M39a6. Misunderstood instructions: shorten the road.

.12.-.14.16.23.27.-.34.

During the journey, a person allegorically asks someone else to say something, sing, etc., so that time on the road passes faster. He understands instructions literally by doing ridiculous actions.

Hausa, Amhara, Arabs and Berbers of Algeria, Irish, Nepalese, Kashmiris, Albanians, Greeks, Russians (Voronezh), Ukrainians (Kharkiv), Karaites and Crimean Tatars, Kabardian, Adygs, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Ingush, Avars, Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Lurs, Persians, Shugnans, Baluchis, Pashtuns, Karelians, Kazan Tatars, (Bashkirs), Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Chelkans, Altaians (?) , Buryats.

West Africa. House [on the way home, a person meets someone else who is looking for an intelligent bride and asks his companion strange questions; 1) which one of us will bear the other? Have you already eaten the crop or not (sorghum is not yet ripe in the field)? at the sight of a funeral procession - is this person dead or alive? at home, the daughter explains: the companion asked who would start the conversation, whether the harvest had been laid, whether the deceased had a son left; the father gave his daughter to his companion; it turned out that his name was Kuvshin, and she had Cork]: Laptukhin 1964: 81-83.

Sudan - East Africa. Amhara [the sage tells his son to marry a virgin, and if he does not marry a virgin, let him wear black; the son wears black, the father ordered him to divorce; so twice; the third time friends they advised me to hide everything from my father and wear white; the father was happy, showed his daughter-in-law the hidden gold, ordered not to sow chickpeas by the road and died; the wife told her husband only about chickpeas, hid the gold; the husband found gold and left his wife; to find out what would happen, he sowed chickpeas by the road; the boy cut him off; the husband told his wife that he had drowned the boy and hid it himself in the monastery; the wife told the judge that her husband was almost executed, but he presented boy; on the way I met a rich man; suggested that they carry each other; called the city a village and vice versa; the rich man's daughter explained: he offered to tell stories; the village was a city if it was in it both the judge and the elder; the rich man wants to marry him his daughter; he demands that she sow, process cotton and sew clothes in a day; the girl: let her grow chickpeas in a day and make butter from them; he left a note containing "7" and "100"; girl: she will arrive with a hundred relatives in the seventh month; after the wedding, the husband was carrying gold, the robbers attacked him; they are ready to kill him; he advises to go to his wife and say: there are 7 jugs of wine, put 6 to them, and leave 1 with jagged edges; the wife called people; six robbers were hanged; the toothless was told to show where the body of the murdered husband was]: Gankin 1979, No. 116:159-163.

North Africa. Arabs of Eastern Algeria (Souf) [uncle goes across the desert with his nephew; nephew: will you carry me or will I carry you? when did you arrive: has the owner of this wheat field already eaten the harvest? When we drove past the cemetery: is the person buried in this grave alive or dead? they were invited to eat in the village; the owner explained the meaning of the questions (entertain them with conversation; the field is laid or not; whether the memory of the deceased remains)]: Scelles-Millie 1963:174-175; Algerian Berbers (Oued Righ) [two set off; one offers to carry each other one by one; seeing the field, asks if the harvest has already been eaten; when he sees the funeral procession, he says that this person is alive; when he reaches the place and After parting with his companion, the second retells another his companion's speech; the daughter explains: it was necessary to start a conversation; the crop may have already been sold; the deceased is alive in his children]: Basset 1897, No. 112: 147-148.

