K65E. A midwife in the demonic world, ATU 476**,
(ATU 156B*) .14.-.17.27.28.31.32.34.36.
A woman is invited to an inhuman world, where she gives birth to one of the creatures (or serves as a nanny for a certain period of time, baptizes a child). It then returns to the human world.
Algerian Berbers, Libyan Arabs, Emirates, Sicilians, Ladins, Irish, British, Welsh, Scots, French (Upper Brittany, Provence), Germans (Rügen Island, Pomerania, Hesse, Harz, Grimms, Swabia), Frisians, Dutch, Palestinians, Croats, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Hungarians, Russians (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Voronezh), Ukrainians (Podolia), Belarusians (Polesie), Czechs, Westerners Sami (Herjedalen, western Sweden), Finns, Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Faroese, Icelanders, Latvians, Maris, Udmurts, Trans-Baikal Buryats, Central Yakuts.
North Africa. The Berbers of Algeria [a fairy came to the woman at night, asked for henna and incense, said that she should give birth; when childbirth begins, she will send her black son for her; a black cat and a woman came realized that this was the son of a fairy; the woman went to get the cat; the fairy gave birth to a black girl; gave the woman money and she returned home]: Basset 1887, No. 26:55; Libyan Arabs: Panetta 1943, No. 1:109-111 in El- Shamy 2004, № 156B*: 63.
Southern Europe. Sicilians (Palermo) [Pitré, vol. V, p. 23; every time the midwife is busy in the kitchen, a hand reaches out to her and gives her food; in response, her hand sticks out again, leaving gold; nine months later, a knock on the house, two giants picked up a midwife and brought to a woman in labor, a fairy princess; two twin boys were born; a month later, the princess told the giants to take the midwife back; 10 years later she came to her with her sons and said that she was a prisoner of fairies; if the midwife hadn't fed her then, she would have died; the midwife and the woman remained friends]: Hartland 1891:53; ladina [the maid sees a pregnant toad and mutters to myself: I'll see you give birth again; the gentleman comes, tells you to help with the birth of his wife, takes him away; the master has goat hooves; the birth lasts 7 years; then the devil paid generously and told me to leave without turning around; There are meows and screams behind her back, but she did not turn around; the owner of the castle asks if she took the hell out of the record that she was free; she goes to the bishop, who gives a rod, tells her to return to hell and demand record; and she won't hit the line like that; shouting, damn it, the woman returned safely]: Decurtins, Brunold-Bigler 2002, No. 62:167-169.
Western Europe. Irish: Almqvist 1991b, ML No. 5070A (Galway County, 1942) [the girls were herding cattle, saw a big frog; one of the girls told her not to give birth without her; three nights later, this girl went to fetch water; saw a rider on a white horse; he reminded her of her words and said that that frog is Fionnbharr's wife, who can't give birth until the girl comes to her; the man took the girl to the cliff; they went inside, there were a lot of people; a red-haired groaned in one of the rooms woman; when she saw the girl come, she was born; gave the girl a silk belt, told her not to wear it until she returned home; the rider took the girl back; stopped on the way, said to wrap her belt around the oak tree; when the girl did this, the oak fell to the ground; the rider explained: if she wore this belt at home in front of her parents, she would be torn in half]; No. ML 5070B (Donegal County, 1959 g.) [The midwife was invited by an unknown man; they came to the house where the girl and many other women were staying; the girl gave birth; one of the women took out a box of ointment and told the midwife to anoint the baby's eyelashes; the midwife did this, and then, without noticing it, rubbed her eyes with her finger; the man took her back home; a year later, the midwife went to the fair; she was overtaken by that man; she asked him about at the fair; he asked how she saw it and if she could see it with both eyes; the midwife admitted that she saw it with only one eye; pointed to the eye with her finger; the man knocked it out with a stick; the midwife I never saw this man again]: 239-246; Hartland 1891 [girl kicks a pregnant frog: don't let you be born until I come to you as a midwife; soon the girl was brought to the lake, where she had to be a midwife during childbirth; it was that frog, but in the form of a woman; she gave a red shawl; on the way home, the girl hung a shawl on a tree to admire; the tree flashed; if the girl wore a shawl on Sunday service, the whole church burned down]: 53; the British [Aunt