M198a4. Who is nobler? ATU 976. .16.23.27.-.30.32.33.

Those who listen to the story should answer who they liked best: a husband who let his wife go to another man after the wedding, a robber who did not harm her, or that man immediately who sent her back to her husband.

Scots, Irish, Kannadas, Slovenes, Bosnians, Greeks, Russians (Arkhangelsk), Crimean Tatars, (Kalmyks), Adygs, Ingush, Tatas, Dargins, Armenians, Turks (?) , Kurds, Persians, Turkmens, Tajiks, Tajiks of Sistan, Yazgulyam, Yagnobs, Pashtuns, Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uighurs.

Western Europe. The Scots [when they died, the father told his sons the place where he left the gold; when they went to get it, it was empty; they went to their father's friend to tell them which of them had taken the gold; that tells a story; the girl was passed off as an unloved one; after the wedding, the groom asks her what worries her so much; she told him everything and he brought her to his lover's house; he sent her back; she was attacked robbers; when he found out what was going on, he alone brought her to her husband; the elder brother said that everyone was nobler than her husband, the middle brother was a lover, the youngest was a thief; the old man said that he took the gold; he had everything return]: Campbell 1860 (2), No. 19:16-19; Irish: Uther 2004 (1), No. 976:608-609.

South Asia. Kannada [the princess tells her father to build a 7-story tower for her and put up four gates; one has a necklace, then a cobra, a bear, a tiger; whoever talks to her will marry her; two friends stopped, the maids liked it; they taught them not to look at the necklace, give the cobra an egg, honey to the bear, meat to the tiger; one looked at it, and the other passed, as the guards taught, began to tell the princess story; father and brother promised a daughter/sister to marry two different young men; they appeared at the same time; the girl was so excited that she rushed into the well; one rushed after her and the other went to pilgrimage; who should her husband be? girl: who rushed after her into the well; second story; three friends at the night take turns awake; the carpenter carved the girl's figure, the artist painted it, the jeweler dressed in gold jewelry; if she came to life, who should it belong to? girl: jeweler; third story; teacher beats a girl at school; she asks why; he tells her to promise to come to him first when she gets married; she promised he stopped hitting her; when she came out married, told her husband about it and he let her go; four robbers attacked her on the way; she promised to give her gold jewelry when she went back; they agreed to wait; the same tiger agreed to eat later; the teacher did nothing to her and let her go; on the way back, the tiger and robbers named her sister and did no harm; who is nobler? girl: husband; thus the girl broke the silence three times, the king passed her off as a young man]: Ramanujan 1997, No. 62:167-172.

The Balkans. Slovenes, Bosnians, Greeks: Uther 2004 (1), No. 976:608-609

Central Europe. Russians (1916, recorded on a steamer between Mezen and Arkhangelsk; the storyteller is probably from Upper Pechora) Two merchant friends decide to jokingly betray their children, young Vanya and Masha promise each other a friend to become husband and wife. Over time, Ivan's father goes bankrupt, Masha's father gets richer. Ivan is not allowed to see Marya, she is married by a rich fiancé, and she delays the wedding as much as possible. After the wedding, the girl asks her fiancé to let her go for one night with someone she has been married to since childhood and promises to be loyal to him all her life. He lets her go. In the middle of the road, she is caught by robbers in the forest, the girl gives them all her jewelry and tells them where she is going. The robbers are surprised by her story, they let her go and ask her to come back and tell her what her name will do. Masha comes to see her name, but he sends her back to her legal husband, calls him his brother. The girl again meets the robbers and tells them about the actions of her lover, they admire the actions of her husband and named, return her jewelry to her, let her go and escort her home. The husband, having learned about Ivan's act, decides to make him his confidant (if he trusts his wife, he will also trust his capital). Masha falls ill, and her husband and her name live in the same house with her. My husband is dying. Masha remains a wealthy widow and marries her name]: Ozarovskaya 2009, No. 4:141-145; (also Smirnov 1917, No. 367 (Abakan Vol.): 368-370).