Western Europe. The Irish: Greene 1909 (Kildare County) [Gubbawn Seer gave his son sheepskin and said he would not let him marry until he returned the same skin and money for it; the son tried unsuccessfully find a buyer; met a girl who, after finding out what was going on, cut off the skin, returned the skin and gave money for the wool she had received; GS married her son to this girl; when they went to work, GS told his son to shorten the road; he did not understand, they returned home; the son's wife explained: when the father repeated the request, start joking or singing; the son did so, GS was pleased; the English king called them to build a huge building; did not want a similar structure anywhere else in England, and decided to execute GS and his son when they finished their work; upon learning of this, GS told the king that for completion requires a tool called "Twist against twist" and that he must go after it; the king did not agree, entrusted it to GS son and prince; the tool allegedly lay in a large chest; GS son wanted to get it, his wife told him to put his little short hands away and give way to the prince with his long graceful arms; when the prince put his hands into the chest, she grabbed him by the her heels, threw her heels inside and closed the lid; then sent a message to the king: if he does not let GS go, the prince will be executed; the king freed GS]: 172-174; Larminie 1893 (Achill Island off the west coast Ireland) []: 1-9; Ó Cianáin 1933 (recorded in 1930 in Mallahmore, County Sligo) [Gobán Saor {legendary ancient Irish master builder} sent his son to sell a sheep; ordered this is to return with both the skin and the fee; the son tried to do it unsuccessfully for two days; on the third he met a girl who, having found out what was going on, bought a sheep, took off its skin and returned it to her son GS; he came home, told his father; he advised him to marry this girl, the son did so; the English king ordered GS to come to build the castle; during the journey, GS asked his son to shorten the road; The son replied that he could not do it; GS decided that both returned home; GS's wife {wife, not daughter-in-law} explained to her son that a story should have been told; the next day they went again; GS asked for a short road, the son began to tell stories; when construction was nearing completion, the king asked GS if there was a better castle in the world; GS replied that if it was completed, he could would be beautiful, but it requires a tool he forgot at home; the king sent his son with his son GS to pick it up; GS told them the name of the thing they wanted (cam i n-aghaidh a' caim, agus an dighe i n-aghaidh an árda) and said his wife would give it to them; they came to GS house and passed GS words to his wife; she took the prince to the basement entrance and offered him to go in to pick up the instrument; when he came in, she slammed the doors shut and said he would remain in captivity until GS returned home; after the king released GS, the prince was released; from collector's comment: Asked what digh e mean, he {narrator} said: "Drink: Water". It is perhaps the genitive of deoch. Asked if the word might be uisce or struth, he said: "No: digh e was the word". He apparently makes árd a the genitive of árd. Dinnen gives (s.v. Cam) Cor i n- aghaidh an chaim, as meaning "trick for trick"]: 164-166; Davies 1859 (Clare County) [Gobawn Saer {=Goban Saor: the legendary ancient Irish master builder} and his son arrived in the country where the palace was being built; GS helped its builders install the beams and went on; the king sent messengers to pick him up - invited him to complete the construction and promised a reward; GS took to work with his son; before starting this journey, GS found a smart wife for him; gave him sheepskin and told him to sell it to in the city; at the same time he told him to come back with her skin and the proceeds; the son tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer; he met a girl who, when she found out what was going on, cut off her hair, returned the skin and gave money for the wool she received; GS married her son to this girl; she gave her husband two tips: 1) on the way to "shorten the way" to her father; 2) not to spend the night in any house for more than two nights, not enlisting the favor of one of the women who live in it; GS was tired during the trip, his son asked him to "shorten the road" (but did not know how to do it); GS asked him to tell me some story; when they stayed with the king, GS's son secured the princess's favor; when construction was nearing completion, the king decided to kill GS and his son to prevent them from building a similar palace to another ruler; the princess told GS's son and that son to his father; GS told the king that completing the work required a tool he had forgotten at home; the king forbade him to go after him, GS agreed that this should be entrusted to the prince; told him to borrow an instrument from his daughter-in-law called "Cur-an-Aigh-an-Cuim" ("This sentence <... > has since become proverbial in Ireland"; no translation); the daughter-in-law was suspicious of this; she found out that her husband and father-in-law were in danger and imprisoned the prince; the king released GS and his son and provided them with expensive gifts; when they returned home, the prince was released]: 106-109; Jacobs 2002 (the text was recorded in the second half of the 19th century in London, but most likely from an Irishman) [at Gobborn Seer was a son named Jack; Gobborn Seer once sent him to sell sheepskin and told him to bring back both the skin itself and the money for it; for two days D tried to do so unsuccessfully; on the third he met a girl who, after finding out what was going on, cut her hair off her skin, took it for herself, and D paid for it; he returned home, GS was happy, invited D to marry this girl; when they got married, GS and D went to see a king who wanted to build the best castle; on the way, GS asked, "Could you shorten the way for me?" ; D did not understand the request, GS sent him home; at home, D told his wife about the incident, who explained that she should have told his father a story; then told him what to tell his father; D caught up with him, did as his wife said; on her own advice, GS and D were polite to the court servants during the construction of the castle; when the construction was nearing completion, the domestic worker warned GS and D that the king is going to kill them so they don't build the same castle for another king; GS told the king that completing the construction requires a tool left at home; offered to send after him, D, the king refused, decided to send his son; GS sent a message with him to wife D: "Give him Curved and Straight!" (Give him Crooked and Straight!) ; wife D asked the royal son to help her get the tool out of the chest, and ended up locking it inside (so there he was, both "crooked and straight!") ; while sitting there, he wrote a letter to his father saying he would be released when GS and D returned home; GS and D eventually returned home]: 230-233.

South Asia. Nepali [the carpenter has three sons, the youngest is stupid; the father orders to kill a sheep and bring food from the market; the son does not understand, falls asleep on the road, hears two girls talking; one knows him problem: the father meant to sell the sheep, buy food with this money; the father marries the son to this girl; the father and sons go to another area, tells them to cut down the mountain; the sons do not understand, they are returning home; the youngest's wife: he meant to tell stories so as not to notice the road; the sons went again, the father is happy with the youngest; the sons are building a pagoda, the king is happy, but tells the builders to cut off their hands, so that they cannot build anything like this; the father replies that they have already sent their hands home, their youngest daughter-in-law keeps them; the king sent his son to her; his daughter-in-law locked him: if their hands are cut off carpenters, she will cut off the prince's hands; the king canceled the order]: Sakya, Griffith 1980:127-129; Kashmiris [the king's wife began to buy fish from the merchant; said she only wanted a female; the fish laughed; the merchant said that it was a male, and left; the king demanded that the vizier learn in six months what it meant to laugh fish, otherwise he would execute him; the vizier, not hoping for success, advised his son to leave the city for a while; he goes and his companion is a peasant; the young man offers to carry each other; asks, seeing wheat in the field, if it has already been eaten; gives the peasant a knife, asks him to make two horses with it, and Bring the knife back; no one greeted them in the city, the young man called the city a cemetery; in the cemetery people pray and give gifts to passers-by, the young man called it a beautiful city; waded across the river without taking off sandals; the peasant invited him into his house, the young man asks if his load-bearing beam is strong; the peasant tells his wife and daughter that he has brought a fool; the daughter explains that the young man is smart (it was necessary to tell stories to each other; cut out two staffs; the planted field seems to have been eaten; unfriendly people resemble the dead; without sandals, you can hurt your legs against the stones at the bottom of the river); the girl told the servant to take to a young man gyav, 12 chapátís and a jug of milk, saying: the moon is full, 12 months is a year, the sea is full of water; the servant shared his food with his son on the way; the young man ordered to convey the answer: the moon is in the first quarters, 11 months in the year, the sea is not full at all; the girl understood everything and punished the servant; the girl also explained the fish laugh: there is a man in the palace about whom the king knows nothing; the vizier's son returned to his father, taking a girl; the vizier ordered a hole to be dug: let all the women in the palace jump over her; only one could do it - a man in disguise; the vizier's son married an intelligent girl]: Knowles 1988:484-490.

