M198a1. Senior: round, medium: hard, younger: walnut! (.12.) .15.27.29.30.32.-.34.
Thethree brothers consistently and for no apparent reason determine the characteristics of an object or person they did not see.
(Hausa), Catalans, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Abkhazians, Adygs, Karachays or Balkarians, Bakhtiyars, Tajiks, Bukhara Arabs, Bashkirs, Kyrgyz, Tuvans, Khakas, Khalkha Mongols (?) , the Mongols of Ordos.
(Wed. West Africa. House [(end of a longer story); three brothers go looking for the stolen ox; believe that the thief should be short, crooked and mustachioed; come to the king; he hears their conversation; the king illegitimate, his wife is pagan, his meat is a dog; it turns out that everything is so; the king summons the people to identify the ox thief; among those who came there are people with the signs mentioned by the brothers ; the king allows his house to be searched and an ox is found there]: Mischlich 1929, No. 2:49ff in Klippe 1992:224).
Southern Europe. Catalans (Mallorca) [after their father's death, three brothers went to the king to help them share the inheritance; to meet a man who lost a mule; older brother: one-eyed? medium: grey? younger: lame? No, they did not see it; the owner of the mule went with his brothers to the king; he ordered the brothers to be fed; younger: the pig is raised on female milk; medium: wine from {what?} grapes (Setzlings-Trauben); youngest: the king is an illegitimate son, his father is a Moor; the king began to ask; the pig died, the pig was fed by a female; the wine is really from Setzlings-Trauben; Queen Mother: that year I was captured by the Moors and became pregnant; a lame mule can be seen in the footsteps; blind because I pinched grass on one side of the path; wool is a mixture of black and white; the king invited the brothers to draw portrait of his father and shoot him; the most accurate will inherit; the youngest refused to shoot; the king gave him the inheritance]: Erherzog 1896:95-102.
The Balkans. Bulgarians [stole money from three brothers (comrades) along with a horse (donkey); they visibly describe the thief: short, blond, with big teeth, etc.; they grab a man who looks like Similarly, they bring them to the judge and explain what their suspicions are based on; the judge experiences the brothers' insight, consistently hiding a lemon (egg), nut, rooster; each time the brothers guess; the judge returns the stolen goods to the brothers]: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. 1994, no.*655B: 135-136; Bosnians [brothers lost their mare; elder: the thief was tall; medium: blond; younger: mustachioed; they they grabbed such a man, brought him to Kadia; cadius: what's in the bag? older: round; medium: yellow; younger: lemon; cadia left the brothers to spend the night, told them to find out what kind of meat was; elder: this animal ran around the yard; medium: popped all over his nose; younger: puppy; cadium ordered that man to compensate his brothers for losses]: Golenishchev-Kutuzov 1991:364-365.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Abkhazians [father told three sons that they once lost a cow; eldest: the one who took it was short; medium: red; younger: blue-eyed; brothers met a peasant who came up Under this description, they ordered the cow to be returned; he took the brothers to court; judge: what's under the bowl? if you guess right, I'll give you another cow; older: round; middle: yellow; youngest: it's an orange; brothers are back with two cows]: Khashba, Kukba 1935:75-76 (=Shakryl 1974, No. 66:311); Adygs (zap. 1870s) [a gray horse was stolen from three brothers; the eldest: stole the middle, grew up and snub; the middle: and red-bearded; the youngest: and gray-eyed; the brothers went in search; the elder: a camel was walking through the millet field, blind in one eye; middle: and lame; younger: he is wearing two wineskins, with milk and honey; a camel driver, heard the description of the brothers, thinks they stole it; the brothers explain to the khan: camel pinched millet on one side; dragged one leg; flies to the right of the road, greedy for milk, and bees on the left; khan: what's in my fist? round - solid - walnut! Khan gave food to the brothers; they say that he gives porridge dead, meat to a dog, khan a simple title; the khan's mother admitted to him that she gave birth to a daughter and exchanged children with a slave; manager: millet was mowed at the grave of the victim; shepherd: a lamb was fed by a female; the khan gathered people, the brothers recognized the horse thief, received gifts from the khan]: Aliyeva 1978, No. 40:280-283; Karachays or Balkarians [from three The twin brothers stole a bull; they went looking for him; one said that a mule was passing along the path in front of them; the second: it had a short tail; third: he was blind in one eye; the mule owner was looking for him; he did not believe that the mule brothers did not see, leads x to the judge; the brothers explain: the mule marks are smaller than that of a horse, but larger than that of a donkey; the grass is united on one side; there is no tail mark on the frost; the judge let go brothers, they came to the mosque; above the bull is here; the thief has blue eyes; if the eyes are blue, then the beard is red; if the blue eyes and beard are red, then the name Sosruk; S. suggested not to argue here, but brought the brothers to his place; brothers: bread made from flour grown in the cemetery; meat from sheep that was kept with dogs; the owner is illegitimate; the miller, the shepherd, the owner's mother all confirmed; the last test is what is in my hand; brothers: round; tasty; S.: right, nut; S. brought back the bull]: Malkonduev 2017:881-884.