Goody is a nurse and babysitter; a strange man on a black horse came to pick her up, brought her to a house; there was a woman with a baby around many other children; the woman gave G. an ointment and ordered the baby's eyes to be anointed as soon as he opened them; G. anointed herself; then she saw a well-furnished mansion, young, instead of a village house mother in silk; the baby became even more beautiful, and the other children were devils; G. did not show it; she was taken home for a good price; she went to the bazaar and saw the cross-eyed man following her came; he took things from the stalls without paying, no one noticed it; she greeted him; he asked what eye she saw him; she replied that he hit him right and she went blind to him right eye]: Jacobs 1890, No. 40:211-214; (see also numerous English versions in Hartland 1891:37-93); Welsh: Brusot 1908 [on All Saints Day, the husband and wife went to hire a duzhanka; they liked one blonde and agreed; one day she went to dance and disappeared; one day, on a full moon, a gentleman on horseback came and asked a woman to be a midwife; they entered the cave; there is luxurious peace and woman in labor; after giving birth, the baby's father gave the midwife a bottle and asked her to lubricate the baby's eyes, but not to touch her own; but she accidentally touched one and saw an armful of reeds instead of a bed, and instead the rooms are a cave; among those present she saw a missing maid; one day, at the market, a midwife noticed a man whose wife she was giving birth and asked how her ex-maid was doing; man: OK, but with what eye do you see me? she answered and he stabbed it out to her with a cane]: 51-54; Owen 1896:64-65 [midwives knocked on the window late in the evening; there was a crew in front of the house, she was brought to a house she had not seen before; after she took the baby, gave her a gift and took her back; one day, at a fair, a midwife saw a woman giving birth to her; she came up and asked how she was doing; she was surprised that the midwife saw her, asked with which eye ; the midwife covered one eye with her palm; the woman immediately touched the other and disappeared from her eyes], 66 [the fairies brought the midwife to take the baby; warned her not to touch her eyes with her hand if the hand was wet with water, whom the baby was being washed; but the midwife touched one eye; soon after, at the fair, she saw the child's father and asked him how he was doing; he looked at her attentively: what eye did she see him with? she pointed out and he immediately snatched this eye out from her], 67-68 [One day, a gentleman came to pick up a midwife on horseback, drove to a magnificent mansion; after giving birth, the midwife spent several days with the owners, the fun did not stop, she was given a purse and told her not to open it on the way; she listened and opened the houses, there was a lot of money]; the Scots [late in the evening, the Fetlar midwife was returning home; To meet the man, he asked his wife for help with childbirth; she was told to smear the baby with ointment; she accidentally touched her eye and saw that she was in the fairy house; she was paid, taken home; a lot later she saw the same man walking down the hill with a stick in his hands; the midwife came up and asked how the mother and child were doing; the man was surprised and asked what eye she saw him; she also said he knocked this eye out to her with a stick]: http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/67551/5; the French (Haute-Brittany) [a woman is asked to be a midwife for a woman in labor in a cave and try to make an ointment that at the same time, they used it, did not hit her eye; she quietly anointed one eye and immediately saw people around the palace and people in luxurious clothes; she was well paid; since then she has been able to see fairies and saw one of them steal something; told her so and the fairy ripped out that eye that had been smeared with ointment; same story in Provence]: Sébillot 1905:131; Germans (Rügen Island) [woman went to pick blueberries; a dwarf appeared and asked her to give birth; for this she was given as many blueberries as she would never have picked herself]: Haas 1903, No. 61:59-60; Germans: Grimm, Grimm 2002, No. 39 ( 2) [the girl, while cleaning the owners' room, found a letter on the floor, brought the hostess to read it; in the letter an invitation from the elves to baptize the child; the hostess advised me to agree; the girl was brought into the mountain, there a woman in labor in a rich bed; after baptizing the child, the girl stayed for another three days; when she said goodbye, the elves poured her pockets full of gold; when she returned, the girl wanted to