K27z9. Why did the fish grinn, (ATU 875D).
.15.17.23.29.-.32.
(Dried) fish (water fish, satyr, etc.) laughs, smiles, or spits. The reason is that there is a man in the house disguised as a woman.
Italians, Arameans (Maalula), Arabs of Iraq, Ancient India, Kashmiris, Santals, Balkarians, Ingush, Armenians, Turks, Kurds, Persians, Icelanders, Bashkirs.
Southern Europe. Italians (Lombardia or Veneto) [they caught a satire in the forest, led him to the king, and on the way he grins three times: at the sight of the boy's funeral, at the sight of the hangman in the square, and when he meets queen]: Straparola.
Western Asia. Aramei (Maalula) [a man caught frogs and suddenly caught a goldfish; the daughter advised me to take it to the Sultan; she took it herself, received 500 piasters; when the Sultan's wife approached the pool, the fish spat in her face; the Sultan called the girl who brought the fish and asked her to explain what it meant; the girl replies that the Sultan would repent, trying to find out, but told stories; after each one again repeats that the Sultan would repent; 1) while hunting in a waterless place, the king saw water dripping from the cliff and put up a goblet to drink; his falcon knocked over the goblet; the king shot the falcon; then noticed that it's not water dripping, it's poison from the snake's mouth; 2) one blacksmith got hungry and bought a goose to fry; the earth opened - there's gold and a man who asks for a goose in exchange for gold; the blacksmith did not want to part with the goose; the man went out, took the goose, beat the blacksmith, disappeared into the ground and it closed again; 3) the bird took the muezzin to 5 girls; they entertained him, fed him; he wants to go to family; they promise bring his children 500 piastres every day; after 8 days he still wants to visit the house; the maidens warn him to go to the minaret no later than noon; the muezzin asked his wife to wake him up before noon, and she she did not do this; the bird did not fly again; the sultan still wants to know why the fish spat; the girl promises to do so in the presence of the Sultan; tells the maids to be undressed; one turned out to be a man; The sultan and lover were executed, the sultan married this girl]: Bergsträsser 1915, No. 21:71-75; Iraqi Arabs: Stevens 2006, No. 44 [the sultan is predicted that his daughter will disgrace him; he orders him to kill all daughters; one of the wives begged her not to kill her daughter; the sultan locks his daughter in the palace; the fisherman caught two laughing fish and brought it for the Sultan's daughter; she wants to know why; the vizier was told on pain of death find out in three days; he asks everyone - to no avail; the wife reproaches the boy who reproached the vizier when he hit his mare just because it was hot; the boy promises to reveal the secret , if he is brought to the palace; he asks if the Sultan's daughter will regret wanting to know the answer to the question; in front of everyone, he announces that the Sultan's daughter went to her lover down the underground passage; the Sultan tells decapitate a daughter, adopts a boy]: 253-263 (quoted in Nowak 1969, No. 478:380); Yaremenko 1990, No. 11 (north of Baghdad) [Sheikh Hassan returned and found his daughter pregnant; in his absence, she found a nodule with white powder and licked; he lowered his daughter and his born grandson in a box along the river; the fisherman caught him; once he caught an unusual colorful fish; the boy ordered not to eat it, take it to the Vali palace; fisherman received a lot of money for it; when Wali's daughter saw the fish, she was shy and the fish laughed; Wali demanded that the fisherman explain this; the boy told the fisherman to bring it to the palace; the boy warns that Wali would regret wanting to know the truth; first told two parables; 1) the king and his favorite bird found themselves in the desert; the bird twice knocks out a cup of water from him, which could hardly be aimed at a stream; he kills a bird, goes up the stream, sees a line trickling out of his mouth; 2) the king's favorite nightingale brought a seed, an apple tree has grown; the courtiers poisoned the apple, the king gave the cat a try, that dead, the king killed the nightingale; the gardener tasted the second apple, was younger; the king repented; yet the wali tells the boy to explain why the fish laughed; he asks to open the hatch in the underground of his daughter Vali - there her black lover and four kids]: 60-68.
