M38d6. Bursts with laughter. .15.16.27.-.32.35.38.

Several characters embody small objects and die one at a time. The last one left laughs and rejoices so much that he bursts with laughter (breaks his head, etc.).

Catalans, Ladins, Flemish, Dutch, Friesians, Germans (Grimms, East Frisia, Schleswig-Holstein, Switzerland), Alsatians, Hungarians, Slovenes, Greeks, Luzhitans, Russians, Ukrainians, Kalmyks, Lacks, Georgians, Baluchis, Estonians, Faroese, Danes, Finns, Livs, Latvians, Komi, Mordovians, Mari, Tundra Nenets, Mansi, Eastern Khanty, Southern Selkups, Japanese.

Southern Europe. Catalans [when the hostess melted the hearth to cook beans, one straw fell and did not burn; then the coal and then the bean fell out; they went on a journey; when they saw the river, the coal was frightened, and the straw confirmed that it swims well; we agreed that it would first transport the coal and then return for the bean; in the middle of the river, the coal straw caught fire from the heat; the bean laughed so much that his mouth burst ear to ear; cried; passing by (bug?) sewed up a dark trail that had been torn since then on the beans]: Camarena, Chevallier 1997, No. 295:441-442; frets: Brunold-Bigler, Widmer 2004, No. 37 [the coal fell out of the stove, the hostess dropped the straw when kindled the fire, the bean fell out of the pot; they reached the ditch; the straw lay as a bridge; when the coal stepped on it, it caught fire and fell; behind it, a coal fell into the water, died of fear; the bob laughed so much that burst; the tailor sewed it up, the mark of the black thread remained]: 233; Decurtins, Brunold-Bigler 2002, No. 49 [the wasp and the bean went together, reached the stream; the wasp laid a straw as a bridge; they argued who to cross first ; the wasp went, fell into the water; the bean laughed so much that it cracked; since then, it has been like a seam]: 133.

Western Europe. The Flemish [bean, straw, coal set off; the coal goes along the straw, it burns, it falls into the water; the bean laughs so much that there is a black speck left; the monkey watched, lost its hair in the back]: Meyer 1968, No. 295:30; the Dutch [bob and straw came to the hearth, a coal fell out of there, all three of them went for a walk; river on the way; bob: let the straw lie like a bridge, and we go for a walk along it let's move on; the coal came first, the wind blew, the straw caught fire, the coal fell, drowned; the bean burst with laughter, so stripes are visible]: Soer 1979:119; friezes: Uther 2004 (1), No. 295:171; the Germans [the old woman was going to cook beans, started a fire; one straw, coal and bean fell unnoticed; went on a journey; when they came to the stream, the straw lay on a bridge; in the middle, the bean was frightened and stopped; as a result, the straw caught fire; Bob laughed so much that it burst; the tailor walked by and sewed it up, the trail remained]: Grimm, Grimm 2002, No. 18:64 (=Grimm, Grimm 1987:60); Germans (Eastern Frisia, Schleswig-Holstein, Switzerland): Uther 2004 (1), No. 295:171; Alsatians [motive available]: Delarue 1976, No. 295:466.

The Balkans. Hungarians [a bean, a bubble, a straw, a spark set off and approach the river; a straw falls on a bridge, a spark steps on it, but the straw burns and the spark falls into the water; the bean laughed so much that burst; the shoemaker sewed it up, but the seam is now visible; the bubble laughed so much that it burst]: Kovács 1987, No. 295:302; Slavs, Greeks: Uther 2004 (1), No. 295:171

Central Europe. The Luzhitans [Coal, Bubble, Straw are thinking how to cross a horse's hoof trail full of water; The straw lay across, Coal went first, burned the Straw, both drowned; The bubble is so laughed that it burst; Pebble: who grieves, who laughs]: Romanenko 1962:132-133; Slovaks: Uther 2004 (1), No. 295:171; Russians (Moscow, Perm), Ukrainians (Odessa) [Bubble, straw and bast: they are trying to cross the river unsuccessfully; {a late literary source is likely}]: SUS 1979, No. 295:101.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Kalmyks [Throat with hair, wormwood shin, egg-shaped head, spleen slaughtered a sheep; Throat stole the peritoneum, gnawed off fat, choked and died; Wormwood shin broke its leg and died; The egg-shaped head jumped with joy, hit a joint, died; The spleen began to scream with joy that she would get everything, froze to the ice]: Basangova 2002:152-153; varnishes [nutshell, a lump of oatmeal and a fly went on a journey; the shell was the first to try to cross the stream, the water carried it; the lump rushed to her aid, melted in the water; the fly flew to the other side and began to laugh at with her friends; her belly burst with laughter]: Kapiyeva 1974:155 (=Omar-ogly 1868:67; apparently this is the original source); Georgians [bubble, straw, hot coal are unsuccessfully trying to cross the river]: Kurdovanidze 2000, No. 295:29