continue working, but strangers came out; it turned out that the elves had it for 7 years and the previous owners died during this time]: 140-141 (=Grimm, Grimm 1987:124); the Germans (Saxony) [late in the evening the midwife in Frankenberg knocked on the window; when Let's go, she thought she could only see the lantern, but there were no people; little people lived in the house where she was brought; everything went well; she was advised to wait a little while to return home; told her not to touch ointment, but she still smeared her finger and then touched her right eye with it; 8 days later she was told to pick up the garbage outside the door (Kehrdreck) as a reward and sent home; at home, what she had taken turned into gold coins; For a while, the midwife saw a little man in the bazaar quietly putting what he had taken from other people's pockets and shelves in his pockets; the midwife came up and asked what he was doing; little man: what eye do you see me with? the midwife said he was right; he blew in her eye and he went blind]: Lyncker 1854, No. 71:44-45; Germans (Harz) [except dwarfs, there are other underground creatures living in the Nixe swamps {conditionally "water"; the word "mermaid" definitely does not fit}; one day N. came to the midwife, asked him to go down the swamp window to pick him up; she gave birth, saw tears in the eyes of the woman in labor: my child would be poisoned; when the midwife she found herself on the ground and looked at the water, she saw blood stains there]: Nachtigal 1800, No. 5:328-329; Germans (Pomerania) [every time a worker milks a cow, she tries to kill a toad, but that she has time to hide; soon a little elf called her to their country to give birth; she saw a millstone hanging above her head on a silk thread; the woman in labor explained that she was the toad, so let the girl will also experience a fear similar to that experienced by her; when she was sent home, the girl was given a gold bar and told to remain silent; if she told, she would be taken back, planted under a millstone, and this time she would fall and crush her]: Hartland 1891:51-52; Germans (Baden-Württemberg {Swabia?}) [the water told the midwife to go down into the lake; the stairs opened, the midwife was brought to the woman in labor; sending the woman back, the water entangled her with straw; on the way she threw her off, and there was only one straw left - turned out to be gold; the woman began to look for what was abandoned, but found nothing]: Hubrich-Messow 2006, No. 62:45-46; Germans (Swabia): Meier 1852b, No. 8.1 [a man came to pick up the midwife, quickly brought him in a carriage to grief; after giving birth and a feast, he gave a box, ordering her to open only houses; the box is light; the midwife could not resist shining a lantern and opened it; there were three straws, she dropped one; the same again; in the morning instead the last straw inside was gold], 8.2 [the underground dwarf came for the midwife; the priest allowed her to agree; the dwarf blindfolded her and brought her; the newborn was immediately christened in an underground church ; the midwife was given a drei Briefchen, let her open only at home; she opened two on the street, there were straws; the last one was opened in the house - ducats; later the dwarf invited her again, reproached her for not performing it instruction, rewarded again], 67 [an underground dwarf came to the midwife, asked his wife to give birth; allowed her husband to be taken with him; they went underground into the mountain; the dwarf ordered not to drink anything and do not eat; he gave coals as a reward; on the way back, the woman slowly threw them on the ground, but her husband brought them into the house; the coals turned out to be gold], 69-78 [other texts describing underground miniature dwarfs - some are white, others are black]: 16, 17-18, 59-61, 61-71; Germans (Swabia) []: Birlinger 1861, No. 53:42-43.
Western Asia. Palestinians [when she saw a pregnant frog, the woman wished her not to relieve herself of the burden until she was called to be her midwife; woke up in a cave at night; the genie said that underground people, going upstairs, take the form of different creatures; the woman had to be his wife's midwife, fortunately, a boy was born; the genie ordered to paint the boy's eyelids; the woman also managed to herself smear one eyelid; they poured onion peel into her sleeve, sent home, where the peel turned gold; one day a woman saw a genie's wife at the bazaar, who stole things; she stopped her, kissed her child; people thought she was kissing the air; a genie woman gouged her finger out her genie's eye]: Hanauer 2009:191-193; Emirates [fairy in frog form]: El-Shamy 2004, No. 156B*: 63.
