M141. Animals in the pit, ATU 20A. .27.-.29.31.32. (.33.) .34.

Several animals of different species find themselves in a hole from which they can't get out. They devour each other, the latter manages to escape.

{In Uther 2004 (1): 27, "falling into the hole" is included in the 20A plot definition, but many of the texts referred to do not contain this detail}.

Hungarians, Bulgarians, Gagauz people, Russians (Murmansk, Karelia, Pskov, Tula, Voronezh, Perm, Ryazan, Samara), Ukrainians (Poltava, Chernigov, Kharkiv, Yekaterinoslav, Kherson), Belarusians, Abkhazians, Kurds, Estonians, Lutsi, Lithuanians, Latvians, Chuvash, Mordovians, Mari (?) , Udmurts (?) , Khakas, (Oirats?).

The Balkans. Hungarians [birds and animals go and approach the ditch; birds and rabbits jump over, the rest fall; the fox suggests eating the smallest (or ugliest, with by an ugly name)]: Kovács 1987, № 20F: 251-252; the Volga [bear, wolf, fox, hare, hedgehog, etc., fall into a hole or well; on the advice of the fox, they consistently eat each other, choosing each time the one whose name is the ugliest or whose meat is sweeter, although in reality the one who is weaker; the last to be the fox and the wolf (or bear)]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, No. 20A: 43-44; Gagauz people [ the fox suggests putting the board through the hole to find out who is sinless; the fox, the hare, the wolf have passed, the bear has failed; but running around the hole, the first three also fell into it; first they ate the smallest, then Whom the lot fell on (bear); the fox hid part, tells the wolf that it eats its meat; the wolf began to tear its meat, died; the eagle flew, dropped its chick; the fox promised to return it if he gave it a drink; let flies into the field, sits on the baklaga, the man will hit, the baklaga will tip over, the eagle will bring water in its beak; the fox tells you to pull it out first, i.e. bring the rope, then laugh three times; let the eagle sit on the current on the man's head; he sat down, the man's son tried to hit the eagle, killed his father with a flail; the fox laughed three times and returned the chick to the eagle]: Moshkov 2004, No. 144:213-214; (cf.

Hungarians, Slovenes, Serbs, Croats, Romanians, Greeks {it is not certain that both main motives are combined: "falling into the hole" and" animals eaten one by one"}: Uther 2004 (1), No. 20A: 27-28).

