M101B. A person former, future, present, ATU 157. .15.16.23.24.27.28.31.32.34.
A big predator wants to see humans. First he meets a child and finds out that he is a future person, then an old man is an ex-man. A meeting with a real person (hunter, soldier) ends badly for the beast.
Spaniards, Galicians, Portuguese, Catalans, Aragon, Basques, Germans (Schleswig-Holstein, Grimms), Dutch, Flemish, Friesians, French, Uttar Pradesh, Java, Hungarians, Russians ( Karelian, Kostroma), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Hutsulshchina, Transcarpathia, Ugric Russia, Poltava), Belarusians, Poles, Luzhitans, Czechs, Western and Eastern Sami, Veps, Estonians, Setus, Livons , Latvians, Lithuanians, Swedes, Norwegians, Chuvash, Buryats.
Southern Europe. Spaniards (many records, including Castilla, Murcia) [the bear brags that it is the strongest; others say that a lion or an elephant is stronger; the fox warns that the person is the strongest and it is better not to be with him meet; the bear tells him to show him a man; the child replies that he will only be human, the old man says he was; finally, the bear meets the hunter, gets shot, rushes at the hunter, gets hit with a knife, he runs away; admits that the man is stronger: he stunned him by feathering him, and then took his hair out of his ass and began to cut it]: Camarena, Chevalier 1997, No. 157:280-281; Portuguese [wolf advises the lion avoids a person; the lion decides to check the seriousness of the threat; meets a boy, an old man; the first replies that he is not human yet, the second says that he is no longer human; when a lion meets a blacksmith (soldier), he grabs him with hot mites (shoots him with a gun); the lion admits that the man is stronger - he grabbed him with two fingers or sneezed at him]: Cardigos 2006, No. 157:43-44; Galicians [wolf asked the fox to show him a man; they saw a boy; a fox: he would still be human; the old man was a man; the hunter; he shot; the wolf: threw me so slap in the face (aturuxo) that he almost stunned me; they came to the blacksmith, he heated the ticks; wolf: took me with two fingers, almost tore my head off]: Contos 1972, No. 19:27-28; Basques [motive known]: Camarena, Chevalier 1997, No. 157:281; Catalans [ another animal tells the wolf that he should be afraid of man; the wolf goes looking for a man; the boy replies that he is a future man, the old man that he was human; when he meets a hunter, he shoots; wolf: you really have to be afraid of a person, because he spits terribly]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 157:48-49; Aragon [a wolf (fox) living near a person gives advice to another wolf (fox) who lives far away in the forest; they meet a child, an old man, a hunter; according to a wolf who knows people, he is the only person, and he should be afraid of]: González Sanz 1996, No. 157:71.
Western Europe. The Germans [the fox told the wolf about the strength of man; the wolf asked her to show him a man; the old man was an ex-man; the boy was a future man; the hunter did not have a bullet, so he shot the wolf with two barrels and stabbed him; the wolf admitted the fox was right]: Grimm, Grimm 2002, No. 72:257 (=Grimm, Grimm 1987:216-217); Freesians, Flemish, Dutch: Uther 2004 (1), No. 157:110-111; the French [wolf met a lion on the way to the fair; they started talking; the wolf says he is afraid of a man; the lion asks to show him a man; they meet a child, old man; wolf: this is a future, ex-man; when meeting a soldier, a lion rushed at him, but received two bullets and a bayonet blow; the lion admits the wolf is right and dies]: Delarue, Tenèze 1976, No. 36:194-196.
Malaysia-Indonesia. Java [the dwarf deer sees the jackal; begins to praise its strength and beauty, but reports that there is a creature stronger than him, it is a man; the jackal asks if he has fangs, claws; dwarf The deer leads the jackal to look for a person; the child is a future man, the old man is an ex (walks on three legs); tells the jackal to meet the hunter, who shot him]: Kratz 1973, No. 10:66-69.
The Balkans. Hungarians: Kovács 1987, No. 157 [the bear argues with the wolf (fox) or the bear teaches his sons who is the strongest; the wolf (bear) declares he is, but others object: the man is stronger; they go looking for a person; an old man (hermit, beggar), a wolf (bear) says that he is an ex-man; a child is a future person; a woman is just a female; a hussar is real man; a bear (wolf) attacks him, in response receives a field and is hit with a sword, flees; returning to his own, the bear says that he would defeat a man, but he began to spit fire, and then lick it with your sharp tongue, so I had to back down], 157* [the lion, the wolf and the bear consider themselves to be the strongest; however, the wolf notices that a person can defeat any of them; they meet a child is a future person, an old man is a former man, a logger is a real person; he replies that he has no weapon other than an ax and a mind against the animals that have come; says that he has forgotten his mind at home, sends a wolf after him with a letter to his wife, telling him to tie a stone around the wolf's neck; the peasants killed the wolf; the lumberjack begins to eat bacon and whispers to the lion that bacon is made from boar meat; the lion rushes at wild boar; the lumberjack advises not to eat the wild boar with its skin and hair, but wait for him, the logger, to carve bacon; so that the lion can wait patiently, the logger ties it; and then kills it with an ax]: 278, 279.
