K56ab. The girl takes off her shirts, her snakes take off her skins, (ATU 433B) .15.16.28.29.31.33.

The girl marries a monster. On her wedding night, he tells her to take off her shirt and she tells her to take off his skin. The girl stays alive, and the monster becomes handsome - usually because she has more shirts (or pre-worn leather) than he does.

Portuguese, French (Guyenne), Orientals (?) Ukrainians, Armenians, Turks, Danes, Karakalpaks.

Southern Europe. The Portuguese [a childless queen gives birth to an animal (snake, lizard, foal, lamb, etc.); this son grows up and wants to marry, but every girl given to him as his wife is found in the morning dead; one wears seven shirts before her wedding night; taking off her next shirt, the bride demands that the groom shed one of her skins; throwing off the last one, the monster groom turns into a beautiful young man]: Cardigos 2006, No. 433B: 105; (cf. the Portuguese (Coimbra) [the childless queen regularly prays to St. The virgin give her a child; the shepherd drove the herd past; the queen: even a lamb! gave birth to a white lamb; he grew up and told his mother that he would marry his eldest daughter do rei do conselho (Chairman of the State Council?) ; came to marry in the form of a prince, but said that he asked the girl to marry a kid; in marriage he saw his wife's knife, but took it away and stabbed her himself; the same with his second daughter; to become a prince, every time sheds 7 skins; everything is fine with his last wife {didn't bring a knife with you?} told his wife not to say that he was an enchanted prince; but she told his mother; prince: now the witchcraft will last for another 7 years, look for me on the South River (o rio Sul); my wife has come to the kingdom of the Moon; her mother of the Moon At first she hid it; the moon does not know, she sent her to the Wind and the Sun; they also do not know; 7 years have passed; the old woman pointed to the door to the Sul River; many birds will fly; the one that rushes to her feet is husband; wife: is it you? the spell was over, the couple began to live in the palace]: Coelho 1879, No. 25:60-82).

Western Europe. The French (Guyenne) [the royal couple has a monster son; he wants to marry; the queen comes to a poor woman with three daughters; persuaded her to give her daughter for a lot of money; the old man asks the girl Where she goes, but she snaps rude; in the morning the girl is eaten; the same with her second daughter; the third is kind to the old man; he tells her to wear white, purple and blue dresses; when the monster asks her to take them off, He must also be told to shed his skin; when the third one threw off, the groom became a handsome young man and went to bed with the bride]: Delarue, Tenèze 1964, No. 433:115-116.

Central Europe. Oriental (?) Ukrainians (western in Kiev) [healers tell the childless queen to catch and cook pike, eat her head; a year later, the queen gave birth to a snake; he immediately spoke; ordered the tsar to leave him in the stone house and through a month to marry; in a month it has become long; no girl agrees to go for a snake; the woman has 12 daughters, the youngest is single; when he found out that the youngest wanted to marry, the king summoned her and she agreed, but told her to give her 12 dresses, shirts, shoes; she is led to a snake; he demands to throw off her dress, she demands to throw off her skin; when the girl is left in her last shirt, she has shed her last skin and became human; she threw snakeskins into the fire; the serpent tells her parents not to tell her parents that he has become human; she said her husband is gone; she went to look for him; the mother of the Wind hides her from her son, who senses the spirit, but tells her to give it to the girl silver apple; came to the mother of the Month; the same (The Month tells me to give a golden apple); the mother of the Sun (the same, gives a diamond apple; her husband already has a different wife; we must take the form of an old woman, put a silver an apple on a handkerchief and play with it; the girl sells it to his new wife overnight with her husband, but she put him to sleep; the same on the second day (the golden apple); on the third night the husband only pretended to be asleep; the new wife was smashed horses to pieces]: Rudchenko 1859, No. 43:81-85.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Armenians [in a fairy tale recorded by Arak Bakhatryan in 1860, the bride wears hedgehog skin when she goes to see her husband Ōc-manuk ("snake son"); they argue, everyone demands that the other took off his skin; as a result, snakes become human and they become spouses; the motive is found in many versions]: Martirosyan 2009:525; Turks: Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 106 [ the dervish gives the padishah an apple to make his wife pregnant; during childbirth, all midwives die one by one; one woman sends her stepdaughter hoping that she will die; a girl goes to her mother's grave and asks her for advice; when he comes to the palace, he sees a box with snakes in it; later the serpent kills all the teachers sent to him; the girl is called again; on the advice of the deceased mother, she puts on 14 hedgehog skins; on the wedding night he consistently takes them off, and the groom must also lose his skin every time; after dropping the 14th, he turns into a young man; (hereinafter referred to as the story on another story)]: 126; Dmitriev 1967, No. 36 []: 220- 225.