Caucasus - Asia Minor. The Crimean Tatars [when they died, the khan tells their three sons to share the jewelry; when they wanted to get them, the cache was empty; they went to the wise elder to determine who their thief was; he tells a story; the girl was passed off as an unloved one; when she found out, her husband sent her to her lover, and he sent her to her husband; she was kidnapped by a robber, but when he heard her story, he let her go; who is more noble? younger brother: robber; old man: so you stole the money; younger brother returned the money, the old man divided it equally]: Zarubin, Zarubin 1991:58-63 (=Birzgal 1992:75-81); (cf. Kalmyks [when he dies, the father tells his three sons that there are three poplars in the south and then falls silent; the younger brother found poplars, dug a precious Erdni stone; the brothers found only a hole; the youngest does not confess; they went to court to Khan Balak; they see a camel's trail: his humps hang to the left, he has no right eye, it is a camel, she is a pregnant woman; the camel owner does not believe that the brothers saw only a trail; Khan gives his brothers food and overhears: this is not koumiss, but blood, not lamb, but dog, black khan himself; the woman admits that when she cooked koumiss, her nose bleed; shepherd: lamb the dog fed; the khan's mother: met with the commoner after the death of her husband; the khan says that he has no right to resolve the dispute between the brothers, sends them to a wise girl; she asks: the man went to the Dalai Lama, met wolf, and he did not touch him, which of them is sinless; the youngest replies that man; girl: you took the stone; you had to return it and divide it into three parts; the khan's daughter does not talk, who talks will get it and the khanate; the elder and middle brothers could not get to talk, were thrown into the abyss; the youngest found a dead tochi bird, revived it with living water; hiding it in his sleeve, tells the khan's daughter stories; 1) the carpenter rude carved the figure of a man out of a log, finished the second one, the llama revived the girl; probably she should belong to the llama; girl: no, to the first carpenter; 2) (hiding the toti under the pillow); why should the khan's daughter again Has she stopped talking? Toti from under the pillow: if he speaks, words will be heard from every place where the air comes out; girl: what is this? younger brother got a girl, freed everyone who was thrown into the abyss]: Vatagin 1964:216-222); the Adyghi [judge (prince, khan, etc.) must find out which of the three brothers is a thief; the story of the noble deeds of the groom, lover and robber; the one who calls the most noble robber involuntarily betrays himself and is exposed]: Tkhamokova 2014, No. 976:191; Ingush [dying, prince told three sons about the buried pearls; the youngest secretly dug the treasure, went to the prince to identify the thief; along the way, the elder says that the horse was passing blind in one eye; the middle one: in one honey flowed down from the sides, oil on the other; younger: the mare was a stalk; they told the prince about the mare; convinced that everything was so, the prince was surprised: what other advice such intelligent people needed; the brothers were given food, became eavesdrop; prince was born of a slave, dumplings smell like blood, meat smells like dog; prince's mother: her husband had no children and allowed her to join the slave; when she mixed the dough, she cut her finger; shepherd: saw how the sheep came together with male; the prince's daughter asks you to tell me how the brothers found out everything (the horse pinched the grass on one side of the path; a bee on one side, a fly on the other; the front legs were heavier than the hind legs; the prince met the guests with unbuttoned collar; dog broth contains fat below and broth on top); the prince's daughter talks about a girl who was not married for love; her husband allowed her to go to her ex-lover, who sent her Back, the robbers they met let go; which of them is nobler? younger brother: robbers; girl: so you stole pearls]: Malsagov 1983, No. 56:203-207 (=Sadulaev 2004, No. 58:153-157); Dargins [dying, the father told his three sons where he buried the gold, told them it split; there was no gold in place, the brothers went to the khan to find out who their thief was; they met a man who was looking for the missing camel; asked if the camel was lame, crooked, and loaded with honey and oil; said they did not see; the owner did not believe it, took them to the khan; the elder: identified the lameness by the footsteps; middle: the camel pinched the grass only to the left of the path; younger: on one side of the path flies gathered, and beetles on the other; the khan ordered food to be served to the brothers, began to eavesdrop; they said that the meat smelled of