M120A. Crying is a corpse eater, ATU 37, Th. K931. .21.28.31. (.42.)

The character pretends to be a mourner, eats the dead (treats the body disrespectfully).

Tibetans (Sikkim), Lepcha, Russians (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Olonetskaya, Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda, Kostroma, Voronezh, Tambov), Ukrainians, Finns, Karelians, Veps, Mordovians, Komi, (Tlingits).

ATU 37 combines four different motives: "cannibal nanny", "mourner eats dead", "imaginary shepherd eats herd animals", "fox and bird decide to raise their own children." Their unification is impractical, as their ranges coincide only in some parts of Europe. A new classification with review by publication is needed.

Tibet is the Northeast of India. Tibetans (Sikkim) [a wife named Fat always cooks fatty foods for her husband Meaty; he spies, sees her rolling in the pan to fill it; after sending his wife, the husband lies down on himself frying pan, fried; the wife is looking for a llama to perform a rite on him; Dove, Magpie, Raven do not know Lamsky words, the woman drives them; the Kite utters Buddha's epithets, the woman hands him her husband's body; when returns, the Kite replies that he ate the body, mistaking it for a treat; she throws a cup of sour milk at it; since then, there is a white spot on the kite's head]: Krapivina 2001:41-47; lepcha [flea is husband, the louse is the wife; they bought oil, but there is nothing to make a fire on; whoever brings firewood first will eat oil; when the louse reached the place, the flea was already jumping back; but with each jump, its bundle was untied in as a result, the louse came back faster; the flea hit the louse with burning smut so much that it had to look for a clergyman; the flea does not like the voice of a toad, a pheasant, likes the throat; she came and pecked the louse; the flea with I jumped on a person in fear, tried different places on his body, but eventually moved to a dog]: Stocks 1925, No. 18:374-375.

