M30D. Holds to a stick carried by birds, ATU 225A.
.12.15.21.-.23.26.28.30.33.34.38.
To get into the air, a character without wings (usually a turtle or a frog) grabs a stick with the ends held in their beaks by two birds.
Engenny, Spaniards, Portuguese, Catalans, Maltese, Tibetans (?) , Tibetans (Amdo), Thais, Viets, Khmers, Ancient India, Oriya, Sinhalese, Chinese, Russian written tradition, Turkmens, Sogdians, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Mongols, Oirats (*), Mongors, Japanese.
{Uther 2004 describes two different variants under number 225A, and judging by what has been verified, mostly one that does not have an episode with a stick and two birds}
West Africa. Engenny [starved, the Turtle asks the birds to move it to where it is satisfying; invites them to hold the ends of the twig, and she grabs a twig in the middle; when she lies, she thinks she is king, screams about it, seeing people, it falls, cracks in the shell are still visible]: Anpetkova-Sharova 2010:63-64.
Southern Europe. The Spaniards [it's a shame that the turtle is awkward, it wants to fly; two storks felt sorry for her and promised to help her; the turtle: at least a little bit, across the river; storks told it to hold the middle of the stick, and they themselves took the ends of the stick in their beaks and flew; turtle: I'm like you with wings; saying this, I fell to the very depths]: Camarena, Chevalier 1997, No. 225A: 366-367; Portuguese [literary version 15th c. (Fabulario Portugês 1903, XIV, 113)]: Cardigos 2006, No. 225A: 48; Catalans: Neugaard 1993, J567.2 in Uther 2004 (1), No. 225A: 143-144 (not available in Oriol, Pujol 2008); Maltese [in drought birds decide to fly to another country; the turtle asks to take it with them, promises to be silent; the birds carry the wand that the turtle holds on to; the people below laugh, the turtle wants to answer, falls, crashes]: Mifsud-Chircop 1978, No. 225:17
Tibet is the Northeast of India. Tibet [the story of a turtle releasing a stick for which geese carried it is known in Tibetan texts]: Yeongdong 1989, No. 25:119-121; Tibetans (Amdo): Tshe dbang rdo rje et al. 2007:31 [two storks and a turtle lived by a pond that was beginning to dry out; the turtle suggested that the Storks take the ends of the stick in their beaks, it would cling to the middle, they would carry it; below, the children began to scream what clever storks; The turtle shouted that it was her idea and fell], 151 [two lazy people decide to go to heaven where they don't have to work; they climb into the eagle's nest, one grabs the eagle by the leg, the other grabs the eagle a friend's leg; an eagle carries them; one asks if it is far from paradise, he replies that he already sees a hole in the sky leading there; wants to show how big it is, lets the eagle go; both lazy people fell and crashed].
Burma - Indochina. Thais [the turtle asks two swans to show her the lake on the mountain; they ask her to hold on to the wand, the ends of which they have taken in their beaks, tell her to remain silent along the way; the jackal deliberately mocks as a turtle, she wants to answer, falls, the jackal ate it]: Kornev 1963:151-152; the Viets [the evil woman became a turtle after rebirth; two herons flew to the pond, she began to swear; they said that the pond would dry out, they offered to take it to another; let him gnaw off each of them on the wing, hold a wand in the middle, and they would hold it around the edges; flying over the people, the turtle could not restrain herself, began to scold them, fell]: Landes 1886, No. 79:197-198; Khmers [Monkeys invite the Turtle to the wedding; offer to hold on to the wand they raise to the ends; the turtle answers the greeting, opens his mouth, falls]: Gorgoniev 1973:96-97.
South Asia. Jataka 215 [two Geese invite the Turtle to visit their house; carry a stick to both ends, the Turtle holds on to the middle; the boys scream, the Turtle answers them, falls, breaks]: Syrkin 1964: 46-47; Panchatantra [in drought, two geese decide to leave a dry pond; a turtle asks to take it with them; they fly with a wand in their beaks, the turtle clings to it with its mouth; asks geese what people scream on the ground, immediately fall, people kill it]: Syrkin 1962:141-143; Ocean of Tales [two Swans decide to leave the parched lake, fly to another; the Turtle asks to take it with them; they they fly with a wand in their beaks, the Turtle clings to it with its mouth; asks Swans what people are screaming about on the ground, immediately falls, people kill it]: Tawney, Penzer 1926a, No. 84gg: 55-56; oriya [pond dried up, the turtle asks the crows to move it to another; they fly, holding the wand by the ends, and the turtle in the middle; the boys shout: let it fall, eat it; the turtle scolds the boys and falls]: Mohanti 1975:72; Sinhales [the pond is almost dry; the turtle asks two storks to figure out how to move to another; they tell them to grab a stick with their mouths, and they will take its ends in their beaks and fly; jackal in the middle of the field sees a shadow; shouts that storks have an unpleasant companion; turtle: an unpleasant companion for your mother; falls; tells the jackal to soak it first and then eat it; the jackal brings the turtle in another pond, puts it in the water and holds it with its paw; the turtle: now I'm soaked, but the dry place is left under my paw; the jackal raised his paw, the turtle almost swam away, but he grabbed its paw; the turtle: he grabbed the root; the jackal let go of his paw, grabbed the root, the turtle swam away; the jackals tried to lure the turtles out of the water by inviting them to the wedding, but they immediately jumped back into the water]: Parker 1910, No. 36:234-239.
