M198a4. Who is more noble? ATU 976. .16.23.27.-.30.32.33.

Those who listened to the story must answer who they liked more: the husband who sent his wife to another man after the wedding, the robber who did not harm her, or the man who immediately sent her back to her husband.

Scots, Irish, Rajasthani(?) (Madhya Pradesh), Bhamta, Kannada, Slovenes, Bosnians, Greeks, Russians (Arkhangelsk), Crimean Tatars, (Kalmyks), Adygs, Ingush, Tats, Dargins, Armenians, Turks (?), Kurds, Persians, Turkmen, Tajiks, Farsivans, Yazgulamians, Yagnobis, Pashtuns, Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uyghurs.

Western Europe. Scots [a dying father told his sons the place where he had left the gold; when they went to get it, it was empty; they went to a friend of the father's to ask him to tell them which of them had taken the gold; he tells a story; the girl was married to an unloved man; after the wedding, the groom asked her what was troubling her; she told him everything and he took her to her lover's house; he sent her back; she was attacked by robbers; on learning what had happened, one of them brought her to her husband himself; the eldest brother said that the husband was the noblest, the middle one the lover, the youngest a thief; the old man said that he had taken the gold; he had to give it all back]: Campbell 1860(2), no. 19: 16–19; Irish : Uther 2004(1), no. 976: 608–609.

South Asia. Rajasthanis (? conditional; Hindi or Rajasthani, impossible to determine) (Madhya Pradesh; ) [a rich merchant orders his four sons to take a piece of jewelry from under four table legs (? cot) after his death, but only in the presence of all four; he dies, the brothers decide to take the jewelry, but there are only three; they go to the king for advice; they ask him to find the lost item, but so that we do not find out who did it; the king lets them spend the night and sends supper; first brother: the flour in the flatbread is spoiled with blood; second: the molasses has gone sour; third: woman's milk has been used to prepare the food; the leaves-plates are given cow dung; the king is informed, he calls the brothers to him; peasant: a shot boar has fallen on a heap of grain, blood has spilled; molasses has been collected from plates where it was not finished; The maid was breastfeeding a baby and drops fell into the milk; the one who brought the leaves also admitted his guilt; the king suggests that the brothers deal with the loss themselves and sends to the king of the city of Dharampur (in Gujarat); the king: what is in the closed vessel? eldest brother: round; second brother: red, third: there are seeds inside, youngest: it is a pomegranate; the brothers went to Swarngarh (in Chattisgarh); eldest: a lame camel was passing by; second: one-eyed; third: missing one tooth; youngest: a pregnant woman was riding on it; their guide reported to the king; the brothers explained: the trace of the fourth hoof is shallow, the grass is plucked on one side of the path, unevenly, there are handprints on the ground at the camp; the king sends to his daughter in Dhara Nagari (Chattisgarh); she orders them to spend the night with her; tells the eldest brother a story; the king's son and the vizier's son are friends; agreed to send each other wives on their wedding night; the prince married first and sent his wife to the vizier's son; they met him; the chieftain believed that she would give them her jewelry on the way back; the vizier's son gave her the jewelry and called her sister; the chieftain was touched and took nothing; who is nobler? elder brothers: all; youngest: they are all idiots; princess: you stole it; he had to return what was stolen, and the princess quietly slipped the fourth jewelry into the others' treys]: Parmar 1960, no. 5: 19-28; bhamta (a caste of thieves in northern Maharashtra) [the vizier Birbal and the king each have a son; they are friends; they agreed: whoever marries first will send his wife (for the night) to the other; the prince married and, not getting along with his wife, sent her to B.'s son; they met him; she asked not to take away her jewelry: she would give it back on the way back; B. (his son?) called the newcomer his sister and generously gifted her; the robbers had stolen so much goods during this time that when they met the girl again, they did not pay attention to her]: Berger 1971: 159; Kannada[the princess tells her father to build her a 7-story tower and put up four gates; one has a necklace, then a cobra, a bear, a tiger; whoever gets her to talk will take her as his wife; two friends stop, the maids like them; they teach her not to stare at the necklace, give the cobra an egg, the bear honey, the tiger meat; one stared, and the other passed by, as the guards were taught, began to tell the princess a story; the father and brother promised their daughter / sister in marriage to two different young men; they appeared at the same time; the girl was so excited that she threw herself into the well; one rushed after her, and the other went on a pilgrimage; who should be her husband? girl: the one who threw himself into the well after her; second story; three friends spend the night in bed, taking turns staying awake; a carpenter carved a figure of the girl, an artist painted her, a jeweler dressed her in gold jewelry; if she came to life, who should she belong to? girl: the