The Balkans. Albanians [the young man is looking for a smart bride; he was advised by a widower's daughter, but was told that he did not want to give up the girl; without revealing his intentions, the young man returns with that man with bazaar; offers to buy a horse for a penny; asks if anyone has already mowed winter crops that have just sprouted; spent the night in the companion's house; his daughter has injured her leg and is limping; young man: the house is good, but the pipe is by the hearth crooked; girl: but the smoke goes straight; at night a young man hears a girl explaining to his father: a horse is a staff; in hungry years, peasants eat winter shoots; when talking about a pipe, the guest meant lameness; young man married; the young man's parents send a gift: a buryuk with honey and a pretzel with 12 gold coins baked; they send a servant, tell him to say: Full moon, 12 months old, the kid jumps on his legs; on the way, a servant broke off a piece of pretzel, took 2 coins, drank it from the wineskin; the bride ordered to hand it over: Damaged moon, 10 months old, the kid fell to his knees, but don't upset the partridge, don't kill the snake; the groom understood everything and did not beat an employee; wedding]: Serkova 1989:271-274; Greeks [the prince wants to marry a girl who speaks a little ornate; one day he hears a girl talking to her father, who does not understand what he is talking about;" You have to put your feet on your shoulders", "Help me, and then I will help you"; the prince comes to their house; "What happened is lost, but then it will be again" (we are talking about a missing dog); the girl gave a rooster: her head to her father, mother's carcass, wings to the prince, pieces of meat to the children; explains to his father what each share means; returning home, the prince sent the servant to bring the girl 31 loaves, whole cheese, roasted rooster and wineskin of wine; ordered convey: in the month 31 days, the moon is full, the morning songwriter is stuffed, the goatskin is tight; on the way, the servant met friends; they ate 13 pies, half the cheese, all the rooster and drank half the wine; the girl ordered to tell the master: in the month of 18 days, the moon is half, the singer is not at all, the goatskin is in the folds; the prince beat the servant, but he remembered that the girl ordered to add: so as not to upset the partridge, not trout must be beaten; prince married a girl]: Legrand 1881:21-28.