The Balkans. "The plot of how a midwife womaned mythological creatures is not found in the fabulous tradition of Serbia, Slovenia and northern Croatia" (Radenkovic 2020:48). Croats [versions of the story are witnessed by the Croats on the coast and on the islands of the Adriatic Sea - Police in Dalmatia (Ivanišević 1905:261-262), in Cavtat near Dubrovnik (Bo Šković-stulli 1997:372-373) and on Zlarin Island (Marks 1982:263-264). In Police, a woman does not voluntarily become a pitchfork's godfather, but in Cavtat she gives birth at a pitchfork, on Zlarina she gives birth to a witch (vidina)]: Radenkovic 2020:48; Bosnians [In Bosnia and At the end of the 19th century, Herzegovina published two versions of the plot without specifying the place of recording. One source states that the story belongs to Bosnian Muslims (Fejzi beg Kulenović 1898:508-509), and in another case, probably Croats or Serbs (Delhi 1893:352-353). In one story and another, a woman giving birth to her wife has a trait whose euphemistic name is raider]: Radenkovic 2020:48; Macedonians [plot versions recorded at the end of the 19th century in the extreme south-west of Macedonia, in Ohrid, where the grandmother gives birth to samovils, which are here called the Belive-tsrveniv euphemism (Sprostanov 1896:140)]: Radenkovic 2020:48; Bulgarians [Bulgarians the plot is rare and is associated with a snake: in the vicinity of Sliven (eastern Bulgaria), a midwife gives birth to a snake who has the personal name Ruska (from Bulgarian Rus "blonde") ( Tsaneva 1989:120). In another version, a snake takes a girl named Rusa to a cave, lives with her and she becomes pregnant. When it comes time to give birth, he takes her mother and brings her to the cave to help her daughter give birth (Kuzmanova, Kotseva 1983:123-125); in the Rhodopes, a midwife gives birth to Gene's wife, also in a cave, and, gifted, returns home (Troyeva-Grigorova 2003:195-196), in Smolyansky at the serpent's genov (Benovsk-Sabkova 1989:103), in Gotsedelchevsky district with Korkonjul's wife (Mitseva 1994:101-102)]: Radenkovic 2020:48; Hungarians [the midwife was returning home, there was a frog on the way; "Get out, nasty creature; are you looking for a midwife?" ; and she stepped on her, and the frog squeaked piercingly; that same night two men came to pick up the midwife: legs were thin, heads were big; one said that the midwife promised to come to his wife; the midwife became say that I did not meet anyone on the way home, but I had to agree to go; we came to the mountain, the mountain opened, there was a woman in labor, her head was also big; midwife: don't worry, God will help; woman in labor: not say "God", say "hell" (gyivák; kind of line); after giving birth, the woman said she was that frog; told me to put gold in her apron; when the midwife was brought home, the gold disappeared]: Dégh 1965, No. 71:296-299.
Central Europe. Russians (Teresky Bereg) [the old woman did not have to babble; she came across a fat frog, jokingly said: when you give birth, take me to babble; they came for her, she gave birth, went to the bathhouse , but she was not allowed to wash; she tore off a piece of sundress, recognizing it as her daughter-in-law's sundress, and moistened one eye; fell asleep on a feather bed, and woke up in a tree by the river; the fishermen took her home; the sundress was the same; The store sees a man stealing, says to the saleswoman, and she sees no one; the hell asks: what eye do you see? - Right. The devil stabbed him out]: Balashov 1965, No. 15:72-73; Russians (Arkhangelskaya) [the goblin's wife is from Russia; when she began to give birth, she asked her husband to bring a Russian midwife too; the goblin brought him, she asks for dishes to wash {woman in labor}; the goblin flew to the midwife's house, took the windowsuit from his daughters-in-law, those windowsill did not bless; the midwife made a note on the windowsill; the wife advises the midwife: when the goblin starts giving her silver, say "first" every time; if you say "other", he will not give more; having received the money, the midwife asked her to return; looked at her bedside: with her note; scolded her daughter-in-law for not blessing windowsill, now the goblin washed his wife in it]: Onchukov 2008, No. 135 (290): 282; Russians (Ryazanskaya) []: Ken, Ivleva 2004:165; Russians (Voronezhskaya): Baryshnikova 2007, No. 40 [funny girls they arrange an evening in an empty hut, invite a famous accordion player. He says he played for everyone but the hell at weddings. A stroller comes to pick him up and takes him away. At the festival, he wipes himself off with a curtain (wipes his eyes) and sees that it is not people who dance, but devils, but "drownings" and "suffocations" - suicides. They