M154. Animal language and stubborn wife, ATU 670.

.11.-.17.21.-.23.27.-.34.38.

A person who has learned animal language laughs when he hears them talking. The wife or mother-in-law requires him to explain what is going on. A man is ready to comply with his wife's demand, although he knows that he will die after telling a secret. He usually hears pets condemning the owner's stupidity and decides not to say anything.

Laadi, Fang, Douala, Mbundu, Ronga-speaking Muslim Mestizos Lourenço Marques, Swahili, Baule, Bethe, Ashanti, Banen, Denya, Ekoi, Hausa, Mosi, Krachi, Fulbe, Kanuri, Malgashi, Sakho, Tigres, Amhara, Nuers, Nubians, Sudanese Arabs, Algerian Berbers, Arabs of Morocco, Egypt, Galicians, Catalans, Portuguese, Italians (Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Abruzzo, Basilicata), Sardinians, Sicilians, Corsicans, Sardinians, Maltese, French, Walloons, Irish, Flemish, Germans (Schleswig-Holstein), Palestinians, Syria, Yemen, Thousand and One Nights, Syrian Arabs, Garo, Viets, Ancient India, Nepalis, Santals, ho, agaria (Khuntia Chokh), Ho, Bengalis, Kannada, Sinhalese, Ancient Greece (?) , Serbs, Slovenes, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Romanians, Hungarians, Albanians, Greeks, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Russians (Tver, Voronezh), Ukrainians (Volyn, Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Transcarpathia, Hutsulshchina, Yekaterinoslva, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kiev, Poltava), Belarusians, Kalmyks, Abkhazians, Adygs, Ossetians, Ingush, Chechens, Dargins, Laki, Georgians, Svans, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Persians, Pashtuns, Turkmens, Finns, Karelians, Veps, Estonians, Lutsies, Livs, Latvians, Lithuanians, Swedes, Danes, Faroese, Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts, Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Dungans, Uighurs, Shors, Khakas, Siberian Tatars (? ) , Buryats (Alar), Japanese.

Bantu-speaking Africa. Laadi [The winemaker dropped the knife, asked Brother Dog to find it and bring it; he did this by rubbing his saliva into the owner's ears, the Winemaker began to understand the language of animals; tell no one about it; Winemaker hears dogs talking, laughing; the wife promises to divorce if her husband does not say why he laughed; The winemaker says he loses consciousness; Brother Dog revived him and disappeared]: Aksenova et al. 2005:112-114; fang [tiger (? lion, leopard?) kills wild boars from a herd of forest dwarfs; hunter Nkane kills a tiger, dwarfs give it the ability to understand the language of birds; if he says it, he will lose this ability; he hears birds talking: where he is sits with a dwarf, the elephant's tusks are buried; he digs them up, gives them to one dwarf, takes the other for himself; from the conversation of birds, he learns that enemies are approaching, the enemies are defeated; the wife pretends to be sick - she will recover if the husband will reveal the secret; the husband beats her; learns from the birds the hour of his death, distributes the inheritance to the children in advance; the secret was not disclosed]: Klipple 1992:228, 232-233; duala [man is not afraid of a lion; lion gives he has a spear that kills 9 animals at once, and the ability to understand the language of birds and animals, he must keep a secret; a person laughs when he hears a chicken talking to a rooster; his wife and mother-in-law think that he laughs at his mother-in-law, whose leg is crippled; husband gathers people, talks about everything, orders his wife and her relatives to be killed, dies; wife and her relatives are killed]: Klipple 1992:228; mbundu [dogs give the owner's ability to understand the language of animals; if he says, he will die; he laughs at the conversation of animals, the wife thinks that she is over her mother; mother-in-law refuses to enter the house; the husband calls people and explains the matter; both he and his dogs are dying; husband's relatives demand that his wife's relatives pay 6 head of cattle for his death]: Klipple 1992:227-228; Ronga-speaking Muslim mestizos Lourenço Marques [the king is poor, fishing; the seven-headed serpent gives gold for promising to give him the first thing he meets in his house; this is a pregnant wife; the night before the young man goes to the snake, two men in white tell him to put seven vessels of milk in the doorway; a serpent comes and drinks them; gives the young man the ability to understand animal language, tells him not to tell anyone about it; a young man marries, laughs, Hearing birds and animals talking; the wife is furious, thinks he is laughing at her; the rooster tells the cat that he would just beat his wives; the husband does so, the wife stops being angry]: Junod s.a., No. 29: 182-184; Swahili: Klipple 1992:226 [=Olderogge 1959:118-120; the donkey advises the ox to pretend to be sick; the donkey has to work alone for three days; then the donkey says that the owner has decided to slaughter the ox , and he voluntarily goes to work; the man hears it, laughs; the wife thinks he is over her; the husband is ready to talk about his ability to understand animal language, the walker knows that he will die after that; hears how the cat reproaches the rooster for not mourning the imminent death of the owner; the rooster replies that the owner should not prepare for death, but beat his wife; he does so], 226-227 [Seliman bin Daud receives from God ability to understand the language of birds and animals; must keep its secret; tells all animals to build a house; hears cows advise donkeys to pretend to be sick; a week later, working for donkeys, as if S. is going to slaughter the sick; donkeys are in a hurry to work themselves; S. laughs, his wife demands to say why; S. is ready to reveal his secret; hears a rooster: I have many wives, and if one does not obey, she must just beat; S. does it].