Central Europe. Russians (Voronezhskaya) [How to shorten the road; the father asks his son this question; the son's wife gives a clever answer to it (the staff is a horse, the story is a means of shortening the path)]: Kretov in SUS 1979, № 875**: 221; Ukrainians (Kharkiv, Bogorodichne, Izyumsky Uyezd, until 1890) [One day, a merchant's daughter and a poor man's son are baptized in the church, the pop says he cannot baptize a girl, offers a merchant to promise to give her to a good cause, he promises to marry her to the son of a poor man in 20 years, and draws up a receipt. Parents forget about the promise, the poor man's son grows up smart, finds a receipt, goes with bread to marry the merchant, a man takes him to the city, the guy says he goes to see what gets in the nets placed by his father 20 years ago, then offers to bridge bridges to get there faster when a man feeds his horses, offers to eat the well-fed and give away the bad. In the city, a man points to a beautiful house, the guy notices crooked windows, says he'll stop where it's winter at the gate. The man lets the guy go, comes to a wealthy merchant and talks about a fellow traveler, the merchant calls him a fool. The merchant's daughter hears the conversation and explains it: she already knows about her father's promise, bridges mean talking, driving faster with a conversation, horses are two bread that the guy took with him - wheat they ate it, the fat one was distributed, the slanting windows - the merchant's daughter is mowing ("I'm crooked"). The merchant agrees, does not know how to look for a guy, the girl explains: he is in an inn, at the gate of which hay lies in winter and summer. She gives his bread to the employee, sends him to the inn to ask if the month is decreasing or increasing, and orders him to bring in someone who answers increasing. On the way, the worker bites bread and no one answers the question, the girl realizes what happened, gives a whole bread, the worker brings the guy, they are married]: Manzhura 2003:77-78.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Karaites (a similar option among the Crimean Tatars) [the beloved vizier has died; the courtiers ask the padishah to appoint his former young son as a new one; the padishah agreed; satisfied, but decided to check young man; gives gold: buy a goat, two kebabs and a prayer rug, and return the gold one too; the vizier set off, caught up with the old man; invited him, going up the mountain, to carry each other alternately; the old man did not Got it; envious of the forest: let's go there on foot and go out on horseback; same; by the wheat field, at the sight of the funeral procession: has the grain already been eaten? Is the man on the stretcher alive or dead? crippled beggars - dead or alive? the old man became angry; Viir went to the mosque, and the old man went to his daughter and talked about the annoying madman; the girl explained everything: to start a conversation; to find a staff in the forest; whether the harvest had been laid; whether he was virtuous deceased; do the cripples have loving relatives; let the father invite that traveler to visit; baked two buns, a big one and a small one, took 30 eggs, tied them in a bundle and asked her father to give it to that young man; he ate half a big bun and 10 eggs on the way; vizier: did your sun split in half? 20 days in a month? the old man said that his daughter sent him; the vizier sent a servant to her, giving her a pair of gold and expensive cloth on his dress; the servant cut off a piece for himself; the girl: tell the master not to give gifts with the severed with tails and did not offend the servant; the servant guilty to the vizier; the vizier came to the girl: the house is beautiful, but the pipe is slightly crooked; the girl: the main thing is that the smoke should come out smoothly; after spending the night, the vizier spoke about the task of the padishah ; the girl bought a goat cut, weaved two rugs, rescued a gold one, emptied a goat and fried two testicles; but the vizier had to admit that he did not invent everything; the padishah called the girl, called Sultan Haseki married; but immediately went to war; when he left, he gave a sealed purse and ordered him to return to have a son with him, and in the stable to have a horse like his; the CX opened the seal and spent money, learned to play chess, dressed up 12 maids as men, also dressed as a man herself, came to her husband's camp under the guise of a Moroccan prince; won a padishah's horse in chess, paired with her mare, returned to the horse; opened to the vizier, asking for help; CX lost to the padishah and gave the concubine, i.e. herself; three days later, the vizier persuaded her to return the concubine; again in the guise of Prince CX won the last batch and received a ring with the seal of the padishah; nine months later she gave birth to a padishah's son, and the mare got necklaces; 8 years later, the padishah returned victorious; the CX returned his sealed purse to him, showed son and horse; when the padishah and CX died, their son inherited the throne]: Zherdeva 2020, No. 76; Kabardian people [khan was going to marry a stupid son to an intelligent girl; sent two servants to her with a gift; girl noticed that the servants cut off some brocade for themselves; asked me to tell the khan: let him not punish servants for the sake of her daughter-in-law and son; the khan realized that the servants had stolen brocade; the khan and his son go camping, the khan told her son cut the road; put a ladder on the road; he began to cut the road with a sword; lay down on the road, for there are no stairs; daughter-in-law to her husband: your father told you to first get off your horse and rest, and then prolong the song; The abreks captured the khan; he asks to send three people for ransom, ordering them to hand over: cut one pole in Kunatskaya, knock down two; give the messengers a hundred red hornless cows and a hundred one-horned bulls; daughter-in-law: kill two messengers, injure a third; send a hundred horsemen and a hundred pedestrians; soldiers forced the wounded to show the way, freed the khan]: Aliyeva, Kardangushev 1977:21-26; Adygs: Andreev-Krivich 1957 [ Wanaj wants to test whether his daughter-in-law Malechiph is smart; gave his son skin so that M. sews new dudes by morning; this is how every month; M. sews only one dude, lubricates them every day, and new pieces of skin postpones; W. is satisfied; tells to dismantle the house and build a new one; M. orders to coat the walls and put new reeds on the roof; tells him to eat salty food without salt and fresh food with salt; the son complains to his wife that The father suggests putting stairs to the sky, shortening the road, bringing a couple of horses out of the forest; M. explains: you have to prance, sing a song, bring staffs from the forest; half of the food is mixed with oil and honey, and the other on sour cream and eggs; W. beats his son, but M. refuses to stand up for him - let him be courageous; when he dies, W. tells his son to take a new wife every year; M. must leave, but he can take the most precious thing; she got her husband drunk and brought her home; explains that getting married every year is going camping, then experiencing the joy of meeting his wife]: 309-318; Maksimov, Kerashev 1953 [a rich old man was driving and met a guy; his statements seem stupid to the old man; "Throw the stairs on the road" - "Where can I get it"; at home, the daughter explains the meaning of each phrase; his father's companion married her]: 177-181; Abkhazians: Khashba, Kukba 1936 (Gudauta District) [Prince Salbi Akhmat's son wants to check whether his daughter-in-law is smart; tells his son to go with him, does not tell him to take supplies; on the way he asks him to shorten the road, feed him, bring him where he could find out what he does not know; the son does not understand, the daughter-in-law does not understand at home either, A. sent her to her parents; the same with his new wife; A. is looking for a new one, notices the clever Rasidatz; sends a stalk of flax, telling her to weave canvas and make clothes; R. in response sends a bamboo stick to make a loom; A. gives an egg - let him feed the chicken; R. gives a seed - let him grow millet to feed him; A. marries his son ; she explains to her husband: his father wanted you to hand him the phone (tobacco will stop hunger), start a conversation (this will shorten the road), take him to visit someone; Prince Jatkar captured A.; he promises a ransom: 500 rams with straight horns and 500 with curved ones, 500 bulls with straight horns and 500 hornless; tells the messengers to find an ax under the balcony upon arrival, sharpen it, cut down the middle porch of the balcony, then tell who sent it and why; R. explains to his people: you need 500 warriors with guns and 500 with sabers, but to return cattle, 500 people with sticks and 500 unarmed; whoever cut down the pole is dangerous, you need him kill; the other two will show the way; Prince A. was released]: 189-203 (=Bgazhba 1983:238-245); Shakryl 1975, No. 74 [a man is looking for a smart bride for his son; together with some fool he went on a journey; at wheat The father says that the wheat is good, but it's a pity that it has already been eaten; before going up the mountain, he suggests that one of them pick up the other; wants to know whether the deceased died at all or not; in the girl's house a fool talks about the oddities of his companion; the girl explains; the owner has debts, he will not get wheat; to raise another is to start a conversation; whether the deceased has relatives; man married his son to this girl]: 342-343; Ossetians: Britaev, Kaloev 1959:348-356 [(Byazirov 1960, No. 184:103; this text was recorded in North Ossetia in Ardon) Aldar needs a smart daughter-in-law; decided to try daughter of neighboring Aldar; went with his son, tells him to shorten the road, he does not understand, his father beats him; hears how his daughter-in-law feels sorry for her husband; tells her to be sent; the same with another daughter-in-law (father asks his son to boil cauldron without water); third time: sell the ram and return its two halves; the daughter of a poor old woman tells her mother to buy a ram; it was eaten, and the head cut in half was returned (these are the shares of older men); aldar happy, marries her son; beats because he did not understand the order to "make horses fat"; the new wife explains everything: it was necessary to start a conversation, light his father's phone, let the horses get caught; Aldara was captured by enemies put in a hole; he advises to ask for a ransom: 18 x 18 one-horned, as many two-horned bulls; remove knives from the wall, sharpen them outside the door on a grindstone; cut down two out of three golden pillars, the third Bring cattle here and bringing in whole; daughter-in-law: one-horned spearmen, two-horned with shields and swords; knives are you, I am a grindstone; kill two ambassadors, the third will show the way; the army killed enemies freed Aldar], 386-388 [the young man went to look for a bride, took an old man as a companion, suggested that one of them become a bridge for the other; raised him up the mountain; told him to go to the forest and return together; says that In the village, the guards will eat them if there are no three; old man: I have relatives in my village, but you bullied me, look for accommodation yourself; old man's daughter: he suggested that one carry the other across the river; made it easier with a story; brought a stick to fight off dogs; the young man married this girl]; Ingush: Dalgat 1972 (p. Olgetta, 1962) [father and son went on a long journey; when they left home, the father said: "Shorten my long journey, lighten my body, light a fire for the cauldron"; the son did not understand the point, and the father came back; through the situation repeated for a while; the father married his son, then they went again and returned home again for the same reason; the father sent his wife to hear what the son would say to his daughter-in-law; son told his wife about what had happened, she explained: "shortening the path" means having an interesting conversation, "making the way easier" means giving my father a stick to lean on, "lighting a fire for the boiler" means stop smoking; when the father found out about this conversation, he left his son at home and went to a distant country; when captured there, he promised the people who had captured him that if they sent him to his house a messenger with a letter, they will get whatever they want; people agreed, the old man wrote: "Send me 60 red-speckled bulls with one horn each, 60 red-specked bulls with two horns, 60 red-specked bulls with two horns, 60 red-speckled bulls bulls with three horns and another 60 red-speckled bulls with four horns each"; the son did not understand the meaning of the letter, the wife explained: "60 one-horned bulls are 60 men armed with rifles; 60 two-horned bulls - 60 men armed with rifles and daggers; 60 three-legged bulls are 60 men armed with pistols, rifles and daggers; 60 four-legged bulls are 60 men armed with swords, with daggers, rifles and pistols. Your father was caught by bandits. Take all these people with you and bring your father home"; so the old man was released and returned home]: 377-378; Malsagov 1983, No. 59 [the master married his son; they went to build a tower; on the way he asks his son shorten the road; he does not know how; then bring the horse - we do not have a horse; the father tells his son to divorce; so several times; the last wife explains: shorten the road - start a conversation, bring a horse - give staff; father is pleased with his daughter-in-law; they are building a tower for the prince; the father anticipates that they will want to kill them so as not to pay; tells his son to meet the prince's daughter; the prince's daughter fell in love and warned about the father's intentions; the father deliberately lays out the top of the tower crooked; the prince sends a son and a servant to the house with the master's instructions: everything is fine; let the daughter-in-law send a lever to straighten the towers; let the crow she will let me go from home, and the falcon keeps us locked up until we return; after finishing work, we will return home; the daughter-in-law realized: there is no such lever, there is no crow or falcon in the house; she tells us to tie the prince's son, and the servant send back: if you don't let the craftsmen go and pay them, we'll kill our son; we finished the tower, received the money, let the prince go with honor]: 208-209; Sadulaev 2004, No. 102 [the old man and well done go together road; well done, he offers to take a horse, pave the road; leaving the poor house, where they were accepted for the night, well done, he says that the farm is large; when he sees a funeral, he asks if the deceased shares funeral with people; well done, he goes to spend the night "at Dyala's house" (mosque), and the old man tells his daughter about the fool he was walking with; the daughter explains: he offered to make staffs, brighten up the road with conversation; poor man, generously the one who received travelers is rich, and the stingy rich man is poor; the companion meant whether the deceased responded to someone else's misfortune; the girl sends a boy to the mosque to give the young man a churek, 12 eggs and a jug of water; the boy broke off a piece of churek, drank water, ate two eggs; well done, asks me to tell you that the moon did not feed, in the year 10 months, there is not enough water; the girl understood everything]: 272-274; Avars [rich old man and young man go through meadow; the young man offers to renew the mattresses; then ride horses; carry each other; the young man stays with the old man in the house, the old man complains to his daughter that the young man is crazy; the daughter tells him to bring a mullah (to marry a young man), explains to his father: the companion invited you to change the grass in your shoes; make staffs; entertain each other with stories]: Atayev 1972, No. 34:53-54; Georgians (Gori) [the young man's friend went look for a wife for him; invites the peasant to carry each other on the road; bring third legs out of the forest; seeing the funeral procession, asks whether the person is dead or alive; the peasant tells his daughter that the young man is crazy; daughter: you should have started a conversation; bring staff sticks from the forest; if the deceased was a good person, he is alive; a friend married the girl, the young man married her]: Chikovani 1986:413-415; Armenians [stairs: building one on the road means shortening the road with conversation]: Gullakian 1983:189; Azerbaijanis [Shah and vizier travel incognito; they are joined by a traveler; Shah: Let's do it there are stairs on the road; satellite: why do you need a staircase on a flat road? he refused to receive the imaginary dervishes into his house, telling them to go to the mosque, but his daughter, having learned about the Shah's question, asked them to return; she sent dolma, a cake, a jug of milk: the moon is round, there are many stars, the sea overcrowded; the girl's father ate half of the dolma and the cake, drank milk, but gave the words to his daughter; the Shah asked her to tell her: the moon is flawed, the stars are few, the sea is dry; the daughter scolds her father; the girl is slanting; the shah: the house beautiful, but the chimney is crooked; girl: but the smoke comes out freely; the Shah asks for food so that people can eat the flesh, the middle of the chickens, and the peel of the horse; the girl brought melon; on the way, the Shah meets the shoemaker, speaks to him with signs and riddles; asks if he can pluck the goose; sitting on the throne, the Shah sent the vizier to the shoemaker with an order to understand what he was saying; the shoemaker explains for a fee; At the end, he tells the vizier that he is the goose from whom he took all the money; the vizier: what is the Shah doing now? shoemaker: it is disrespectful in my position to talk about the Shah; give me your horse, clothes, dear whip; shoemaker to the vizier: the Shah throws horsemen like you off his horse and puts people on foot like me in the saddle; The Shah made the shoemaker a vizier, and ordered the vizier to be a shoemaker]: Nabiev 1988:74-77; Kurds: Jalil et al. 1989, No. 90 [the padishah orders the vizier to sell the sheep, raise money for it, get wool, bring two kebab skewers and bring a live ram; the vizier goes with the dervish, who suggests making a bridge over the river; then climb the stairs to the hill; asks if the owner of the unmowed field has eaten his the harvest; whether the city they entered was destroyed; the girl explains: it was necessary for one to carry another across the river; start a conversation; the landlord could be a debtor; the dervish wanted to offer to enter the house; The girl sends her brother to bring the dervish 12 cakes and 30 eggs; he ate a cake and two eggs on the way; the dervish looked and asked: 11 months in the year, and 28 days in the month? The brother said, the sister realized that he ate the cake and eggs; the dervish turns to the tandoor: does the smoke rise straight? girl: yes; the vizier tells her about the padishah's order; she explains: cut the ram, sell half of the hair, leave half of the hair, cut off the eggs, fry it, bring the ram alive; when the padishah finds out everything, he married a girl]: 396-398; Farizov, Rudenko 1959 [the padishah gives the young vizier a ram, tells him to cook a roast, weave a carpet out of wool and return the live sheep; the vizier goes on a journey with him an old man went; the vizier proposes to build a bridge by the river, the old man does not understand; after wading across the river and going to the mountain, the vizier offers to cut down the stairs; asks if there is a caravanserai in the city (theirs a lot); at home, the old man tells his daughter about his companion's strange proposals; she listened, gave her father four loaves and 12 eggs, tells him to take the young man to the caravanserai; after receiving the package, the vizier asks : Is your year 11 months old and 3 weeks in a month? daughter: you ate one bread and one egg! asks to bring a young man to her; the girl is slightly slanting; the vizier: the house is good, but the window is crooked; the girl: only the smoke comes out straight; tells her to give her a ram; explains to his father that the young man offered to brighten up the way with a conversation; wanted stay in an old man's house, not in a caravanserai; the girl scoped the ram and fried her testicles, weaved a carpet out of her trimmed wool; after learning how it was, the padishah tells me to bring the girl to marry her; the girl demands dowry: 20 rams, 30 bulls, 40 lions, 50 wolves, 60 foxes, 70 old skins; does the padishah understand? he's already 70! then the vizier married; the girl demands to solve the riddle: a person earns 5 kurush; one pays a debt, the other lends, the third throws it to the wind, the remaining two live with his wife; the vizier: supports parents, son, daughter; wedding]: 132-135; Yusupova 2004, No. 4 [as soon as a wise man got married, the wife became the padishah's mistress every time and he divorced her; he went to look for a wise a woman; met an old man, they went together; he offered to put together a ladder; build a bridge over the river; a good wheat field, unless it was eaten green; the old man is outraged by idiotic questions and with comments; his daughter explains: it was necessary to have a conversation; swim across the river together; it is good that the field is not sold in the bud; the man married a girl; the padishah came to his wife again; the wife suggested that colorful eggs; so are women: they are the same inside; the padishah stopped chasing women, the husband stayed with his wife]: 146-152.