offer him coal and money as payment, rubs his eyes and sees that coals are actually money, and takes it, calling it coals. Suicides, former villagers, are taking him home, he is not afraid and talks to them. They're surprised he sees them. The girls call the accordion player for another party, he sees that people are dancing here and devils are playing. A girl with a child notices this, pushes the accordion player out of the hut and leaves by herself, then the door is locked and the girls cannot leave. They shout that devils are fighting them, but they can't break the door (they broke the door - they shout "their sides hurt", they removed the ceiling - "whiskey hurts"). In the morning, parents find leather hanging in the hut on hooks. Children are buried], 40b [The famous accordion player brags that he has been to everyone's festivals except the devils. At night, he is brought to the "ball" to play. He wipes his face with a curtain, and sees that the curtain is the skin of "drownings", "suffocations" and "sprinklers", the skin on the devils's aprons and pants. He is rewarded with coal and money, he realizes that he sees the opposite now, he takes coals, which are actually money. A drowning and suffocation who committed suicide in his village are being brought home. They recognize them, they are happy to meet him, and they say that eternal torment awaits them. The accordion player breaks his instrument and refuses to play, is afraid that devils will tear it]: 169-170, 171-172; Belarusians: Vinogradova, Levkievskaya 2010, No. 92 (Polesie: p. Chervona Voloka, Luginsky district, Zhytomyr region Ukraine) [the midwife killed the toad; she gave her a percale block (i.e. a roll of thin cloth) and ordered her not to unwind it to the end; the woman did not obey and unwound it; the roll turned into one berest]: 463; Demidovich 1896 [the midwife says that she gave birth to everyone - but she has not yet given birth to the devils; the pan comes to pick her up; after giving birth, the midwife noticed that the pan {grandson; why the "grandson" is not clear} smears himself eyes with ointment; anointed one eye, she sees that there are not food on the table, but dog and horse bones; she is taken back not on horseback, but on an aspen stake dragged by devils; in the tavern she sees like the one who is her drove the hell out, pushes the drunks; she reprimands him; he asked what eye she saw him and snatched him out]: 101-102; Ukrainians (Podolia, Litinsky y.) [two peasant musicians were returning from the wedding; they met gentlemen in nifty carriages; they asked them to play at their wedding; after joining the carriage, the musicians found themselves in a huge house and began to play; one accidentally spoke to the coachman; he explained that he himself was drowned and that the devil was around; advised him to moisten his eye with water in the vessel by the window; doing so, the musician saw a devil and a swamp; after the wedding, received the money turned out to be pottery shards; later at the fair, the musician saw that line, began to demand money; he gave it back, but asked how he could see it all; hit his right eye and he went blind]: Chubinsky 1972: 190-192; Ukrainians (Kievskaya, Kanevsky District, Malaya Shenderovka) [the midwife returned home, but the house is not heated; she went to the forest to collect deadwood; sees a fat toad crawling, she cannot move through a stick, she removed the babapalochka; returned to the house, heated the stove; a stroller arrives; the woman decided that her name was to give birth to the lords; everything is in gold and silver; the chortykha tells me to go to bed - I'll have to wake you up; does not sleep and hears a chortykha say to someone: take our child and replace it with the one that the woman took yesterday; the woman was woken up, she recognized the human child adopted yesterday; the woman shoved the baby a piece of needle under the fingernail, he yells; the devils decided that they did not need such a loud one; Cheortykha gave the canvas: do not unfold it (to the end), then it would be enough for their grandchildren; and take not money, but coals; when you come back, woman I came to the people who had given birth the day before, took out the baby's needle and he calmed down; the coals became gold; the woman made a shirt out of the canvas; she could not stand it and unfolded: there were dead souls; and the canvas disappeared]: Chubinsky 1876, No. 97:369-362; Ukrainians (Kiev, Kanevsky District, Malaya Shenderovka) [the midwife returned home, but the house was not heated; went to the forest to collect deadwood; sees a fat creeping the toad, she can't get over the stick, the woman removed the wand; returned to the house, heated the