Iran - Central Asia. Bakhtiyary [the poor man earned money, put it under his head in the desert at night, the money was stolen; met two men, promises them a share if they find a thief; the worker promises a share for it if the money there will be; passers-by say where the money is; they wonder: Ramazan has money in Hamadan; Ramazan denies the accusation; goes to the mayor; he puts oranges, lemons and pears in a bag, asks what's in bag; one says it is round, tasty and pleasant to look at, the other says that it is oranges, lemons and pears; they receive an award, and the mayor added money on his own]: Lorimer, Lorimer 1919, No. 48:308-310; Tajiks [when dying, the father tells each of his three sons to dig a korchaga with gold, not to tell the brothers; he was upset to learn that they did so; while they buried their father, the younger brother hid the gold; brothers went to the judge; the elder sees the camel's trail: the camel is blind in one eye, the thorns are combined on one side of the road; the middle side of the camel has a jug of honey (wasps fly on the left), and on the right side with vinegar (midges fly); younger: there was also a rider, here is the crumpled grass, where he cried to rest; the camel owner met, did not believe the brothers that they knew the signs of the lost animal without seeing it; judge asks you to guess what is under the handkerchief; older brother: round; middle: sweet; younger: apple; brothers are cleared of kidnapping a camel; the judge brought them to the padishah; they are guarding his sleep; the elder, the middle man did not notice anything, the youngest killed the snake, hid it under the bed, the padishah woke up, saw a man with a sword, ordered him to be executed; the older brother tells the story of a parrot that brought the padishah a seed; an apple tree grew, an envious vizier poisoned an apple, offered to give it to the dog, it died; the padishah killed a parrot; the gardener's parents tasted the apple, became younger; the padishah also ate, became younger, repented of haste; the middle brother talks about a falcon that spilled water; the owner killed a falcon and then sees the venom of a dead snake dripping into the spring; the younger one talks about a snake he killed; the brothers came to a girl; she tells the story of a girl who was treated nobly by a merchant, padishah and robber; younger: better than others, a robber; girl: so you hid your father's gold; the youngest shared it equally with brothers]: Ulug-zade 1967:235-243; Bukhara Arabs [four opium smokers bought a horse, began to smoke, fell asleep; the horse fell into the house and drowned; when he woke up, one said: The horse was taken away; the other :Who? third: A man with a yellow face and gray eyes; fourth: Then this is the barber that the house has; they came to the barber, who shaved the tax collector; they hit the barber, who grabbed a piece of skin from his head with a razor tax collector; smokers brought the barber to the emir; Emir: How do you know the collector is a thief? Smokers: they reached their minds; the emir hid turnips under the bowl, let them say what is there; one: Round; second: The skin is red; the third: Inside is white; the fourth: Then it's a turnip; the emir ordered to give the guessers a horse and a bag of gold and silver; when they came to the house, smokers saw a horse drowning there; "We got this money for free," they buried it]: Vinnikov 1969, No. 53:312.
Volga - Perm. The Bashkirs [two camels were stolen from three brothers; the eldest: since our fence is high, then the thief is high; medium: once tall, then beardless; younger: once beardless, then Musa; the brothers met M. they led him to Casia; he held a millet seed in his hand, told him to guess what he had; the eldest: round; medium: small as a dewdrop; the youngest: if like a dewdrop, then a millet; the judge ordered M. to return the camels]: Barag 1990, No. 27:73-74.
