L72e1. The stalker hides the axe.16.31.

To destroy the obstacles created by the hero, the pursuer uses tools. Before continuing his chase, he must spend time taking them home or hiding them, otherwise animals and birds will steal them.

Scots, Danes, Norwegians, Western Sami, Finns, Karelians, Estonians, Seto, Lithuanians.

Western Europe. The Scots [the sparrow and the mouse quarreled over the grain; the war between birds and animals began; the Queen of Tetertyne came when the battle was over, the Raven and the Serpent remained; the Queen killed the Serpent, when she was ready to kill the Raven in a duel; the grateful Raven puts him on his back and carries him across valleys and lakes to his first, second, third sisters, and the third becomes a young man (he was cursed); gives a bag, tells him not to open it on the way; the young man opens, a palace with a garden appears; the giant puts everything back for promising to give his son, who will be born when he is seven years old; the young man becomes king, marries, seven years later the son is a giant; the boy's mother gives her son to a cook instead of her son; the giant asks what his father would do if he received the rod; he replies that he drove away if from the treats of dogs and cats; the king has to give his promised son; a young man grows up in a giant's house, who offers him a choice of one of two daughters; the young man demands a third, Red-haired Mary; a giant requires 1) cleaning the barn (M. does everything), 2) cover the house with bird feathers (the same), 3) get magpies out of the nest and cook magpies (M. cuts off his fingers and toes, they turn into steps of the stairs, the young man pulls out eggs, his fingers grow, except for the little finger, which the young man did not touch when he climbed); 4) recognize the bride among her sisters (she does not have a little finger); M. tells him to run, leaving answer apple slices; M. tells you to take the mare out of the mare's ear, throw behind 1) a sprig of thorns (thorny thickets; the giant runs home for the ax, then carries the ax back, because the crow promises steal an ax), 2) a pebble (a mountain, a giant runs home for a pickaxe and a hammer), 3) a bottle of water (the lake, the giant sinks); M. tells not to kiss anyone at home, the young man is kissed by a dog, he forgets M.; M. hides on wood, the wife, the shoemaker's daughter see her reflection, take it for their own, refuse to carry water, since they are so beautiful; the shoemaker takes M. into the house, says that the Queen marries, takes M. with him to a feast; Two pigeons fly out of the glass, tell the story of M.; Korolevich marries M.]: Campbell 1890 (1), No. 2:25-38 (translated to Shustov 1994:363-373; =Kharitonov 2008:383-394 with minor differences; no quarrel mice and sparrow, magpie's nest on a spruce rather than a pine tree; episodes of escape-persecution in Clouston 1887:440-441).

Baltoscandia. Danes, Norwegians [every time a stalker uses tools to break obstacles, he is forced to take them home, otherwise the bird threatens to steal them ; this episode is in several Danish and one Norwegian version from southern Norway; {Christiansen believes this episode is borrowed from the Germans, but provides no data}]: Christiansen 1959:100; Western Sami: Klaus 1995 [the giant {probably Stallo in the original} has a lion to whom he gives hay and a horse to whom he gives meat; worker S. changes food; says he cut down poles to stab S. eyes; they carry a tree home, S. is afraid to look back, does not see that the worker is not carrying a tree but sitting on it; the worker pretends to throw S.'s axe on the cloud, that he can break his boat and oars , he brings an ax, rows himself; suggests punching trees with his head; the worker makes holes in the trees in advance, S. gets stuck with his head; the worker replies that he is fast asleep when he looks like a bag, like a stone, puts a bag, a stone on his bed instead of himself, S. hits them at night; replies that he is fast asleep when frogs jump out of his nose; the worker cuts off S.'s head; the horse tells him to run, taking comb, flint, wet cloth; S. (obviously alive) catches up, abandoned objects turn into a thicket, mountain, lake; S. returns for an ax, for a drill, then loses time carrying them back, as the sparrow threatens to pick them up; S. tries to drink the lake, tells the maid to close his ass so that the water does not pour out; the fox tells him to hold it tight, the maid laughs, S. bursts; the young man washes his hair, it turns silver; he hides it under with a