West Africa. Baule [a forest devil drinks a peasant's wine; for this, he gives him the ability to understand animal language; but if he talks about it, he dies; a person laughs when he hears animals talking, wife thinks what's over her; his wives demand to be told; he tells, dies]: Himmelscheber 1960:149-153; ecoi: Talbot 1912 [the hunter almost killed an antelope cub; after learning about it, spirits tied him to a pole; left, their children remained in the village; the hunter freed himself, washed the children; for this, grateful spirits gave him the ability to understand the language of animals; but if he talks about it, he would immediately will die; one day he heard a chicken talking to the chickens, laughed; his wife demanded an explanation; he told everything and died]: 99-101; Klipple 1992 [Following the antelope, a person ends up in a village of the dead, she cuts and washes them, is rewarded with knowledge of animal language; if he says, he will die; laughs when the chicken teaches chickens to pick up the grains that the hunter's mother-in-law drops; the wife thinks he is laughing at by her mother; the hunter talks and dies]: 229; beta [a man climbed a palm tree but forgot a knife; if he goes down to get a knife, he will not have the strength to climb again; oh, if the dog brought a knife ! the dog answers what he will bring, but let the person be attentive, otherwise he will die; climbs a palm tree, gives a knife and gives the person the ability to understand the language of animals; if he speaks, he will die; the man's wife blind in one eye; husband laughs when the chicken tells the chickens to peck grain from the side where the owner does not see; the wife is offended; at night the husband hears the mice talking, laughs again; in the morning the wife went to the mother; the husband after her; he had to tell everything and he died; since then, if a person doesn't want to talk, others don't insist]: Paulme 1976:61-62; banen [the man with the chimpanzee agreed he would be supply the chimpanzee with bananas and the chimpanzee with meat; the chimpanzee also gave a potion that allows them to understand the language of animals, but if you talk about it, you will die; the mother-in-law comes to the man, the rooster tells the chickens that now one of them will be stabbed; the owner laughs, the wife thinks he is laughing at her mother; the husband gathered relatives and relatives, told them what was going on, and died]: Dugast 1975:110-112; Denga (niang) [ the hunter injures an antelope, it hides in a hole in the ground, he follows, enters the world of the dead; cuts off the boy's thick hair, everyone likes it, he is asked to cut it too; the hunter lives in the village the dead are two months old; he is sent back with the ability to understand the language of chickens; if he says, he will die; laughs when he hears how the chicken teaches the chickens to approach from the side of a crooked person from which he is not sees, peck his nuts; crooked demands to explain why he laughs, the man tells, dies]: Klipple 1992:228-229; Ashanti: Barker, Sinclaire 1917, No. 19 [everything Ohia and his are up to Awirehu's wife, fails, they are completely impoverished; they decided to make palm wine; every morning the pots into which the wine flows are broken; O. guards, sees a deer with a large pot on his head; he He pours wine here, and throws the pots to the ground; O. pursues him, gets to the animals; the leopard king is ready to execute him for the invasion, but when he finds out what was going on (he gave money to the deer to buy wine, and he stole wine, and hid the money), gave O. in compensation for the ability to understand the language of animals; but if anyone says, he will die immediately; O. hears the chicken telling the chickens where the gold is buried; O. and A. became rich ; O. took a second wife; she is lame and in bad character, thinks that she is being laughed at; one day O. hears mice talking, laughs, his wife demands an explanation; leads O. to the leader; O. left a will for A. and children, he told everything, died; the second wife was burned and the ashes scattered]: 105-113; Klipple 1992 [the boa constrictor gives a person the ability to understand the language of leaves, rivers, animals; if a person speaks, he will die; he hears chickens talking, mother-in-law thinks her son-in-law laughs at her, utters a forbidden word of the sky-god upon him; the man is ready to reveal the secret, but hears the rooster explaining to the chicken that he is would cast a spell in such a case; a person utters, divorces; this is how the divorce appeared]: Klipple 1992:230; catch-up [girl and dog came to the field; girl shared food with the dog; from she gave her the ability to understand the language of animals, but forbid her to talk about it; in the evening, the girl sees a rooster and a chicken pecking grain on opposite sides of a woman blind to one eye; she chases a chicken; a rooster: go to the other side; the girl laughed, the woman decided that she was hitting her; the dog to the woman: she laughs not at you, but at the words of the rooster; the dog immediately fell dead]: Paulme 1976:62-63; curls [previously only a lion, a leopard, and a wild dog were hunters; once a man killed an antelope; a lion, a leopard, and a dog began to argue who killed it; the hunter said he; the leopard began to talk to him in a friendly manner, allowed him to take his back leg, skin and head, and gave him a witchcraft; he began to understand the language of animals and plants; heard a buffalo warns her husband that the hunter is approaching, but he advises not to pay attention; the hunter killed both and laughed; an old woman was nearby and took the laugh personally; brought him to the supreme god Nyame and ordered explanations; the man told everything and died; N. crumbled the body into small pieces and scattered it around the world; now these are hunting amulets; if the hunter picks up a buffalo amulet, he will mainly hunting buffaloes; hunters have appeared since then]: Campbell 1931:107-109; hausa [a person saves a hare, he gives it powder; after swallowing, a person gains the ability to understand the language animals; he must keep a secret; donkeys tell him about the buried treasure, he digs up the treasure, refuses to explain to his wife; when he learns that his son-in-law has become rich, his mother-in-law tells his daughter that he will move to them; pigeons tell her husband about it, he laughs; the wife decides that he laughs at her mother, let her husband tell me even if he dies; the husband talks everything and dies]: 231; mosi [man hunted , climbed a tree, saw another come up; realized that he would immediately know what the person was thinking; the man asked him for an amulet to know the thoughts of humans and animals; the donor warned that if a person talks about this, he will die right away; the person has read the girl's thoughts and realized that she is ready to marry him; put him on a donkey and took him; the donkey thinks: he used to carry one, but now he owes two; the man laughed, the wife demands an explanation, otherwise she will leave; at home, the rooster advises not to tell the truth, but to tell that his wife did not exist before, and now he has taken a beautiful one - that's why he laughed; the man decided that sooner or later he'll talk, so he gave the amulet to his penis; he feels the woman and gets up]: Tauxier 1917:517-518; fulbe [Hammadi works but is poor; someone tells him the ability understand animal language, he must keep a secret; H. gets rich; hears mice talking, laughing, his wife wants to know why, wants him dead; he is going to reveal a secret, but is silent when he hears a dog over he is bullied; his wife leaves, the mouse advises to take another one]: Klipple 1992:231.

Sudan - East Africa. Kanuri [a man has been given a gift from God to understand the language of animals; he laughs when he hears what a hyena, a horse, is saying; the wife has one eye, she thinks he is laughing at her; at night he hears her husband and the rat's wife has fallen, laughs again, the wife demands to tell; the husband talks and loses the ability to understand animals; nothing good comes from a woman]: Koelle 1854, No. 3:143-145; sakho [younger the rich brother and the poor elder set off; while the elder was sleeping, the younger brother took his food and left; the elder went to seek God to kill; God met him, he asked him to prove that God could take hands heaven and earth; God showed; man asked to be given the gift to understand all languages; stopped for the night under a tree, heard an eagle and an eagle talking; the eagle thinks that man is dead or sleeping; eagle replies that no, tells them not to touch them, otherwise he will catch them and take away a box of gold; the man grabbed an eagle, received gold; returned to his wife; hears a goat calling a goat to sleep with him - like a master and his wife; the man laughed, the wife insisted that he tell him why; the man said that then he would die, began to prepare for death; heard the neighbor's dog talking to his dog, calling the man a fool; then the man tells his wife he won't tell anything, and if she wants to leave, please]: Reinisch 1889, No. 3:109-112; tiger [God gave one person the ability to understand everyone's language animals; if he talks about it, he will die; the man went to bed with his wife; heard two kids say: the owners are in bed and it's time for us; smiled; the wife began to wonder why; promised to leave if the husband did not will say; he began to prepare for death; stabbed one of the cows to eat himself at his own funeral; the dog took the bone away, did not share it with the other; she said everything she thought about the owner's stupidity and his dog's greed; the man decided that getting divorced was easier than dying; people have been divorcing ever since]: Littmann 1910, No. 76:95-96; amhara [after the death of his parents, the youngest son became impoverished; decided that the elder He despises him; he takes a spear and goes to kill God; he, in the form of a young man, gives the young man the ability to understand the language of animals, but if he talks about it, he dies; at night he hears a conversation between a sheep and a sheep, laughs; wife thinks he is hiding something from her, threatens to leave; husband decides to have a feast and then die; neighbor's dog: I would kick my wife out and take another; husband listened to this advice; since then people getting divorced]: Anpetkova-Sharova 2010:365-368; nuers [a man saw snakes fighting, one was killed; scolded them (for this); one snake gave him a means to understand animal language; at home he hears what a mosquito, a rat, a cow say; a woman called people, accused her husband - he laughs at her; the man explained what was going on and died; the body was lowered into the grave; a snake crawled, put its tail in his nostrils, he came to life ; the snake said he would now understand the language of birds; the man heard, laughed at birds, honored this snake]: Huffman 1971:90-93 (=Radin 1952, No. 38:150-152); Sudanese Arabs [dying, man tells his son to throw bread into the water every day; a grateful waterman invites the young man to fulfill any desire; gives an understanding of animal language so that he does not reveal the secret on pain of death; after hearing a conversation birds, man finds treasure; laughs at animal conversation; wife demands explanation, husband divorced]: Nowak 1969, No. 214:211; Nubians: Kronenberg in El-Shamy 2004, No. 670:365-366; malgashi (sakalava) [a man pulled a snake out of a stone; she advises asking her father for the gift of understanding animal language; a serpent spits in his mouth; when crows talk, a person finds a treasure under a tree; hears two horses talking and laughing; the wife demands an explanation, threatens to leave; the husband prepares to die, but the rooster explains how to treat wives; the husband drives his wife away]: Haring 1982, No. 4.670:415-416.

North Africa. Algeria (Ouargla) [a rich man saw a butcher hit a dog; bought a piece of meat and gave it to a dog; this dog was the son of a king of the underworld; the man went broke, became a laundress; saw a jerboa, who carried the earring; killed and fried it; a woman came out of the ground: this jerboa was my son; now I will separate you from your children; the king's son, who was then a dog, appeared; led him to his father and told him not to ask for money, but to spit on his tongue; the king forgave the man for killing a jerboa and spat on his tongue; now he will understand the language of birds and animals, but if he says so, he will die; on a tip, a crow a man found a treasure; heard a donkey teach a donkey to stumble so that a man would drop a basket with gold covered with earth; people would see; a man hid gold elsewhere and fill the basket with one with earth; beat a donkey; got rich again; once laughed when he heard the chickens talking; wife demands an explanation; let the husband die but tell; the dog grieves; the dog advises to take a stick and beat his wife; dogs delighted]: Basset 1897, No. 108:119-124; Arabs of Morocco, Egypt: El-Shamy 2004, No. 670:365-366.

