M39e2. Oracle tree, ATU 1543E*.
.14.-.16.23.29.30.31.34. (.35.)
Two people hid their valuables together, and one of them secretly took them. He suggests asking the tree that grew in this place for clarification and hides his father in a hollow to broadcast from there. The tree is set on fire and the deception comes out.
Moroccan Berbers, Italians (the region is not defined, conditionally the south), Germans, Telugu, Avars, Uzbeks, Danes, Mongols of Inner Mongolia, (Ents, Kets).
North Africa. Moroccan Berbers: Laoust 1949:65f in Uther 2004 (2), No. 154E*: 285.
Southern Europe. Italians (undefined region, conditionally south): Rotunda 1942, no. K1971/12 in Uther 2004 (2), No. 1543E*: 285
Western Europe.
Germans (undefined region, conditionally south): Uther 2004 (2), No. 154E*: 285South Asia. Telugu [two merchants Durbuddhi and Subuddhi buried money under tamarind; D. secretly took the money; S. took him to court; D. said that the tree itself would prove him right; hid him in his father's hollow, and when the judge approached, he said on behalf of the tree that S. had taken the money; but the judge ordered that straw be set on fire in the hollow; Father D.'s corpse was taken out, the judge ordered that all the money be given to S.]: Pantulu 1905, No. 11:27-27.
Central Europe. Russian written tradition [the Bulgarian-Russian version of the Greek Stephanite and Ikhnilat, which is a revision of Kalila and Dimna (Synodal List of 1478): two monkeys {more in the text - "simple" and "crafty"} found a gold treasure on the mountain; when they went down, buried it under an oak tree and agreed to take the gold little by little when necessary; a few days later, the crafty man returned to this place and stole it the whole treasure; when the simpleton offered to take some gold, the crafty man agreed and went with him; after digging up the ground, they found nothing; the crafty man shouted at the simpleton that he said had stolen the treasure, and then took him to the judge; the judge demanded evidence; the crafty man said that the oak tree itself would testify to the truth; came to his father, begged him to get into the hollow and say from there that the simpleton had taken treasure; the father did so; the judge heard his words, ordered the oak to be lit; the cunning man's father screamed, was pulled out of the hollow and then confessed to the deception; he and the cunning man were severely punished, and the gold was returned to the simpleton]: Likhachev et al. 2003:234-237.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. The Avars [Lamart ("greedy") and Chumart ("generous") found a bag of gold on the road; C. suggested not to divide it, but to hide it under a tree and take it as needed; at night L. returned to the cache and took the gold; when they later came to the tree together, L. accused C. of stealing and brought him to court; the judge asked L. if he had a witness; L.: that tree; the judge and witnesses came to the tree and asked who had stolen it gold; wood: C.; the judge ordered it to be set on fire; Father L. came out of the hollow; the judge gave all the gold to C.]: Saidov, Dalgat 1965:39-41.
Iran - Central Asia. The Uzbeks [a cunning and a simpleton found a pot of gold; the cunning man suggested not to carry it to the city where they would find out, but to bury it under a tree and take money as needed; at night, the cunning man hid the egg, accused the simpleton that he had stolen the gold; agreed with his father that he would get into the hollow, and when the casian came to the tree to sort out the case, he would speak out on behalf of the spirit in favor of the cunning; Kaziy decided that the tree was evil spirits, and ordered it to be burned; the old man began to scream, he was pulled out, but he was already dead; the gold was given to the simpleton, the cunning man was thrown into prison]: Konovalov, Stepanov 1986:289-290.
Baltoscandia.
Danes: Uther 2004 (2), No. 154E*: 285Southern Siberia - Mongolia. The Mongols of Inner Mongolia [deceiver Bachid and honest Shudraga found a piece of silver on the road; buried it under a tree to bring the scales and divide it tomorrow; B. alone secretly took the silver and ordered to his father to climb into the hollow to broadcast from there: S. took the money; when he heard a voice, S. brought hay and set fire to a tree; B.'s father almost suffocated and began to scold his son; B. gave the part due to Sh.]: Todayeva 1981:98 -99.
(Wed. Western Siberia. Entsy [Dia has Baruci's brother with one arm, one leg; rips the skin off the deer's feet so that they don't soak their shoes at the river crossing; D. decides to get rid of him, invites him to step into the ice-hole; he returns three days later with fish; D. ties B. to the top of the tree, he returns with firewood; picks up Sigio's nets; disguises his mother as Satan (idol), brings him on a sled, "Satan" broadcasts, that his nets, B.; Shaitan S. is silent; S. agrees to give the nets; B. finds an awl, a strap, a polygola, a pestle, a fish bubble, a mouse; they all agree to go to war with S., hide in his house, kill him; S. does not kill people anymore]: Dolgikh 196:32-36; Kets ("ostyaki") [Hasynget steals capercaillies from the trap of the devil; says that the mountain and his traps, suggests asking God; puts his grandmother in Tuyaska on spruce, which is responsible for God; hell believes, leaves; H. throws his grandmother in tuyaska into the river; she refuses the little fish, agrees to have the sturgeons push her ashore; hits them on the ground with a stick, lives alone in the plague ; H. is starving, because the devil took the capercaillies away; apologizes to his grandmother, promises not to take other people's capercaillies anymore]: Osharov 1936:139-142 (the main story, but not the episode with his grandmother broadcasting on behalf of God in Dulzon 1966, NO. 38:113).