South Asia. 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 & #346; ukasaptati/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 message 25.09.2021; Santals [the merchant has five unmarried sons; having bought a permit from the Raja, he ordered his sons clear the overgrown pond; there were fish at the bottom, two of which were sent by the merchant to Raja; when the fish arrived in the palace, they laughed; no one could explain why; the Raja promised to execute the merchant and all of him descendants, if he did not find an explanation by a certain date; the merchant told the eldest son to leave to continue the family; he met the daughter of another Raja, they liked each other, the Raja and Rani agreed for marriage; the wife noticed that the young husband cries at night; he explained the reason; she ordered him to go to his father to settle the matter; ordered the people to gather; agreed that if everything turned out to be true, the merchant will receive half of the Raja's possessions; announced that the Raja has only an older wife, women, the rest are men; so the fish laughed; it turned out; the Raja was disgraced, the merchant received what was promised]: Bompas 1909, No. 18: 70-74; Kashmiris [the king's wife began to buy fish from the merchant; said she only wanted a female; the fish laughed; the merchant said it was a male and left; the king demanded that the vizier should have him in six months found out what it means to laugh fish, otherwise he executes; the vizier, not hoping for success, advised his son to leave the city for a while; he goes and his companion is a peasant; the young man offers to carry each other; when he sees wheat in the field, asks if it has already been eaten; gives the peasant a knife, asks him to make two horses with it, and bring the knife back; no one greeted them in the city, the young man called the city a cemetery; in the cemetery, people pray and give gifts to passers-by, the young man called it a beautiful city; waded across the river without taking off his sandals; a peasant invited him into his house, the young man asks if he is strong a load-bearing beam; a peasant tells his wife and daughter that he brought a fool; the daughter explains that the young man is smart (he had to tell each other stories; two staffs were cut out; the planted field seemed to have been eaten; unfriendly people resemble dead people; without sandals, you can hurt your feet against stones at the bottom of the river); the girl told the servant to take the young man gyav, 12 chapátís and a jug of milk, saying: the moon is full, 12 months is a year, the sea is full of water; the servant shared food with his son on the way; the young man ordered to convey the answer: the moon is in the first quarter, the year is 11 months old, the sea is not full at all; the girl understood and punished to the servant; the girl also explained the fish laugh: there is a man in the palace about whom the king knows nothing; the vizier's son returned to his father, taking the girl with him; the vizier ordered to dig a hole: let all the women in the palace jump through her; only one could do it - he was a man in disguise; the vizier's son married an intelligent girl]: Knowles 1988:484-490.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. 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- vanities ("white bone")]: 58-61; Ingush [the boy was riding a mare; the prince poked her with a whip; the boy said that he gouged out the eye of a foal in the womb of a mare with a white mark on his forehead; The mare was stabbed, and it turned out so; the prince took the boy to him; once they caught an unusual fish; the prince's daughter picked it up but realized: what if this fish was male; the fish laughed and died; the prince demanded to know the reason; the prince told the young man (he is already 17) to answer, otherwise he would burn him; the young man tells how the rider, languishing with thirst, put his hands under the water pouring from above, but her pet dove splashed; the rider killed the pigeon, and when he looked up, he saw a dragon salivating; second story: devout blind spouses have a golden bird; God gave her two apples that would restore her sight; a bird threw apples to the old men, and the old man thought it was stones and killed the bird; then he saw the light and repented; the prince was adamant - his daughter must know the reason why the fish laughed; young man: there are three bastards in the basement, whom the princess gave birth to from Black Nega; the young man left the prince, began to study, became smarter than teachers; they envious sent him to a certain country; he visited there, brought the golden shoes given by the girls; teachers a witch was hired, who said that her daughter's shoes were stolen; the young man went back to that country; people on the shore complain that a woman brings food on the ship, shows, teases and takes it back; the young man grabbed the girl, she escaped, leaving the ship and her ring; on the other side, another woman teases people in the same way, bringing clothes on the ship but not giving them; the young man grabbed her handkerchief and the ship; the young man climbed into the tower, hid; three birds came in, telling how one lost her ring, the other lost her scarf, and the third lost her gold shoes; the birds became girls, one noticed that someone was drinking from her glass; a young man It seemed that this girl became his wife, gave a ring - if worn, all three would come; the young man was taken home, the teachers and the witch were thrown into prison; they say that the young man brought his stolen shoes again; the young man put on a ring, those girls appeared, the liars were punished, the young man became a padishah, married his wife's sisters]: Tankieva 2003:132-140; Armenians [the merchant saw a skull