jeweler; third story; A teacher beats a girl at school; she asks why; he tells her to promise to come to him first when she gets married; she promises, he stops beating her; when she gets married, she tells her husband about it and he lets her go; on the way, she is attacked by four robbers; she promises to give him her gold ornaments when she goes back; they agree to wait; the same with a tiger – he agrees to eat her later; the teacher does nothing to her and lets her go; on the way back, the tiger and the robbers call her sister and do her no harm; who is nobler? The girl: the husband; thus the girl broke her silence three times, the king gave her in marriage to the youth]: 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 ship between Mezen and Arkhangelsk; the storyteller probably comes from Verkhnyaya Pechora) Two merchant friends decide to betroth their children as a joke; young Vanya and Masha promise each other to become husband and wife. Over time, Ivan's father goes broke, Masha's father gets rich. Ivan is not allowed to see Marya; a rich suitor proposes to her, and she puts off the wedding as long as possible. After the wedding, the girl asks her suitor to let her go for one night to the man she was betrothed to since childhood and promises to be faithful to him all her life. He lets her go. Halfway through the forest, she is caught by robbers; 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 him what her betrothed will do. Masha comes to her betrothed, but he sends her back to her lawful husband, calling him his brother. The girl meets the robbers again and tells them about her lover's deed, they admire the deeds of her husband and fiancé, return her jewelry, let her go and accompany her home. The husband, having learned about Ivan's deed, decides to make him his confidant (he entrusted his wife - he will entrust his capital). Masha falls ill, her husband and fiancé live with her in the same house. The husband dies. Masha remains a rich widow and marries her fiancé]: Ozarovskaya 2009, No. 4: 141-145 (=1931, No. 4: 37-41; see also Smirnov 1917, No. 367: 368-370, Abakan vol.).

Caucasus – Asia Minor. Crimean Tatars [a dying khan orders his three sons to divide up some valuables; when they wanted to get them out, the hiding place was empty; they went to a wise old man to find out who was the thief; he tells a story; a girl was married to someone she didn’t love; upon learning of this, the husband sent her to her lover, and he sent her to her husband; a robber kidnapped her, but after hearing her story he let her go; who is more noble? The younger brother: the robber; the old man: so you stole the money; the younger brother returned the money, the old man divided it equally]: Zarubin, Zarubin 1991: 58-63 (=Birzgal 1992: 75-81); (cf. Kalmyks [dying, a father tells his three sons that there are three poplars in the south, and then falls silent; the younger brother found poplars, dug up a precious stone-erdni; the brothers found only a hole; the younger does not confess; they went to court to Khan Balak; they see a camel's track: its humps hang to the left, it has no right eye, it is a she-camel, with a pregnant woman on it; the owner of the camel does not believe that the brothers only saw a track; the khan serves food to the brothers and overhears: this is not kumiss, but blood, not mutton, but dog meat, the khan himself is black bone; the woman confesses that when she was preparing kumiss, her nose started bleeding; shepherd: the lamb was nursed by a dog; the khan's mother: she got together with a commoner after the death of her husband; the khan says that he has no right to resolve the brothers' dispute, sends him to a wise girl; she asks: the man went to the Dalai Lama, met a wolf, but the wolf did not touch him, which of them is sinless; the younger one replies that it is a man; the girl: you took the stone; had to return it and divide it into three parts; the khan's daughter does not speak, whoever makes her talk will receive her and the khanate; the eldest and middle brothers could not make her talk, were thrown into the abyss; the youngest found a dead toti bird, revived it with living water; hiding it in his sleeve, tells stories to the khan's daughter; 1) a carpenter roughly carved a figure of a man from a log, the second one finished it, the lama revived the girl; probably it should belong to the lama; the girl: no, to the first carpenter; 2) (having hidden the toti under the pillow); why did the khan's daughter fall silent again? toti from under the pillow: if she speaks, the words will be heard from all places where air comes out; the girl: what is this? the younger brother got the girl, freed everyone who was thrown into the abyss]: Vatagin 1964: 216-222); Adyghe [the judge (prince, khan, etc.) must find out which of the three brothers is the thief; a story is told about the noble deeds of the groom, the lover and the robber; the one who calls the robber the most noble unwittingly gives himself away and is exposed]: Tkhamokova 2014, No. 976: 191; Ingush[while dying, the prince told his three sons about buried pearls; the youngest secretly dug up the treasure, they went to the prince so that he could identify the thief; along the way, the eldest says that a horse passed by, blind in one eye; the middle one: honey was flowing down one side, butter on the other; the