M178. The Lying Goat, ATU 212. .13.-.16.27.-.32.34.
The owner consistently sends others to herd a goat (a herd of goats). The goat eats plenty of grass, but each time it replies to the owner that it was starved. He is outraged, killing or driving away shepherds. Convinced that the goat is lying, he is going to kill it. Either the owner begins to peel off a live goat's skin, the goat runs away. Most versions combine both motifs.
Arabs of Sudan, Algeria, Egypt, Spaniards, Catalans, Italians (Tuscany, Campania, Abruzzo, Calabria, Puglia), Germans (Schleswig-Holstein, Austria), Flemish, French, Bretons, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Greeks, Hungarians, Moldovans, Gagauz, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians (Arkhangelsk, Karelia, Vologda, Pskov, Tver, Moscow, Ryazan, Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Hutsulshchina, Transcarpathia, Podolia, Pokutye, Kiev, Kursk, Poltava, Kharkiv, Chernigov), Belarusians, Ossetians, Terek Cossacks, Nogais, Persians, Finns, Estonians, Leaders, Latvians, Lithuanians, Swedes, Danes, Mordovians, Tatars, Komi, Udmurts, Shors.
Sudan-East Africa. Sudanese Arabs: El-Shamy 2004, No. 178:80
North Africa. The Arabs of Algeria (Biskra) [the man has a wife, 7 sons and 7 goats; he sent his eldest son to herd the goats; they are drunk and full, and at home they tell the owner that they were not fed or watered; the father killed the son ; the same with the rest of the sons, with his wife; when the man went to herd goats himself, he received the same answer, killed six goats, the seventh ran away, found a house in the mountains, lived in it with two goats; one day she went after grass; an evil spirit came, knocked, the goats let him in, he ate them; the goat found him, slaughtered him to death]: Hasluck 1925, No. 5:177-178; Egyptian Arabs: El-Shamy 2004, No. 178:80.
Southern Europe. Catalans [a person hires a crow to herd goats; when they return, they lie as if they were starved, a man kills a crow; the same with a jay, a cat; he herds goats himself, in the evening he hears the same from them answer, punishes goats]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 212:53; Spaniards (Madrid) [a man sends his youngest son to herd a goat, asks the goat how it grazed; goat: I was only chased, They did not give blades of grass; the next day, the father beat his son; the same with the eldest son; he led him to graze himself - the same; ripped him alive, let him go; people ran away, mistaking the goat for a demon], No. 212:349-350; Italians (Tuscany, Campania, Abruzzo, Calabria, Puglia): Cerise, Serafini 1975, No. 212:35
Western Europe. French: Arnaudin 1967, No. 15 (Gascony) [a man sends a daughter to herd a goat; on her return, she says that the girl beat her with a stick, did not let her graze; the father hacked her daughter with an ax; the same with two other daughters and wife; he goes to herd the goat himself, and at home she again says that she was beaten and not fed; now the owner has cut off the goat's head]: 176-180; Delarue, Tenèze 1976, No. 212 [man sends herd goats; one of them lies every time as if she was starved all day; a person expels, maims, etc. his pets; makes sure that a goat is lying after herding it himself; breaks it leg, rips off its skin and puts it on its head, etc.; the goat runs away, occupies someone's temporarily empty house, does not let the owner in; the hare, wolf, bear, etc. are powerless, afraid of threats from a goat, wasp or bee stings and expels]: 442-446; Bretons [a person has 7 sons and one goat; he consistently sends each of his sons to herd a goat; when he returns, he asks the goat how it was grazed; she replies that remained hungry; the father cuts his son with a sword, throws it into the well; then the father leads the goat himself, but when she returns, she answers him the same way; then he chopped it himself with a sword and threw it into the well; after that sons came to life and forgave their father]: Sébillot 1910, No. 61:216-218; Flemish [father sends sons to herd a goat; when she returns, she says every time that she was starved; father drives his sons away]: Meyer 1968, No. 212:28; Germans [the tailor's eldest son herds a goat; she replies to him that she ate enough and his father that she is hungry; the father beat and drove his son away; the same with the middle, with the youngest son; the tailor herds the goat himself - the same; then he shaved it, beat it with a whip, she ran away; the tailor was left alone, and his eldest son got a magic table for his work at the carpenter; the hotelier replaced him; the average received a donkey from a miller who spits and defecates gold; the youngest studied with a turner and got a club; she hits the hotel owner, he gave the donkey and the table; the goat occupied the fox hole and did not lets the fox go there; the bear could not drive it out, but the bee kicked it out]: Grimm, Grimm 2002, No. 36:124-132 (=Grimm, Grimm 1987:110-118); Germans (Schleswig-Holstein, Austria): Uther 2004 (1), No. 212:134.
