M185A. At the end of the winner (all versions) .11.-.13.15.-.17.19.-.22.24.26.-.34.37.38.44. (.52.) .62.72.74.
Birds, animals, fish compete to see which of them runs or swims faster, or who will fly the highest. A weak character quietly clings to the winner and wins.
Gogo, mbundu [turtle and swallow], yao, ga, biafada, dagari [turtle and wind], ashanti [chameleon and hare], hausa, wolof [turtle and antelope], mangbetu, malgashi, Portuguese, Spaniards, Basques, Galicians, Spaniards, Catalans, Basques, Sicilians, Italians, French, Walloons, Bretons, Germans (North, Austria), Flemish, British, Scots, Welsh, Irish, Syrians, Fijians, Yap, Palau, Ponape, Kusaye, Truk, Kapingamarangi, Tibetans, Burmese Naga, Meitei, Vietnamese Thai, Galela, Lisu, Koreans, Ancient Greece, Greeks (Lesbos), Serbs (Bosnia), Croats, Hungarians, Greeks, Romanians, Luzhitans, Ukrainians, Poles, Russians (Tver, Tambov), Belarusians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Tajiks, Yazgulyam, Baluchis, Lithuanians, Latvians, Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Finns, Estonians, Finnish Swedes, Western Sami, Komi, Kazakhs, Tuvans, Oirats, Mongols (Khalkha), Mongols (Ordos), Mongors, Nanais, Udege, Nivkhs, Wilta, Japanese, (Eastern?) ojibwa, (chontal), mestizos Tabatinga, nivacle, araucans.
A. Birds are arguing which of them will fly higher or be the first to arrive. The winner is the one whose victory seemed unlikely, ATU 221A. See A23C motif.
Sicilians, French, Bretons, British, Scots, Welsh, Friesians, Walloons, Flemish, Germans (Mecklenburg, Upper Palatinate), Tibetans, Galelas, Croats, Hungarians, Greeks, Romanians, Luzhitans, Ukrainians, Poles, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Lithuanians, Latvians, Lutsies, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, Tuvans, Oirats, Mongols (Khalkha), (Eastern?) Ojibwa.
Southern Europe. Basques: Barandiaran 196:151; Sicilians: Dähnhardt 1912:163-164 (=Kabakova 2006, No. 77:134-135; =Lo Nigro 1957, No. 221:12-13).
Western Europe. Walloons, friezes: Uther 2004 (1), No. 221A: 139; Flemish: Dähnhardt 1912:166-167; Van den Berg 2000, No. 93-95:110-113; Scots: Dähnhardt 1912:166; English: Dähnhardt 1912:161; Irish: Dähnhardt 1912:171-172; Muller 2006, No. 49a: 75-76; Plénard 2017:158; French: Arnaudin 1967, No. 16 (Gascony), No. 16:182-184 ; Kabakova 1998, No. 65:81; Dähnhardt 1912 (Auvergne, Gascogne, Montferrat, Champagne, etc.): 164-165; Bretons: Dähnhardt 1912:164, 168; Germans: Dähnhardt 1912:162 and 162-163 ( early sources), 167 (Mecklenburg); Schönwerth 1981 (Upper Palatinate): 19; Bartsch 1979, No. 25 (Mecklenburg): 518; Haas 1903, No. 178 (Rügen Island): 161-162.
Tibet is the Northeast of India. Tibetans: Cassis 1962:75-77.
Malaysia-Indonesia. Galela: Bezemer 1904:388-389.
The Balkans. Ancient Greece [Perry 1952, No. 434; the king rises on the eagle's back, the first reaches the goal]: Gasparov 1968, No. 386:179; Croats (Herzegovina): Gura 1997:576-577; Hungarians: Kov ács 1987, No. 221:290; Greeks (Agrinio in Aetolia): Dähnhardt 1912:168; Gaster 1915, No. 98:300-301.
Central Europe. Luzhitans: Veckenstedt 1880, No. 45.4:424 (=Dähnhardt 1912:170-171, Romanenko translation 1962:136-137); Poles: Dähnhardt 1912:171; Ukrainians (Galicia, Transcarpathia, Ternopil region, Kherson): SUS 1979, No. 221:88-89.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Armenians: Harutyunyan 2007:46; Lalayants 1904, No. 10 (Elizavetpol Province): 206; Azerbaijanis: Nabiev 1988:267.