Southern Europe. Sardinians: Uther 2004, No. 670:365-366; Sicilians (Agrigento) [working for a priest, a man found a mushroom; the owner sent him to dig in that place, the man found two vipers; priest told him to fry them for him, but at that time they also brought two eels; the food was mixed up, the priest ate the eels, and the worker ate the vipers; then he began to understand the language of animals; the cat warns no one talk about it, otherwise the person will die; the worker did not confess and the owner let him go; shepherds lose sheep; the man promised to protect sheep for a fee; hears the conversation between wolves and dogs; ordered kill a traitor dog, take new ones, get a mare and a mule; when she rides a mare with his wife, she tells the mule that she is lucky two; the man laughed, the wife demanded an explanation; the husband sent for a priest confess before death; the rooster tells the owner that he is not like him and commands the wives himself; the man beat his wife half to death and she did not ask anything else]: Calvino 1980, No. 177:639-641; Italians (Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Abruzzo, Basilicata), Sardinians: Cirese, Serafini 1975, No. 670:145; Italians (Abruzzi) [Christ stayed at the house of a rich man; his good fed and, as a reward, he gave the owner the ability to understand the language of animals; but if he tells anyone about this, he will die immediately; a person hears an ox and a donkey talking, laughs, the wife demands an explanation; husband ready to reveal his secret but hears a rooster saying he's dealing with 20 wives; the man laughs again and following the rooster's example]: Elwin 1944:294; Corsicans [guy hired to herd sheep; once he saved a man from the claws of a lion; he turned out to be the son of a sorcerer, advised him to ask his father to be able to understand animal language; the sorcerer blew in his mouth; he should not talk about it; boy married; the mare tells the foal that she is carrying three (a pregnant woman and pregnant herself); the man laughs, the wife demands an explanation, the husband is ready to tell; the dog howls: the owner will die; the rooster: and I don't it's a pity if I can't handle one wife, but I can handle many; man beat his wife]: Massignon 1984, No. 2:5-6; Maltese [man understands animal language, but should not talk about it tell; the cow complains to the donkey about hard work, he advises him to pretend to be sick; the man laughs at what he hears, the wife demands an explanation; he is going to reveal the secret and prepares to die, but hears a conversation between a dog and a rooster; the dog reproaches the rooster for singing on this mournful day; the rooster replies that he copes with 20 wives, but the owner cannot cope with one; the man takes a rod and chases his wife]: Mifsud-Chircop 1978, No. 670:214-215; Catalans [a hunter saves a snake, which gives him the ability to understand animal language; if he reveals a secret, he dies; after hearing the rabbits talk, he finds a treasure; When he hears the birds talking, she laughs; the wife demands an explanation; he is ready to tell, but hears one rooster saying to another that all his wives obey him, for from time to time he beats them; the husband beats his wife, stays alive]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 670:134 (the Catalan text is also found in Camarena, Chevalier 1995, No. 670:682-684; there are no Spanish parallels); Galicians [the person understood the language animals, but could not admit it, otherwise he would die; the ox complains to the donkey about hard work, the donkey advises him to pretend to be sick, in the morning the man harnessed a donkey into a plow; returning from the field, the donkey says to the ox that the owner wants to slaughter him, so it's better to recover immediately; when he sees that the husband is laughing at something, the wife demanded an explanation; the dog to the rooster: what do you sing, the owner will die soon; the rooster: let him drive him out better wife from bed (colla unha tralla e bote à mulher da cama); he did so]: Contos 1972, No. 52:55-56; Portuguese [man knows animal language but should not talk about it; laughs how the ox tried to shy away from work, tells his wife about it; she demands to explain how he found out; the husband hears the rooster saying that the owner cannot cope with one wife, and he There are 40 of them and nothing - why not beat his wife; the husband does so]: Cardigos 2006, No. 670:151.

Western Europe. Irish, French, Flemish, Germans (Schleswig-Holstein): Uther 2004, No. 670:365-366; Walloons [the shepherd saved a snake from the fire; she took it to her father, advised him to ask for knowledge of the language of birds as a reward; the serpent spat in his mouth and warned that the shepherd would die if he spoke about his knowledge; once a man laughed when he heard sparrows talk; the wife demands explanations; he prepared the coffin, but went to feed the chickens before he died; hears the rooster saying that if something happened, he would peck his wife; the shepherd beats his wife and did not tell her anything]: Laport 1932, No. 670:70.

Western Asia. A thousand and one nights [the merchant talks to animals; this merchant's bull decides that the donkey is resting more and living in a more comfortable stable; the donkey advises the bull to pretend to be sick, the merchant hears this; orders the donkey to plow; the donkey tells the bull that he will be stabbed if he does not recover; the merchant hears this; the next day the bull starts working again, the merchant laughs at it; the wife asks for the reason laughter; the merchant says it will kill him; the wife insists; the merchant prepares to die after revealing the secret; hears the advice of a rooster to beat his wife with bars to remorse and not tell her; the wife is beaten; she repents, doesn't ask anything else]: Salye 2010:14-19; Syrian Arabs [the poor man makes a living cutting and selling firewood; in the place where a huge snake cuts, crawls out, tells him clean; on this day the children are hungry; the poor man goes again, tells the snake that he has no choice; she tells him to swallow three grains, he begins to understand the language of birds and animals; if he shares in secret, he will die; he hears a conversation between two crows: they spend the night in jugs of gold; a man gets gold, gets rich; hears a conversation between an ox and a donkey; a donkey advises the ox to refuse food - in the morning the owner does not will drive him to work; the owner told him to harness the donkey; the donkey tells the ox that the owner is going to slaughter him if he is sick; the husband reacted to this conversation, the wife demands an explanation; the husband gathers guests, prepares to die; hears a dog reproach a rooster who eagerly bites grain; rooster: I don't feel sorry for the owner; I cope with 12 wives and he can't do one; a man hits his wife with a stick]: Kuhr 1993:83-89; Palestinians [the merchant was given the gift of understanding the language of animals on the condition that he did not talk about it, otherwise he would die; he hears a conversation between a donkey and an ox; an ox complains about hard work, a donkey advises not to eat, as if he was sick; in the morning the owner harnessed a donkey; in the evening he advised the bull to recover, otherwise he would be stabbed; the owner laughed, the wife decided that for her reason she went to her parents, his wife's relatives threatened divorced; the owner promises to tell his wife everything; hears a conversation between a rooster and a dog; a rooster: I have no problems with 20 wives, and the owner is afraid of one; he beat his wife]: Hanauer 2009:235-236; Yemen: El-Shamy 2004, No. 670:365-366

Tibet is the Northeast of India. Garo [Dampo understood the language of animals, but if he says, he will die; hears a donkey advising the ox to pretend to be sick in order to avoid work; in the morning he tells him to harness a donkey instead of an ox; the next night, the donkey tells the ox to look healthy, otherwise he will be stabbed; D. laughs, his wife demands an explanation; D. promises to tell everything, but asks him to prepare the last meal for him, for then he will die; the dog reproaches the rooster for being callous: the owner will die soon; the rooster: well, and a fool - I have 30 or 40 wives and everyone obeys; D. heard everything; the next day he ate the dishes prepared by his wife, and then beat her; since then they have lived happily ever since]: 61-66.

Burma - Indochina. Vietnam: Karow 1972, No. 22 in Uther 2004 (1), No. 670:365-366