The Balkans. Bulgarians [the old man (pop) consistently tells his family members to herd a goat; every evening a goat complains to him that he was starved; the old man drives his children and his wife away, goes to herd the goat himself, makes sure he is lying; wants to slaughter him; he runs away, drives the fox out of its house; the bear, the wolf, etc. consistently try to drive the goat out, but are frightened; a bumblebee (brumbar) or mosquito bites the fox down the tail, she runs away; the fox cooks porridge (picks nuts) to treat a bumblebee, it drowns in a pot or is crushed]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, No. 212:77-78; Croats [the old man sends his younger daughter-in-law to herd a goat; that says that they did not herd him, they put a noose on his face; the same with the elder daughter-in-law, the youngest, the eldest son, the old woman; the old man goes by himself - the same answer; the old man peeled off the goat, put it on a spit, began to fry; the goat jumped off the skewer, disappeared into the fox hole, does not let the fox in; she calls the hare to help, the goat from home: I am a goat, cut alive, uncut, salted alive, roasted alive, undercooked, my teeth like stakes - I'll gnaw like a thread; wolf, bear, lion - the same; hedgehog: I'll curl up, I'll give a cuff; the goat runs away]: Arkhipova 1971:223-224 (=Golenishchev-Kutuzov 1991:193-194); Serbs [the old man sent the youngest daughter-in-law to herd a goat; the goat returned early, the old man asks what happened to him; goat: my daughter-in-law put a noose in my face, did not let me eat; the same with the other daughter-in-law, with each of the sons, with the old woman; the goat says that the old woman stuck branches down his throat; the old man went by himself, but the goat also began to lie to him; he stabbed the goat, peeled it off, put it on a spit and began to fry; the goat jumped off the skewer and disappeared into the fox hole; the fox afraid to enter, brings a hare, they both hear: "I am a goat chopped, cut alive, uncut, salted alive, under-salted, roasted alive, undercooked! My teeth are like stakes, I'll gnaw you like a thread"; wolf, bear, lion - everyone is afraid; hedgehog: I'll curl up in a ball, let me give you a cuff; the goat jumped out and ran away]: Tesic 2017:26-28 (Serbian text in Zlatković 2005, No. 17:28 [the old man began to tear the skin off the goat; he ran away and climbed into the fox's hole; when she tried to enter it by herself, the goat began to scream: I am a fat goat, cut - not cut, baked - not baked, salty - I'm not salted, my teeth are staked, I'll kill it; the bear went - scared; the hedgehog himself began to threaten the goat {rhyme}, he ran away]); Moldovans [the old man sends three daughters one after another to herd a goat; in the evening he asks him how he was grazed; each time he replies that he tore off a rotten leaf and drank marsh water; the old man drove his daughters away; the same goes to herd himself, receives the same answer from the goat; the old man began to fresh the goat alive, he escaped, ran away, occupied the fox hole, replies that he was terrible and fierce; only the hedgehog drove the goat out, he rushed blindly into the abyss]: Botezat 1981:372-375; Gagauz [ the grandfather sends his youngest daughter to herd a goat; the goat says that she was starved, the grandfather stabbed her daughter; the same with the middle daughter, with his eldest daughter, with his wife; he leads the goat to graze, and she also replies that she tore off one a leaf; he wants to slaughter it, she runs away, drives the hare out of the house; the dog, the fox, the wolf, the pig, the chicken are afraid of the goat; the rooster screams, the goat falls on the stove in fear, bursts, the rooster and the hare stay in house]: Moshkov 1904, No. 145a: 216-217; Hungarians: Ortutai 1974, No. 64 [the man sent his son to herd the goat; when she returns, she replies that she did not eat anything; the father expelled the son; the same with the second son; the same with his wife; He led himself, the goat was dissatisfied again; the owner tied it up, began to rip it off alive; the half-torn goat fell, climbed into the fox's hole, did not let it in; the wolf, the bear are afraid, the hedgehog drove the goat out, the wolf and the bear it was torn apart]: 437-440; Dégh 1965, No. 29 []: 197-199; Slovenes, Greeks: Uther 2004 (1), No. 212:134.