Baltoscandia. The Shugnans [two fellow travelers were walking; one offered to take horses; shorten the road; let one become a bridge and the other cross it; the other does not understand; in the village one says he will go to his place home; other: I will go to God's house, and you cough and knock when you come; he did not listen and saw his daughter naked, she was just washing; she explains the words of her fellow traveler (God's house is a mosque) and marries him married]: Zarubin 1960, No. 5:74-77; Baluchi [the king expelled one of the three wives; she gave birth, the son grew up; found out that he was a prince; heard who the king promised a reward to someone who would build a palace in the air; having received the money, he ordered him to bring construction material; he himself spent time talking to travelers who were passing by; one day another king was walking by, they went together; the young man offers to catch a couple mares and ride on horseback; the king does not see any mares around; then he offers to carry each other; the king refuses; the young man asks the king to first go into the caravanserai and call him, and then go to herself; tells her daughter that he was walking with a crazy young man; the daughter explains that the young man offered to make staffs, brighten up the road with stories; people should have heard the king's voice, not thinking that he came secretly; The king gave his daughter to a young man and a falcon to the dowry; the young man came to the king, who wanted to build an air palace, said that he had brought an architect and released a falcon; let the man who had never committed a misdemeanor be the first will give the falcon a brick; there were no such; young man: my mother committed only a minor offense, why did the king punish her so much; the king hugged her son and returned his mother]: Dames 1892, No. 7:525-527; Pashtuns [the father took his son to look for him a bride; offers to carry each other, the son does not understand; the father sends him home, calling him a fool, he will find him an intelligent wife himself; at home the girl replies that her mother separates heaven is from earth, and the father interferes with earth; explains: father at the funeral, mother is a midwife; the marriage was concluded, the young wife explained to her husband that his father meant to brighten up the road with conversation]: Thorburn 1876: 190-192.