Baltoscandia. Lithuanians: Löbite 1965:392-393; Latvians: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 221A: 265; Lutsi: Annom et al. 2018:289-298; Danes: Dähnhardt 1912:174; Norwegians: Hodne 1984, No. 221A: 25-26; Swedes: Bolzamo 2011, No. 89:142; Finns: Rakhimova 2000:178.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Tuvans: Vatagin 1971, No. 31:188-190; Oirats (Durbuts): Potanin 1883:173; Mongols (Khalkha): Potanin 1981:343 (quoted in Dähnhardt 1912:168).
The Midwest. Ojibwa (oriental?) : Swainson 1885:65 (retelling in Dähnhardt 1912:168).
B. A fast and slow animal (insect) agrees to compete in speed or long jump. The slow one clings imperceptibly to the fast, ATU 275B. See M285 motif.
Gogo, Mbundu [Turtle and Swallow], Yao, Ga, Biafada, Ashanti, Hausa, Wolof, Mangbetu, Malgashi, Portuguese, Aragon, Spaniards (Murcia, Ciudad Real, Navarra), Basques, Galicians, Italians (Emilia Romagna, Tuscany), French, Germans (Brandenburg, Pomerania, Switzerland, Tyrol), Friezes, Walloons, Arameans, Fijians, Tibetans, Burmese Naga, Meitei, Vieta, Thai of Vietnam, Koreans, Greeks (Lesbos) , Serbs (Bosnia), Luzhitans, Poles, Russians (Tver, Tambov), Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Hutsulshchina), Belarusians, Armenians, Turks, Tajiks, Yazgulyam, Baluchis, Danes, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, Komi, Kazakhs, Mongols (Khalkha), Mongols (Ordos), Nanais, Udege, Nivkhs, Wilta, Japanese, Chontal, Mestizos Tabatinga, Nivakle, Araucans.
Bantu-speaking Africa. Gogo: Arewa 196:75; yao: Dähnhardt 1912:74; mbundu [turtle and swallow both marry the same girl; parents will give her to the groom who comes faster; by On the road, the swallow left, the turtle climbed into her bag; when she arrived at the scene, she got out quietly and got a wife]: Dähnhardt 1912:115.
West Africa. Ha: Dähnhardt 1912:75; Biafada: Nikolnikov 1976:47-49; Ashanti [chameleon clings to a hare's tail]: Barker, Sinclair 1917, No. 30:155-157; Hausa: Klipple 1992: 116; Vai: Ellis 1914, No. 5:189-190; Wolof [Turtle and Antelope]: Reuss-Nliba, Reuss-Nliba 2018:157-160.
Sudan - East Africa. Mangbetu: Dähnhardt 1912:74-75; malgashi: Dähnhardt 1912:73-74.
Southern Europe. Portuguese: Cardigos 2006, No. 275B: 50; Aragon: González Sanz 1964, No. 275:73; Spaniards: Camarena, Chevalier 1997, No. 275 (Ciudad Real, same as Navarra, Basques: 403-404; Hernández Fernández 2013, No. 275 (Murcia): 81-82; Galicians: Contos 1972, No. 10:21-22; Italians: Dähnhardt 1912:79 (15th century, Piacenza), 79-80 (Pistoia).
Western Europe. French: Kabakova 1998 (Niverne): 56-57; Germans (13th century): Dähnhardt 1912:80; Germans: Dähnhardt 1912:80 (Brandenburg), 80-81 (Pomerania), 82 (Transylvania); Germans (Switzerland) [the snail and the fox agree to race to the city; the fox rests until the evening, at which time the snail has time to cling to its tail; at the finish line it crawls under the city gate, replies that she is already here, the fox admits defeat]: Sutermeister 1869, No. 53:112-115; Germans (Tyrol): Dähnhardt 1912:83; Friezes: Kooi 1984, No. 275:306; French: Dä hnhardt 1912:82 (Vosges), 83 (Burgundy - Cote d'Or); Walloons: Laporte 1932, No. 275C: 37.
Western Asia. Arameans: Dähnhardt 1912:78.
Melanesia. Fijians: Dähnhardt 1912:77.
Tibet is the Northeast of India.
Tibetans: Shelton 1925, No. 2:21-25; Burma Naga: Zapadova 1977:242-244; Meitei: Oinam et al. s.a.Burma - Indochina. Vietnam: Knorozova 2000:37-40 (=Vietnamese tales 1992:182-191); Cadière 1955:243 (retelling in Dähnhardt 1912:76); Gil 1906:82-88 (retelling in Dähnhardt 1912:76); Thai Vietnam: Degeorge 1925:972-973; Khmer: Gorgoniev 1973:89-95.