South Asia. Ancient India (jataka) [Jataka No. 386; the Naga king has given King Benares the ability to understand the language of all beings; if he reveals a secret, he will die on the spot; the king laughs when he hears a conversation ants, flies, ants again; every time the wound requires an explanation; when the king is ready to reveal his secret, Śakra saves him by advising him to beat his wife first; after that, she no longer curious]: Parker 1914b:418; Nepalis [when the king saw the thieves, he went down to them, said that he was also a thief; the jackal's voice rang out, one of the thieves said that they had a king in front of them; the king promised the thieves peace and riches for teaching him their art; this is the ability to put him to sleep, know where treasures are, discover any constipation; the fourth knows the language of animals (it was the jackal who told him that the king was in front of them), but if he reveals the secret, he will die in 7 days; the king promised to take care of his family, has learned the secret; laughs at the conversation between a deer and a deer; the wife demands that she be taught animal language; the king is preparing to die; jackal: I handle several jackals, and you listen to one absurd woman; tell her that a secretive person should receive 100 whips; after the fifth, the wife asks for mercy, refuses his demands]: Sakya, Griffith 1980:149-152; Santals: Campbell 1891 [a king named Hunter sees a snake and a lizard fighting on the trail; he asks to let him go, they don't react; he killed the lizard, the snake crawled away, complained to the snake king; he listened to the Hunter, admitted that he was right, made it possible to understand the language of animals without speaking; at lunch, the king hears a fly and the ant argues over the fallen rice; laughs; the queen demands an explanation; the king takes her to the bank of the Ganges to tell and die there; hears a goat offering a daughter to the goat; he refuses - does not want to look like a stupid king; the king makes an altar, cuts off his wife's head, burns the body on the altar, marries another]: 22-25; ho [returning home, shepherd gonr {caste?} he always hit the lingam (Mahadeva's symbol), but once he forgot and started eating; remembered; M. forgave him and gave him the ability to understand animal language; but if he talks about it, he would die; hears how The calf calls the cow: you left me and now I will freeze; cow: it's okay, lie between those two trees, there are two jugs of gold; gonr dug gold, but he knew that his wife would tell everyone; He told her a terrible secret: Raja's wife gave birth to a crow; the gossip immediately spread, the Raja demanded a man; he had to tell everything, he died; now the gift passed to Raja and his wife demanded to explain why the gonr died suddenly; the Raja took his wife to the river to tell her, but heard the goat answer the goat: I am not as stupid as this Raja; the Raja did not reveal anything to his wife]: 1916, No. 12:235-237; Agaria (Khuntia Chokh) [walking past the stone, the shepherd taps it 5 times with his staff every day; the stone promises to fulfill the shepherd's wish; he wants to understand animal language ; the stone makes it a condition not to tell others about it, otherwise the shepherd will turn into stone; the shepherd hears buffaloes talking: vessels with money are buried under the tree; the wife demands to tell why the husband is so concerned; checking his wife, he says that when he goes out of need, crows fly out of the Raja and bleed; the wife tells the Raja's wife about this; she thinks that the shepherd's wife is her husband's mistress; Raja summoned the shepherd, who showed him where the treasure was; the Raja demanded to tell everything; the shepherd asks him to come to his senses, tells two stories; 1) the snake bit the child; the mongoose killed the snake, ran into the forest for medicine; the owner decided that the child was killed by a mongoose, killed a mongoose, noticed a spine in his mouth, revived the child, bitterly regretted the mongoose; 2) the man left his dog as collateral to the rich man; the dog helped find the stolen money; the rich man sent it with money and a note to the owner; he thought that the dog ran away, killed it; then read the note; but the Raja is adamant, the shepherd told everything, petrified; now Raja's wife demands he is the same, otherwise he will kill himself; the Raja is ready to do it, but hears a conversation between a goat and a goat; the goat tells the goat to get grass for it on a steep slope; the goat refuses to do it-he does not want to fall off and kill for his wife, let her get it; Raja tells his wife that she can commit suicide if she wants]: Elwin 1944, No. 12.1:296-299; ho [about Agaria]: Elwin 1944:291-294; Bengalis [the saint gave the prince the ability to understand animal language; but if he reveals his secret to others, he will die immediately; one day he hears a crow talking to a crow; a crow would like to be wounded, the raven replies that this is possible in a new rebirth; the prince smiled, the wife insisted that he explain why; since it is not customary to die in the house, the prince went to the sea to discover the secret and die there; at the last moment she hears the jackal asking the jackal to get her a corpse floating in the sea; jackal: I'm not as stupid as a prince who is ready to die for a woman's whim; hits a jackaleha; prince chased his wife away]: Mukharji 1904, No. 26:107-108; kannada [brahmana made a pilgrimage to Kashi to the Ganges; the shepherd asked for permission to go with him; when he reached the Ganges, he does not understand why it was necessary to travel so far - Is there no pond in the village; the goddess of the Ganges laughed and wrote at the tip of the shepherd's tongue that he would understand the language of all living beings and would become king in three days, but if he spoke, he would die; in the next door The king died in the city, the elephant was let in, who put a garland on the shepherd; once a former shepherd, and now the king hears the ants talking, laughs; rani demands an explanation; insists - even if the king dies; the king tells me to cook a funeral fire, but at the last moment he hears a conversation between a goat and a goat; goat: if you fall off a cliff, I will not be single and I don't look like an idiot king who is ready to die the whims of a woman; the tsar comes to the fire and throws rani into the fire]: Ramanujan 1997, No. 57:158-161; Sinhales: Volkhonsky, Solntseva 1985, No. 52 [the tsar feeds forest animals, the naga awarded him the ability understand their language, but he should not talk about it; the queen is jealous of the animals; asks them to build a dam; everyone, led by a wild boar, works except the jackal; the jackal answers the boar that it is not easy He sits, and thinks whether there are more men or women; if men acting at the behest of women are equated with women, then there are more women; the king laughs, the queen threatens to drown herself; the king hears the roosters talking, who are easy to handle chickens; unfastened the queen, sent birds and animals to the forest]: 101-104; Parker 1914a, No. 167 [the prince fulfills the Nagaya snake's wish to give her some milk every day; once on this In the place of the cobra, asks for milk to her, the prince pours the milk into the anthill; N., not finding milk, was going to kill the prince, but when she found out what was going on, she killed the cobra; caught up with the prince, wrote him an inscription in her tongue, herself died; after that, the prince gained the ability to understand the language of all beings, but will die if he speaks; the prince laughs when he hears ants talking; the wife demands an explanation; the prince prepares a funeral for himself fire; hears one pig say to another: the prince will not die; he will want to drink, send his wife to fetch water, she will fall into the pond and drown; and so it happened]: 414-415.

The Balkans. Ancient Greece {only the end of the story} [the wife tortured her husband, forcing her to reveal a secret; if she discovered it, the husband would be in great danger; the cat cried, and the rooster said he did not feel sorry for the owner: he cannot cope with one wife, and he, the rooster, has ten of them; the owner heard this and dealt with his wife, she did not bother him again]: Gasparov 1991, No. 67 (41): 267; Serbs [the shepherd saved from The snake leads him to his father, the king of snakes; the shepherd asks for knowledge of animal language as a reward; the serpent warns that if the shepherd speaks, he will die; hears the conversation of two crows: under the carcass of a black lamb cellar with gold and silver; the shepherd is rich; hears dogs talking, killing those who did not intend to protect the herd from wolves; laughs when he hears a conversation between a stallion and a mare; the wife thinks she is above her, demands to explain; dog to rooster: you bite bread and the owner is going to die; rooster: the owner is a fool, since he can't cope with one wife, and I have a hundred of them; the shepherd hits his wife with a stick, she did not ask again]: Vardugin 1996:108-111 (=Eschker 1992, No. 19:106-111); Albanians [the man invited everyone to taste the fruits from his garden; the monk ate, offered to fulfill any wish, the person chose to know the language animals and birds; but on pain of death, you cannot talk about it; one day a person hears a donkey talking to an ox; an ox complains about life, and a donkey advises him to pretend to be sick; in the morning a man harnessed instead of an ox, a donkey; in the evening he advises the ox to recover, otherwise the owner is going to slaughter him; the owner laughs, the wife is puzzled; another time the wife is pregnant and the mare complains to the foal how many she is must carry; the man tells his wife to get off the mare; then the man hears sheep and dogs talking; promises to tell his wife everything; the dog is in mourning, reproaches the rooster for having fun; the rooster: I have 40 wives, and the owner can't cope with one; the man kicked his wife out]: Pedersen 1898, No. 11:82-88; Hungarians [the shepherd saved a snake from the fire; she gave him the ability to understand animal language, but if he says so, he will die; he hears a conversation forty: they filled the hollow with money; understands dogs; tells them to cut down a tree; refuses to explain to his wife where the money comes from; the wife demands to tell, the shepherd is preparing to die, the wolfhound is ready die with him; rooster: both die; I can easily cope with 70 wives; a shepherd beat his wife and she did not bother anymore]: Ortutai 1974, No. 23:333-337; Greeks (Lesbos) [young man wanders on the streets, he is considered not quite normal, he is advised to give alms to the sea; he bought bread, crumbles it into the sea; one day he comes empty-handed and asks forgiveness from the fish; she promises to reward him herself; belches a pebble: if you put it in your mouth, you understand what the animals are talking about; but if you let it slip, you will die; one day a man lay down on the ground; the crow thinks he is dead, he went down, the man caught him; let go of the crow for promising to show where the treasure is; became rich; once he was riding a horse with a pregnant wife; the foal can't keep up with the mare, who is also pregnant; she answers the foal that she carries three, and he alone, let him hurry; the husband laughed, the wife demands an explanation; the husband is preparing to die; the chicken to the rooster: the owner will soon die, but you don't care; the rooster: will die, because a fool would take a stick and beat his wife; the husband followed the advice of the rooster and lived quietly]: Georgeakis, Pineau 1893:320-321; Romanians [a young and poor shepherd saved a snake from the fire; she brought him to her father and advised him to take him to the reward is the ability to understand the language of animals; but you can't talk about it - you'll die; from a bird he learns where the treasure is buried; now he is rich, he is getting married; once we went with his wife - a pregnant wife to pregnant mare; the mare is a little behind and tells the horse on which the husband is riding that he is carrying four and he is only two; the man laughs; then hears a conversation between dogs and a wolf; wife demands an explanation; husband has prepared the coffin, but hears the rooster say with contempt that he commands 35 chickens, and the owner cannot handle one wife; the husband quilts his wife with a rope so that he no longer thinks of asking why he laughs]: Bîrlea 1966:452-454; Bulgarians [the grateful snake (which man saved from the fire) gives him the ability to understand animal language, but he, on pain of death, should not talk about it tell; he learns from a bird where the treasure is buried; understands the conversation between a wolf, an old dog and a corrupt young dog; a conversation between a horse and a mare; a donkey and an ox; a slander on sheep; a wife demands an explanation; the husband is ready tell and prepares to die, but does not do it when he hears a conversation between a dog and a rooster; the rooster says that he copes with many wives, and the owner cannot calm down one; the husband beat his wife]: Daskalova- Perkovska et al. 1994, No. 670:231; Slovenes, Macedonians: Uther 2004, No. 670:365-366.