Central Europe. Russians: Balashov 1970, No. 71 (Tersky Bereg) [the grandmother dropped a pea underground, it sprouted through the house and to the sky; the grandmother sat in a bag, my grandfather took it in his teeth, climbed; grandmother: I want to pee; grandfather: ssy in a bag; unclenched his teeth, the bag fell, the grandmother broke; the grandfather lamented; the fox offered to wash and bury the old woman, ate her]: 310-311; Afanasiev 1958, No. 18 (Arkhangelskaya, Shenkursky y.) [the old man put a head of cabbage in the underground, the stem pierced the whole house, grew up to the sky; the old man climbed there, millstones were grinding pies, shangi, pots of porridge in the sky; after sleeping, he went down and told the old woman; she also wants to to go to heaven; the old man put her in a bag, took it in his teeth, climbed; when the old woman asks for the third time, "how far away", the old man replies, "Not far away"; the bag fell out; the old man went down, opened it, "and in a bag one bone even came across"; the old man is looking for a mourner, the fox volunteered, tells her to bring her oil in the bath and not look; the first time he replies that the old woman "moves", then "sits"; on the third once she runs away; ate both the old woman and the oil], 21 (the recording is not specified) [the old man's daughter dropped the bean, he grew to the sky; the old man put the old woman in a bag, climbed into the sky, dropped the bag; began to cry for the dead old woman; rejected the Bear, took Lisa; she ate the deceased, ran away], 22 (Murmansk, Kola district) [the old woman died, the old man is looking for crying; the bear offers himself, the old man asks to show how he will cry; bear: "m-e"; not good; the fox laments well, the old man took her; she ate the old woman and ran away]: 29-30, 33-34, 34; Karnaukhova 1934, No. 104 (Arkhangelskaya: Pinega) [the old man and the old woman sowed turnips on the roof baths; when it was time to collect, the old man put the old woman in a bag, took the bag in his teeth, climbed onto the roof; the old woman feather, the old man dropped the bag, the old woman killed; the fox volunteered to cry; demanded twice sour cream and butter; ate them, ran away]: 255-256; Nikiforov 1961, No. 90 (Arkhangelskaya, Mezen, Vozhgory, 1928, Mikhail Leshukova, 35 years old) [An old man and an old woman sow a life in the underground, it grows as high as a barn, they climb the stairs to the roof, the old woman falls and dies. The old man is looking for a "washer" and a "mourner", he does not like how a hare (meow, meow) and a wolf (oh, oh) cry, he likes how the fox mourns and brings her to the hut. She eats the old lady while the old man makes the coffin. An old man discovers his wife's bones and buries them]: 220-221; Onchukov 2009, No. 37 (1907, p. Sredny Bugaevo, Lower Pechora) [the old man and the old woman sowed turnips on the basement {this is physically impossible}; to tear turnips, the old man put the old woman in a bag, took the bag in his teeth, and began to climb the stairs; old woman: is it close? old man: close; when he opened his mouth, the bag fell, the old woman died; the old man went to look for crying, the fox volunteered to cry, ate the old woman, the old man buried her bones]: 146; Russians (Karelian Pomorie, Sumy Posad) [a pea fell underground, sprouted through the house, to the sky; the old man put the old woman in a bag and climbed; the old woman moved, fell, killed; the grandfather went to look for a mourner; asks the people he meets how cries; rejects a wolf, a dog, a cuckoo, a cow; takes a fox ("Smile Poles, Smile Poles, the old woman was kind, she spun and rolled, snout swabs through the bed"); ate the old woman and ran away]: Razumova, Senkina 1974, No. 52:261-263; Russians (Olonetskaya: Shokshozero) [the old man sowed a turnip on the roof; it grew up, climbed with the old woman to tear; the old woman fell off the roof, crashed; the old man is looking for mourners; towards the hare; replies that he can cry; old man: go to pants; also a fox, a wolf, a bear; he took him to the forest hut where the old woman's body is; when he returned, the old woman was eaten; the old man put two bones in the box, brought home, began to live happily ever after]: Onchukov 2000, No. 6:163; Russians (Vologda) [my grandmother died, my grandfather went to look for a mourner; a hare, then a wolf, a bear; everyone's grandfather asked to show how he he will cry, took everyone; when they arrived, my grandfather went to straighten, the horse ran away, the wolf and bear ate their grandmother and left]: Kuzmina 2008, No. 4:42-43; Russians (Pskov) [the chicken found a pea, the cockerel is a bob; the grandfather and woman ate the pea in half, and the bean was put under the floor; the bob sprouted through the house, grew to the sky; the grandfather climbed to the sky, and there was everything you want from food and drink; goats came, the grandfather hid under trough, goats feel a "non-Russian spirit"; they left a one-eyed goat to guard; "! Sleep, peephole!" ; next time - two-eyed; "Sleep the peephole, sleep the other one!" ; the third time he had three eyes, the grandfather forgot to put his third eye to sleep; the goats began to beat him, the grandfather promised to bring them his wife; the woman sat in his grandfather's pants, the grandfather climbed, his pants broke, the woman fell out and crashed; the grandfather went to look for a mourner; rejected the wolf, the bear (I don't like the voice), took the fox (like the voice); the fox gnawed all the bones and disappeared]: Ploshchuk 2004, No. 21:87-89; Russians: Vlasova, Zhekulina 2001, No. 13 (Novgorod) [the cockerel found a bobbin, a pea chicken; they brought them into the house; they grew to the floor, the man and the woman cut through the floor; grew to the ceiling; cut through the ceiling; rose to the sky; the old man made a staircase ; climbed with bags; the woman decided to return; fell, broke into small pieces; the grandfather goes to the forest to make a coffin; the wolf meets him, offers to voice; ate half of the woman; then the fox ate more; bear; so the woman was eaten, there was nothing to bury; the grandfather climbed into heaven, there was a goat; he ate everything; the goat left the goat to guard; the grandfather threw the goat down; then the second one; threw the goat; picked up beans, peas; climbed down, a step broke, grandfather crashed]: 31-32; Russians (Kostroma) [old people grew peas in the pipe, the old man went down the pipe and ate peas; the old woman wanted to eat; the old man put her in a bag, took it in his teeth and got up to the stairs; she still asks how long; the old man answered, dropped the bag, the old woman was killed; the fox offers to go to the bathhouse and "do it" (scream for the deceased); gnawed the old woman's bones, says "Open it!" ; the old man opened it, the fox grabbed him and dragged him into the forest]: Zimin 1920:73-74; Kretov 1977, No. 9 (Voronezhskaya, 1971, p. Novo-Zhivotinskoye, Ramonsky District) [The old man's wife dies and is looking for someone to cry for her. He doesn't like the bear crying, he likes the fox crying. He leaves her at the old woman's feet and goes to build a coffin. When she returns, there is neither a fox nor an old woman (the fox ate the old woman)]: 24-24; Smirnov 2008, No. 251 (Tambov, Kirsanovsky y.) [old people dropped a pea underground; it sprouted all over the house, blossomed with a roof garden, where birds are singing; the old woman asks me to pick her up to listen to the birds; the old man put her in a bag, took it in his teeth, drags it ; old lady: even {higher}! old man: far away; dropped the bag, the old woman broke; the old man went to look for a mourner, the wolf volunteered; began to sing: "Oh, grandmother, you are Barbarian, thin, straight, part is nailed!"] : 152-153.