stove; the stroller arrives; the woman decided her name was to give birth to the lords; all in gold and silver; devil (" chortykha") tells me to go to bed - it will be necessary, I'll wake you up; she does not sleep and hears the devil saying to someone: take our child and replace it with the one that the woman took yesterday; the woman was woken up, she found out the accepted yesterday a human child; the woman put a piece of needle under the baby's fingernail, he yells; the devils decided that they did not need such a loud one; the devil gave the canvas: do not unfold (to the end), then enough and grandchildren; and take not money, but coals; when she returned, the woman came to the people who had given birth the day before, took out the baby's needle and he calmed down; the coals became gold; the woman made shirts out of the canvas; not endured and unfolded: there are dead souls; and the canvas is gone]: Chubinsky 1876, No. 97:369-362; Czechs [one published fragment in the Encyclopedia of Czech Folk Culture; Lidová kultura. Národopisná encyklopedie Čech, Moravy a Slezske, 3. sv. Praha 2007:1233; the midwife receives garbage as a reward, which then turns into gold]: Radenković 2020:51.
Baltoscandia. Western Sami (Herjedalen, western Sweden) [underground people stole a girl and passed her off as a local boy; when she was about to give birth, she asked the midwife to hire her mother to help with childbirth ointment; one day at a fair, the girl's mother saw her husband's mother; she asked what eye she saw her; she said that she was right, and the underground woman immediately gouged this eye out to her; more earthly woman I did not see the underground]: Lagercrantz 1957, No. 455:117-118; Finns: Jauhiainen 1998, No. K61 [a woman is brought to forest spirits as a midwife; she can use eye ointment and see ruins instead of a palace; Later at the bazaar, the father of a forest child gouged out the midwife's eye that she smeared], M31 [a mountain troll comes to a woman to ask her to give birth; brings her into the mountain; in the world of trolls, you can't laugh even if the troll has such a long nose that it reaches a bowl of food; you cannot bless the meal, otherwise the food will turn into snakes and garbage; the midwife (it may also be a man) smears one eye with ointment; When she returns, she sees her father newborn at the market and he gouges out the eye she anointed; she was rewarded with a shirt that does not wear out or get dirty, but the shirt disappears after how the woman told her where she got it]: 253, 268; the Swedes [the midwife are called to take the child; they bring her to the (underground) room where the fairy gives birth; when the child is born, the fairy's husband tells the midwife smear the baby's eyes with ointment; the woman secretly applies ointment to herself in one eye; receives something useless (for example, chips) as a payment, then turns into valuables (silver spoons) ; one day a woman sees a fairy husband stealing something from people, comes up and talks to him; he asks what eye she sees him; she answers and then goes blind to this eye]: Klintberg 2010, № K191C : 202; Danes: Kristensen 1892, No. 64.1113 [Andrup was home to an old maiden An Ovseter (i.e. Ovesdatter), who was often called to give birth; one day a little man with a beard came to pick her up land; they drove somewhere for a long time in the dark; then A. saw a corridor, and a little woman in bed in the hay; A. sympathized that the woman in labor was so poor; she objected and ordered to take a pot from the windowsill with with oil, let A. lubricate her right eye with it; as soon as A. did, she saw a luxurious hall with expensive furnishings around her; the woman in labor took gold coins from under her bed, gave them to A. and warned that she had to jump off the cart on the way back, otherwise she would not return home; A. did so; the following fall, mountain dwellers came to help harvest; A. saw that little man and noticed him doing something stole it; when she began to reproach him, the little man was surprised that she saw him; told him to cover his left eye: do you see now? A. said she saw, and he gouged out her right eye]: 338-339; Thorne 1851 (2) [an elf man appeared on Christmas Eve and asked the hostess to give birth to his wife; a grateful woman in labor told the midwife not to eat anything from them, choose not silver, but shards, and then grab hold of a gooseberry bush and say "in God's name, now at home!" ; when she returned home, the woman threw the shards into the ash and they turned to silver]: 128-129; Norwegians [poor woman was weaving baskets; went to fetch water, a toad was sitting on the road; a toad woman: "If you leave the road, I will help you give birth"; after