Baltoyakandia. The Danes [after the wedding, the king and queen find a note on the bed: they are destined to remain childless; the old woman teaches the Queen to leave the mug upside down in the garden for the night; in the morning they will be under her red and white roses; if you eat scarlet, a son will be born, if white, a daughter; the queen ate both and gave birth to a wyvern (a two-legged dragon); he tells the king to recognize him as a son, otherwise he will destroy everything; then tells him to marry; they chose a princess, she is dead in the morning; the same with the second; the third bride is the daughter of a shepherd; the old woman tells me to wear 10 clothes before her wedding night; the groom will say: beautiful maiden, take off your clothes! the answer is: king wyvern, throw off slough! he has only 9 of them; dropping the last one, he will turn into a pile of meat; you have to beat it with birch twigs dipped in vinegar, then wash it in milk and wrap it in 9 sheets; then fall asleep; when the girl is in the morning woke up, handsome next to her; when her husband was at war, his wife gave birth to twins; the Red Knight changed the letter: two puppies; changed a letter from her husband: burn his wife and offspring; the Queen Mother hid the children, sent daughter-in-law away from the castle; a crane and a swan flew in, squeezed milk out of her breast, drank it, became princes; the king returned, the Red Knight was placed in a barrel of nails, tied to a horse and driven her; the woman wanted to return to the king, although both princes also wanted her; (hereinafter, p. 465-475, 11 more one-story versions; according to one, the hero is not a wyvern, but a serpent)]: Holbek 1987:460-465.

Turkestan. Karakalpaks [the bay has three wives, each wife has a daughter; one day he was going to go somewhere, but a serpent wrapped around the stirrup; bai hit the snake with a kamcha, but he only wrapped around the knee of the bay; then around the neck; bai consistently offers the snake to each of the three wives, starting with the eldest, then each of the daughters; the snake let go of the bay after promising to give him his youngest daughter; will return in a month; the youngest daughter listened to her father; asked her aunt to sew her a hedgehog fur coat; put on and waited for a snake; a snake to the girl: a hedgehog, a hedgehog, a hedgehog! Throw off your hedgehog coat! Girl: Serpent-Snake-Snake, Snake! Throw off your snake coat! The serpent threw off his snakeskin and turned out to be a beautiful horseman; the girl threw off her hedgehog coat and turned out to be beautiful; bai gave young people six species of cattle and a festive white yurt; her husband tells him to hide his snake skin: if someone throws it into the fire, they will have to part; one day one of Bai's wives was visiting, noticed skin under the bed and threw it into the fire; the husband came back, turned into a bird and flew away; the girl followed, came to some yard; there was a woman: if you don't leave, my husband and brother-in-law will eat you; the girl told me everything, the woman hid her in the chest; the devas came: it smells like human; woman convinced them that this was not the case; when the devas left, the girl moved on; an old woman met; said that there was a bird at the top of the tree, she sleeps during the day, and cries at night: "Oh, my cattle, six species! Oh, my white holiday yurt! Oh, my beautiful wife!" The girl followed the tree and grabbed the bird by the tail. The couple reunited, achieved their goals and desires]: Aimbetov 2014a: 22-23.