a dog, wine smelled of blood, and the khan the son of a baker; the shepherd said that the lamb sucked the dog; storekeeper that the vineyard was laid out at the scene of the massacre; Khan's mother, that she gave birth to a daughter and changed with the baker's wife; Khan's sister promised to find out which of the brothers was a thief, told the story; the girl was not given for beloved, but for the rich; the groom sent her to his beloved; he to the groom; the robber let her go; the elder brother: the husband is the noblest, the middle is the lover, the youngest is the robber; the Khan's sister: here you are took gold]: Osmanov 1963:139-145; taty [the hat is old, the wife is dead, three sons and wives do not care about him; he tells everyone where the pot of gold is hidden, tells not to tell brothers; after that, the sons treated him well; when the father died, the brothers met at the hiding place, but the pot was gone; they went to the padishah, let him judge; when they arrived, the owner of the missing person appeared camel; older brother said that the camel was crooked in one eye, the middle brother said that there was a wineskin with honey on one side and butter on the other; younger: a pregnant woman was riding it; explained why they think so ( the grass is plucked on one side of the road; flies on one side by the road, bees on the other; getting off the camel, the woman leaned her hands on the ground); the padishah ordered them to serve them the best dishes; older brother: gives meat dog; medium: rice has a cadaveric smell; younger: padishah is not the son of a padishah; cook: the lambs were fed by a dog; rice grew up in the cemetery; the young man advises the padishah to ask his mother to bake a cake and press it against the hot flatbread her hand, then the mother confesses; the mother of the padishah: her husband did not have a child, gave birth to one of her close associates; to resolve the dispute between the brothers, the padishah called the daughter of the vizier; she tells the story; Khan's daughter loved the poor shepherd, she was married to another; on her wedding night she threatened to kill herself and her husband; he let her go; the shepherd ordered her to return to her husband; she went wherever she looked, got to the robbers; to whom she was should belong? older brother: husband, middle brother: shepherd, younger brother: robber; Khan's daughter: you took gold; younger brother gave brothers their share]: Aliyeva 2013, No. 35:160-164; Armenians [Who is more generous? A married girl promises her lover to come to him on her wedding night; her husband, having learned of her promise, lets her go to her lover; the robber she meets, having learned her story, lets her go; The lover returns it to her husband; the question is who is nobler?] : Gullakian 1983, No. 976:46 (=1990, No. 976:46); Turks []: Walker, Uysal 1966:114f; Kurds [padishah visited the female half once a year; the vizier came in the third year, the wife thought that this is the husband; soon the padishah came, the wife was surprised, the husband understood everything; three sons were born, each Ahmad; the padishah bequeathed: A. inherits, A. inherits, A. does not inherit; the brothers went to judge them to the padishah neighboring country; elder: a lame, crooked camel without two front teeth passed here; middle: loaded with oil and honey; youngest: a pregnant woman was riding it; the camel owner met him; the brothers described the camel, the owner does not believe that they did not see him, led him to the kazi; brothers: the camel dragged his leg, pinched the grass on one side of the road, where there were no teeth, blades of grass remained; where oil spilled, there were ants, where honey - flies; when a woman sat on the ground, got up with both hands; Kazi ordered the brothers to cook dinner; brothers: kebab smells like a dog, pilaf smells like iron, wine smells like blood; shepherd: lamb sucked female; there was a nail at the bottom of the cauldron; winemaker: a thorn pierced my leg, a drop of blood fell into the grapes; in the morning, Kazi's daughter tells a story: a girl went to the shepherd for the missing sheep, he let her go on condition to come to him on his wedding night before he gets together with her husband; the padishah's son is predicted to die as soon as he marries; he saw this poor girl, decided to take her, let her at least become rich; let her go to the shepherd; the shepherd called her sister, let her go to her husband; the archangel Jebrail came for the soul of the padishah's son; the father and mother did not want to give their soul in return, the wife gave her; J. gave her 140 years of life, she She divided them - to herself and her husband; who is more noble? younger brother: shepherd, I would not let the girl go; daughter kazi: here you are illegitimate]: Rudenko 1970, No. 30:68-73.