a while a man came: the wife will give birth, you promised to help, I will pay a lot of money, but it cannot be given as alms and you can't talk about it; the woman realized that he was the king of Mount Ekeberg; the man came again: the wife was giving birth; they went up the mountain, there was a luxurious atmosphere; the king's wife could not give birth while her husband was sitting and hugging his hands knees; they asked him to go out, but he refused; then they said, "Oh, the baby has been born!" ; the king jumped up and at that moment the Queen was able to give birth; said to the woman: "My husband has nothing against you, but he will have to shoot you when you start leaving: quickly hide behind the door"; the woman was sent to the kitchen to bring ointment to lubricate the child's eyes; there she was surprised to see her maid and quietly cut off a piece from her dress; when the king shot, the woman jumped out the door, a bullet in she did not get there; when she returned home, the woman saw the maid sleeping; "Where were you at night?" The maid complained of back pain all the time; replies that she was nowhere, she slept; the woman showed her the cut off flap; it turns out that you also work for the king at night; she taught the maid to pray so that it would not happen again; after that night, a woman found silver coins outside the door every morning, became rich; but one day a poor woman asked her for money, she gave it to her, all the money disappeared; and the king Ekeberg often went "for women" to the city, and freaks were born from it; they also exchanged human babies for their ugly ones, stole and nurses with their children; one wet nurse managed to escape later a year; while she was still living in grief, she had to lubricate a human child's eyes with ointment every day; once she tried to apply ointment to her right eye; six months after returning to people she saw the trollich queen stealing something at the market; greeted her and asked about the child's health; the trollich: can you see me? - Yes. - And with which eye? - Right. Trollich spat in her right eye, and that eye went blind; when the war broke out in 1814, the mountain became so noisy that King Ekeberg moved with his whole house and cows to his brother in Kongsberg, quieter there]: Asbjíørsen 1870:11-17; Faroese [an unfamiliar dog ran up to the midwife, and then a man from the Huldra hills appeared; asked him to go with him and give birth; when the midwife entered the hill, she was blindfolded; for his work, Hulder promised the midwife happiness up to the 10th knee]: Jiriczek 1882, No. 14:12; Icelanders [When an elf fails to give birth child, all you need is for a mortal person to put his hand on her, and the Aulvas are well aware of this remedy. One day, a girl was collecting dried clothes in the evening. A man comes up to her and asks her to go with him, because this is very important to him. The girl went with him, and they came to a stone in the field; then the hill opened and the man took the girl inside. She found herself in a room with an elevation on both sides. The man took the girl to one of the hills, and she saw a woman lying on the floor; she did not see anyone else there. She helped the woman give birth and washed the baby. Then the man took out a bottle and asked her to smear the child's eyes out of it, but wiped it off to prevent it from falling into her eyes. She took a bottle and smeared the baby's eyes. Then the girl wanted to know what it meant, and she touched her right eye with the tip of her finger. And what happened was that she saw a lot of people at the other end of the room next to her. She realized that this ointment was for seeing elves, but then that man came in. Then the girl gave him the baby and the bottle, and he thanked her; after saying goodbye to the woman, she left. The man escorted her and said she would be happy. He gave her a good-bye gift and she came home. This woman later became the wife of a priest. She constantly benefited greatly from seeing elves, as she was able to adapt to their way of farming, such as harvesting hay in the summer. One day, the priest's wife came to the market, and that elven man was there, because it's common knowledge that elves go to the market like us and buy from elven merchants even though we don't see them. She greeted the man, and he got scared, put his finger in his mouth and touched the woman's eyes. She stopped seeing an elf and has since lost her second vision forever]: Árnason 1955:33 (translated by Timofey Ermolaev http://norse.ulver.com/src/tales/alfa/a-barn/index.html); Latvians [Woman helps the snake relieve the burden, the snake brings money]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 156B*: 260.