Central Europe. The Czechs [the gardener's ninth son Jan was hired as a farmhand, fell into the hollow, the serpent pulled him out; asked him to be taken to the well, otherwise the other snakes would kill him; rewarded him with understanding of animal language, but if Ian will talk about it, die; forty heard a conversation: whoever comes to the tree will die; stopped the count, and that tree was struck by lightning; the count made him his gardener, the count's daughter fell in love with Jan, went out for him; Jan laughs when he hears sparrows talking, his wife thinks she is over her; chickens: sorry for the owner; rooster: smart would beat his wife; Jan did so, survived]: Talova 1956:46-49; Slovaks, Poles: Uther 2004, No. 670:365-366; Russians (Tverskaya) [in the forest, the husband saved a snake from the fire; when he approached the house, he realized that he now understood the language of animals; when he learned from a conversation between Sharik and Bug that his wife had beaten Bug, the husband began to scold his wife; she demands to explain how he knows; husband: if I tell, I will die; wife: well, die; the husband has prepared for death, but hears the rooster being surprised: he has 40 chickens, and a man with one the woman can't cope; the husband dragged his wife by the hair - she became kind and suitable]: archive of the Center for Tver Local History and Ethnography, sent by V.E. Dobrovolskaya; Russians (Voronezhskaya), Ukrainians (Volyn, Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Transcarpathia, Hutsulshchyna, Yekaterinoslva, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Poltava), Belarusians [Animal language: a person understands the language of animals, but should not tell anyone about this under threat of death; the wife wants her husband to tell her the secret at the cost of his life; after overhearing the rooster boast that he is coping with thirty wives, a person punishes wife]: SUS 1979, No. 670:172-173; Eastern Ukrainians (Yekaterinoslavskaya) [the poor man agrees to work on the condition that he will be taught to understand birds and animals; the owner agrees, but tells him to fulfill the year the work that will give; tells us to carry firewood on horses, but feed them with hot coals; work is not being done; horses: give me hay, not coal, then we'll do it ourselves; in a year he leaves, agreed with another the owner, they go together; the crow hears a warning: the tavern will burn down at night; tells them to spend the night in the open air; the inn has burned down; the sparrows are talking: everything has been stolen from the owner, his wife is ready to stab herself; tells her to come quietly from behind, take away the knife; sat down to eat; one dog to another: everything stolen is hidden under a pile of manure; after that, the owner passed off his daughter as a farmhand; others persuade her to recognize her husband's secret; he will die if he tells; puts on a clean shirt; rooster to chickens: you don't need to trust your wife like a fool, but you have to drag you by the braids; the husband dragged his wife, began to live peacefully]: Manzhura in Pankeev 1992:130-133; Eastern Ukrainians (Poltava, Romensky Utilities) [The farmer harnesses the bull, plows it, leaves the donkey at home. He straightens the bull, puts an armful of hay in the nursery, the donkey eats, the bull rests. The merchant hears a conversation between a bull and a donkey - the bull is tired and resting, wants to eat later. The next day, everything repeats itself, in the evening the donkey advises the bull to "strictly treat" the owner to let him go. The owner hears and plows on the donkey the next day, listens to the animals talking in the evening: the donkey is resting, the bull eats. In the morning, the owner harnessed the donkey again; in the evening he tells the bull that they feel sorry for him, because they cook for slaughter, advises him to lose weight. The hostess asks her husband to tell us what he heard and why he laughs, he promises to tell you the next day. In the morning she says that if she does, she will die right away, she insists. He hears a conversation between a dog and a rooster: the owner of the dog promised to tell his wife a story - if he tells, the rooster dies: he has 50 wives and everyone is afraid of him. Shows why: flutters several chickens one at a time. The owner flutters his wife's hair, she lets him not tell a story. The rooster and the dog are the saviors of the owner]: Gnedich 1916, No. 1529:61-63.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Kalmyks: Jimbinov 1962:73-74 [Abgatyr-Abgai agreed to pull a snake out of the fire; it made it possible to understand animal language; if AA tells others about it, it will die; one dog another says that the hostess beat her; he reproaches his wife, she demands to tell me how he knows; AA is tired of denying it, put on clean clothes, told (and died)], 75-78 [59 young men go on a journey, the sixtieth does not want to, they shame him, he goes with them; they stop for the night, in the morning around the snake camp with a ring; the snake misses 59, the 60th will forgive him to lick his tongue, takes him to his enemy, who kidnapped his wife, asks for help; a young man cuts off the head of an enemy snake; a snake and his wife treat him, he refuses gifts; finds out that he has learned to understand the language of animals; he laughs at the conversation of mice; the wife does not understand why he laughs, insists that her husband explain; he decided to appease her, went to slaughter horses, sell her skins, buy his wife a dress; he hears horses saying: it would be better if the owner taught his wife a lesson; he returns, tells his wife not to torture him anymore; they live well]; Abkhazians [the peasant reluctantly agrees to his wife's demand to visit her parents; on the way he pulled a snake out of the fire, she endowed him the ability to understand the language of animals and plants; he rides, understands what the roe deer says to the cub, the mare his wife rides, to the foal; he hears the beech moan: it is filled with gold from the inside; a peasant took gold, got rich; laughs at the conversation of sparrows; the wife demands an explanation, he replies that he will die if he tells, his wife insists; the peasant eats for the last time, the dog does not eat feels sorry for him; the rooster bites, says she copes with many wives; a peasant hits his wife with a stick, she promises not to ask anything]: Gabulov 1987:19-21; Adygs: Aliyeva in Uther 2004 (1), No. 670:365-366; Ossetians [Animal language: a person learns the language of animals but should not talk about it; a wife wants to know a secret, a person is preparing to die; a rooster advises him to deal with his wife]: Sokayeva 2004, No. 670:95; Ingush [Ahmed sees a black snake fighting a white snake; shoots a black snake, hits a white one, she disappears; A. finds out that black is the son of a king of Christian genies, and a white one is the daughter of a Muslim king genies; the white father tells her to bite A.; she hears A. laments what he has done, marries him in the form of a woman, tells him to ask her father to spit under his tongue; after that A. understands animal language, gets rich; one day she laughs while listening to sparrows talking, the wife thinks she is going to return to her father; A. hears a rooster saying that he can cope with 10 chickens, and the owner with one wife can't; A. beat his wife with sticks]: Dalgat 2004:93-96; Chechens [man knew the language of animals; hears one bird telling another to shovel wheat too: we will get the collected wheat, and the one left under it will rain; laughs, the wife demands to tell me why; husband: then I will die; wife: die; dog to the rooster: why are you happy, now the owner will die; rooster: why feel sorry for him - I and 50 wives are easy to control let him take a stick; the husband began to beat his wife, she asked not to tell anything]: Malsagov 1983, No. 59:211; Dargins [a man who knew animal language laughed when he heard a conversation between a bull and a donkey; the wife demanded to explain why, otherwise she would divorce; the husband left the house, threw a piece of bread to the dog on the way, which did not touch it, and the rooster gathered the chickens to eat bread; asked the rooster how he could think about food, when the owner feels bad; the rooster replied that you should not let your wife sit on his neck; he himself commands 12 wives]: Ganiyeva 2011a, No. 121:297-298; Lucky [the man learned the language of animals from the book; at the end it is written: if the learner tells others about it, he will die"; the person hears a donkey offering the bull to pretend to be sick; as a result, he had to work for two; the donkey told the bull that the owner had decided slaughter him, let him look healthy; the man laughed, the wife began to demand explanations; the man is talking to a rooster with a chicken: the rooster has 10 wives, and the owner cannot cope with one; the man beat his wife, She did not bother anymore]: Aliyeva 2013, No. 115:491-492; Georgians: Virsaladze 1973, No. 71 (Telavsky County) [according to Stepanov]: 123-128; Janashvili 1893, No. 10 (Ingiloyans) [the snake knows all languages; man sees four black snakes fighting with one white one; throwing a stone, falling into a white one, tearing off its tail, black ones crawl away; white leads to her father, who spits in the man's mouth, rewarding him with knowledge of animal languages and birds for saving his daughter; if he tells others about it, he will die immediately; a person laughs when he hears a conversation between a mare and a foal, the wife demands to tell, he says, dies]: 151-154; Kurdovanidze 1988 (2), No. 91 [the carpenter's son feeds the fish, the king of fish agrees to run his tongue in his mouth, he now understands the language of all animals, but if he says, he will die; the magpie asks to save his chick, who children torment, say where the treasure is buried; a person does not tell his wife about it, gives money little by little; laughs when a pregnant mare talks with a foal; the wife demands an explanation, the husband promises; the dog reproaches the rooster for crowing at such a time; the rooster says that he commands 60 wives, but the owner cannot cope with one; the husband whips his wife with rose hips, as advised by the rooster, the wife began to treat to her husband with respect]: 125-130; Chikovani 1954 [a young farmhand carries the snake from the road to the side of the road; it is grateful, it blew into his mouth, he began to understand the language of animals; the owner allows the farmhand to leave, tells him to throw it staff: half of the herd to the place where the staff fell, his; the farmhand hears the sheep calling his lamb, he says that the farmhand would not leave him if he knew what he was like; the farmhand takes the lamb; goes home, hears sparrows talking, laughing; there is a girl nearby, he marries her; she demands to say why he laughed; the husband is preparing a wake by himself; that lamb: it's better to beat his wife with a stick; the husband did so]: 256-258; Swans [Pulla Kaldan left a sheep to three hungry wolves; then he met three young men, those wolves, asked what to reward him; he asked him to share knowledge with him; they gave him the ability to understand animal language; when he hears a mare calling a foal and saying that enemies are about to attack, the PC manages to escape by taking the best part of the herd; lying with his wife, he hears the mouse telling him not to bite the PC grain; laughs; the wife demands an explanation, the rooster shouts: do not give out secrets, lubricate your wife's lips with hot smut; the PC did not reveal secrets and lived his life happily]: Chikovani 1985, No. 70:122-123; Armenians [hunter Markós saw a black snake strangling a motley snake; shot a black one, but hit a motley snake and killed her; the snake king sent two snakes to sting M. for killing his wife; but the snakes heard M. lament what happened; advised to ask the king to lick him with his snake tongue; the black snake was torn to pieces; M. was able to understand the language of animals, plants and stones, but he should not talk about it tell; hearing dogs talking that wolves will attack at night, M. gives instructions to the shepherds; hears a lamb saying that its owner will own huge herds; buys lamb; neighbors they persuade M.'s wife to find out how he got rich; M. prepares to die; M. hears a sheep asking a ram to jump off a hill, then marry him; ram: I'm not as stupid as M. to die; after this M. expelled his wife; the king is ill, he will be cured by a decoction from the head of the snake king, and only a man covered in snakeskin can get it; this is M.; the snake king orders M. to cut off his head, one bowl with I would drink the broth myself, give the other to the king; both were younger, the tsar made M. chief vizier]: Ganalanyan 1969:20-25; Azerbaijanis: Bagriy, Zeynally 1935 [after the death of his father, Ahmed became a hunter, married Guller; saw a white and black snake fighting, shot a black snake, but hit a white one; the serpent king ordered the poisonous snake Shahmar to kill A., but she overheard his conversation with his wife and told the king that A. accidentally made a mistake and mourns; S. advised A. to ask the king of snakes as a gift for the ability to understand animal language; to do this, the king spat in his mouth; but if A. talks about it, he will die; one day A. s pregnant G. was returning from the wedding on a mare; her foal said he was tired; mare: I was wearing three and one in me - how can I help here; A. laughed, G. began to demand an explanation; threatened return to his father; A. was ready to tell everything, but heard a ram say to the sheep: I am not a hunter A. to listen to your wife; A. beat his wife and live well with her]: 243-248; Nabiev 1988 [hunter Pirim knew the language animals and birds; put his pregnant wife on a pregnant mare; she explains to the horse that she is walking slowly because she is lucky and carries too many; P. laughed, his wife demanded an explanation, he told everything; P . heard the wolf rejoicing: that night he would bite him; Pyrim was lowered into a deep well; but the wolf dug and took it away]: 276-288; Turks [the man helped the snake, it gave him knowledge of the language birds and animals; if he speaks, he will die; understanding the language of animals, a person becomes rich; the wife demands explanations, the husband sets the time; hears how the rooster mocks: he copes with 20 wives, but the owner cannot with one; husband beats his wife and she stops asking questions]: Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 56:62-63.