Central Europe. Russians (Arkhangelsk, Karelian, Tver, Moscow, Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Hutsulshchina, Transcarpathia, Podolia, Pokutye, Kievskaya, Kursk, Poltava, Kharkiv, Chernigov), Belarusians [Goat luplena: father sends his sons (daughters) to herd the goat one by one; the goat always says that he is not full; father he gets angry and drives his sons out of the house, but when he is convinced that the goat is deceiving, he tries to slaughter it; the hubby goat runs away into the forest, takes the hare's house; various animals help him, but they do not drive the goat away can; a rooster (bee, cancer) drives out a goat; cf. No. 43]: SUS 1979, No. 212:86-87; Belarusians [the grandfather sent his daughter to herd the goat; upon return, the goat replies that he did not drink or eat anything; the grandfather beat and drove his daughter away; the same with his wife; he led to herd himself, the goat and answers him that he did not eat or drink; the grandfather went to sharpen the knife, the goat ran away, occupied the hare hut; the wolf, then all the animals cannot drive out the goats, are afraid of her; the rooster kicked out]: Vasilenok et al. 1958:23-24; Russians (Pinega, 1927, village. Poganets, 7-8 year-old schoolgirl Anisya Khramtsova) [The old man and the old woman live poorly, they buy a goat for three pennies, and a girl leads her to herd it. Upon returning, the goat replies to the owner that it did not eat enough ("as she ran across the bridge, grabbed a maple leaf, ran over the rake, grabbed a drop of water"), he drives the girl away. The same thing happens to his wife, and he drives her away with him. He decides to kill the goat and cook it, it runs away. The goat runs into the bunny's forest hut, threatens to "trample it with horns, mix it with a tail." The bunny sits and cries by the road, he is offered help consistently by a cow, a horse, a bear - they all run away from the hut, frightened by the threats of a goat. Bunny doubts that a rooster can help him, but he is not afraid of a goat, says "I'm in red boots, in a red sundress, I mow, mow, mow, mow your head", the goat gets scared, runs out of the hut, falls and dies]: Karnaukhova 1934, No. 71:154-156; Russians (Karelia, Sennogubsky Village Council, Kizhi) [An old woman, an old man, their son and daughter lived poorly. At the request of his wife, the old man went to the bazaar, bought a goat there, commanded the old woman: "Feed and sing and the goat so that he was full, so that the milk would give more milk." She took the goat to the forest and it ate and drank, but when she came back and the old man asked, replied that she did not eat or drink, only "ran across the bridge - grabbed an aspen leaf, ran across the river - I grabbed a drop of water." The son went to herd the goat, the story repeated itself, then the old man himself. When he returned, he hid himself and asked if she ate and drank, and the goat replied again that he did not. The old man tried to slaughter the goat, but the knife turned out to be stupid, and she ran away and hid in a hare hut. When the hare returned, he did not let him in: "I'll notice with my tail, I'll trample on my hooves." The hare complained to the fox, who offered help, but when she heard the goat's threats, she was so frightened that she "almost stomped the hare." The hare began to cry again, met the rooster, he went to the hut, but was not afraid and sang that he wanted to kill the goat "sew a hat for himself, a hat for all the chickens, a camel for all the chickens." The goat got scared and rushed out, and the hare and the rooster went into the hut]: Onegin 1986, No. 8:58-60; Russians (Pskov) [grandfather sent the woman to herd the goat; upon return, the goat replies that she neither ate nor drank, only grabbed a maple leaf and a little water; the grandfather scolded the woman; the same with his granddaughter (beat); led the goat himself, she answers him the same as before; he beat her to death]: Ploshchuk 2004, No. 17:81-82 (same story at the beginning No. 18:82-85, followed by "The Wolf and the Goats", and the language is more Belarusian); Russians (Ryazan) [grandfather sends his grandmother to herd the goat; when he returns, the goat replies that he did not drink or eat; grandfather beat his grandmother; grandson - the same; he went - the same; the grandfather began to rip off the goat alive; the goat ran away, occupied the "hare kennel"; the wolf is afraid of the goat, cannot drive it away; the rooster threatens the goat with a scythe, the goat ran away]: Samodelova 2013, No. 56:61-63 (options No. 57-60:63-61).
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Ossetians [the old man tells his daughter to herd the goat to her fill; in the evening he asks the goat, she says that they grazed her badly, the old man drives her daughter away; the same goes for his wife; he herds himself, wears old clothes in the evening, asks the goat, she replies that they did not graze well, the old man ties her up, sharpens the knife; the goat cut off the ropes, ran into the forest, climbed into the hare's house on the stove; the hare cries, the bear, the wolf, the fox can not help; the rooster screams, the fox falls off the stove, broke its legs, died]: Dzagurov 1973, No. 23:50-51; Terek Cossacks (v. Naurskaya) [the old man sends a worker to herd a goat; when she returns, she says: "No, grandfather, I didn't drink, I didn't eat: I ran across the bridge, grabbed a maple leaf; ran across the river, grabbed a drop water"; the old man beats the worker; sends his granddaughter to herd the goat; when he returns, the goat says the same thing as the first time; the old man beats his granddaughter; sends an old woman to herd a goat; the situation repeats; the old man goes to herd the goat himself; drives it to where the grass and spring water are juicy; in the evening he hears the same answer from it as before; ties the goat to a pole, begins to skin it; it runs away into the forest; shouts in front of the hare's mink: "I'm a wolfberry goat, bought for three pennies, beaten halfway; tops, tops, legs, cut you with horns; top top with a leg, cut you with a horn: come out of here, who lives here"; hare runs away, cries under the bush; the wolf, bear, fox alternately call to help him; when they hear the goat's words, each of them runs away in fear; the cockerel also offers help; shouts: "And I'm wandering on my heels, on my heels, I carry a braid on my shoulders, on my shoulders: I'm going to kill a goat, ruin its soul"; the goat runs away in fear; the cockerel stays with the hare in his house]: Vostrikov 1907, No. 1:42-48; Nogais [three daughters ask the old man to buy a goat; he sends his eldest daughter to herd the goat; when he returns, the goat replies that she did not even get a blade of grass; the father expelled the eldest daughter; the same with the middle, the youngest, with his wife; the old man leads the goat himself graze, gets the same answer, wants to slaughter a goat, it runs away, occupies the hare's house; the hare complains, the fox, the wolf can't help, the mosquito flies into the house, digs into the goat, it runs away]: Nogai 1979, No. 5:16-18 (= Kapiyeva 1991:342-344).