Central Europe. Russians (Murmansk, Karelia, Tula, Voronezh, Perm, Ryazan, Samara {most of the records, although not all, were made in the 20th century and outside the main ethnic territory of Russians}), Ukrainians (Poltava, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Yekaterinoslav, Kherson {it seems that the story is only in eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea territories}), Belarusians [Animals in the pit: boar, wolf, bear, hare, fox, etc., once in a wolf pit, devour each other one by one; the fox remains the last, it gets out of the pit]: SUS 1979, No. 20A: 54-55; Russians (Arkhangelskaya, Pomors) [someone frightened the chicken, she runs, shouts to the rooster that war is going on; then the hare, the fox, the wolf, the bear; everyone fell into the hole; the fox: let's count the names: Bear bear is a good name (hereinafter fox fox, wolf wolf, cockerel petenka), and pakura chicken is a bad name; the chicken was eaten; then in order of the next; the fox and bear remain; the fox pretends to pull and eat its own guts; the bear pulled out his intestines, the fox ate it as much as she wanted]: Razumova, Senkina 1987:5-7; Russian (Pskov) [the cat ate sour cream, the woman began to beat him, is going to slaughter a goat and a ram; all three left home; wot consistently meets a hare, fox, wolf, bear; invites everyone to jump over a hole, everyone falls into it; fox: let's howl and eat the one who can no longer be the first; she sits by herself , opening its mouth, but not howling; the hare paused, it was eaten; then the wolf; the fox hid its guts under it, pretends to eat, says to the bear that it is his own; he began to pull out his intestines, died; in the spring a thrush flew in, the fox threatens to eat his children, tells him to pull him out of the hole, carry chopsticks; the fox jumped out, threatens the thrush again, tells her to feed her; the woman will carry her daughter a cup of porridge, sit on a cup, she will hit the cup, she will fall apart; the fox is full; now get drunk; the man will take a barrel of beer, sit on a barrel, pretend to be hammering; the man hit, the barrel is broken; now wash it in the bath; while the fox was washing, the thrush lured the dogs; he bred chicks in the nest himself]: Ploshchuk 2004, No. 3:62-64 (about the same shorter than No. 4:65-66); Russians (Pskov) [the fox spent the night with the peasant, begged for bast shoes; the next night, asked to put it bast shoes to the chickens, buried it, in the morning demanded a chicken; then a duck; a ram; a goby; firewood to the goby; went; the hare asks for permission to sit in her sleigh; then the wolf; when the bear sat down, the gullies broke; the hare brought thin ones, another fox too, a wolf brought a shaggy forest, a bear with roots; the fox went by itself; during this time the animals ate the bull, filled it with hay; the fox: whoever ate the bull will fall into the hole, let's jump; that's it fell; fox: let's voice, whoever falls short, we'll eat him; we started with a hare; the fox and the bear remain; the fox hid its intestines under it, now pulls out and eats, says its own; the bear pulled out its own, died, the fox eats it; but not get out; the thrush threatens to eat his children if he does not pull it out of the hole; the thrush put on chopsticks, the fox got out; the fox tells her to drink; the man carries a barrel of wine to the wedding; the thrush sat on the barrel, the man hit, the thrush flew away, the barrel broke, the fox got drunk; now laugh; two brothers are threshing, the thrush sat on one's head, the other hit, the thrush flew away, the fox laughed; now evaporate; the fox steams, the thrush says that the dogs are coming; the fox through the window, then into the hollow, asks the legs - how did they run? ears; eyes; tail; tail - dogs dank her tail and ate it]: Chernyshev 1950, No. 33:73-75; Russians (Voronezhskaya, formerly 1860, western in Voronezh Uyezd K.O. Alexandrov-Dolnik) [Borov He goes to the forest for acorns, meets a wolf, a bear, a hare and a fox one by one. The animals ask the hog to take them with them, he warns that they will not be able to jump over the hole they meet on the way, they insist, go with the hog and fall into the hole. Animals are starving, the fox offers to eat someone who "can't stretch his voice", the hare is the first to fall behind, it is eaten, another time the wolf. The fox hid the wolf's meat and eats slowly. The bear asks why she is not starving. The fox advises you to stick your paw under your ribs to find out how to eat, the bear performs and dies. The fox threatens a thrush that nests in a tree above the hole, which will eat its children if it does not feed it. The thrush brings her chicken, then water, then throws sticks so that the fox can get out of the hole. She demands that the thrush make her laugh, he tells her to run after him, brings her to the village, shouts "Grandma grandmother, bring me a piece of bacon," dogs come running to the noise and tear the fox apart. More about the blue caftan and honey]: Tonkov 1949, No. 2:155-156; Russians (Samara) [the old people did not have a horse, one cat; you have to go for firewood; the old man harnessed the cat into a sieve and went; the hare asks plant him too; then a fox, a wolf, a bear; the old man asked the cat to jump over the hole, they will fall into the hole; the animals decide to eat someone who cannot reach out in his voice; ate the hare; then the wolf; the fox hides the bones under himself; tells the bear that he eats his eyes; guts; the bear pulled out his own; died; the fox ate it; threatens the nightingale to ruin its nest if he does not pull it out; the nightingale brought "teasing" into the pit, the fox got out; tells her drink, feed, laugh, learn to fly; the woman was carrying pies and beer; the nightingale sat on the arc, the woman hit him with a stick, broke the arc, the horse ran away, the woman after her; the fox ate, got drunk; the nightingale on the threshing floor, sat on the man's bald head; his fool son killed his father, the fox laughed; the nightingale put the fox on his back, she told him to fly higher; the nightingale threw it; "God willing on the pole!" ; fell on a tree stump and was killed]: Sadovnikov 1884, No. 53:176-178.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Abkhazians: Bgazhba 2002 [wolf, bear, fox, hare trapped in a pit; the fox offers to eat the one with a weaker voice; they ate the hare; then the wolf; the fox hid some of the meat, tells the bear that tore and eats its side; the bear is dead; the fox asks the thrush for help, he fills the hole with branches; the fox got out, ate the thrush]: 87-88; Shakryl 1975, No. 12 [as in Bgazhba 2002, but the fox tried to grab the thrush and he lured her to the village, the fox was killed]: 55-56; (cf. Georgians [a leaf falls on the Fox, she runs, shouts to the Wolf that the sky is falling, the Wolf believes, also runs, then the Bear, the Goat, the Ram, the Rooster; at night, the Fox says that she is the oldest, and the Rooster is the oldest younger; The Rooster was eaten; then the Ram, the Goat, the Bear; the fox secretly eats the prepared bear fat from the Wolf; runs away, the Wolf chases, gets stuck between two trees; one day he sees the Fox, cuts off its tail with an ax; the fox tells other Foxes that she is fat because she has lost her tail; teaches them to put their tails into the water, they are frozen and come off; the Wolf does not know how to recognize the Fox now - they are all tailless; stretches a rope bridge so that his offender falls into the river as the fattest and heaviest; she falls, the Wolf wants to slaughter her; she promises to decorate it, drives him around the neck with a hot ax, the Wolf dies]: Kurdovanidze 1976, No. 9:41-44); Kurds [lion, bear, wolf, fox, hare find a well, cannot get out of it; the fox offers to eat someone who is thin; they eat a hare, a wolf, a bear; a fox hides meat; tells a lion that it eats its eye; a lion pulls its eyes out and dies; a whirlwind throws the fox out of the well; it pretends to be dead; peasants argue who will get it, it steals donkeys, she was attacked by dogs, barely escaped]: Jalil et al. 1989, No. 157:460-462.