hat, but the princess notices, takes him as her husband; the horse tells him to cut off his head, he also becomes a young man, he was bewitched before]: 55-63; Poestion 1886, No. 21 [the guy was hired as an employee for a giant; chose the biggest tree; the giant has reached the top, the guy sat on the butt; replies that he is not tired at all; bringing a tree, the giant tells the guy to go into the barn, but not to the stable; horse: tomorrow you will be asked launch the boat; say that if you venerate it, the boat will break to pieces; the giant lowered it himself; asks you to take the oars; guy: if I take it, they will break; the same goes on (all fishing gear they will tear); when they return, the horse tells you to go into the barn, slaughter the cow, cut the heart in half; the cow is the life of a giant; if he does not die, cut it into small pieces; then they will gallop away, taking box (Bühse), sword, piece of sulfur, flint, comb; when they galloped, the horse asks if the guy hears and sees anything behind him; as if the wind is whistling; horse: this giant has come to life; throw sulfur: water space; the giant ran home for the scoop, drank water with the help of a ladle; wanted to leave it to pick it up on the way back, but the bird: if you leave it, I'll take it; I had to run home again carry; flint is a mountain; a giant runs after a storm (again about a bird); the crest is a forest, ran after an ax (a bird); the guy on horseback rode to a world where the giant does not go; ahead is a copper forest, you can't break branches; the guy broke the last one, a giant in copper clothes appeared, the horse defeated him; the same with the silver forest and the giant; with the gold one; now the horse told the young man to hire the king; he is always on a copper hat so that you could not see the gold hat (Goldhut); told the king that he had scab; became a gardener, the youngest of the three princesses saw him take off his copper hat; she asked her father to pass her off as a young gardener; her sisters chose noble young men; younger son-in-law called a horse, shot a lot of birds, gave them to the elders, and brought only an owl himself; wedding; horse to a young man: you forgot about me, cut off my head; that cut off, the horse himself turned into Prince Charming {the end without the details common in one-story fairy tales}]: 84-92; Finns: Goldberg 1953 [the childless king sails, watery stops the ship, releases for promising to give back the one who was born at home in the absence of the king; this is his son and daughter; the king secretly dug an underground shelter for them; he tried to give it to the waterman who came a foal, a calf, a lamb; he himself began to look for children; in the forge, a hammer told him to take him and walk; fell where the shelter was, the water took away the children; they grew up, the girl married him; her brother spilled tears, a wolf appears, tells him to sit on him and run; the young man enters the room where the waterman and sister sleep, grabs his sister, sits on the wolf; at the direction of the wolf, he takes a stone from under his tail, throws it a mountain grows to heaven; the water comes back for a hammer and a chisel, makes its way; wants to leave the tools, but forty begin to shout for them; the waterman takes them home, returns, catches up and returns the fugitives; the young man cries again, the bear comes, everything repeats; the young man throws the bear's bristles, wooded mountains appear to the sky; then the same episodes; for the third time, the brother and his sister run away on a fox, she tells them to throw flint; the water cannot overcome the sea of fire, he stops pursuing; brother and sister build a house for themselves across the bubbling river; the wolf, bear and fox come to live with them ; the sister throws stones into the river, the current calms down, the water crosses the river, lives with the girl; during the day she turns into a pin, the girl hides it in the cracks in the wall; the animals feel it; the sister asks to be locked the night of animals behind 9 iron doors; the water grabs the young man, throws him into a hot bath; the animals tear, breaking one door after another; the raven tells the young man to hold out a little longer; at the last moment the animals they break in, tear the water to pieces; the young man forgave his sister; she found a water bone in the ash, put it under his brother's pillow; a bone pierced his head, his sister buried the deceased; the animals dug the body; the bear put his head on him, the water bone passed