Iran - Central Asia. Turkmens [the old man promises a buried treasure to one of his sons who will take good care of him; when he died, there was no treasure; sons argue which of them took it, go to the padishah; he tells a story; the girl loved the poor man, she was given to another; when he found out what was going on, he let her go; when she went to her former lover, she was captured by a thief, but also let her go; her former lover ordered return to her husband; who is more noble? younger brother, replies that thief; padishah: so you stole the treasure, since you like the thief; the younger one shared it with the elders]: Stebleva 1969, No. 59:327-329; Persians: Osmanov 1987:230-235 [young fisherman asks the old man to help pull out the net; but the fish is too heavy; the fisherman went to call someone else; at that time the fish leaned out of the water and laughed; the man let it go; the fisherman drove him away; met a young man named Mota; and he himself is Moti; Mota began to get meat, and Moti sold it; Mota ordered to go to the Sultan and promise him to get his dumb daughter to talk; teaches him to put the padishah's daughter behind the curtain and ask talking flowers on the carpet; 1) the first story of flowers; instead of money, the gardener asks the vizier to promise that when his daughter gets married, let her come to his garden first; her husband let her go, the gardener too; on her way back, she met thieves; when she found out what was going on, the thief also let go; who is nobler? Sultan's daughter: husband; 2) second story; the sons of three viziers want to marry the Sultan's daughter; one bought a bowl, the water from which revives the dead, the second - a flying carpet, the third - an all-seeing mirror; when he saw that the princess is dead, the young men flew in and brought her back to life; who should she be? princess: the owner of the mirror; Moti got the Shah's daughter; Mota tells me not to touch her for three nights; then say he should have the wedding at home; drove to the place where Moti first saw Motu; mota took out his sword and told him to share everything he had acquired equally; Moti swung his sword, and a worm fell out of his wife's mouth; Mota: take everything for yourself; if the worm stayed in your wife, you would fall ill; I'm that fish released; Mota disappeared], 357- 359 [The princess was walking in the garden; the young gardener gave her a flower and she invited him to ask her what he wanted; gardener: when you get married, come to me the first night; she married the son of a vizier, told him about the gardener and he let her go; the wolf met him, she told him everything, he also let her go; towards the dragon, the flame from his mouth; and he let her go, waiting like the wolf; the same is the lion; the gardener: I am satisfied that you have come, go back to your husband; the lion, the dragon and the wolf also let her go; she is happy with her husband]; Marzolph 1984, No. 976 [the princess promises the young gardener to come to him in her wedding night; upon learning of this, her husband lets her go; the guard, the robber, the wild beasts do no harm; after learning of their nobility, the lover tells her to return to her husband], 976A [princess tells this story to identify who the thief is {see the M198A motif}]: 179-180, 180; Tajiks [when dying, the father tells each of his three sons to dig a Korchaga with gold, not to tell the brothers; I was upset to learn that they did so; while they were burying his father, the younger brother hid the gold; the 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 roads; middle: on the left side of the camel there is a jug of honey (wasps are flying on the left), and on the right side with vinegar (midges are flying); younger: there was also a rider, here is the crumpled grass, where he cried to rest; the owner met camel, did not believe the brothers that they know the signs of a lost animal without seeing it; the judge asks to guess what is under the handkerchief; older brother: it is round; medium: sweet; younger: apple; with brothers Suspicions of kidnapping a camel have been removed; the judge brought them to the padishah; they are guarding his sleep; the eldest, the middle did not notice anything, the youngest killed the snake, hid it under the bed, the padishah woke up, saw a man with with a sword, ordered to be executed; the elder brother tells the story of a parrot that brought a seed to the padishah; an apple tree grew, an envious vizier poisoned an apple, offered to give it to the dog, which died; the padishah killed the parrot; the gardener's parents tasted the apple, got younger; the padishah also ate, was younger, repented of his haste; the middle brother talks about a falcon that spilled water; the owner killed a falcon, and then saw that the source drips the venom of a killed snake; the youngest talks about the snake he killed; the brothers came to the 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 younger one shared it equally with his brothers]: Ulug-zade 1967:235-243; Sistan's Tajiks [dying, the king orders three sons share wealth fairly, and if they argue, contact your uncle (i.e. the king's brother), who is king in another city; the brothers went to their uncle; the person they meet is looking for the missing camel; the older brother says that the camel was blind in one eye, the middle brother said that he was carrying honey and molasses, the youngest said that a pregnant woman was riding it; the camel owner