleep and walled up the lake. When the guy wakes up, he notifies the woman, she checks, but the lake does not break through under the horse. She sends him into the thicket the next day. There, the wind scattered beech and oak seeds. They must be harvested, each seed separately. At noon, the girl brings food and finds out about the task. The guy eats up and falls asleep because Ilona sleeps on him, and she whistles, devils run, and in an hour all the seeds are collected as the woman wanted. On the third day, the woman orders to cut down the thicket, dig it up, and sow it with wheat. By evening, wheat must be ripe, and he must squeeze it, bring it, grind it, grind the flour and bake bread. The guy cuts down one tree and gets tired. SI wants to bring him an afternoon snack, but the woman yells at her, even breathes fire, suspects that she is doing all the work for him, and he's not so wise, let his sister carry it. But after a while she calms down and leaves her daughter alone. SI brings in an afternoon snack, finds the guy crying. When he has lunch, she falls into a deep sleep, and she cries the devils like sea sand. Everything is ready by evening. Ilona wakes him up, gives him a fresh roll and asks him to tell the woman when she asks what he wants for his service, what he wants to stay with her for another three years. Baba pretty agrees. The count's son stays with her, does everything well, but one day, when a woman falls asleep, SI and her boyfriend get ready for a long journey. SI turns herself and his boyfriend into pigeons, they're flying, and SI asks if you can see anything. The guy turns around and says he sees a cloud of fire. She replies that she is a mother and that she will turn herself into a mill and him into an old miller. The old woman will ask if he saw two pigeons, and he must answer what he saw a long time ago. Baba decides it's not them and comes home. SI turns them into pigeons again, and they're flying to its land. She asks again, and he sees a fiery cloud again. Then SI turns itself into grass and it into a braid. He tells Baba he saw two pigeons when he was clearing this field for a meadow. Baba is coming home. Two pigeons hit the road again. After a while, SI asks again who he sees. He says the woman is on a fiery horse. SI turns them into fish, but tells them not to stick their heads out of the water or they'll go blind and she'll talk to her mother. But the guy wants to hear what they're talking about, sticks his head out of the water, the woman steals his eyes and comes home. The girl cries, goes like a dove behind his eyes. At home, she gives her mother and sisters a deep sleep, climbs into her mother's bosom, reaches out her eyes, and instead puts pigeon eggs so that her mother thinks when she wakes up, that her eyes are in her bosom. She flies to the riverbank and returns the guy's eyes. They fly to his village. The guy is happy, he leads the girl by the hand. She asks where he's taking her. He replies to their homestead. She tells me not to do this, because she is not yet known there, asks to be taken to their innkeeper neighbor, who will serve him. In a month, let him tell his father and mother that she wants to get married. They'll get married then, but he must remember not to let anyone at home kiss him. The guy leaves his betrothed with the innkeeper, returns to his parents himself. They welcome him, they want to hug him and kiss him, but they don't give him. Tired, he goes to bed, in the evening an aunt comes to them and kisses a sleepy man in bed. He forgets the girl. It takes two weeks and two months. His relatives decide to marry him. They choose a bride, marry, and set a wedding day. SI knows everything, she cries, makes the guy fall and dislocated his leg. They send him for a doctor, and the innkeeper's maid says she'll heal him faster. This is what happens. The guy asks what to reward her with. She doesn't want anything but asks to be invited to the wedding. The wedding day is coming. She bites through a golden nut, takes out her gold clothes and comes to the wedding. The young ones are just about to get married. But when a young woman sees an innkeeper's maid, she refuses to get married until she gets the same dress. They start looking for silver clothes. They cannot find it anywhere and have to buy it from the maid, they promise to pay her dearly. She doesn't want anything, she asks permission to be with her young man. XI kisses the guy, talks about everything, but he doesn't remember anything. A servant hides under the bed and hears what the girl said. "I've saved your life six times and you've forgotten it all! But it's not all gone. At dawn, I'll be cuckoo at your house, and then you'll see me, then you'll recognize me..." She's going home. The servant crawls out from under the bed, tells the young master what he has heard. After that, the guy remembers everything. In the morning he goes out into the yard, sees a cuckoo, and immediately recalls SI. But the cuckoo is flying away. The count's son is going to travel. The bride is told that they will not get married, she can marry someone else. He orders iron tables from the master and goes around the world. Looking for a betrothed for seven years. One day he sits under the willow, looks - the tables are torn. She thinks this is the only place she should be if his tables are broken. The cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo cucko The guy says it's his Ilonka. The bird says it's his. He calls her to his place. She asks me to be afraid that she won't invite her aunt to the wedding, who kissed him. He takes an oath. Then she flies off and becomes a girl. The guy is happy, takes her hand and brings her to his parents. They're getting married and living happily ever after]: Lintour 1979:121-129.