Iran - Central Asia. Persians (Mazendaran et al.) [a person learns from a grateful snake knowledge of animal language; if he reveals a secret, he dies; hears animals talking, laughs, the wife demands to explain the reason; the rooster tells the dog that the wife is then must be beaten; husband hears it, beats his wife, stays alive]: Marzolph 1984, № 670:130-131; Persians [when Solomon was surrounded by birds and animals, the starling did an unpraiseworthy act; asked him not punish: everything is predetermined by God; Simurg: the starling is wrong, there is no predestination; S. is angry; Archangel Gabriel to Solomon: we will make sure that the padishah of the East has a son and the padishah of the West has a daughter; them destined to meet; S. will try to prevent, but will not be able to; S. takes the girl to a nest on a mountain across the seas; no one knows about this; the girl considers Simurg her mother; the son of the padishah of the East fell into shipwreck, merchants sheltered him; he gained confidence in the owner and decided to search for the origins of the Nile; he gave him Solomon's potion, which made it possible to understand the language of birds and animals; the prince came to the garden, where the trees were gold, emerald leaves, gemstone fruits, everything is wrapped in canvas; the king demands that the viziers find out the secret of the trees, otherwise he executes; the viziers met the prince, they went together; the young man cuts off ripe and unripe crops and sprinkles everything into the water; the man at the well fills the vessels of those who come, and his own vessel is empty; the snake stings those who pass by, but no one is afraid of it; one butcher has fatty meat, the other has fatty meat skinny and rotten, but customers prefer the second one; people cling to the gazelle and run after it; a person picks up firewood, cannot pick it up, puts it back; puppies bark in the dog's womb; the tripod is covered with cloth, people tear off pieces; old man: my brother is older, ask him; the second old man refers to his oldest brother; he is black-haired, gives explanations; the king was so generous and fair that trees grew with gems, and everything is sewn into the canvas to tell about his justice; a young man with a sickle is an angel of death; a man at the well acquires benefits by labors, and deprives his loved ones of them; the bird came out of the hole, but I could not return back - word; fat kid sucking his mother, but he did not become fatter himself: the king, oppressing his subjects; the snake is life, it strikes; people and two butchers: turning away from his wife and inclined to the forbidden; the gazelle is earthly life; the person who collected fuel is a sinner; puppies in the womb: not letting their parents speak; the canvas is faith; my hair is black because my wife is good, and the younger brothers of the wife are bad; the prince stayed with the young man; hears and understands the conversation between the bull and the donkey; the bull is tired, the donkey advises to pretend to be sick; in the morning the plowman harnessed the donkey; in the evening the donkey advises the bull again to become cheerful, otherwise they want to slaughter the patient; the prince laughs; the owner's wife demands an explanation; he asks for feces and ink to write about everything (and die); in the yard, the rooster praises the owner's mind; dog: he he is stupid, for he will die, the king will find out about this and as a result, the owner will be executed, and his house will be ruined; let the husband beat his wife; the prince told his husband, and he beat his wife; the prince goes on; the elder orders to grab the bird, it will carry it across the sea, we must take water from the spring, return back on the bird; the old man will be dead, he must be washed; in that land there is a dome of paradise, from which 4 rivers flow: the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, Jeyhun; in paradise the prince picked a bunch of grapes; on his return, the devil invited him to eat an apple; the grapes immediately disappeared; the prince sailed on the ship, the ship sank, the prince got ashore with his horses; saw a girl on the tree; advised her to ask Simurg to bring a mirror; she was convinced she did not look like Simurg; ask Simurg to take you to the seashore for a day; the prince began to come out of the horse's skin in which he had wrapped himself, the girl became pregnant; then asked Simurg to bring her skin into her nest; in prince's shoes; when she was 15 years old, S. ordered Simurg to bring that skin: it contained a girl, a prince and their child; in fear of promised by a terrible execution, Simurg flew away and no one else saw him; wedding]: Romaskevich 1934a, No. 65:331-355 (=Braginsky 1977:289-315); Bakhtiyars [chief hunter Adagar and his three brothers went to hunt; the black snake fights the white snake; the black snake is stronger, A. shoots at it, but misses and the arrow cuts off the white tail; A. mourns, promises never to hunt again; the white snake is the daughter of King Peri, she tells her father everything; King Peri tells her to bite A. if he does not repent and return if he repents; when he finds out what is going on, King Peri sends a messenger in human form for A. it all happened; peri offers to give him a gift; A. refuses where the black snake has crawled; white snakes tear black to pieces; King Peri gives A. the ability to understand the language of all creatures; if you let it slip about this, you will die; A. hears a conversation between two dogs: a herd is lost with a calving sheep; tells the shepherd where his sheep are; the shepherd offers a reward, A. asks for a newborn female; the owner stigmatizes her; through For several years, A. comes for his sheep; offers the shepherd to take some salt and go one way, and he and his lamb will go to the other; half of the herd follows him; he laughs at the sheep's conversation with lamb; the wife demands to explain the reason for the laughter; A. warns that she will die if she tells, the wife insists; A. prepares her funeral; the dog grieves, reproaches the rooster for not worrying about fate the owner; the rooster calls the owner a fool: after his death, the wife will take possession of the property and marry another; A. talks about the behavior of her wife and her brothers, everyone approves the divorce; after a while, the wife stole money from her brothers, gave it to her ex-husband and he remarried her; everything is fine]: Lorimer, Lorimer 1919, No. 34:225-231; Pashtuns [Suleiman taught man the language of animals on the condition that he he will remain silent about this, otherwise he will die; he hears a donkey teaching a bull to pretend to be sick; a man harnesses a donkey in the morning, in the evening he advises the bull to become healthy again, otherwise, the owner will slaughter him; man laughed, the wife began to demand to tell; the husband began to write his will; the bull and the donkey are grieving, and the rooster laughs at the fool, he has 12 wives; the man did not tell his wife anything]: Lebedev 1972, No. 19:221-223 (=Nikulin 1988:591-593); Turkmens [Oraz asked the Prophet Suleiman to teach him the language of animals; he taught him not to tell anyone about it, otherwise you will die; O. hears a donkey persuade bulls pretend to be sick; harnesses a donkey instead of bulls; the next day he tells the bull that the owner is going to sell the bulls to the butcher, they rush to work; Oh laughs, his wife promises to divorce him, if he does not tell us what is going on; the pretch says that he manages 10 chickens, his wife must be beaten; the man did so, otherwise he would die]: Stebleva 1969, No. 37:195-197.