youngest: the mare was in foal; they told the prince about the mare; having made sure that everything was so, the prince was surprised: what other advice did such smart people need; they gave the brothers food, they began to eavesdrop; the prince was born of a slave, dumplings smell of blood, meat - of dog; the prince's mother: her husband had no children and allowed her to mate with a slave; while kneading dough, she cut her finger; the shepherd: he saw a sheep mate with a dog; the prince's daughter asks to tell how the brothers found out everything (the horse was nibbling grass on one side of the path; bees on one side, flies on the other; the gait of the front legs is heavier than the hind legs; the prince greeted the guests with his collar unbuttoned; in dog broth the fat is on the bottom and the broth on top); the prince's daughter tells about a girl who was married not for love; her husband allowed her to go to her former lover, he sent her back, the robbers they met let her go; who of them is nobler? younger brother: robbers; girl: so you stole the pearls]: Malsagov 1983, no. 56: 203-207 (= Sadulaev 2004, no. 58: 153-157); Dargins [while dying, the father told his three sons where he buried the gold and ordered them to divide it; the gold was not there, the brothers went to the khan to find out who of them was the thief; they met a man who was looking for a missing camel; they asked if the camel was lame, crooked and loaded with honey and butter; they said they did not see it; the owner did not believe them, took them to the khan; the eldest: he determined the lameness by the tracks; the middle one: the camel was nibbling grass only to the left of the path; the youngest: flies gathered on one side of the path, and beetles on the other; the khan ordered that food be served to the brothers, began to eavesdrop; they said that the meat smelled of dog, the wine of blood, and the khan was a baker's son; the shepherd said that the lamb had sucked a dog; the storekeeper, that a vineyard was laid out on the site of the massacre; the khan's mother, that she gave birth to a daughter and swapped with the baker's wife; the khan's sister promised to find out which of the brothers was the thief, told a story; the girl was given not to her beloved, but to a rich man; the groom sent her to her lover; he sent her to the groom; the robber let her go; the eldest brother: the noblest of all husbands, the middle one – the lover, the youngest – the robber; the khan's sister: so you took the gold]: Osmanov 1963: 139-145; Taty[a hat maker grew old, his wife died, his three sons and their wives did not care about him; he told each of them where the pot of gold was hidden, and ordered them not to tell their brothers; after that the sons treated him well; when their father died, the brothers met at the hiding place, but the pot was missing; they went to the padishah, to let him judge; when they arrived, the owner of the missing camel appeared; the eldest brother said that the camel was blind in one eye, the middle one - that there was a wineskin with honey on one side and with butter on the other; the youngest: a pregnant woman was riding on it; they explained why they thought so (the grass was plucked on one side of the road; there were flies on one side of the road, bees on the other; when getting off the camel, the woman leaned on the ground with her hands); the padishah ordered that the best dishes be served to them; eldest brother: the meat smells like dog; middle one: the rice has a corpse smell; youngest: the padishah is not the son of the padishah; cook: the lambs were suckled by a dog; rice grew in a cemetery; a young man advises the padishah to ask his mother to bake a flatbread and press her hand to the hot flatbread, then the mother will confess; the padishah's mother: her husband had no child, she gave birth to one of her confidants; to resolve a dispute between brothers, the padishah called the vizier's daughter; she tells a story; the khan's daughter loved a poor shepherd, she was married to another; on their wedding night, she threatens to kill herself and her husband; he let her go; the shepherd ordered her to return to her husband; she went wherever her eyes looked, ended up with robbers; to whom should she belong? eldest brother: to her husband, middle brother: to the shepherd, youngest: to the robber; khan's daughter: you took the gold; the youngest brother gave the brothers their share]: Aliyeva 2013, No. 35: 160-164; Armenians [Who is more generous? A girl given in marriage promises her lover to come to him on their wedding night; the husband, having learned of her promise, lets her go to her lover; a robber she meets, having learned of her story, lets her go; the lover returns her to her husband; the question is: who is nobler?]: Gullakyan 1983, no. 976: 46 (=1990, no. 976: 46); Turks []: Walker, Uysal 1966: 114f; Kurds[the padishah visited the women's quarters once a year; in the third year the vizier came, the wife thought it was her husband; soon the padishah came, the wife was surprised, the husband understood everything; three sons were born, each Ahmad; the padishah made a will: A. inherits, A. inherits, A. does not inherit; the brothers went to the padishah of the neighboring country to judge them; the eldest: a lame, crooked camel without two front teeth passed by; the middle one: it