Iran - Central Asia. Baluchi [A lump of land came to Kishka, said he was invited to visit the funeral; Gut went with him; by the stream, Kishka asked the Lump to jump first; he fell into the water and dissolved; The gut was so laughed that it burst]: Zarubin 1930, No. 1:653 (=Porozhnyakov 1989:137).

Baltoscandia. Estonians (mostly eastern Estonia) [coal, straw, bean went to travel; the straw lay across the stream as a bridge, coal ran along it; it caught fire and broke, coal fell into the water and hissed; the bob laughed so much that it burst; the tailor sewed it up, but every bean has a black seam mark since]: Mälk et al. 1967, No. 44:91; Faroese, Danes, Finns: Uther 2004 (1), No. 295:171; Livs: Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, No. 295:222; Latvians [bean, straw, coal roam the world; straw spread across the river like a bridge; coal has gone, it broke out and broke, the coal fell into the water, hissed; the bean laughed so much that it cracked from the side; the tailor sewed it up with black thread, the trail remained]: Alksnite et al. 1958:118-119.

Volga - Perm. Komi [bubble, straw and bast try to cross the river unsuccessfully]: Korovina 2012, No. 295:78-79; Marie: Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, No. 295:222; Mordovia (Erzya) [from the old man Maggot beard and old women Tin eye girl Felt belly, son Reed leg and goby Dirty tail; old woman hears wolf howling, old man tells to make fire; old woman blew on coals, melted tin eye; the old man began to blow - the tow's beard caught fire; the son ran to get water - his reed leg broke; the daughter began to laugh, her felt belly burst; the wolf came in and carried away the bull]: Evseviev 1964, No. 57:377.

Western Siberia. Tundra Nenets: Pushkareva 2003, No. 295 [aspen stick, sparrow (coal, deer's mesh stomach, tubular stalk); sparrow (stomach) laughs at broken comrades, stumbles upon a knot and dies], 295** [A bunch of wool laughs at Capercaillie's goiter and a piece of hay that have caught fire; when he runs into a spruce branch, dies]: 24; Mansi (North. Sosva or Ob, Zap. Chernetsov, 1936) [Arrow chips, Partridge Goiter, Insole in the Russian Shoe went to the forest, cooked soup, the chips dried up, burned down, the other two began to laugh - they were left with all the good; they rode with laughter , Goiter Partridge's stomach pierced through, the spirit came out; The insole was covered with sparks, it also burned down; the fish and animals caught by three comrades are now eating, happy]: Lukina 1990, No. 200:506; oriental Khanty: Lukina 1990, No. 104 (b. Tromjegan) [berries and cranberries are working, but the hay is still lying; we decided to lie down tomorrow to see what the hay would do; the hay got up in the evening, lit the fire and burned; the cranberries wanted to run up and burst; the berry runs and laughs, burst with laughter]: 256; Soldatova 2008, No. 5 (b. Wah) [a straw and a berry argued who would get up earlier; the straw got up earlier, flooded the stove, burned down itself; the berry laughed so much that it burst]: 118; Filchenko 2012 (b. Vasyugan) [a bunch of grass and a berry live together; a berry says to a bunch of grass: get up, my mouth dried up, the fire is blowing up every morning; a bunch of grass began to fan the fire, burned down itself; the berry laughed so much that burst]: 55; Chepregi 2015, No. 16 (b. Tromyegan) [live Bearded Chin, Thin Knife and Head Temple; enemy warriors came; Bearded chin was told to light fire, the fire broke out, it burned down; the legs of the Thin Legs broke; The head temple was itchy and perforated; Cranberry and Sheaf live; they went somewhere, returned, the Cranberry told the Sheaf to make a fire; it broke out, burned; the Cranberry laughed and burst]: 104-105; southern Selkups (p. Stepanovka, Verkhneketsky district) [hazel grouse and mouse went hunting, reached the river; mouse: I have no wings to fly over; hazel grouse made a grass bridge; the mouse walked along it, in the middle of the river there is a bridge broke, the mouse swam across the river, got wet; the hazel grouse laughed so much that his goiter burst; the mouse lives, does good]: Porotova 1982:140.