Baltoscandia. Lithuanians: Löbite 1965:18-20 [the farmer dug a wolf hole, the wolf fell into it; then the hare; the fox laughs, jumps over the hole, falls too; offers to sing; then pretend to be dead; peasant throws the fox away first, it runs away; then the peasant kills the wolf and hare in the pit], 35-37 [the old cat, wolf, fox, hare decided to confess; the cat threw the perch over the hole, whoever crosses - there are no sins; she passed, the rest fell; the fox offers to sing, the hare does not stretch, is eaten; the next, who has a thinner voice, ate a wolf; the fox hid the meat, tells the bear that it eats its guts; the bear ripped his belly, died; the fox asks the starling to sketch branches into the pit so that it can get out and admire his children; when he gets out, asks to bring the chicks, eats one at a time; the crow talks about this starling; the fox pretended to be dead, the crow came down, the fox tore it]; Latvians: Alksnite et al. 1958:55-57 [The cat knocked over the milk pot, decided to go away to pray for sins; he is greeted Hare, Fox, Wolf, Bear decide to go with him; The cat puts a perch through the pit - whoever will pass through it, the sins will be removed; the Cat crossed, the rest have fallen; they decide who to eat - who has the weakest voice (Hare), the roughest (Bear); The fox eats the bear's intestines, says it's his own; The wolf rips open his stomach, dies; threatens the Starling that he will eat his chicks if he does not fill the hole with branches; gets out the branches; tells feed herself, teaches you to waddle on the way in front of an old woman carrying a pie; an old woman runs after a starling, Lisa eats a cake; give a drink: distract a man carrying a barrel of beer; cheer up: men hammer, let the starling will sit on one's head; others hit with a flail, the starling flew away, the man fell; the starling hid in the nest; the fox went, sees an empty jug, decided to drown it, put it around her neck, drowned], 64-65 [soprel manure, began to smoke, the chicken and the rooster decided that the earth was burning, ran with the chickens; a hare and a fox join them; the bear does not believe it, it is led to the manure heap - the owner has already removed it, there is a hole left; the chicken and her rooster flew over, the others fell; they ate the hare, the fox hid its guts, tells the bear that it eats its own; he ripped his belly; the fox got out of the hole]; Lutsie (Western 1927) [old lady answers the hare that he is looking for a shepherd for his three geese; towards a wolf; an old woman: how do you sing? wolf howls; old lady: no, you will scare all geese; the fox sings a song, the old lady is happy; the fox ate the goose, the feathers are under the threshold; says that she is called for christening, to the attic herself, there is a barrel of oil; what was the name? fox: Beginning; ate another goose; again for christening; called Half; ate the third, again for christening, ate butter, called the hostess to the cold bath and told everything; her mistress with a broom - she stuck, with Since then, the fox has a tail; it pretended to be dead, the fisherman carried the fish and picked it up; the fox threw it all off, eats, says to the wolf that it caught, putting its tail into the well; the tail froze, the fox called the people, they ran to beat wolf, fox head in sauerkraut, full, head in the test; tells the wolf that the brains have leaked; the beaten unbeaten is lucky; the wolf: how beautiful the woodpecker is; the fox: I'll do the same, get into the haystack; set fire to the haystack, the wolf burned; the fox carries bones in a bag, tells the man that she exchanged the money for his horse; open the bag when you go beyond that blue forest; the fox killed the horse, eats; says that if anyone gets to this horse meat faster than her, then she will cry; cancer caught on the fox's tail; when she runs up, he is already eating horse meat; the fox has tears from her eyes; old woman: you will recover if you eat the meat of a 9-year-old bear; the fox walks, knocks on the Christmas trees, on each bear, she asks how old she is; 3, 6 are not needed; 9; well, turn around; the bear turned, fell, the fox eats it; the fox tells the people she meets that she is going to repent of their sins, asks what sins they have; the cat ate sour cream, the hare poisoned the sheep, the wolf ate the sheep, the bear lifted the horse; the fox: we cross the hole on the perch; the cat crossed, the rest fell; whose voice is weaker, we will eat it; ate the hare, then the bear; the fox hides under giblets himself, tells the wolf that he eats his own; the wolf pulled out his own, died; the fox ate the wolf, spring has come; the fox to the woodpecker: you can't pour sawdust, eat your chicks; the woodpecker poured, the fox got out; the fox demands for the woodpecker to make her laugh; the husband carries bread, the wife carries porridge with eggs; the woodpecker pretends to be knocked down, they rushed to catch, the fox ate everything; asks for water; the woodpecker punched a hole in the beer keg; asks her to mock; father and sons are threshing grain; woodpecker on their heads; sons wanted to hit the woodpecker, killed their father; the fox laughs; climbed into a hole, asks body members what they did; everyone helped, only the tail behind the bushes clung; she stuck it out to the dogs, they pulled out the fox and tore it]: Annom et al. 2018:289-298; Estonians: Jakobson 1954 [The cat knocked over the pot of cream, went to repent of his sins; they join him Hare (ate oats in the field), Fox (stealing geese), Wolf (stabbed a cow), Bear (ate a horse); The cat offers to cross the hole on the perch, whoever crosses will be removed; The cat crossed, the rest fell into the hole; Fox offers to eat someone whose voice is weaker (they ate a hare), louder (bear); the fox suggests to the Wolf - whoever knocks a stone out of the edge of the pit with his head will eat another; The wolf breaks his head, dies; the Fox threatens the Starling eat his chicks, if he does not help her get out, fill the hole with branches; when he gets out, tells her to feed her; the starling distracts the woman, the Fox eats the porridge from that pot left; give her a drink (Starling flies around a barrel of beer, the owner hits the plug, the Fox drinks pouring beer); laugh (father and son are threshing, the Starling curls at the father's head, the son hits him, they quarrel, the Fox laughs); make him jump; The starling calls the hounds, the Fox hides in the hole; asks its dicks who helped escape; the tail only clung to the bushes; the fox stuck it out of the hole as a hound as a punishment; the hound ate both the tail and the fox]: 119 -129; Järv 2016 (Kirbla) [the man was driving from the tavern, fell asleep in the forest; the bear, the wolf, the fox and the hare threw him out of the sleigh and drove by themselves; the horse exploded, the sleigh broke; the fox went to the village for the tool, in this time, the wolf knocked down the horse; the fox: let everyone cross the hole on the perch, the culprit will fall; all three fell; the fox began to dance on the edge and also fell; the wolf lifted the hare; the fox decided that now it was her turn persuaded the bear to eat the wolf; when the lupus was over, she pretended to eat its giblets; the bear tore itself, died; the meat began to deteriorate; the fox to the crows: fill the hole with fir legs, then I'll give you eat; the crows filled, the fox got out, began to live in the forest]: 25-27; Finns: Schreck 1987, No. 3 [the man dug a hole, threw the bait, a hare, a fox, a wolf, a bear fell into the hole; the fox offers the first eat the hare; then the wolf; hides the wolf's intestines under him, tells the bear that he eats his giblets; the bear died, the fox ate it; when the man came, pretended to be dead, he threw it away, the fox ran away]: 223- 224; Rakhimova 2000:164-165 [squirrel, ermine, hare, fox, wolf, bear went and were hungry; they think who to eat; fox: smaller; so they ate squirrel, ermine, hare; so as not to eat it, the fox offers jump over a tar pit - who is a hunter; the bear fell, the wolf and the fox ate him, the fox hid his guts; tells the wolf that he eats his own; the wolf asks to rip his intestines out, dies; the fox ate him], (cf. 165-166 [ the chicken cooked barley lunch for the rooster, his stomach hurt, the chicken went to the well to wash the stained pants, a leaf fell into the well, the chicken told the rooster that the light had begun; they a hare, a wolf, a fox, a bear run towards each other; when they learn about the death, they run with the chicken and the rooster; they stopped in the forest, and decided that it was necessary to eat the one who started this business first; started with a chicken; then a rooster, a hare, a wolf; the bear wants to eat the fox, it hid in a hole, the bear grabbed its leg; the fox: you hold the root; the bear let go, grabbed the root, the fox screamed pretentiously; the bear did not get it]); (cf. Livons: Uther 2004 (1), No. 20A: 27; Veps, Eastern Sami, Karelians, Veps {it is not certain that both main motives are combined: "falling into a hole" and "animals eaten by queues"}: Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, No. 20, 21:216-217).