was loaded with butter and honey; the youngest: a pregnant woman was riding on it; the owner of the camel came towards them; the brothers described the camel, the owner did not believe that they had not seen it, he took it to the kazi; the brothers: the camel dragged its leg, nibbled the grass on one side of the road, where there were no teeth, blades of grass remained; where the butter was spilled, there were ants, where there was honey - flies; when the woman sat on the ground, she got up, leaning on both hands; the kazi ordered that dinner be prepared for the brothers; brothers: the kebab stinks of dog, the pilaf smells of iron, the wine smells of blood; the shepherd: the lamb was sucking a bitch; there was a nail at the bottom of the cauldron; the winemaker: a thorn stuck into my leg, a drop of blood got into the grapes; in the morning the qazi's daughter tells a story: a girl went to the shepherd for a lost sheep, he let her go on the condition that she come to him on her wedding night before she got together with her husband; the padishah's son was predicted to die as soon as he got married; he saw this poor girl, decided to take her - let her at least become rich; sent her to the shepherd; the shepherd called her sister, sent her to her husband; the archangel Jabrail appeared for the soul of the padishah's son; the father and mother did not want to give their souls in exchange, the wife gave them; J. gave her 140 years of life, she divided them - between herself and her husband; who is nobler? younger brother: shepherd, I would not let the girl go; qazi's daughter: so you are the illegitimate one]: Rudenko 1970, no. 30: 68-73.

Iran - Central Asia. Turkmen [an old man promises a buried treasure to whichever son takes good care of him; when he dies, the treasure is gone; the sons argue about which of them took it, they go to the padishah; he tells a story: a girl loved a poor man, she was given to another; when he found out what happened, he let her go; when she was going to her previous lover, a thief seized her, but he also let her go; the previous lover ordered her to return to her husband; who is more noble? The younger brother replies that he is a thief; the padishah: so you stole the treasure, since you like the thief; the younger one shared with the elders]: Stebleva 1969, No. 59: 327-329; Persians : Osmanov 1987: 230-235 [a young fisherman asks an old man to help him pull out his net; but the fish is too heavy; The fisherman went to call someone else; at that moment a fish stuck its head out of the water and laughed; the man let it go; the fisherman chased it away; he met a young man named Mota; and he himself was Moti; Mota began to get meat, and Moti sold it; Mota told him to go to the sultan and promise him to make his mute daughter talk; he teaches her to seat the padishah's daughter behind a curtain and ask the flowers on the carpet to talk; 1) the first story of flowers; instead of money, the gardener asks the vizier to promise that when his daughter gets married, let her first come to his garden; her husband let her go, and so did the gardener; on the way back she met some robbers; having learned what was going on, the robber also let her go; who is nobler? the sultan's daughter: her husband; 2) the 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; seeing that the princess was dead, the young men flew in and revived her; whose should she be? princess: the owner of the mirror; Moti received the shah's daughter; Mota orders not to touch her for three nights; then say that he must have the wedding at home; they reached the place where Moti first saw Mota; Mota took out his sword and ordered to divide everything they had acquired equally; Moti swung his sword, a worm fell out of his wife's mouth; Mota: take everything for yourself; if the worm had remained in your wife, you would have fallen ill; I am that fish that was released; Mota disappeared], 357-359 [the princess was walking in the garden; a young gardener gave her a flower and she suggested that he ask her for whatever he wanted; gardener: when you get married, come to me on the first night; she married the vizier's son, told him about the gardener and he let her go; a wolf came towards her, she told him everything, he also let her go; a dragon came towards her, flames from his mouth ; and he let her go, and began to wait, like the wolf; the same goes for the lion; the gardener: it is enough for me that you have come, return 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 on her wedding night; upon learning of this, the husband lets her go; the guard, the robber, and the wild animals do no harm; upon learning of their nobility, the lover orders them to return to their husband], 976A [the princess tells this story to reveal who the thief is {see motif M198A}]: 179-180, 180; Tajiks [while dying, the father orders each of his three sons to dig up a pot of gold, and not to tell the brothers; he is upset to learn that they did so; While they were burying their father, the younger brother hid the gold; the brothers went to the judge; the eldest sees a camel's tracks: the camel is blind in one eye, the thorns are eaten away on one side of the road; the middle one: on the camel's left side is a jug of honey (wasps are flying on the left), and on the right - with vinegar (gnats are flying); the youngest: there was