China - Korea. Chinese: Dennys 1876 [a turtle lived in the pond and a couple of geese nearby; when the pond began to dry, the geese offered to move it to another pond: let them grab the stick with their mouths and carry it; but let her be silent on the road; people below scream, pointing at the turtle; she could not stand it and shouted back: what do you care; fell and crashed]: 149; Ting 1978, No. 225A (many records) [Turtle Left Self be Carried by Eagle; Herons, etc. carry the Turtle through the air; it brags, falls to the ground or to the chimney].
Central Europe. Russian written tradition [the Bulgarian-Russian version of the Greek Stefanite and Ikhnilat, which is a rework of Kalila and Dimna (Synodal List of 1478): two dives and a turtle lived in one body of water; when the water in it ran out, the divers decided to fly away; the turtle begged them to take it with them; the divers promised it that it would not say anything until they carried it; then told her to eat a straight tree in the middle; when the turtle did, the dives grabbed the ends of the tree and lifted it into the air; people walking below saw the turtle flying between the dives, and they said it was a miracle and a sign; the turtle opened its mouth to respond to their words, and as a result crashed to the ground]: Likhachev et al. 2003:232-235.
Iran - Central Asia. Turkmens [turtle, duck, coot live on the island; hunters are coming, a duck with a fish decides to fly away, the turtle asks not to leave it; the duck has thought of it grabbing a twig, and they are bald it will be carried in their beaks; the kids shout that two birds are carrying a turtle; it shouts, "This is me", falls]: Stebleva 1969, No. 8:32-33 (=Fur Fair 1980:38-40); (cf. Sogdians [Sogdian fragment SI 5704 from the Serindi Foundation of the IVR RAS (text in Sogdian-Manichaean, which is a translation of a Buddhist, most likely Chinese, work; exact location unknown findings): "...] turtle/...] that:/"You will grab a stick in the middle with your mouth/grab it tightly, and we, two/falcons, at both ends (stick) with our mouth/grab tightly, fly, /let's go, you (from this)" [/] a dried place (taking) [..."]: Chunakova 2017:40-47).
Turkestan. Kazakhs: Kaskabasov et al. 1979, No. 104 [(=Sidelnikov 1971 (3): 185-186); the water in the lake falls, the Frog asks the Ducks to take it with them; they carry it on a plaque, tell them not to scream; the Frog croaks over the village, people throw stones at the Ducks, they drop the Frog], 105 [The frog asks two Geese not to drink from its lake, or it will dry out; they suggest moving it to another, holding on to the middle of the stick; flying over the village, hears people arguing whether geese carry a frog or something else; shouts, "I'm a frog", falls]: 189-190, 191-192; Karakalpaks (Kegeli district) [two ducks and a frog lived on the lake; water dried up; the ducks decided to fly away; the frog began to lament and cry; the ducks agreed to carry it with a blade of grass; they took an oath from the frog that it would not speak; then they picked it one by one the end of the blade of grass, the other after the other, let the frog grab hold of the middle and flew; people in the steppe said, "We should be surprised how (this) these two ducks fly, picking up the frog [so] deftly"; the frog said:" To make it empty for those who did not see this flight of mine", unhooked the blade of grass and fell to the ground]: Baskakov 1951, No. 2:201-202.
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Mongols: Yongdong 1989, No. 25 [the story of a turtle that let a stick out of its mouth for which geese carried it is known in Mongolia, including in proverbs]: 119-121; Potanin 1893, No. 2 [Khan-Hurmusten- Khan promises to give his daughter for the bird that rises tallest and whose song he hears first; the Kite takes off, the Bat sits quietly on his back; when H. asks who is closest to him, The Bat answers; when the Kite hears her voice, he drops her; when falling, the Bat screams, Soft Earth! ]: 343; Ikeda 1971 [see Japanese (Turtle flies with Ducks); modern Mongolian version in Mookyoo Bungaku, 1942, v. 2:5., 58]: 54; Oirats (Xinjiang) [motif M30D {and probably the M30C motif} corresponds to the fairy tale "Goose and the Turtle" from the collection "Betege caγān boqširγ", published in 1981 in Urumqi in the Xinjiang Oirat Folklore series {without details; original verification required}]: Ubushiyeva, Damrinjav 2020:15; Mongors [A frog jumped into a puddle left by a cow's hoof; asks two migratory birds if the lake is bigger, where they came from; they say a thousand times more; agree to take the Frog to check; tell her to hold on to the middle of the wand, the ends of which they will hold; women on the ground surprised at the witty device; The frog screams that she came up with it, falls, crashes]: Stuart, Limusishiden 1994:128.
Japan. Japanese (12 versions from southern Tohoku to Kyushu) [The turtle asks the Ducks to carry it from where it lives, (1) because of drought, or (2) because it is tired of living there; two Ducks hold a wand in their beaks, The turtle grabs its middle with its mouth; it is warned not to speak or look down; they fly over the village, children scream when they see an unusual sight; the turtle screams back, falls; (1) crashes to death, or (2) since then, her shell is cracked; (this story is in Panchatantra, vol. 4, and Hitopadesia]: Ikeda 1971, no. 225A: 54.