Turkestan. Kyrgyz [three brothers lost their ox; the eldest: the ox is yellow-faced, stunted; the middle: blue-eyed; the youngest: his name is Kurmangaly; the brothers came to the khan and saw the thief; the khan threatened K. and that confessed, but doesn't understand how he was discovered; Khan to his brothers: what's under the bowl? elder: round; medium: red; younger: pomegranate; khan treated brothers; elder: desecrated meat, medium: dead, younger: dog; shepherd: lamb mother fed by dog; khan appointed brothers to rule instead of him]: Ledenev 1987:141-144 (=Sulaimanov 1998:117-123).
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Tuvans [a horse was taken away from three brothers; the eldest: to the other side of the river; the middle: a man from a white yurt; the youngest: his name is Oodezhik; O. hides something - guess; the elder: under the rug; middle: with long legs; younger: spider; O. says that they spied, tells them to leave the yurt; the brothers are back: in the chest - berry - rose hips; O. returned the horse; trail in the steppe; elder: the wheel of the cart is broken; middle: the camel is blind, the horse has a short tail; the youngest: the owner has a daughter and a pregnant wife; the brothers caught up with the nomads, the khan placed them in a yurt, began to eavesdrop; brothers: this is not a khan, not an araka, and water is not lamb, and dog; mother hanu: khan left for a long time, your father is a simple man; the lamb was allowed to see the dog; ice fell into the cup of araka; the khan escorted the brothers with honors]: Vatagin 1971:165-167; Khakas [when he died, the father took out the hidden gold and silver and divided it between his three sons; they, fearing to keep the money at home, buried it at the owaa; when they went to check, there was no money; accusing each other, brothers went to the khan; on the way they see hoof marks; elder: piebald, middle: mare, younger: loaded with honey; then they see traces of maral; elder: one-eyed, middle: one-horned, younger: limping on the right back leg; khan tells the brothers that he is leaving now and their case will be considered tomorrow; let the wife slaughter the lamb, feed the brothers; older brother: gives meat to dogs; middle: human; younger: roll gives it a man; the wife told the khan, who asked the maid; the maid: the lamb was fed with dog milk; drank water from a well in which the human remains were found; wheat was sown in the cemetery; they came the owners of the mare and maral, when the brothers said they knew about the mare, accused them of stealing; recognized them by their fallen fur; mares urinate differently than stallions; flies accumulated on drops of honey; maral pinched the grass on one side of the path; ripped off the bark from the trees with a horn on one side; the hooves of his hind legs were across; then the khan tells how he went to a wealthy merchant with a daughter; she left on the table (without fear that the khan would take it), put money next to her (without fear that the khan would take it); older and middle brothers: a decent girl; younger: I would take the money and hug the girl; khan tells him to beat his younger brother with a rod, he immediately confessed and gave the money]: Torokova, Sychenko 2014, No. 26:437-447; Mongols (khalha?) [testing the abilities of smart brothers, the khan hides various objects; the man asks if the young man has seen his donkey; he describes the donkey, but the owner does not believe that he did not see the donkey himself; the young man says that Khan is of low origin; impressed by his ingenuity, the khan brings him closer to him; to the judge, the young man explains how he identified the characteristics of the donkey; released]: Lörincz 1979, No. 655:275-276; The Mongols of Ordos [{p. 143 not available in pdf}; parallel in a Buryat fairy tale; three brothers accused the man of stealing a bull; he first confessed and then complained to the khan; the brothers replied that they did not see the bull, but they are sure of the theft; the khan went to the field three times, clenched something in his fist and offered to determine what it was; each time the eldest starts, the middle adds, the youngest gives the final answer; 1) red; red and tenacious; yuyuba fruit; 2) alive; multi-legged; black smelly worm; 3) brown; concave; sandalwood bucket; khan sent tyumlyash (nobles) to overhear the brothers' conversation; those they say that the khan is not of royal blood; the khan was killed, the elder brother was made khan, his brothers were Tyumlyush]: Potanin 1892:143-144.