into it, the young man came to life; the bone went from bear to wolf; the fox put its head up, managed to pull it back, the bone got stuck in the pine tree; they all came to brother and sister parents, the young man rejuvenated them with live water; the father expelled the traitor daughter, his son became king]: 170-186; Concca 1993 [after the death of the parents, the brother took the cat and the sister took the goat, they went to seek happiness; the goat had to be stabbed and fried; they came to the giant; he agrees to fatten them first and then eat them; the horse offers brother and sister to take them away from the giant, his giant is easy caught up and killed; the eagle is the same, the giant shot; the bull tells you to take a branch, a stone and a tin bottle of water, throw it behind when the giant catches up; the branch turns into a forest; the giant cuts through the passage the fox promises to steal the ax, the giant spends time taking the axe home; the stone (the mountain; the same; the fox promises to carry the hammer); the bottle (the sea, the giant tries to drink it, the fox advises you to gird yourself with hoops, gnawed through them, the giant burst); the bull is about to die; tells them to keep the horns to summon him; brother and sister came to the copper castle, a dog got involved with them; the cat and the dog are scratching the chest, but his brother does not opened it; when he left, Satan came out of the chest in the form of a guy; the girl fell in love with him; he advises to pretend to be sick, send your brother for wolf's milk; the she-wolf gives milk and a wolf cub; the same is a bear; Satan advises sending the guy to the mill for living and dead water, he will poison the springs along the way; a cat and a dog drank from the first, a wolf and a bear from the second; the guy revived them with live water; they tore them Satan; the sister begged his brother to take her with him; they came to the silver castle, the boy married the mistress princess; Satan came to life, brought his sister a tooth, told his brother to put him in bed; he died; the beasts smashed the hoops of the coffin, but they themselves fell dead; two crows brought live water and revived the boy, and he brought the animals to life; hitting the horn with his horn, the guy summoned the bull, who brought him to the silver castle, Satan and his sister were killed; the spell that hung over the princess broke; everything is fine]: 67-81; Salmelainen 1947 [hell turned the prince into a fast horse; told the groom guy to live in the stable and not go into the house; when the hell was gone, the konb told the guy should go into the house; there he saw a bottle of blood, a huge sword on the wall, and in the chest in the corner there was a white stone, a green branch and a cup of water; hell knew that the guy went into the house, he promised next time kill him for it; but as soon as the hell was gone again, the horse told me to go try to raise the sword and if it was too heavy, sprinkle blood from the bottle on himself; the guy felt a surge of energy, easily raised his sword; the horse told me to take items from the chest, sit on it, galloped away; hell chases, the horse tells you to throw a stone (rocks; hell ran for an ax, cut through the passage; fox: if you throw the ax, I'll take it; the devil had to waste time taking the axe home), a green branch (a copper forest; the same episode with an ax and a fox), a bowl of water (a lake; hell tried to drink it, girded himself with a hoop so as not to burst, fox had a snack on the hoop, the devil burst); they rode to the king, the father of the enchanted prince; the horse ordered him to be hidden in the beech forest; the war broke out; the guy rode on an old mare, and then changed his clothes, sat on his horse, hacked his enemies with a sword; was wounded and the princess noticed him bandaging the wound; he told the king everything; the horse ordered his head to be cut off, the prince came out of his horse's body; he inherited throne, and the king married the boy to the princess]: 47-52; Karelians: Cox 1893, No. 199 (Varpakylä) [the man wants to marry his daughter; she asks for permission to go to her mother's grave; the mother advises ask the wedding to melt the bathhouse to wash, and when he goes to the bathhouse, run; going to church, take dresses, a brush, a comb, a mirror, a sword; the father chases, the daughter throws the brush (wall; the father runs behind the sword, cuts a hole, the bird screams that the daughter will see where the sword is hidden, the father runs