L129. Why are teeth so big? (Little Red Riding Hood),
(ATU 333) .15.16.27.-.31.
Thecharacter is asked why his body parts, organs, tools are what they are. He answers (or the questioner himself gives explanations for him). In the end, one kills or maims the other.
{V. Lyungman: The story of Little Red Riding Hood was verbally recorded in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Romania (Liungman 196:75). In many cases, it is impossible to determine the priority of distribution through oral or literary sources. However, the presence of an appropriate dialogue ("Why are you so big..") in texts on another story, at least among Bulgarians, Macedonians and Slovaks, is an argument in favor of an independent of literary the influences of the existence of this motive outside the main range of Little Red Riding Hood, which includes French, German and Italian traditions}.
Portuguese, Italians (northern Italy), French, Germans (Grimms), Bulgarians, Macedonians, Slovaks, Luzhitans, Kashubians, (Belarusians), Western Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, Swedes (?) , Karelians, Latvians, Estonians.
Southern Europe. Portuguese: Dias Marques 2019, No. 73 [badger, fox and wolf come to the old lady to party; the old lady tells the fox to bring chicken, wolf sheep, badger honey; fox asks why a cauldron of boiling water on fire; old lady: scald the chicken to pluck feathers; wolf: why a cleaver (chop the lamb carcass); badger: why is there a poker in the hearth (to drive the bees out of the honeycombs); animals bring everything; old woman pours boiling water on the fox, hits the wolf on the ribs with a cleaver, puts a hot poker in the badger's ass; the crippled animals ran away, the old woman got everything], 74 [about the same; the old woman lives in the mill, with her fox, wolf and badger; she tells the fox to bring turkey, wolf lamb, badger honey]: 116-117, 117-118; northern Italians (Lake. Garda, the border between Lombardy and Veneto) [after killing a sick woman, the wolf made a rope to close the door from her tendons, meat pie filling, blood wine; girl: what kind of soft rope do you have, mom ( similar comments regarding pie and wine)]: Calvino 1980, No. 26:75-76, 720 (720-721: in Italy, the story was recorded only in the north and most likely spread under the influence of Perrault's publications).
Western Europe. The French (Niverne; many other records in various areas, especially in the Loire basin; similar options in northern Italy and Tyrol) [a woman tells her daughter to give her grandmother a hot cake and a bottle milk; she met a wolf, told him where and why she was going (I'll follow the needle road, not the pin road); while she was collecting needles, the wolf ran to his grandmother on the road of pins, killed her, cooked meat and poured blood into the bottle; a girl came; a wolf (disguised as a grandmother): the door is tied with rotten straw, open it; offers wine and meat, the girl eats and drinks; cat: this is grandmother's meat and blood! imaginary grandmother: lie down with me; girl: where to put the apron; imaginary grandmother: throw it into the fire, you won't need it anymore; the same with all the garments; after the girl climbed into bed, dialogue begins; - How hairy you are! - This is to make it warmer. - What big nails! - To itch. - Ears! - Shoulders! - Wear brushwood. - Ears! - Better to hear. - Nostrils! - Smell tobacco! - Mouth! - To eat you! - I need to go out of need. - Do it in bed. - No. - Okay, but not for long. The wolf tied a rope to the girl's leg, but when she went outside, she tied her to a pear tree; rushed to run; realizing that he was not being answered, the wolf followed her, but the girl managed to run home; option : after "To Eat You!" , the wolf swallowed the girl]: Delarue, Tenèze, 1957, No. 333:373-374; the Germans [mother told Little Red Riding Hood to take a piece of cake and a bottle of wine to her sick grandmother; towards the wolf; finding out where the CS was going, he advised her to pick more flowers, and he hurried to her grandmother's house, said that he was CS, who brought cake and wine; she told her to press the latch; the wolf swallowed his grandmother, put on her clothes, and lay down in bed; KSH has arrived; Why are your ears so big? - To hear you better. - Eyes? - It's better to see you. - Hands? - It's easier to grab you. - Roth? - It's easier to swallow you. After swallowing the KSH, the wolf fell asleep; when he heard snoring, the hunter came in, cut the wolf's belly with scissors, KSH and grandmother dried out, put stones in their belly and sewed them up again; when the wolf woke up, he wanted to run away, but the stones were heavy he fell and died; one day, KS carried wine and cake to her grandmother again, and another wolf met him; KSH no longer spoke, but told her grandmother everything; they locked themselves; the wolf began to knock, saying that he was CS ; then he climbed onto the roof; my grandmother ordered a large trough to be filled with water; smelling the smell of sausage (in the bucket with which KSH was pouring water, my grandmother had previously cooked sausage), the wolf rolled down from the roof and drowned in a trough]: Grimm, Grimm 2002, No. 26:93-96 (=Grimm, Grimm 1987:88-90.