Volga - Perm. Marie [no one gives birth in the village; midwife: if only a goblin is invited to his wife; the goblin knocks on the window, calls the midwife, carries him in a sleigh across the field into the ravine, blindfolds the midwife, brings her into the house; a woman in labor gives the midwife an ointment to lubricate the newborn's eyes; she quietly smears her left eye; she sees all the devils; she was drunk and fed, taken home, given money; the midwife is frightened, at home says that she was at devils; goes to church on Sunday and sees all the same devils there; asks the goblin about the child's health; he is surprised that she sees him; she talked about the ointment; he gouged out her eye, she remained crooked]: Beke 1938, No. 10:36-39; Udmurts: Vereshchagin 1996 (1889) [no one marries a beautiful woman; her father says let the hell take her away; rich merchants come to pick her up; her grandmother accompanies her to the river, sees how the wedding train goes into the water; the daughter took a wumurt (water); after seven years, the son-in-law invites her grandmother to be a midwife when giving birth to her granddaughter; leads to the underwater world; gives a bottle, tells her to smear newborn eyes, but do not smear herself; grandmother smears her right eye; returns to the ground; goes to the shop, no one sees her, she picks up the goods without paying; next time she is asked what She sees with her eye; she answers; her right one is pulled out, she becomes visible, and those who asked are invisible to her; the Vumurts carry goods from one merchant to another if they are laid without prayer]: 175-177 (= Kralina 1960, No. 13:55-57); Wichmann 1901, No. 51 [no one has been calling the midwife for several days; "At least I would call the water!" the water leads her to the river, under the water; tells her to wash the baby, but not wash herself with this water; but she moistened her left eye and immediately saw a lot of water perfume; on the fourth day, the water gives silver money, tells me to close her eyes and the woman finds herself on the shore; before that, she saw her clothes on her wife, quietly cut off a piece; now her clothes are with her and this piece is cut off; she tried it on - it fits exactly; at the bazaar, a woman sees water spirits and asks one of those she saw underwater what he was carrying; he answered: with what eye do you see? - Left. The water gouged this eye out to her with his finger]: 163-164.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Trans-Baikal Buryats (Khorinsky, Kizhinga Ulus, Kizhinginsky District, Buryatia, 1981) [a famous midwife lived in Maxokhon {Mogsokhon} ulus; people from all neighboring uluses came to her for help; she did not refuse anyone, went to the nearest and far nomads; an old man came to pick her up, asked him to help his wife to be born; he had two riding horses; he rode one by himself and put a midwife on the other; when they left Moxohon, she noticed that the old man's horse was not reaching the ground with his feet, and she was flying above the ground - through the air; then I felt that the horse was also flying under her through the air, above the ground; she did not ask anything, accepted the child safely; the old man said that nothing for her She will regret it; the midwife replied that she does not need anything; the old man punished: "Never ask me about my son later. Maybe we'll meet"; many years later, the midwife met the old man in the shop; he was leading the boy's hand; the midwife asked if it was his son; her light immediately faded, she went blind; they say the old man was Buural Baabaem (dosl. "gray-haired father", the deity of the Khorin Buryats); his name is also Noen Buural Baabay, the gray-haired prince father]: Tugutov, Tugutov 1992, No. 117:288-289.
Eastern Siberia. Central Yakuts (1st Nakharsky Nasleg of Megino-Kangalassky Ulus) [(probably Russian borrowing; syullukyuns - from Russian shulyukuns); in winter, when the Syullyukuns came to land, the elderly the midwife went to relieve her need; a young man drove up, threw her into a sleigh, brought her to a gloomy country to help his wife give birth; the woman gave birth, advised her to take garbage and moss as a reward, they would turn into money; but it must be spent in 7 days; the old woman is in the same place; they did not have time to spend all the money, they became garbage again, but still got rich; once she saw that man at a wedding, and others did not see him; he asked what eye she saw; she said that with his left, he pressed her eyelid, she became blind and did not see any more syullukyuns]: Alekseev et al. 1995, No. 48:245-249.