home again to carry the sword), the comb (the wall of bones (the same); the mirror (the glass wall; the same); when he reaches royal pigsty, the girl puts on the skin of a pig, hides in the prince's pigsty; in the morning she secretly puts the farm in order; the prince goes to church, asks his sister for soap, it is brought by a pig, a prince throws soap at the pig; in church, the beauty replies that she is from the palace, where they throw soap; next time, a basin of water; a shirt; the first time a girl loses her hat; then the prince tells me to smear the door with resin, the glove is stuck for the second time; the third time, a shoe; the prince tells everyone to try on, promises to marry; sees a pig in a hat, with a glove and a shoe; on the way to church, the heroine takes off her pig skin; wedding]: 392-394; Onegin 2010, No. 32 (Kalevalsky district) [the wife has a blue finger; when she dies, she tells her husband to marry again only to the blue-headed; the daughter still has the blue finger; she requires her father to be embroidered starry outfit (father bought); embroidered for months (same); suns (same); daughter takes dresses, brush, sulfur, goes to the bathhouse; runs away, leaving spits responsible for herself; discovering the deception, the old man rushes then; the daughter throws a broom (a mountain covered with birch forest, the old man returns for an ax and hoe, cuts through the road, wants to hide the ax and hoe under the birch tree, the tit says he will tell, women they will steal; the old man takes them home, runs again; the girl throws the comb (tar mountain; the old man runs again for the ax and hoe; the same); throws a bar (stream of fire; the old man can't cross, he threw his eggs around his daughter's neck, let them mimic her); the girl was hired as a pigsty to the king; she is silent, because the eggs will mimic her; the ball is being prepared, the maids send the dumb water to the king, that hers with a bucket on the forehead; the late mother gives a staff to hit the stone crosswise, a horse will come out; the girl came to the ball in a sunny dress; replies that she came from where the forehead is beaten with a bucket; the prince followed as a girl, threw a pigsty's clothes into the fire; but the girl is afraid to say a word; the prince married her, she gave birth to a son, he was stabbed to death on her lap, her eyes were gouged out and driven away if she did not want to speak; the pigsty cooks food again, the soup is cooked in the pot; the pigsty: delicious soup; eggs: delicious; the pigsty hangs the ladle around the neck below the eggs, invites them to try the soup; the eggs flopped into the ladle, she them in a boiling pot; the pigsty brought soup to the guests; the new bride: look, the hem is carrying soup; the pigsty: you spoke early, I was silent, even when my baby was slaughtered; the new bride was driven away a pigsty was dressed in a sunny dress]: 300-304; Estonians: Järv et al., No. 36 (Väike-Maarja) [a person saws a tree in the forest, it becomes whole again; the spirit allows you to saw for a promise to give something that he will be the first to meet at home; a three-year-old son comes out; the boy is given his spirit; he leaves with his son, gives the boy the keys, forbids him to unlock one room; he unlocks, there is a horse and a dog; in front meat, oats in front of the dog; when he returns, the spirit scolds the boy, but does not kill; the next time the boy asks the horse for advice; he tells him to take a piece of gold from under the pillow of the spirit, a drop of water from the window, a grain of sand and a knot; a boy sits on a horse, jumps away, a dog with them; a horse tells them to throw a grain of sand (a sandy mountain; the spirit sends a son behind a shovel; they hide a shovel, the crow screams what he sees, the spirit sends his son to take the shovel home), a knot (forest), a drop of water (lake; the son of the spirit drank, burst; the spirit rushed into the water, drowned); The horse orders to remove his hooves, hit him three times with a rod; a horse and a dog turn into boys like this; all three live with the boy's father; tree felling has not grown since then]: 153-154; Mälk et al 1967, No. 51 (Rannu) []: 121-126; 58 (throughout Estonia, but more in southern Estonia, but more in southern Estonia ) [the girl rejects the grooms and dreams of marrying a man with a golden nose; he appears and takes her away; on the way they stop three times, the groom enters a house; the second time the bride peeks: he eats a dead dog; the third time he eats a