Baltoscandia. Karely (Kalevalsky District, 1937) [mother tells her son to find a bride, go early to the house where the stove is already being heated; the girl in one shirt is weaving; asks why the guest has no mouth or nose; tie the horse to winter or summer, both in the yard; father for he went warmly, the mother lies down from her fun, the brother walks back and forth; whether to cook food with spits or right with sips; with spits; she cooked perch; when he returns, the guy complains that the bride is stupid ; the father explains: you had to cough when entering; there was a cart and a sleigh in the yard; the father went for eyebrows, the mother gave birth, the brother was plowing; cook porridge or perch; the son married; the father tells his daughter-in-law to heat the bathhouse, the rooster put food on the shelves, food on the table, sword across the table, go to bed yourself; father and son went to the forest; on the way back: take off my head and hands, and throw logs on the road to make the path shorter; wife explains: the father-in-law ordered to put a broom in the bathhouse, cover the food with a towel; on the way, he had to take his father's hat and mittens and talk; the king found out about the intelligent woman and took her away; the old man asks the beggars to ask daughters-in-law, where is his death; daughter-in-law: when you hit your forehead on a pole in the stable, then death; the old man took out the treasury hidden in a pole; sends a message to your daughter-in-law: do you always wear strong dresses or go to torn? daughter-in-law: torn on Saturday evening (which means that the barn gate is open); father-in-law released and returned his daughter-in-law]: Concca 1959:79-82 (=Car folk tales 1963, No. 58; the same, but in the best translation from Karelian texts in Lavonen 1992:214-216).