Baltoscandia. Karely: Concca 1959 [=Evseev 1981:230-231; the man's wife has died; he goes to look for a mourner, invites those he meets to try, rejects Wolf, Fox, Hare, satisfied with the Bear; she eats deceased]: 90-91; (cf. Makarov 1963, No. 33 (Tver Karelians) [the old woman suggests sowing peas underground; the stem is growing, the old people have sawed the floor and ceiling, the peas have grown to the sky; the old man climbed, putting the old woman on her back; she fell, crashed; the old man is looking for a mourner, asks everyone how he will cry; rejects the wolf, the dog; he liked the hare's song, the old man took it]: 48-49); Finns: Shustrova 1994 [The bear is looking for children babysitter; rejects Wolf, Hare, because they sing poorly; takes Lisa, who sings well; Lisa does not care about the cubs, replies that she sang songs to them; the next evening the Bear hears hungry children crying ; Fox runs away]: 406-407; Finns [The Bear's wife has died, he goes to look for a mourner; rejects the Wolf, the Hare - voices do not fit; the fox laments well, is accepted; asks to move the body from the stuffy hut to the pantry; The bear no longer hears crying, comes to find out what's going on; the fox says that she has finished almost everything; the bear tries to hit the fox with a spoon, hits the tail, since then the tip of the fox tail is white]: Salmelainen in Concca 1991:287-291 (=Dähnhardt 1912:247-248, =Goldberg 1957:19-22); Veps: Kippar 2002 [the woman suggests sowing turnips on the roof; regularly sends her grandfather to find out how she grows ; when it's time to pull it out, the grandfather puts the woman in a bag and holds it in his teeth as he goes up the stairs; the bag falls, the woman breaks; the grandfather is looking for a mourner; rejects the bear, the dog (they don't like their voices), takes fox (sings well); she eats the deceased, runs away]: 88-92; Onegina, Zaitseva 1996, No. 19 [the old man and the old woman sowed turnips on the roof; turnips began to grow; the old woman was afraid that she would crush the house, climbed to collect , fell on the harrow; the old man went to look for mourners; a chicken, a hare, a fox, a wolf, a bear met; everyone replies that he can lament; the old man left them by the body, they ate the old woman and ran away; the old man took the kitten, the scoop and the ax left; in the hut, a man jumps from the stove into the pants held by his wife; for a hundred rubles, the old man taught how to wear pants; elsewhere a man carries light into a windowless hut with a bag; an old man for 200 rubles cut through a window; in third place, rats eat people at night; the old man sold the kitten; the old man returned home, and a man came out of his hut and told him to leave; the old man cried, Onego arose out of tears, flooded the house]: 101-103; Eastern Sami [a mushroom grew on the ceiling of the barn; the old man climbed after him - there were stairs up; the forest was long, he got to the mushroom, there was a house in it, a woman in the house, invited me to dinner; the old man went down, told his wife, put it in a bag, carried it, dropped it from half the stairs, the old woman was killed; the old man was looking for a mourner; met a fox, asked her to show how she would sing; he did not like it I met a hare; took the hare as a mourner, but the fox ate the old woman at that time, made a necklace out of vertebrae; the old man cried out of grief and died; so only bones were left from the old people]: Yermolov 1959:76-78.

Volga - Perm. Komi (Zyrians) [an old man who has lost an old woman goes to look for a mourner. The bear, the wolf and the hare do not satisfy this purpose; the old man chooses a fox, she goes to mourn; according to One option is that she eats the old woman while the old man prepares the coffin, and on the other hand, the fox makes the old man heat the bathhouse to wash the old woman, and instead of mourning, eats her]: Gren 1924:48; Mordovians ( Erzya) [the old woman swept, found turnip seed, tells the old man to plant; where? - In the attic; the old man took a horse, a plow, plowed the attic; the old man every time reports how much turnips have grown; the old woman asks to take it; the old man climbs the stairs, holding a bag with the old woman in his teeth; the old woman asks how far away; old man: close; the bag fell, the old woman was killed; the hare, the bear, the wolf towards them, the old man does not like their voice, does not take them in mourners; the fox liked it; she poured water on the coffin: she will see, how many tears I shed; the old man paid the fox to mourn, buried the old woman, let the dogs down on the fox]: Evseviev 1964, No. 56:373-375.

(Wed. NW Coast. Tlingits: Boas 1895, № XXV.1.19 [The Raven turned himself into a woman, Norka into a baby, came to the Seals, married the chief's son; marries the Seal; one day makes his imaginary baby scream, tells her husband that something bad will happen; strangled her husband, goes to grieve at his grave; one person saw: there a raven is biting a corpse; the crow has been hung in the chimney, since then it has been black] (=2002:622- 623): 319); Smelcer 1992 [The Raven decides to become a woman to find a husband to feed him; Killer Whales are looking for a wife, believe that the Raven is the daughter of a chief named Sister on the High Rock (i.e. a seagull ); at night, the imaginary wife steals fish, loses her labrette; says that the labrette flies into the pantry herself; they believe her; says she dreamed that everyone slept but her husband never woke up; people are scared; at night Raven kills her husband with a sharp stick; pretends to mourn his body; says that her husband bequeathed to take his corpse away, leave the widow to mourn, not look at her, but leave her food; this is how the Raven lived for a long time , eating at the expense of killer whales]: 13-14; Swanton 1909, No. 31 [as in Smelcer; an imaginary widow eats her husband's corpse; killer whales ask her to make them white; she kills them by stabbing a splint in everyone's ear; the last Killer Whale saved]: 115-116).