The Balkans. Bulgarians: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, No. 333 [a girl who always wears a red riding hood goes to her sick grandmother to bring her food; on the way she meets a wolf who advises her to pick flowers; at this time he comes running to his grandmother and eats (swallows) her, puts her on her clothes and goes to bed; when a girl comes, she wonders why her grandmother's ears, eyes, arms and mouth are so big; wolf gives appropriate answers, and after the last question he swallows the girl; the hunter cut the wolf's belly, the grandmother and girl came out alive; stones were placed in the wolf's stomach, he fell and died], *480 2 [the girl is at the mill (in an abandoned house, shed) after dark; at night a vampire (half-beast) comes; the girl asks him why he has such eyes, mouth, teeth, hands, nails, legs; vampire: to see at night; to kiss; bite; grab (crush); scratch; trample; girl asks permission to leave the house; the vampire ties a rope to her, but she ties her to a goat saved]: 136, 170; Macedonians (Ohrid) [Stepmother sends stepdaughter to a watermill to grind flour. While the stepdaughter goes to the empty mill, it gets dark. Bayo, a beast living in the mill, closes the door, sees the girl, roars, trembles with fear and falls into his arms. Bayo opens her eyes like cups over a frightened girl, and she asks, "Bayo, why do you need these eyes?" He answers in a loud and scary voice: "These eyes will be looking at you all night!" - "Bayo, why do you need these lips?" - "Those lips will be talking to you all night long!" - "Bayo, why do you need these teeth?" - "Those teeth are going to chew on you all night long!" - "Bayo, why do you need these hands?" - "These hands are going to knead you all night long!" - "Bayo, why do you need these nails?" - "These nails are going to scratch you all night long!" - "Bayo, why do you need these legs?" - "These feet will trample on you all night!" - "Bayo, I want to write, I want to poop!" - "Pee in front of me, poop in front of me." The girl refuses because she is ashamed to ask her to be tied to her leg with a belt so that she can go to the sheep's barn for these needs. Bayo does this, the girl takes off her belt, ties a lamb with it and runs away. Bayo waits, pulls his belt, the lamb bleats. Bayo decides she became a lamb, the girl escapes Bayo]: Shapkarev 1892, No. 29:40-41.
Central Europe. Slovaks [the girl is afraid to go somewhere alone, but she is afraid to stay at home; everyone went to church on Christmas, she did not dare; her family advised: if you get scared at all, look out the door and yell, "Somebody come!" ; she did so; a voice came from the pine forest, "I'm going, I'm going, make porridge!" ; then "Put the porridge on the table!" , "Fill it with fat!" ; an old woman is at the table; the girl asks how she got into the house, because even the door didn't creak; old lady: there is no lock where I don't enter silently; then the girl asks why the guest has such long legs (to step from one end of the world to the other), arms (there is nothing they can't get), eyes (to see every worm, not to mention people); when the old woman finished the porridge, the girl saw She had terrible teeth in her mouth and asked why they were; "To eat anyone, I'll eat you now!" ; a girl's body was found in the house in the morning]: Dobšinský 1970, No. 43:222-223; residents of Luzhitsy [the grandmother gave her granddaughter a red hood; the mother sent Little Red Riding Hood to bring her grandmother pie and wine; CS met a wolf; he asked her, advised her to take a walk first and then go to her grandmother; at that time he came to his grandmother, called himself a granddaughter, her grandmother told her how to open the door, the wolf came in and swallowed grandmother, lay down in her bed; CS came in, asked why you, grandmother, have such big ears, eyes, arms, mouth; wolf: to hear, see, hug, swallow you better; the hunter heard snoring from home, he went in, saw the wolf, cut his throat, took out the KSH, then cut his stomach, took out his grandmother; sewed stones into the