floating along the river and repeats: "During his lifetime killed a hundred people, but then I'll 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, the 13-year-old daughter from his first wife remained in the house and tyranted her stepmother; 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 a fish jump out of the pond and laughed; if the wise men do not give explanations in 40 days, they will be executed; that young man took the king to his 15-year-old daughter's room, ordered the floor to be broken; there are many princess lovers; the king hung them and daughter, made the young man the first vizier, and then handed him the throne]: Gazarov 1889, No. 1:77-79; the Turks [the princess sweeps, finds a pearl, swallows it, gives birth to a son; her brothers expel her; the son grows up, one of the brothers takes a boy; sells; the buyer dreams that he was ridiculed by fish; the boy tells how his grandfather was thirsty and the falcon (ein treuer Vogel) knocked over the water he wanted drink; the bird is dead, the owner finds out that the water is poisoned; the owner has a wife with 40 lovers, so the fish laughed; he kills lovers, the boy and dies of hate]: Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 100 .III: 117; Kurds [the fisherman has a son Mirza, the padishah has a daughter Golnar; G. has 40 maids, one of them is a young man in disguise; no one understands that this is a young man, and five-year-old M. welcomes him as the padishah's son-in-law ; G. tells his father that he will die if he does not eat M.'s cooked head; the padishah sent the vizier to buy M.; he tells the vizier to hide him, he will come in handy, bring the head of his deceased comrade yesterday; fisherman I caught a beautiful fish, gave it to the vizier; M. tells the vizier to give it to the padishah; the padishah is happy, he wants to give fish to his daughter; G.: if it is a female, I will accept the gift, but if it is a male, then not, for everyone in my half should be only female; at these words, the fish put its head out of the pool and grinned; the padishah tells the vizier to find out why in 40 days, otherwise he will cut off his head; M. brought the vizier to the padishah, asks to give in he has a throne for an hour so that the padishah, angry, does not kill him; tells a parable about how the pradishah's falcon was sad, the vizier advised him to let go; he brought two seeds, from which an apple tree grew with two apples; the padishah's wife fell ill; one apple fell, the snake bit it; the padishah ordered to give half to the dog, half to the cat, both died, the padishah killed the falcon; the second apple ordered to be given to his wife so got rid of her torment and died; she recovered and became more beautiful than before; the padishah repented that he had killed the falcon; so you would repent, insisting on finding out about the fish; M. called G. and the maids, said that his knife was stolen, let everyone undress; G.: one so shy that she even sleeps without undressing; lover exposed; padishah ordered to put her daughter and lover on a donkey face to tail and drive city, then drive him out of the country; made M. a vekil]: Rudenko 1970, No. 48:136-140.
Iran - Central Asia. Persians (literary tradition, 1313-1316, Indian source) [Story 40: A wealthy merchant saw a skull rolling on the ground like a ball, with the hand of fate inscribed on its forehead: "This the head will kill 84 people during his lifetime, and after death the same number"; at the instigation of Satan, 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 his wife, told him not to 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 of pregnancy appeared, told her mother about everything; gave birth to a handsome boy, he was named Mashalla; 7 years later, the merchant returned home and 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 a cinnabar in front of their eyes; the sellers asked the merchant to sell them the boy and that advised the merchant to agree; at home, the sellers began to raise M. as their son; once the local Raja Bikmakir 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, № 875D: 157; Persians []: Romaskevich 1934a, No. 52:250-252.
Baltoscandia. Icelanders [the fisherman caught water in the sea, who asked to let him go, but the fisherman refused. Having sailed to his native bay, the fisherman took on a water tank and carried it home. His friendly wife ran out to meet him, and the waterman laughed at the sight of her. Then his dog ran out to meet the fisherman, the fisherman kicked her, and the waterman laughed again. Then the fisherman stumbled on the bump, flared up and kicked it, causing the waterman to laugh for the third time. Each time, the fisherman demanded that the waterman explain why he was laughing, but the waterman did not answer. The fisherman kept the water man for a year, but he remained silent. In his second year, the waterman announced that he would say the reasons for his laughter, but only if the fisherman took him by boat to where he caught him and let him go to sea. The fisherman did so. The water, finding himself in the water, explained to the fisherman that for the first time he laughed because of the affectionate reception of the fisherman's wife, who was actually cheating on him. The second time he laughed because the fisherman was rude to a dog that was actually loyal to him. The third time he laughed was when a fisherman kicked a bump that he tripped over because there was a treasure under it. The fisherman returned home, dug up a hummock, found a treasure under it and became rich]: Árnason 1954:202-203 (http://norse.ulver.com/src/tales/sjo/marbendl/index.html, translated from isl. Crewe Glazyev).
Volga - Perm. The Bashkirs (from records of 1877-1909) [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]: Bessonov 1941, No. 71:319-320.