Volga - Perm. Chuvash [The cat went to confession; she is joined by the Hare (chewing apple trees), the Fox (killed chickens), the Wolf (killed sheep), the Bear (killed people and cattle); on the way there is a hole, the Cat jumped over, the rest fell; the fox catches a maple leaf, says that this paper says eat a hare first; then a wolf; the fox has stored meat, tells the Bear that it eats its guts; the bear ripped its belly apart; the fox ate bear meat until the snow filled the hole and it got out]: Sidorova 1979:39-40; Mordovians (Erzya): Evseviev 1964, No. 3 [an acorn fell on the mouse, she ran, told the hare that the sky had fallen, the hare ran with her; then the fox, the wolf, the bear, everyone fell into the ravine; decided to eat the one with a thinner voice; ate the mouse, the fox hid a piece; then the hare; the wolf; the fox eats the hidden, says to the bear that eats his giblets; the bear pulled out his guts, died, the fox got out of the hole on it], 4 [the old woman swept the ground, baked a cake, it rolled; meets, takes a bear, a wolf, a hare, a fox as companions; everything fell into the ditch; they cast lots, ate a cake; then a wolf; a hare; the fox hid the hare, told the bear that it was eating its giblets; the bear pulled out his giblets, died; the fox asks the woodpecker to pull it out, that lowered his tail, the fox got out; asked for food; the woodpecker descended in front of the girl who was carrying pancakes, she ran after the woodpecker, the fox ate pancakes; asks for water; the girl carries kvass (the same); laugh; the bride was shaking with her grandfather, the woodpecker sat on his head, the girl hit him with a flail, killed the old man; the fox laughed, wanted to run, run after the woodpecker, he was flying along the village; the dogs caught the fox and ate it]: 24-26, 30-33; Mordovians [a nut fell on the mouse, her mind ran out, she ran; tells the baby that heaven and earth have come together; run together; then rat, hare, fox, wolf, bear; ran to the pit; mouse fell behind, but also ran; bear: let's pull voices, whoever is thinner, we'll eat it; we ate the mouse and then take turns, the fox and the bear remain; the fox did not scream at all, just pretended, and then said that her scream will kill the wolf and bear; eat hidden meat, says that their guts; the bear pulled out his own and died]: Yurtov 1883, No. 11:35-41; Marie, Udmurts {given the Mordovians have a motive and Chuvash, there is hope that he really exists as Marie and Udmurts}: Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, No. 20A: 217.