Iran - Central Asia. The Persians [the tailor tells the eldest son to herd the goat; in the evening she replies to the young man that she has eaten enough, and his father that the young man tied it on bare stones; the tailor drives the son away; the same with the middle one, with youngest sons; the tailor himself leads the goat to graze; in the evening she habitually replies that she is hungry because he brought her to the salt marsh; the tailor shaves the goat, ties it to a pole, hits it; she pulls out a pole, runs away; the eldest son is hired by a tinker, who gives him a magic pot; the owner of the caravanserai replaces him; the middle son worked for a miller, received a donkey from which gold is poured; the owner of the caravanserai replaces him; the youngest son worked for a turner, received a baton that hits himself; he does not sleep in the caravanserai, the baton hits the owner, he is forced to return the cauldron and the donkey; all the sons have returned to their father; the goat hid in a fox hole, the fox got scared, the bear came with it, got scared too; the bee dug into the goat, it ran into the desert]: Rosenfeld 1956:23-33.
Baltoscandia. Lithuanians: Kerbelite 2014, No. 24 [the old man consistently sends his eldest, middle, youngest daughter, wife to herd a goat; each time the goat replies that she was not fed, the old man cuts off everyone who grazes goat, head; leads the goat himself, she answers him the same thing, he cuts off her head]: 64-66; Lebite 1965 [the goat stopped obeying, the old man ripped it off alive; one side ripped off, the goat ran away, occupied fox hole; answers the fox "I, an old goat, a torn god, a tattered side, with golden horns, flint legs, oak ears, horns, I'll drown my legs, check my ears"; bear, wolf, boar, hare they are afraid, the bee tells them to come back, stings the goat in the tattered side; the goat ran away, the hare laughed so much that its lip burst]: 57-61; Latvians [The lying goat. The goat, returning from the pasture, complains that it is hungry. The owner chases the shepherd away and grazes the goat himself. The goat is still hungry. The goat is going to rip her skin off. The goat runs away into the forest, climbs into the hare hut. The wolf, bear, fox chase her, but they can't drive her out. The rooster (bee) expels]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 264:212; Swedes, Danes, Estonians, Counselors: Uther 2004 (1), No. 212:134.
Volga - Perm. Mordvians, Udmurts, Komi: Uther 2004 (1), No. 212:134; Tatars [grandfather sent his daughter to herd a goat; in the evening the goat replies that it ate one leaf, drank a spoonful of water; grandfather got angry with his daughter, went to herd himself; the same thing; the grandfather went to slaughter the goat with a knife, the goat ran away, occupied the hare's house; the wolf, the bear, the fox are afraid of the goat, they cannot drive it out; the rooster hits the goat, she ran away]: Zamaletdinov 2008a, No. 31:85-87.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Shors: Arbachakova 2010, No. 7 [Aunt Musek has 7 daughters and 1 sheep; M. consistently tells each daughter to herd a sheep; in the evening, the sheep replies every time that her daughter M. did not feed her; M. cuts off the daughter's head; the fifth and sixth daughters are cut off by the father, husband M.; after the seventh daughter grazed the sheep, the sheep was satisfied; the severed heads of six daughters were buried, and the seventh healed well]: 231-235; Chudoyakov 2002 [the old woman brought a herd in the evening; the grandfather asked the old ram if he was full if he was drunk; he replied no; the old man hacked the old woman; the same with the eldest, middle, youngest daughter; the old man he herds himself, the ram replies that he did not eat enough, the old man cut it in half; one half remained lying, the other hid in the fox's hole; does not let her in, replies that he is an insatiable ram; the hare is afraid, the wolf afraid; when the bear came, he and the wolf tore up the ram]: 113-114.