K61F. Animated doll, ATU 459. .17.23.30.
Fearing her husband's anger, a childless woman pretends to have given birth. The husband believes that he has a daughter or son, and after a while he marries her (marries him). During the wedding ceremony, a doll or animal is under a veil (in a palanquin), but at the last moment a supernatural character turns an imaginary newlywed (newlywed) into a girl or boy.
Palestinians, Persians, Kashmiris, Chemical plowmen, Santals, Bengalis.
Western Asia. Palestinians: El-Shamy 2004, No. 459:229
South Asia. Kashmiris [the king is childless; one of the wives reports that she is pregnant; in fact, she has given birth to a cat; the king is told that her daughter cannot be seen until she is married; the imaginary girl has grown up and found a fiancé for her; he was told the truth, taking the word to remain silent; the prince keeps his wife locked up; the cat suffers like a man; Shiva and Parvati tell her to put oil on her shoulder; she left a piece of skin unsmeared on her shoulder to the prince noticed cat hair there and did not suspect deception; everyone is happy]: Knowles 1888:8-10; himachali plowmen [the childless wound has a hand squirrel; Rani told her husband she was expecting a baby; when it came time, sent the maid to inform her that a daughter had been born; asked the brahmana to warn her that the king should not look at her until her marriage, otherwise the daughter would die; at the time of time, the brahmana found a suitable one the groom, the youngest of the 7 princes named Shahzada; Rani placed a squirrel in the palanquin; at home, finding a squirrel, Sh., fearing shame, told no one to enter his chambers; the older daughters-in-law are dissatisfied - why the youngest does nothing; the squirrel promises S. to do her part better than other daughters-in-law (cover the floor with fresh alabaster, grind the grain); does not know how to cook a complex dish; Parvati begged Mahadeo to turn a squirrel into a girl; S. first thinks the squirrel burned down; his wife explains that she was a squirrel; everyone is happy]: Dracott 1906:40-45; Santals [Raja has two wives and two concubines (they are maids of wives), but no children; Rani quarreled and expelled the eldest Raja; her maid said that she was expecting a child; the Raja sent the expelled wife everything she required; when the imaginary son was supposed to grow up (but the child was also a child marriage), the Raja found him a bride; the maid made a doll; went to the temple and threatened the spirit (bonga) that she would spit on him if he did not give a child; the spirit gave boy, the maid replaced them with a doll; everything is fine, the Raja began to live with his elder wife]: Bompas 1909, No. 83:248-251; Bengalis [the king is concerned about the absence of an heir; fearing a rival, rani says she is pregnant; but she found out in a dream that her future son would die as soon as the king looked at him; the king moved Rani to a separate palace, and Rani let the baby cry, who was just right gave birth to a maid; later agreed with a teacher whom the king sent to teach her imaginary son; when the imaginary prince's wedding was scheduled, Rani placed a wax figure in the palanquin; at a stop on the way to the house A snake crawled into the bride's palanquin and revived her figure; when he saw the prince, the father hugged him; after the wedding, the princess asks her mother-in-law to tell her about her husband, but she advises to ask him himself; the prince asks his wife not insist - the less she knows, the better; begins to turn into a snake; the princess insists, the prince became a cobra, disappeared into the water; the princess decided not to return, came to the poor woman; the king believes that the son was missing because he looked at him; while snakes crawled into the poor woman's house in the evenings, lay down at the princess's feet; she fell ill; the snake crawled into the room, threw off his snakeskin, and became man; the king came to spy at that time, threw his skin into the fire; everyone is happy]: Devi 1915:20-28.
Iran - Central Asia. Persians (Khorasan) [the merchant threatens to kill his wife if she does not give birth; the wife asked the carpenter to carve the doll out of wood; the shah expresses a desire to marry the merchant's daughter (when she grows up); peri in his throat the bone was stuck; when Peri flew over the ottoman on which the wooden bride was lying, she laughed, the bone popped out; peri decided to replace the doll; but Peri did not let the Shah approach him; he took another wife, and she sent a maid to Peri; the maid sees Peri's thimble rolling into the corner of the room; she cut off her nose, sent him for a thimble, her nose returned to its place; the new wife threw thimble, cut off her nose, died of blood loss; the same with his second wife: Peri enters a hot tone, takes out cakes from there; the new wife burned down; with the third (peri turns the fish over with her bare hands in a hot frying pan, the new wife burned her hands and died); Peri explains to the Shah that she will give herself to him only after marriage; that's what happened, everything is fine]: Osmanov 1987:283-285/