Central Europe. Russians (Karelia, Kostroma), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Hutsulshchina, Transcarpathia, Ugric Russia, Poltava), Belarusians [Real Man: Wolf (Bear) , lion) warn that a person should be afraid; a boy is a future person, an old man is a former man, a hunter (soldier) is a real person]: SUS 1979, No. 157:78-79; Russians (Kostroma) [ when the lion dies, the lion tells his son to be afraid of man; the wolf confirmed that man is terrible; the lion went to look for a man; the old man: I am an ex-man, a boy: the future; the lion sees the man, promises to crush him with his paw; the man threw the ground into the lion's eyes and began to beat him with a club; the lion was convinced that his father was right]: Andronikov 1909:23-28; Poles [wolf or bear wants to see a person or find out what it tastes like human being; God (St. Nikolai) agrees to help; the person the wolf is going to eat asks permission to leave for a while, and then grabs the wolf by the tail and hits; the fox shows the wolf an old man who is no longer human, and a boy who has not yet become human; when he shows a real man, he shoots a wolf and wounds him]: Krzyżanowski 1962, No. 157:64-65; Luzhitans [the young bear does not believe the old, that the person is stronger; asks to show him a man; they meet a child (future person), an old man (ex-man), a soldier; a young bear rushed at him, but immediately ran; tells the old to a bear that a man spat at him with a stick, and began to shorten his hair around his ears with another sharp stick; the bear barely escaped]: Romanenko 1962:130-131; Czechs: Uther 2004 (1), No. 157:110-111.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Ossetians [the leopard is looking for someone who is stronger than him; someone said that the man is stronger; towards the teenager, answers that he is a future man; the old man is an ex; hunter: I am a man, I agree to show strength , just stay away and look at me; the hunter hit a leopard in the forehead with an arrow and killed him]: Dzagurov 1973, No. 8:29-30.
Baltoscandia. Estonians, Seto: Kippar 1986, No. 157 [a wolf or bear wants to deal with a person; accompanied by a fox, who, pointing to the people he meets, explains that this person is a future person ( child), and he is a former (old man); a wolf (bear) is horrified when he sees a hunter (soldier) and hears gun volleys]: 118; Estonians (Jõgeveste; all of Estonia sporadically, but not on islands) [ the wolf is told that he can eat someone who comes out to meet him if it is a human; boy: I'm just a beginner; old man: I'm an ending person; man: I can't be eaten before I bring it from the arshin forest, see if I will fit into your belly; when I return, strokes, praises the face, eyes, belly, ass of the wolf (what a cute face that will grab me; what eyes that will watch me eat; what a nice tummy, where will I go; what ass from which I will be spewed); once behind the wolf, he takes him by the tail and hits him with the stick he brought; he completely skinned him, and when they came to his howl other wolves, climbed the spruce tree; wolves climbed one on top of the other to get the man beaten at the bottom; man: are you beaten up here? he rushed in fear, rushed away, the others fell, ran after him]: Mälk et al. 1967, No. 29:71-72; Latvians [The fox promises to show the wolf the power of a real man; meet a boy - a future person, an old man - an ex-man; a real one - a forester with a gun - "kicks" at a wolf; a wolf runs away]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 157:260; Lithuanians {not sure if the motive is present}: Uther 2004 (1), No. 157:110-111; Western Sami [the bear tells the lion that man is strong; the lion wants to see a man; the boy is a future man; the old man is an ex-man; then a young man with a bow, with a sword and an ax; the lion asked him to face off; the man knocked down a birch tree, drove a wedge into the crack of the trunk, invited the lion to show his strength - to tear the trunk; when the lion put his paws into the crack, the young man knocked out a wedge; He pulled out his paws, but was left without claws; the lion wanted to rush at the man, but he cut off his tail with a sword; the lion opened its mouth, and the man fired an arrow there; bleeding, the lion ran away; tells the bear how the man spit in his mouth; decides not to date the person again]: Kohl-Larsen 1982, No. 26:153-156; Eastern Sami (Inari), Veps, Livs {not sure if the motive is present} : Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, No. 157:221; Swedes [a fox shows an old man to a wolf, then a boy and finally a man with a gun who shot a wolf]: Liungman 1961, No. 157:25-26; Norwegians {not sure if the motive is present} [the bear asks the fox to show him the man (the strongest creature); the fox agrees and finally shows the hunter; runs away and the bear is killed (learned afraid of a person)]: Hodne 1984, No. 157:43-44.
Volga - Perm. Chuvash [animals want to choose a king, someone offered a man; the lion did not like it, he wants to be king himself; he was asked to fight with a man; the lion met a boy; that: I am half a man; old man: already half a man; well done; he agreed to fight, uncovered his sword and shot his gun; the lion ran away, told others that there was thunder in one hand and lightning in the other; agreed to make him king]: Sidorova 1979:27.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Buryats [the wolf made friends with the dog; told her not to bark in vain - there was a bear nearby; she realized that the bear was stronger, went to him; from bear to tiger; the bump fell on her nose, the dog howled, the tiger tells you to be silent - a man with a thunder stick will hear; the dog asks to show her a man; an old man; a boy; when the guy is on horseback, the tiger ran away, the dog stayed with the man; barked at night, man I was not scared, but took her a bowl of bones]: Dugarov 1990:327-328.