Baltoscandia. Latvians [Animal language. A snake (fish, bird) gives a person the ability to understand the language of animals. He should not tell anyone about this, otherwise he is in danger of death. The husband overhears the dogs talking about the fact that the owner does not feed them well, that thieves will come at night, that gold is buried somewhere. The husband reproaches his wife for being stingy. The wife is surprised and wants to find out her husband's secret at any cost. He is preparing to die, but following the advice of a rooster who controls ten wives, beats his wife and does not reveal his secret]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 670:309; Finns (Jaakkima) [man saved from the fire the snake, she gave him knowledge of animal and plant languages, forbid him to talk about it; he hears one dog going to return home to prevent thieves from getting in, and tells another to protect the owner from wolves; hears one spruce calling another: I feel bad, come; she replies that she cannot: she has a guest; after the third call, the first spruce fell; the second says that you stood on the treasure and fell on the treasure; in the morning, a man found gold where the spruce grew and a black-brown fox crushed by the top; when he got rich, he got married; hears how an old sparrow teaches young people to peck flax seeds from the stems, because they fell on they will all get the land anyway; the man laughs, the wife thinks she is over her, demands to tell her; the husband is preparing to die, wants to see his chickens for the last time; the rooster: I manage 50 wives, and the owner She can't do it with one; the husband was ready to beat his wife, she no longer asked why he laughed]: Schreck 1887, No. 6:44-48 (=Concca 1991:173-177, =Salmelainen 1947:26-28); Lutsie (1935, Polka, Catholic, spoke Russian, reads Polish, Russian in everyday life) [the hunter did not kill the snake and it rewarded him with the ability to understand the languages of living beings; but if he told someone a race, she would die; trees: grandfather fell, treasure under the roots, under the top of his head too; under the roots, the hunter found gold, under the top of a bear crushed by a fallen oak tree; hears dogs talking; he learns from him that the hostess is feeding someone else's man, and beat the dog; after a while, the wife demands to explain how the husband knows everything; he promises to tell, although he will die after that; hears a rooster calling him a fool: he has 5 wives, and this one can't handle one; beat his wife]: Annom et al. 2018:283-286; Estonians [the hunter saw a snake in the forest with a comb on its head; shot; others crawled to the snake scream; the hunter first fought back with a stick, and then threw his clothes to the snakes, the only way he ran away; when he returned, the snake died, he took the comb for himself; owning a snake comb makes him understand the language of birds and animals; understood the dog: she said that a thief would come to the house today, told her to stay alone with the herd, and run home herself; the hunter's wife gave her only dirty water, which she did not drink, came back and told her; the hunter scolded his wife and admitted that he learned everything from the dog; when he told it to the end, he fell and died]: Löwis of Menar 1927, No. 54:184-185; Karelians, Veps, Livs, Lithuanians, Swedes, Danes, Faroese: Uther 2004, No. 670:365-366

Volga - Perm. Marie [the shepherd fell into a hole with snakes, licked a stone with them, lost hunger and thirst, began to understand the language of birds and animals; in spring, the queen of snakes lets him go, tells him not to share by his secret, otherwise he will die; smiles like a crow says to another that a treasure is buried under an oak tree; gets rich; laughs at the words of gelding; the wife demands an explanation; the rooster tells the chickens that he feels sorry for the owner; a man takes a whip, the wife promises not to ask any more questions]: Aktsorin 1984:238-241; Mordovians (Erzya) [the man understands the language of animals, but will die if he talks about it; the ox complains to the horse that works to exhaustion; the horse advises to pretend to be sick; the owner heard, drove the horse instead of the ox into the field; in the evening the horse tells the ox that the owner is going to slaughter him if he does not recover; man laughs, his wife bothers why; he promises to tell, he will only give food to the chickens; they are horrified - the owner will die soon; rooster: I can cope with many wives, I have to take a whip; my husband beat my wife, she promised Don't ask again why he laughs]: Paasonen 1944:275-278; Udmurts [a snake on a stump, there is fire around; the snake asks the man to save her; he saved, onat led to a hole, let a pebble lick, he became understand the language of animals; but you can't talk about it - you'll die; you hear dogs talking: a bear will come to the pasture, a wolf will come to the house; the dogs have agreed what to do; the man dressed up a scarecrow, the bear as a scarecrow, the dog grabbed the bear from behind, the man killed him; and another dog scared off the thief, but the owner's wife fed her crap; the man beat his wife for this; she demands to tell how he found out what he fed the dog; rooster: I have 77 wives, and this fool cannot order alone; the man began to beat his wife again]: Potanin 1884:230-231; Kazan Tatars (2 records in Tatarstan, 1 in Tyumen) [hunter sees fighting serpent; shoots a black snake, but accidentally hits a white snake; lamenting, tells his wife about it; snakes hear; the queen of snakes summoned the hunter, ordered to identify the black snake, she confirmed everything; the queen of snakes told the hunter to touch the white one, she came to life and became a girl; the queen spat in the hunter's mouth, making it possible to understand the language of animals; if she spoke, she would die; the hunter hears the muttering of the sheep, laughs; the wife demands an explanation; preparing for death, the hunter tells me to heat the bathhouse, feeds the dog; she reproaches the rooster for not sparing the owner; the rooster: I have 40 wives, and the owner of one does not know how to command]: Zamaletdinov 2008a, No. 51:230-232; Bashkirs [a young shepherd saves a snake; the snake king gives him the ability to understand the language of birds and animals; a young man overhears crows talking; finds a buried baem gold; builds a house, marries; once rode a horse and a wife rides a mare; a horse asks a mare why she is lagging behind; mare: wife cheats on her husband, it's hard to carry a sinner; husband kicks his wife out; hears a rooster says that the owner can't cope with one wife; the chickens laugh; the man took another wife]: Khusainova 2014:64-65.