went with them to the local king; the king served pilaf and became listen to what brothers say; elder: meat in pilaf is filthy; medium: wheat for bread grew on bones; youngest: the king is the son of a shepherd; the king's mother admits that she gave birth to girls and exchanged children with her daughter shepherd; shepherd: a dog fed a sheep for pilaf; stolnik: the wheat field was plowed in the cemetery; the king asks the brothers to protect it for three nights; on the third night, the younger brother guards, kills the dragon, the king sees a sword, wants to execute a young man; the elder talks about a talking parrot: he warned about thieves, the king did not listen, killed the parrot, the thieves looted the treasury; the middle brother: the king got lost hunting, the falcon did not allow him to drink water, the king killed him, and then noticed that the blood and poison of the killed dragon were dripping into the water; the king apologized, the brothers went on to their uncle; he told him to argue her daughter's nephews; she tells the story of a young man letting a girl go in exchange for a promise to come to him the night after her wedding; her fiance let her go, her lover too; older and middle brothers they said that they would do the same, and the youngest would take the girl; girl: you want a larger share in the inheritance, marry me better; wedding; the elder brother became king, the middle and younger brother became viziers]: Grunberg, Steblin-Kamensky 1981, No. 11:141-149; Yazgulyam [a girl will marry someone who wakes her up and puts her to sleep three times a night; beheads losers; Orphan, addressing herself, tells three stories, each ending with a question that the girl tries to answer; 1) the princess and the son of the vizier agreed to marry, but the king gave his daughter for the judge's son; after the wedding feast, the son the judge asks why the princess sighs; she told and he let her go to her lover; on the way she came to the robbers, but when she heard her story, the chieftain let her go; having learned of her husband's nobility, the son of the vizier gave the princess a lot of good things and sent them back; 2) three brothers princes fell in love with one girl; the vizier advised to give everyone a tanga, and whoever turns them into a hundred tanga will get a girl; one exchanged his coin on the spinning wheel, which runs three years in three hours; the other on the all-seeing mirror; the third on the bowl, the water from which will resurrect the deceased; one saw that the girl was dead, the other brought all three to her, the third brought her to life; 3) three craftsmen spend the night in the forest, each guarding in turn; the first carved a figure out of the trunk, the second dressed it, the third turned to God and revived it; the girl replies that the revived woman must marry the one who wore her, and she will marry the narrator herself]: Grunberg, Steblin-Kamensky 1976, No. 44:379-383; the Yagnobs [one of the four day laborers stole from another a gem; he complained to the king; the king's daughter promised to find the thief; (it is unclear, then her story or what was really happening to her); the shepherd killed a snake that was ready to bite her; asked her to come to him on the night of the wedding; her husband, the prince, let her go; the tiger, then the thief, too; that shepherd too; she summoned four: which of them is more courageous? one replied that he was a thief; the princess ordered him to be searched, the stone was found]: Andreev, Peschereva 1957, No. 19:108-111; Pashtuns [when dying, the father buried three pots of money, put a ruby on each; the youngest son secretly took one ruby; the brothers went to the Shah's clever daughters - let them decide which of them took the ruby; along the way they noticed: a woman was sitting under this tree; pregnant; ran away from her husband; a crooked camel was walking along the way without one tooth; on the one hand there was a pack of butter, on the other hand, with honey; they described the woman's signs to her husband who was looking for her; he accused them of kidnapping; the same was the owner of the missing camel; the brothers explain to the Shah : a woman was sitting, leaning her hands, which means she was pregnant, and when she went, she went in the opposite direction, so the fugitive; the camel ate grass on one side of the road, some blades of grass remained intact; where the flies were, there oil, where the bees are, there is honey; the first princess undertook to find the ruby thief; served pilaf; meat is human (the lamb was fed by a woman); princess: these people are too smart; another princess sent a maid take the food and pass it on: seven heavens, the sky is in the clouds, but there are many stars; brothers: the sky is five, the sky is clear, there are no stars; the princess to the maid: how dare she eat two loaves and meat? disguised as a man, the princess tells a story; the vizier's daughter agrees to the gardener's request to come to him on her wedding night when she marries; told her husband about it and he let her go; on the way ran into a tiger, then a robber, asked her to eat it or pick it up when she returned; the gardener released the woman, the robber and the tiger too; the Shah's daughter asks the brothers which of the participants to whom liked it; older: husband, middle: tiger, younger: thief; princess: younger and took the ruby; go home, your business is resolved, return the ruby]: Lebedev 1972, No. 22:192-198.

