L131B. Your kids are burning: an appeal to a bird or a ladybug .16.28.31.
To make a bird or ladybug fly away, they are told that the locus, where their home and/or children are, is on fire.
Spaniards [storks], Bretons [crows], English [ladybug], Germans (north?) [ladybug, raven], Luzhitans [ladybug], Czechs [ladybug], Western Ukrainians (Ruthenians) [hawk], Russians (Arkhangelskaya, Novgorod) [loon, kite], Lithuanians [ladybug], mordva-moksha [ kite].
Southern Europe. Spaniards [when children see a stork, they say: "Cigüeña maragüeña, la case se te quema, los hijos te se van/al arroyo de El Batán. /Machácalos el ajo, /que pronto volverán (apparently everywhere); "Cigüeña, Cigüeña, /la case se te quema, los hijos te se van/ a vivir a otras tierras/mañana volverán" (Toledo)]: Pedrosa 1994:108; ( cf. Spaniards (Extremadura) [barley conspiracy on the eye: "Vete, orzuelín, /que te quema la casa el molín"]: Pedrosa 1994:108-109).
Western Europe. The Bretons (Brest) ["Corbeau, corbeau, /le feu est dans ta maison"]: Sébillot 1906:183; the British:: Grimm 2019 (2) [addressing the ladybug, they sing: "ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, your house is on fire, your children will burn!"] : 149; Eckenstein 1906, No. 1-9 [a ladybug is encouraged to fly away, saying that her house is on fire, her children are burning (wandering, dead, etc.); the earliest fixation dates back to 1744: "Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home./Your house is on fire, your children will burn"]: 92-94; Wehrhan 1909 ["Ladybird, ladybird, /Fly away home./Your house is in fire, /Your children must roam"]: 153; Germans: Grimm 2019 (2) [children's song about a ladybug: "Marienkäferchen flieg aus! /dein häuschen brennt, /dein mütterchen flennt, /dein väterchen sitzt auf der schwelle; /flieg im himmel aus der hölle!" (Maria bug, fly away! /your house is burning, /your mom is crying, /your daddy is sitting on the doorstep;/Fly to heaven from hell!)] : 149; Eckenstein 1906 [addressing the ladybug, they sing: "Himmelsküchlein, flieg aus! /Dein Haus brennt, /Deine kinder weinen alle miteinander" (Saxony); "Herrgotspferdchen, fliege weg, /Dein Hauschen brennt, dein Kähnchen schwimmt, /Deine Kinder schreien nach Butterbrod;/ Herrgotspferdchen, fliege weg" (Danzig)]: 95, 102; Wehrhan 1909 [addressing the crow, they sing: "Rab, Rab, dein Haus brennt an, /Deine Kinder shreien alle z'samm'n/Dein Weib sitzt uf'm Herd/Und shreien reit wie'n alter Bär"; addressing the ladybug: "Marienkäferchen flieg! /Dein Häuschen brennt, /Dein Mütterchen flennt, /Dein Vater sitzt auf der Schwelle, /Flieg' in'n Himmel aus der Hölle"]: 23, 153.
Central Europe. Lusatians: Valentsova 2019 [sly ńčko, sly ńčko, letkaj domkoj, twoja budka s e pali, twoje źi źetka plaku "ladybug, fly home, your house is on fire, your children are burning"; S łu ńcko, s łu ń cko, l ěškaj domoj. Twoja budka se pali. i śetka su ognju! "Sunshine, sunshine, go home. Your house is on fire. Kids are on fire!"] : 58; Toporov 1981 [a number of folklore texts (in particular children's texts) are built on the principle: ladybug, fly home, your house is on fire, your children are burning]: 283; the Czechs [addressing the ladybug, say: "Sluničko boži! tvůj domek hoři, dej pozor, at' ti neshoři"]: Afanasiev 1994 (3): 298; Western Ukrainians [to protect themselves from a hawk carrying chickens, shouted: Gay, Astrakhan's hut to burn! - but, and the astreb is still ishol get to the poserati house, the same ts i prauda (Ruski Grabovets, Sobrance district); Cool, twist, bi-biy gelizo, yastrabov's hut burn! (Ublya, Snina District)]: Valentsova 2019:57-58; Russians (Arkhangelskaya, Pinezhsky District) [when loons are flying: "Loon, Loon, /Turn back, /Your children are burning, /On Matigory (in Kholmogorsky Uyezd), /They burn Resin/You will be burned"]: Efimenko 1878, No. 55:252; Russians (Novgorod): Vlasova, Zhekulina 2006, No. 73 ["Hawk, hawk with a wheel/Rolled under the bottom! /Your children are burning,/They are dipping oil,/They don't wait for you!"] ; № 74 ["Hawk, hawk, wheel! /Your kids are under the woods,/The chickens are outside,/The rooster is in the yard! /Your nest is burning!"] : 129.
Baltoscandia. Lithuanians ["Boruzhele {ladybug}, fly, fly./Your house is on fire, /Your kids are screaming"]: Mikhailov, Tsivyan 2009:569.
Volga - Perm. Mordva (moksha): Tarakina 1978, No. 217 (no place of recording) ["Kshu! The kite's nest is burning,/Roganov {his own name} is guarding the cows!"] ; № 218 (Mordovia, Krasnoslobodsky district) ["Kshu, Kshu, Kite! /Arganov {own name} herds cows in the forest./ And your house is on fire!"] ; No. 219 (Penza, Poimsky District) ["Kshu, Kite, your nest is burning! /The chicks will be lost"]: 111.