Iran - Central Asia. Sarykoltsy [a childless person sees a pomegranate in the river, takes it; a dragon comes out, gives two grenades, let his wife, a mare, a dog eat them; a son, a foal, a puppy must be sent to him; then all three they give birth again, these people can keep for themselves; Joneyhair is born; after finding out what is going on, he rides a horse and a dog to the river; the dragon orders to get the princess; wins, takes the Ice Bear Beast, the Beast, Fire-bearer, Shooter Beast, Shovel-bearer Beast; does not crush ants, their king gives his mustache to summon it on occasion; the same with mice; the princess's father offers tests; 1) sit in a cold house (Fiery Bearer warms, 2) in a hot house (The Ice Maker cools down), 3) turn the forest into arable land (the Lopatonbearer performs), 4) collect millet scattered across the field (ants collect); 5) bring firewood to the donkey (the witch has turned at a donkey, then became a bird, flew away with firewood, but the Shooter hit her, she became a donkey again); mice gnaw through the wall into the princess's room; she warns that her father will put his horse against J. the dog against his dog, tells him to cut the iron deck with a wooden ax; gives a bunch of his hair, it helps to cut it; the horse and dog J. win; the king gives his daughter; sends after the old woman to turned J. into a donkey; J. changed the potion, it was eaten by an old woman and a dragon, and became donkeys]: Grunberg, Steblin-Kamensky 1976, No. 27:273-285.

Baltoscandia. The Swedes [king and queen are childless; the queen loved boat trips; the ship stopped suddenly; voice: give what is under her belt; she agreed without knowing she is pregnant; the ship again sailed; when he found out what was going on, the king assured his wife that he would protect her from the siren (Meerweib); the prince grew up playing with two cousins, the sons of the neighboring king; his horse carried him to sea and they disappeared into waves; the prince at the bottom of the sea walks along the path to the golden castle of the siren, the lady of the wind and waves; the siren assigns him his page; if he serves well, he will return to his parents; first task: wash the white daughter yarn and white black; princess: my name is Messeria; if you promise to remain faithful to me, I will do everything; but don't tell anyone; called her mother's little men, everyone took one hair and washed it like it is necessary; the second task is to separate two types of grain (wheat and Korn); the little men divided; the third task is to clean the barn in which oxen have been standing for 20 years; now the young man must choose one of her daughters; all of them in in the image of different animals; the princess warned that she would be a cat; the siren sent the young man to her sister to borrow her wedding dress for his daughter; M.: there will be a grille in the gate, grease her with ointment from this horns, you can open the gate; then two men will cut the oak tree with wooden axes, give them iron axes; then the other two threshing with iron flails - give them wooden ones; give meat to two eagles; sister has sirens don't eat anything; the prince did everything; quietly hid the food offered; but the food answered the siren's sister's question: I'm here under the bed; next time the prince hid the food in the oven - the same; for the third time hid it under her clothes on his body; the siren's sister believed that the prince had eaten everything; gave me a box with wedding dresses; when the prince left, the siren's sister consistently ordered the guards (eagles, woodcutters, etc.) detain him, but they say that he helped them and they will not detain him; on the way to the siren, the prince opened the box slightly, although M. did not tell them to do so; a sheaf of sparks broke out; the prince remembered the little men called by M.; knocked on the stone, asked them for help; they jumped out, each grabbed a sparkle and returned them to the box; the siren asked for the prince's luxurious wedding with M.; then the young went to the prince's homeland; when they arrived at the king's city, the prince insisted on going alone first; M. ordered nothing to eat; but he succumbed to persuasion and ate cookies (Pfefferkorn); immediately forgot M. and that's it, what happened to him; they decided to marry the princess next door; during the wedding feast, M. came in as a maid and released two doves; the dove tells the dove three times that he will forget her, just as the prince forgot M.; the prince remembered everything, hugged M. and called her his only bride]: Hyltén-Cavallius, Stephens 1848:255-274.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. The Altaians [the poor man's son has grown up, his father sends him to the taiga, he is ready to die in the swamp; the Kaan bird takes him away, turns him into Kara-Kaana, locks him in a chicken coop, tells 40 daughters to feed him bran; the youngest feeds like a person; K. tells you to scoop out the lake with a sieve, 2) cut down the forest with a wooden ax, 3) build a palace overnight; the youngest daughter does everything herself; teaches you to recognize her among 40 sisters : everyone will read books, she will open the crust of the book, close it; among 40 geese (she will raise her wing); K. settles the young in a golden palace; the young man wants to go home, the wife explains that she does not K.'s own daughter, he kidnapped her parents; if he catches up, kills; tells the bed, table, doors and all objects, to answer that they just woke up, gather, etc.; K. orders to break the door, sends them in pursuit 9 sons; the wife creates a church, they themselves are an old man and an old woman; K. himself pursues, the girl creates a lake, they themselves are sand at the bottom; K. became a pike, swallows sand, did not notice two grains of sand, left, young ran away; the wife threw her shoe - there was an iron bridge across the river; the girl's mother from the other side asks for the return of her shoe and black book, otherwise K. will kill her; the daughter returns, they arrived at her husband's parents; daughter turns his handkerchief into a crow, sends it to K., the raven pecked out his eyes, brought the girl's mother; everything is fine]: Chudoyakov 2002:51-63.