Volga - Perm. Tatars [three brothers found gold, buried it, the youngest secretly took it for himself; the elder suggests going to the old man - let him judge; he tells how he sold apples to the girl for a promise to surrender to her wedding day; her husband let her go, and so did the tramp who met; who was nobler? older brothers praise everyone; younger: if he were the groom, I would let his wife go only in the morning, and if he were a tramp, I would take off the girl's clothes; old man: so you took gold]: Zamaletdinov 2010, No. 37:113-114; Bashkirs [the old man found gold in the field, carried it to the king, three took away the gold; denied all the old man's accusations; the princess promised to solve the case; told a story; the girl wanted a flower, the old man took it out, asked that she came to him right after marriage before she got together with her husband; her husband let her go, the wolf she met on the road did not touch her, the old man praised her and did not touch her either; each of the listeners calls the protagonists stories by fools; princess: so you are thieves; they returned the gold, then beheaded them]: Bessonov 1941, No. 73:322-323.

Turkestan. Kazakhs [when dying, Nurzhan tells his three sons that he left gold; let them take it if necessary; the brothers buried gold in a cave; in winter they went broke and dug money, but a third disappeared; the brothers went to the wise bay Baltekey; on the way, Akyt sees the trail of a tired camel, Sabit says that the camel was crooked in his right eye, Hamit that he was carrying a bucket of honey; the owner was looking for a camel; when he found out that the brothers are familiar with the signs of the camel, goes with them to B.; after serving pilaf, B. began to eavesdrop; S.: rice grew in the cemetery; A.: the ram sucked the female; H.: the owner is illegitimate; from the shepherd, the field owner and his B.'s mother found out that this was the case; the brothers explained how they guessed it (the illegitimate man speaks with his eyes down); told how they learned about the camel's signs; then B. talks about a girl who passed off as an unloved one; the groom allowed her to go say goodbye to his lover; he let her go back; thieves attacked, their chieftain let her go; B. asks: who is nobler? H. says he is a thief; B. tells him to return the money, which he did]: Sidelnikov 1958:294-303; Kyrgyz [when he died, the father told his three sons where the treasury was buried; when they came to divide it, they saw that the treasury disappeared and began to accuse each other; then they went to the kazy (i.e. kadiy); he tells the story; the bay's wife gave birth to a daughter, and the wife of the son's employee, they grew up and fell in love, but bai married daughter for another; the girl promised her beloved that she would come to him before going to bed with her groom; told the groom about this and he allowed her to go to the young man; on the road she was met by robbers, but when she heard her story, the chieftain let her go; she came to that young man, but he brought her to her husband himself; which of the three is nobler? the older brother says that the husband (kazy: you are jealous), the middle brother is a dzhigit, the youngest is a robber; kazy: you stole the treasury; return it now and share the inheritance equally]: Sabyr uulu 2008:221-223.