Volga - Perm. Kazan Tatars: Zamaletdinov 2009, No. 8 [the dzhigit caught up with the old man; says that whoever gets tired will bear another; answers that he does not know whether he is a man or a woman; when asked if he is a father, says that it has sprouted from the ground; pointing to green winter crops, asks if the babay ate it; they bury the dead, the horseman asks if it is alive or dead; the daughter explains: when one speaks, the other will listen; men are only those who did men's actions; the question about the father is ridiculous; the poor have long borrowed and eaten for winter crops; about the deceased: does he still have children; dzhigit married this girl], 23 [= Yarmukhametov 1956:95-98; someone advises the king to marry his stupid son Abdul to an intelligent girl; poor man's daughter Magfur is known for beauty and intelligence; the king sends 30 arshins of canvases, orders them to sew shirts for everything troops; M. proposes in response to build a palace from one log so that there is a place to sew; A. marries M.; on the way, the king suggests A. make the road shorter; he got off his horse, digs the way; the wife explains that on the road, you should start a conversation about a topic of interest to the companion; after death, the king leaves the throne not to his son, but to his daughter-in-law]: 44-45, 82-84; (cf. The Bashkirs [Khan Turakhan's stallion, Khan Yanebakhan threw out the mare 60 versts from T.; Y. accused T.; bald boy Taz undertakes to resolve the dispute; crossing the river, puts on boots - not to spoil feet on stones; taking peers, I begin to kill dogs. - They did not come to the rescue when wolves strangled sheep 60 versts away; I demand a wiser sage, Taz exposes the bull - lives with his mind; then the goat is gray-bearded; Y. gives Tazu the name Erense-sesen; T. adopted him; E. went to look for a bride, caught up with the old man; offers to pass the time, make a cauldron out of the ground; says that the road is straight winding and winding straight; E. comes to the old man's daughter, says that the stove is good, and the pipe is crooked (the girl has a humped nose); girl: but the craving is good; explains to his father E.'s words: he suggested start a conversation, bake a grouse in a hole; the straight road turned out to be uncomfortable; the old man asks for 6 identical mares for his daughter, E. sends 6 rays - the main thing is that they are the same; T. tells the girl to sew galoshes from stone; girl: let him send threads of sand; T. sent a bull, let him calve; girl: my father gave birth, cannot go out; E. married a girl; for every word he receives Altyn from Khan (since he helped resolve the dispute with Y.); they want to execute Brother E. for lying: an arrow hit the hare's ear through his leg; E.: the hare scratched his ear; the brother was released]: Barag 1990, No. 1:14-19).