Turkestan. Kazakhs: Babalar Sozi 2011 [Surmergen went hunting, saw two snakes fighting, killed a black one, helped a white one; she showed how to lick a stone; S. also licked and began to understand everyone's language animals; the snake warned: if S. talks about his knowledge, he will die; gave a gold bar; after spending the night at the bay, S. hears a conversation between the wolf and the dog; the dog promises to prevent the wolf from attacking the owner's sheep and the horse guest; S. shared meat with her; in the morning after the snowstorm, the sheep and the horse are intact, the wolf is captured; the owner offers the guest a reward for bringing good luck; yarochka: in 5 years I will be a thousand sheep; in 5 years the owner refuses to recognize the contract; judge: how many sheep are turned on the road to S.'s house, let him take so much; turned a thousand after the spring; one day S. hears a conversation between a pregnant mare and a foal, laughs; wife demands explanations; S. is ready to die; rooster: I am not S., who is going to give the secret to his wife; S. did not say anything; once S. spent the night with caravans; the wolf howls that he was going to eat; they dug a hole for S., covered it with felt; in the morning it turned out that the wolf dug the side passage and ate S.]: 68-69; Marchenko 1993 [Suleiman taught the person who came to him the language of animals on the condition that he was about He will not tell anyone this, otherwise he will die; a person hears a donkey advising the ox to pretend to be sick so as not to work; as a result, the owner harnessed a donkey; after that, he advised the ox to show that he recovered: otherwise the owner will stab him; the man laughed, the wife began to demand explanations; the dog cries, tells the rooster that the owner will die; the rooster: well, let him be a fool; I have 20 wives, and he is with one he could not cope; the man beat his wife and she did not ask anything else]: 84-86; Potanin 1916, No. 56 [Khan saw the wife of the serpent king Ak-jilan converge with the lizard, cut off his head; he came to the shepherd, he began to bewitch: Khan would die that night; the wife of AD told her husband that Khan wanted to kill her, he decided to bite Khan; he heard Khan scold his wife: Would you like to cheat on me, how the wife of AD cheated on her husband? AK realized that the khan was not to blame, allowed him to lick the back of his head, the khan gained knowledge of the language of birds and animals on the condition that he would die if he revealed a secret; the khan hears the kittens talking: the khan has guests and tomorrow they too meat will get; laughs, the wife demands an explanation; the khan is ready to tell, but hears the conversation between the sheep and the ram; the sheep does not let the ram come in until he picks a flower for her on a steep cliff; ram: I am not a khan to endanger lives because of women, there are other sheep; Khan told his wife to leave him behind]: 174-175; Dungans (Ningxia) [Suha comes to Suleiman and wants him to ask Allah to give him a gift as well ability to understand animal language; he warns that if S. reveals a secret, he will die; S. hears a donkey trying to deceive the ox to voluntarily give up hay in his favor; laughs; wife demands that S. tell everything; S. is going to write a will; hears a rooster and a dog discussing what will happen when the owner dies, and how recklessly he hears his wife; S. is going to beat wife, but does not dare, but goes back to Suleiman and asks him to be released from the gift he received]: Shujang Li, Luckert 1994:441-445; Uighurs [the elder taught the young man animal language, forbid it tell; he got married; often laughs when he hears pets talking; the wife is offended, wants to leave; the husband says, dies]: Kabirov 1963:224-227.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Shors [shepherd Sogan saved a snake from the fire; she became a girl, brought it into her world; tells me not to be afraid of snakes, frogs, horseflies; S. spends a day in the world of snakes, it turned out to be a year; the snake girl tells ask her parents to know animal language; if he says, he will die; when he returns home, S. laughs every now and then when she hears animal conversations; the wife is offended, demands to tell; S. is preparing to die, but hears the advice of a rooster: beat his wife with a whip; she does]: Arbachakova 2010, No. 13:295-299; Khakas: Katanov 1907, No. 306 [the snake asks to save her from the fire, promises to teach the language of animals; the man saves, she is going to sting him; a horse, a dog say that people are not grateful; a fox: let a snake come down from a man, stand on the ground next to him; asks a man why he has a gun and a stick; a man killed a snake with a stick, shot a fox; at home, cows, horses, birds complain that the man's wife did not feed them; he scolds his wife; she tries everything out; he hears a rooster saying that he can cope with 40 chickens; but the man told his wife everything and died], 447 [about (306); a similar version in Balter 1986:114-115; the snake stung, so man began to understand animal language; the wife is offended that the husband has no reason laughs (he hears animals talking); the foal tells his mother that the owner wants to stab him because he will soon die himself; the stallion: is 40 mares not in my will, drives them away so that the owner does not stab them; a man beat his wife, everything is fine]: 361-363, 454-456; Tatars (2 records in Tatarstan, 1 in Tyumen) [see Kazan Tatars; since the bulk of Siberian Tatars themselves live in the Tyumen region , and in the Sayan-Altai region, the plot is also known, and there is a high probability that Siberian Tatars themselves will get acquainted with it]: Zamaletdinov 2008a: 440; Buryats: Barannikova et al. 1993, No. 20 (Alar) [ the snake asks the young man to take her home, it is difficult for her to crawl on the damp grass; she becomes a girl in the crevice, tells her father to ask his father for what they know, what they themselves do not know; the old man spat at the young man, he began to understand animal languages, but if he talks about his gift, he will die; he gets rich, married; the wife wants to know why he laughs, the husband is ready to tell; the dog does not eat, accuses chickens of just eat, and the owner will die now; the rooster in response: I have 20 wives, but I don't reveal secrets; the guy heard and did not tell his wife anything]: 249-253: Bardakhanova, Gympilova 2008, No. 7 (Bayandaevsky district Irkutsk Region, 1975) [the man fell into a snake hole, stayed there for three years; licked a white stone and thus ate; the serpent khan told him to sit on his back, brought him outside, gave him a piece of his golden horn; you will understand animal language until you tell others; a person hears a rooster: I control many wives, but the owner can't handle one; at night he heard one mouse holding the other by the tail while that drank milk, then dropped it; laughed; the wife demanded that her husband explain himself; he told everything and lost his ability]: 45-46; Eliasov 1959 (no place of recording) [the man helped one a winged snake to defeat another, gained knowledge of 77 languages with the condition not to tell anyone about his gift, otherwise he will die; (describes what exactly he hears); hears the conversation of two dogs who regret the ambulance the death of the owner; decides not to tell his wife anything]: 127-134; Dugarov 1990 [about the same as in Barannikova et al.; the conversation between horses, not a rooster and a dog]: 21-27; Eliasov 1959 [dog conversation]: 127-134.

Japan. Japanese (southern half of Honshu, Kyushu) [a man saves his wife from the fire or agrees to cut down the tree on which the snake lives; the snake gives him the gift of understanding animal language, but he must keep a secret; dogs tell how the thief was barked away; birds - where the treasure is buried; the cow - where the thief takes her; at home, the husband asks his wife if she heard that the thief wanted to get into the house; the wife demands tell how the husband knows it; the rooster crows, the husband laughs, the wife thinks he's at her; he convinced her he laughed at the rooster]: Ikeda 1971, No. 670:162.