(Wed. Turkestan. Kazakhs: Bosingen 1985 [the fox tells the lion that it knows a place where there are many rams; you must take the strong ones with you - a tiger, a bear, a wolf; and a hare coward; on the way to the night, a fox announces: the lion is our uncle, who will touch our uncle? the bear is our sage (who will touch it, etc.), the wolf is our strength, the fox is the ruler, the hare is our ram, so eat the ram; next time: and the bear is our brown sheep, eat the ram; on the third overnight stay: the wolf is our enemy (they ate the wolf); for the fourth time: the tiger is our food; the lion is left; the fox brings him to the top of the cliff and tells him to jump - below the rams; the lion crashed; the fox: how can I give my uncle lion to be eaten by crows; began to peel off the lion's skin]: 152-153; Kaskabasov et al. 1979, No. 50 [Fox, Wolf, Bear, Tiger, Mouse travel; take turns eating Mouse, Bear, Wolf; Fox closed one eye , told Tiger that she took it out and ate it; the Tiger asks him to take his eye out, then the second one ate it herself; then says that she has pulled out her rectum; the Tiger offers to pull him out, dies, the Fox ate it]: 115-116).

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Khakas [the fox says he goes to that one, plays the khomys; meets a hare, wolf, bear, everyone asks her to take it with her, the wolf agrees to carry it on his back; they all fall into a hole; the fox tells the wolf that the hare laughs at him, eats the hare; the bear says the same about the wolf, the wolf is eaten; the fox hides pieces of wolf meat under it, tells the bear that it eats its giblets, he tore it his belly, died; the fox offers the birds to eat meat, they pull it out of the hole]: Ungvitskaya, Mainogasheva 1984:217-218 (=Balter 1986:82-85); (cf. Xinjiang Oirats [from the Animal Tales section of the SUS correlates with the stories of fairy tales published in Khan Tenger magazine, the story type 20A "Animals in the Pit"; in a fairy tale called Tem ē, ü negen, č ono, bars d ö rb ü ("Camel, Fox, Wolf and Leopard"), a cunning fox eats one by one the meat of his three brothers: camel, wolf and leopard {no details; original verification required}]: Menyaev 2017:340, citing Xan Tenggri 1987:128).