China - Korea. Lisu: Dessaint, Ngwâma 1994:302-306; Zapadova 1977:167-168; Koreans: Choi 1979, No. 35:15.
The Balkans. Greeks (Lesbos): Dähnhardt 1912:79; Serbs (Bosnia): Dähnhardt 1912:79.
Central Europe. Luzhitans: Romanenko 1962:133-134 (retelling in Dähnhardt 1912:83-84); Poles: Shcherbakov 1980:21-22; Russians (Tverskaya, St. Kalinin, 1986) [the fox invited the cancer to race; the cancer grabbed her tail; at the finish she tells the fox that she has been waiting for her for a long time]: the archive of the Center for Tver Regional History and Ethnography, sent by V.E. Dobrovolskaya; Russians (Tambov) [the only known Russian version: Afanasiev 1958 (1), No. 35:52; Ukrainians: Berezovsky 1979, No. 453, 454 (Hutsulshchina): 459-460, 544; Ukrainians (Eastern Slovakia, Galicia, Hutsulshchina), Belarusians: SUS 1979, No. 275:97.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Armenians: Orbeli 1956, No. 69:93 (=Dähnhardt 1912:78-79); Turks: Dor 2002, No. 19:61-62; Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 4:29.
Iran - Central Asia. Tajiks: Levin et al. 1981, No. 15 (Muminabad), 53 (Dukoni, near Nurek): 119-121, 153; Yazgulyam residents: Edelman 1966, No. 4:193; Baluchi: Porozhnyakov 1989:129-131.
Baltoscandia. Finns: Rakhimova 2000:174; Dähnhardt 1912 (Kivima, Kaari, Loppi): 81; Danes: Dähnhardt 1912:81; Lithuanians: Dähnhardt 1912:81; Latvians [cancer with fox racing; cancer clung to the fox's tail and was the first to reach the goal]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 275:268; Estonians: Mälk et al 1967, No. 40 (Otepää): 86-87; Normann, Lätt 1968:87.
Volga - Perm. Komi: Korovina 2012, No. 275:78.
Turkestan. Kazakhs: Kaskabasov et al. 1979, No. 47:108-109 (=Bosingen 1984:35-36).
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Mongors: Stuart, Limusishiden 1994:127-128; Khalkha Mongols: Zhamtsarano 1904; Mongols (Ordos): Mostaert 1937, No. 28 in Solovyov 2014; Inner Mongolian Mongols [fox, wasp and frog found a piece of butter; fox: whoever jumps into the hole and jumps out of it will take it further; the frog clung to the fox's tail and is farther away; then: who is older; wasp: I'm 100 years old; fox: I'm 1000 years old; frog cries: my eldest son was as old as a fox is now; youngest grandson is like a frog now; fox: whoever gets drunk faster will get oil; wasp: from one glass; fox: from the smell alcohol; frog: from talking about alcohol]: Coyaud 2012, No. 76:215-217.
Amur - Sakhalin. Nanais: Kiele 1996, No. 2:71-73; Hodger 2011:80-81; Udege []: Nikolaeva et al. 2003, No. 15:104; Nivhi: Ikeda 1971:62; Wilta: Ikegami 2007, No. 12:46-50.
Japan. Ainu: Batchelor in Dähnhardt 1912:84; Japanese (Tohoku to North Ryukyu): Ikeda 1971, No. 275, 275B, 175C: 62-64.
(Wed. Mesoamerica {Euro borrowing} Chontal [the fox invites the crab to race; it clings to its tail and jumps off at the finish stone; says he's tired of waiting for it]: Pérez Gonzälez 2013: 98-100).
NW Amazon. Tabatinga mestizos (?) [The turtle and the tick agree to race; the tick clings to the deer's tail, the deer hears the voice directly behind it, falls dead from fatigue]: Pimentel in Hartt 1875:11.
Chaco. Nivakle [nandu offers the tick to race, promises to pay him if he wins; the tick clings to Nandu's eyelashes, jumps off at the finish line and wins]: Wilbert, Simoneau 1987b, No. 206 : 499.
The Southern Cone. Araucans: Lenz 1896, No. 10:44 (paraphrase in Dähnhardt 1912:75-76; =Pino Saavedra 1987, No. 17:54-55).