a rider, here is the trampled grass where he got off to rest; the owner of the camel met him, did not believe the brothers that they knew the signs of the lost animal, without seeing it; the judge asks them to guess what is under the scarf; the elder brother: it is round; the middle one: sweet; the youngest: an apple; the brothers are cleared of suspicion of stealing the camel; the judge brought them to the padishah; they guard his sleep; the eldest and middle did not notice anything, the youngest killed a snake, hid it under the bed, the padishah woke up, saw a man with a sword, ordered the execution; the eldest brother tells the story of a parrot that brought a seed to the padishah; an apple tree grew, an envious vizier poisoned the apple, offered to give it to a dog, which died; the padishah killed the parrot; the gardener's parents tried the apple, became younger; the padishah also ate, became younger, and repented of his haste; the middle brother tells about a falcon that spilled the water; the owner killed the falcon, and then saw that the poison of the killed snake was dripping into the spring; the youngest tells about the snake that he killed; the brothers came to the girl; she tells the story of the girl who was treated nobly by a merchant, a padishah, and a robber; the youngest: better than others - the robber; the girl: so you hid your father's gold; the youngest divided it equally with the brothers]: Ulug-zade 1967: 235-243; Farsivans[while dying, the king orders his three sons to divide the wealth fairly, and if they argue, to turn to their uncle (i.e. the king's brother), who is king in another city; the brothers go to their uncle; a man they meet is looking for a missing camel; the eldest brother says that the camel was blind in one eye, the middle one - that it was carrying honey and molasses, the youngest - that a pregnant woman was riding on it; the owner of the camel goes with them to the local king; the king served pilaf and began to listen to what the brothers were saying; eldest: the meat in the pilaf is bad; middle one: the wheat for the bread grew on the bones; youngest: the king is the son of a shepherd; the king's mother admits that she gave birth to girls and swapped children with the shepherd's daughter; shepherd: the sheep for the pilaf was suckled by a dog; steward: the wheat field was plowed in the cemetery; the king asks his brothers to guard him for three nights; On the third night, the younger brother watches, kills the dragon, the king sees the sword, wants to execute the young man; the eldest tells about the talking parrot: it warned about thieves, the king did not listen, killed the parrot, thieves plundered the treasury; the middle brother: the king got lost while hunting, the falcon did not allow him to drink water, the king killed it, and then noticed that the blood and venom of the killed dragon were dripping into the water; the king asked for forgiveness, the brothers rode on to their uncle; he orders him to settle the dispute between his daughter's nephews; she tells the story of how the young man released the girl in exchange for a promise to come to him on the night after her wedding; the groom let her go, the lover did the same; the eldest and middle brothers said that they would have done the same, and the youngest said that he would have taken the girl; girl: you want a larger share of the inheritance, take me as your wife instead; wedding; the elder brother became king, the middle and youngest became viziers]: Grunberg, Steblin-Kamensky 1981, No. 11: 141-149; Yazgulyamtsy[a girl will marry the one who wakes her up and puts her to sleep three times a night; losers have their heads cut off; An orphan, addressing himself, tells three stories, each ending with a question that the girl tries to answer; 1) The princess and the vizier's son agreed to get married, but the king gave his daughter to the judge's son; after the wedding feast, the judge's son asks why the princess is sighing; she told him and he let her go to her lover; on the way she fell into the hands of robbers, but, having heard her story, the chieftain let her go; having learned of her husband's nobility, the vizier's son gave the princess a lot of good things and sent her back; 2) Three princely brothers fell in love with the same girl; the vizier advised to give each of them a tanga, and whoever turns them into a hundred tanga will get the girl; one exchanged his coin for a spinning wheel, which runs a three-year journey in three hours; the other - for an all-seeing mirror; the third - on a cup, the water from which will resurrect the dead; one saw that the girl was dead, the second brought all three to her, the third revived her; 3) three craftsmen spend the night in the forest, each in turn keeping watch; the first cut a figure out of a tree trunk, the second dressed it, the third turned to God and revived it; the girl answers that the one who came back to life should marry the one who dressed her, and she herself will marry the narrator]: Grunberg, Steblin-Kamensky 1976, No. 44: 379-383; Yagnobis [one of the four day laborers stole a precious stone from another; he complained to the king; the king's daughter promised to find the thief; (it is not clear whether what follows is her story or what really happens to her); the shepherd killed a snake that was ready to bite her; he 