wolf; he jumped up, but the stones began to roll in his stomach and he died; the hunter got a skin my grandmother ate some cake and wine, the CS decided that she would no longer walk around, but would go straight, as her mother told me]: Wratislaw 1890, No. 15:97-100; Kashubians (in Poland only records Kashubov and Mazuria, where German influence) [pretending to be the girl's mother or grandmother, the wolf swallowed her; fell asleep; his belly was ripped open, the girl was taken alive, and stones were placed in her place]: Krzyżanowski 1962 , No. 333:116; Western Ukrainians (Savin, now Chelm County of the Lublin Voivodship, Kolyadka, 2 options; sent by K. Rahno) [Why do you have a big head, wolf? /Oh fita, fititsa - nightingales, chuprynda! /(Var.: Yofitia, Yophytia, Nightingales, Buynytsya, Chuprynda!) /Because I'm shutting my head on the chimney! /Why are your eyes big, wolf? /Because I can see far away with my eyes./ Why do you have big ears, wolf? /Because I can hear far away with my ears. /Why do you have a big tongue, wolf? /Because I throw palyukha (biscuits) with my tongue./Why do you have a big tail, wolf? /Because I'm sweeping the stove with my tail]: Kolberg 1890, No. 6:118); (cf. Belarusians [probably a mistake; in the SUS "Federowski, II, (6)"; at number 6 on p. 6-7, Federovsky has the story "The Wolf and the Goats"]: Federowski 1902 in SUS 1979, No. 333A: 124).
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Crimean Tatars [Wolf! Why do your eyes glow so much at night? - To scare people better. - Why are you clutching your tail? - Because I'm afraid of them myself. - Why do you have such a thick neck. - Because I do everything myself and don't trust anyone]: Kondaraki 1875:124; (cf. Turks [the fairy tale was recorded in Ankara and Istanbul and borrowed from European publications]: Eberhard, Boratav 1953:411).
Iran - Central Asia. Persians (Khorasan, one entry; the other two from Markazi and Isfahan are European retelling) [the wolf presents himself as the father of children and explains his appearance; as he gathers eat kids, a real father comes in and kills him]: Marzolph 1984, #333:76.
Baltoscandia. Swedes [a girl in a red riding hood goes to her grandmother and meets a wolf; he runs to her grandmother earlier, swallows her and then swallows the girl who comes]: Liungman 1961, No. 333:75; Karelians (Tver) [the girl lives with her grandparents; took pancakes to her grandfather; in the forest, the wolf asks to give pancakes to him, otherwise she will eat it; the girl did not give it; on the way back, the wolf ran before the girl, swallowed grandmother, lay down on her bed; girl: why are your ears so big to hear; and your teeth? - To eat you; after swallowing grandmother and granddaughter, the wolf burst, the girl and grandmother came out alive]: Makarov 1963, No. 84:180-181; Latvians [The wolf swallows the grandmother, puts on her dress and lies in her bed; the girl, picking berries, goes to visit her grandmother, is surprised at her big mouth, ears, eyes; the wolf swallows the girl; the hunter comes, kills the wolf who has fallen asleep and frees her granddaughter and grandmother]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 333:279; Estonians (Jõgeveste; all of Estonia sporadically but not on islands) [the wolf is told he can eat whoever comes out if it is human; boy: me just a beginner; old man: I'm an ending person; man: you can't eat me before I bring arshin from the forest to see if I can fit into your belly; when I come back, he strokes, praises your face, eyes, stomach, wolf ass (what a cute face, what will grab me; what eyes that will watch me eat; what a nice tummy, where I'll go; what ass I'll spew out of); being behind the wolf, he takes him by the tail and hits him with the stick he brought; he completely skinned him, and when the other wolves came to his howl, he climbed onto the spruce tree; the wolves climbed one on top of the other to get the man beaten at the bottom; man: and you, beaten, are you here? he rushed in fear, rushed away, the others fell, ran after him]: Mälk et al. 1967, No. 29:71-72.