C. Two fish (a fish and a whale, a dolphin, a squid and a dolphin, etc.) agree to race. The weaker one clings imperceptibly to the tail (fin) of the stronger, the ATU 250 wins. See M186A motif.
Spaniards (Murcia), Catalans, Frisians, Irish, Yap, Palau, Ponape, Kusaye, Truk, Kapingamarangs, Latvians, Finns, Finnish Swedes, Western Sami.
Southern Europe. Catalans (Mallorca included) [bream and whale agree to race; bream clings to the whale's fin, turns out to be the winner]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 250:56-57; Spaniards (Murcia) [ the squid (or raspallón) and the dolphin agreed to race; the squid clung to the dolphin's fin, won]: Hernández Fernández 2013, No. 250:81.
Western Europe. Friezes: Uther 2004 (1), No. 250:156; (cf. Flemish [flounder and herring decided to race; both sailed fast, but the herring was ahead of the flounder; she screamed, "Herring", her mouth remained big skewed]: Van den Berg 2000, No. 136:149); Irish [Swimming match of the fish]: Suilleabháin, Christiansen 1963, No. 250:56
Micronesia-Polynesia. Yap [needlefish argues with the hermit cancer who is faster; he puts another cancer at the end of the race; the fish swims to the finish line, but the hermit cancer is already there; when it swims back, dies of fatigue]: Mitchell 1973, No. 11:39-41; Palau, Ponape, Kusaye, Truk, Kapingamarangi ["Race won by deception: relative helpers" is better known parts of Micronesia with minor variations]: Mitchell 1973:247
Baltoscandia. Finns: Schreck 1887, No. 12 [ruff and salmon are arguing who will overcome the waterfall faster; the ruff grabbed the salmon's tail, shouted "I'm here" at the top of the waterfall]: 238-239 (quoted in Dähnhardt 1912:92); Rakhimova 2000 [the farmhand put a seine on Tulijärvi ("Lake of Fire"), but pulled out only a ruff and threw the catch in her hearts; then the lake was drained, the ruffs went to live elsewhere; at the Merikoski waterfall the ruff argued with the salmon who would be at the top faster; quietly grabbed the salmon's tail, and when the salmon called out to him, the ruff was in front; he bet off the barrel of beer, the foam ran off his mouth, so the ruff sticky]: 181; Finnish Swedes [ruff and pike agree to race to the island; ruff clung to the pike's tail, argued mulled wine, got drunk, smeared, now slimy]: Dähnhardt 1912:92; Western Sami [salmon sees sea bass at the waterfall, speaks contemptuously of it; totre says there is fat in his head, offers to race; overcomes the waterfall unnoticed grabbing the salmon tail; says it is difficult to catch it, and any woman will catch salmon in the river]: Poestion 1886, No. 4:23-24 (retelling in Dähnhardt 1912:91-92); (cf. Swedish Sami [pike and snake decided to compete in speed, the loser will go to live on land; fortunately, pike won - on land it would be more dangerous than a snake]: Simonsen 2014:90); Latvians (Valmiera) [ruff and herring decide to race; the loser must leave Lake Burtnetsky; the ruff clings to the herring's tail, which admits defeat, so the herring does not live in the lake]: Pogodin 1895:443 (=Dä ; hnhardt 1912:92-93).
D. Other options.
West Africa. Dagari [the chief promises the bull to be the fastest; the turtle invites the wind to compete; he does not notice that he is carrying the turtle himself; Der invites the turtle to cut the bull it has won; says that killed a bull with a stick he borrowed from a tree, I should give it a share; broke off the branches of many trees in advance, left all the meat under the trees; the turtle did not get anything, and D. then took everything]: M& #233; tuolé Somba 1991:47-48.
Baltoscandia. Finns [the swallow tells the crow that it can't sing; the raven: but I can fly far and you'll get tired right away; the swallow sits quietly on the crow's back and breaks forward at the target]: Pitrè 1912:69-70.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. The Mongols (Ordos) [the camel and the rat argued: "Whoever sees the sun first will be the first year in a cycle of twelve animals; the camel, turning east, waited for the sun to rise in the morning; when the sun was about to appear, the rat ran on the camel's head and saw the sun faster than the camel, becoming the first year on the calendar; the camel did not make it to the calendar of twelve animals at all]: Mostaert 1937, No. 29 in Solovyov 2014.