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 called four: which of them was the bravest? One answered that he was a thief; the princess ordered him to be searched, the stone was found]: Andreev, Peshchereva 1957, No. 19: 108-111; Pashtuns[while dying, the father buried three pots of money, putting 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; on the way they noticed: a woman was sitting under this tree; pregnant; ran away from her husband; a crooked camel without one tooth was walking along the road; on one side there was a pack with butter, on the other - with honey; they described the woman's features to her husband, who was looking for her; he accused them of kidnapping; the same is the owner of the missing camel; the brothers explain to the shah: a woman was sitting, leaning on her hands, which means she is pregnant, and when she walked, she did so in the opposite direction, therefore she is a runaway; the camel was eating grass on one side of the road, some blades of grass remained whole; where there are flies, there is butter, where there are bees, there is honey; the first princess undertook to find the thief of the ruby; they served pilaf; the meat is human (the woman fed the lamb); princess: these people are too smart; another princess sent a maid to take food and tell her: seven heavens, the sky is cloudy, but there are many stars; brothers: five heavens, the sky is clear, there are no stars; princess to the maid: how dare you eat two loaves of bread 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 gets married; she told her husband about this and he let her go; on the way she came across a tiger, then a robber, asked him to eat her or take her away when he returns; the gardener let the woman go, the robber and the tiger too; the shah's daughter asks her brothers which of the participants they liked; eldest: husband, middle: tiger, youngest: thief; princess: the youngest and took the ruby; go home, your case is resolved, give me back the ruby]: Lebedev 1972, No. 22: 192-198.

Volga - Perm. Tatars [three brothers found gold, buried it, the youngest took it secretly; the eldest suggests going to an old man - let him judge; he tells how he sold a girl apples for a promise to give himself to her on his wedding day; her husband let her go, and so did a tramp they met; who is more noble? The older brothers praise everyone; the youngest: if he were the groom, he would let his wife go only in the morning, and if he were the tramp, he would take the girl's clothes; the old man: so you took the gold]: Zamaletdinov 2010, No. 37: 113-114; Bashkirs [an old man found gold in a field, took it to the king, three took the gold; they denied all the old man's accusations; the princess promised to resolve the matter; she told a story; the girl wanted a flower, the old man got one, asked her to come to him immediately after marriage, before she got together with her husband; her husband let her go, the wolf he 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 of the story fools; princess: so you are thieves; they returned the gold, then they were beheaded]: Bessonov 1941, No. 73: 322-323.

Turkestan. Kazakhs [dying, Nurzhan tells his three sons that he left gold; let them take it if necessary; the brothers buried the gold in a cave; in the winter they went broke and dug up the money, but a third of it disappeared; the brothers went to the wise bay Baltekey; on the way, Akit sees the track of a tired camel, Sabit says that the camel was blind in its right eye, Hamit that it was carrying a tub of honey; the owner is looking for the camel; learning that the brothers know the signs of a camel, goes with them to B.; having served pilaf, B. began to eavesdrop; S.: rice grew in the cemetery; A.: the ram sucked a bitch; Kh.: the owner is illegitimate; B. learned from the shepherd, the owner of the field and his mother that everything was so; the brothers explained how they guessed (the illegitimate one speaks with downcast eyes); told how they learned about the signs of a camel; Then B. tells of a girl who was given in marriage to someone she did not love; the groom allowed her to go and say goodbye to her lover; he let her go back; thieves attacked, their chieftain let her go; B. asks: who is more noble? H. says that he is a thief; B. tells him to return the money, which he did]: Sidelnikov 1958: 294-303; Kirghiz [while dying, the father told his three sons where the treasury was buried; when they came to divide it, they saw that the treasury was missing and began to blame each other; then they went to the kazy (i.e., the qadi); he tells a story; the bai's wife gave birth to a daughter, and the wife of a worker gave birth to a son, they grew up and fell in love with each other, but the bai betrothed his daughter to another; the girl promised her beloved that before lying with the groom, she would come to him; she told the groom about this and he allowed her to go to the young man; On the road she was met by robbers, but having heard her story, the ataman let her go; she came to that young man, but he himself brought her to her husband; who of the three is nobler? The eldest brother says that the husband (kazy: you are jealous), the middle one is a horseman, the youngest is a robber; kazy: you stole the treasury; return it now and divide the inheritance equally]: Sabyr uulu 2008: 221-223.