dead man; when they reach the groom's home and the girl is left alone, the dead mother tells her that her husband is the devil; one of the guys who like the girl goes to a witch doctor; he tells him to take a ball three times on Thursday and go to the crossroads; the third time the whirlwind brings the young man to the house; he hired him as an employee, but since it is winter, there is no job yet; the girl comes to him, gives him a chip, a grain of sand and water in a glass: let him throw it when she says; takes a broom: if he moves, the pursuer is close; the grain of sand has become a mountain (hell sends his son for shovels ), a sliver - in a dense forest (sends for axes), splashes of water - by the sea; hell sends her son for his grandmother, she tries to drink the sea, but bursts; the devil is left overseas, young man and girl married]: 151-154; set: Järv et al. 2009, No. 33 (Satserinna; recorded in Estonian) [the man went to sell linen, came back a year later, leaned over to the water for a drink, someone grabbed him by beard, let go for promising to give what he did not know at home; during this time his wife gave birth to a son; (he grew up); one girl told the young man to take with him two loaves, two belts and a ball of yarn; the ball rolled, the young man then; threw two lions in the waist, the other two on bread, they missed it; Damn (vanahalb) tells me to plow the field by morning, etc., bake bread; 2) build a church; 3) build an iron bridge; daughter Devil tells you to go to bed, does everything; 4) choose a wife from his daughters, turned into mares, into turtles (the assistant will bite and bite other horses, pigeons); the young man gets a wife; she tells run, leaves saliva responsible for herself; Damn sends sons in pursuit, wife throws bark behind (forest grows; sons Devil chop, hide axes, lark says he sees where, then you have to hide it), clay (mountain; the same: lark, shovels), water from a glass (lake; Devils drink, burst); a young man brings his wife home], 35 [mother dies, father married a witch (vanapatu), she has two sons; one of them wants to marry her; she goes to dress in a barn, the witch's sons leave dogs at the exit so that she does not leave; The mouse asks for bread, the girl gives her, the Mouse gnaws a hole in the wall, tells me to take a whetstone, a brush and a cat with her; the girl runs, the cat listens, reports the chase; the girl throws brushes (the forest, the devils run after the axes; then they hide the axes, the bird says he sees that they take the axes home, rush to catch up again), a whetstone (a stone wall; the same, they run for crowbars and hammers), a handkerchief (the sea, devils drink, burst)]: 139-141, 148-152; Lithuanians: Kerbelite 2014, No. 42 [12 brothers have a sister; the eldest was looking for a wife, did not find anyone more beautiful than his sister, is preparing a wedding with her; the sister says she forgot the ring in the cage, asks God for help, falls into the ground , turns out to be on the path, comes to the hut, there is a girl like her; she smeared her with sourdough and covered her with sauerkraut ("déjou"); the witch flew in, the hostess said that the human spirit was because that that man's leg was stuck in her teeth, picked it up with a poker; the witch flew away in a mortar, the girls ran; threw the brush (forest; the witch cut it with an ax, ran to carry the axe back to not missing), towel (sea; the witch began to drink, tells the mortar to drink, burst); the girls got to the cage, but there are already floors, they began to scream; brother dismantled the floors; sister: here's a bride for you; brother married on that girl], 49 [an iron wolf (not just an ogre wolf) in 10 versions; the father has two children; he gave them a toy - an iron wolf; the father died and the wolf came to life; brother and sister rode off on horseback, the wolf caught up , tore the horse, brought the children back; flew away on the voron, the wolf caught up again and returned it; the goby put the children on his back, ordered them to take a ball (the mountain, the wolf gnawed), the brush (the forest; the wolf ran away for the ax; the crow screams that it will take the ax, the wolf had to cut the path and carry the axe back) and the sharpener (the sea in front; the goby created a bridge that disappeared behind, the iron wolf drowned); the goby told him cut in half, two dogs appeared; brother and sister came to the robbers house, killed those who came with a sword as they entered; in 16 versions, the story of the insidious sister]: 97-99, 113-116.