Turkestan. Kazakhs: Potanin 1916, No. 9 [Az-Janibek demands that Yusuns and contats destroy camels, because mares throw out foals when they cry; Jirenshe Sheshen was still a boy willing to go to the khan, let them bring a big camel, a goat with a beard and a gun; dogs halayali, J. began to shoot them; says that the barking of these dogs causes the camels of the Yusun Kongrat people to throw camels away; khan: yours camels can't hear our dogs; J.: and your mares are our camels; Khan: Didn't you find you above to send me an ambassador? J.: No one is taller than this camel; Khan: is there no elder? J.: This goat has the biggest beard; Khan gave J. a horse and a nice dress; one day J. suggested that his companion make a wooden cauldron boil and replace thin horses with fat ones; he mistook him for a fool; River J. said: I saw two fords, one close but far away, the other far but close; on the close there was a swamp, the satellite barely got out; the companion's daughter explains to him: J. meant to smoke a pipe, feed horses; J. and the girl Kara-Shash exchange signs, then negotiate; J. has only one bull; he stabbed him, hid the meat in the yurt of his future father-in-law, accused him of stealing, eventually got K.; Khan wants it for himself; gives 40 rams - let them bring lambs; when the khan arrives, K. says that J. gave birth to a child; then the khan ordered the bull to be cooked alive; K. teaches how to water the bull with brine; when he was stabbed, there was no blood ]: 67-70; Sidelnikov 1962 []: 295-296; Kyrgyz [Jerenche's son Telemyrz is a liar and bragger; J. tells him to cook food on the horse's mane (i.e. eat without dismounting), he begins to set fire to his mane; shorten the long path (i.e. start a conversation), he begins to smooth out the mounds on the road with catman; J. finds his son's clever wife Karachach; she answers the tyrant Khan correctly; when he throws J. in prison, correctly interprets his message - Khan must be killed; he is being killed, J.'s family lives well]: Ledenyov 1987:16-22.

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Chelkans [father speaks in riddles; tells his son to make a long journey short, short long; son begins to cut the road with an ax; takes his son a wife, she also does not understand what he says, he kicked her out; asks the poor girl how many steps she hit the barley; girl: how many steps did your horse take? etc.; the father is happy with such a daughter-in-law; she explains to her husband that cutting the way is to sing a song; the father has left, the son and wife found a parcel at the door, there is a letter: I hide in a white sweat, I lay black under me; two cut down the birch trees at the wall and at the door, bring the blunt bone at the door; the son wants to cut birch trees, the wife explains: the father is defeated, lies on the ground, covered with snow; taking a blunt bone is me, daughter-in-law; they found their father, killed enemies in a fierce battle, came home together]: Sadalova 2002, No. 35:347-355; Altaians (? ; s. Korkoba, Onguday District, Zap. K.E. Ukachin) [father to son: light a fire on the horse's mane (carve a fire and light his father's pipe), shorten the road (sing a song), light a fire with a horse's mane (make a fire with pre-harvested dry bushes), cook food with a wooden boiler (string roe deer liver or barbecue meat on a stick)]: Ukachina 1984:15; Buryats: Bardakhanova, Gympilova 2008, No. 24 (Tunkinsky District) [and Khan tells his son the way move the horse's tail (i.e. sing a song); he got off his horse, began to tug his tail; tells him to make a wooden cauldron, the son begins to cut down a tree; the khan beat his son; decided to marry him to an intelligent girl; she advised her father to ask for a full yard of cattle and a hat of gold for her; the cattle were driven out the other door, with a hole in the hat; having received enough for her parents, the girl moved in with her husband; the khan went to another and lost; he was thrown into the yard; he wrote home that he was living well, lying under a blue blanket, on a green silk mattress, had two watchmen, ate both, wrapped in a gold chain; come chasing three hundred sheep in front, cattle in front, hornless cattle behind, bring a thin red bull and a seedy white cow, bring a samovar with a gold chain; daughter-in-law: father-in-law lies chained on the ground under the blue sky; cattle - people with spears and guns; thin bull - his son, cow - wife, samovar - me; khan was released, enemies killed, captured]: 123-125; Eliasov 1959 [Khan tests the wisdom of the future wife of the son Altan-Haish, asks to bring a rope from the ashes; the girl makes straw, sets fire, remains a strip of ash in the shape of a rope; remove 13 chickens from boiled eggs; AH: to have food for chickens, take porridge, sow, grow millet; khan is happy; went hunting with his son, tells him to do with wooden dishes; the son tries to hammer the block; seeing that the son is behind, he orders to pull the horse by the tail; son understands literally; AH: you should have fried a barbecue and drive a horse; the khan came to another, he makes riddles, the khan cannot guess, he was shackled and tied to a pole; the khan promises a ransom, sends a letter daughter-in-law: Shajin Nomon Khan gave me jewelry for my arms and legs, a silver twisted chain around my neck; his people do not leave day or night; chase cattle and bulls, followed by hornless cattle; out of three gold Cut down two aspens and burn them on the spot, take one to the borders of Sh.'s possessions; let my daughter-in-law cut the letter with gold scissors; when three messengers arrive, my son tries to gather cattle, and my daughter-in-law tells kill two messengers out of three and send an army; S. was tied up like a ram and brought]: 7-19.