M39F. There was a hat, a head - I don't remember, ATU 1225.
.14.-.17.27.-.34.
A fool is left headless (usually trying to get into a bear's den). When asked whether the deceased had a head, wife or someone else, they say that there was a hat (beard), but they definitely do not remember the head.
Arabs of Morocco, Egypt, Italians (Lazio, Abruzzo), French, Dutch, Germans (Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria), Arabs of Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Palestinians, Arameans, Bulgarians, Slovenes, Serbs, Croats, Macedonians, Hungarians, Romanians, Greeks, Czechs, Poles, Russians (Teresky Bereg, Arkhangelsk, Karelia, Tver, Ryazan), Ukrainians (Galicia, Kherson), Belarusians, Adygs, Ingush, Chechens, Dargins, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Persians, Tajiks, Bukhara Arabs, Uzbeks, Latvians, Swedes, Norwegians, Western Sami, Finns, Karelians, Veps, Mordovians, Udmurts, Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs, Kyrgyz, Khakas, Buryats.
North Africa. Arabs of Morocco, Egypt: El-Shamy 2004, No. 1225:718-719.
Southern Europe. Italians (Lazio, Abruzzo): Cirese, Serafini 1975, No. 1225:79-80
Western Europe. French, Dutch, Germans (Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria): Uther 2004 (2), No. 1225:79-80.
Western Asia. Arabs of Bahrain, Qatar, Palestinians: El-Shamy 2004, No. 1225:718-719; Iraqis (Shiites of the Lower Euphrates) [at night, three slaves went to steal three sheep; did not know what it was goats; the whole herd followed; thieves think they are being chased; one goat was butted, he thought he was being beaten with spears; the driver fell into the river, the crocodile bit off his head; the other two pulled him out and can't remember whether there was a head or not; the headless person's parents can't remember either; the smart midwife explains that the person is dead]: Campbell 1950:19-21 (retelling in Nowak 1969, No. 450:362-363); Aramaeans [in On a rainy day, the Tiaryans decided that the sun was gone, they went to look for it; when they saw a lion, they decided that this was their sun; the lion tore off one head; others ask his wife if her husband had a head; a woman : I saw his hair, so his head was at home; they woke up the headless man, then went home; the lion ate the headless; the sun came out; the Tiaryans were happy - they didn't go looking for it]: Belov, Wilsker 1972 : 438-439.
The Balkans. Bulgarians [take a fool on a bear hunt; he climbs into a den, the bear bit off his head; companions doubt whether he had a head or not; his wife remembers that he bought a hat, but not about his head either sure]: Daskalova-Perkovsko et al. 1994, No. 1225:400; Hungarians [motive known]: Kovács, Benedek 1990, No. 1225:432; Serbs [Baja Dschora went with others to the mountains; cave, he asked him lower it there on a rope: if the turf, pull it out; in the cave, the bear tore off his head; the rope dressed up, the companions pulled out his friend; began to wonder if he had a head; asked his wife; wife: a year ago he bought himself a hat, but I don't remember if he had a head]: Eschker 1992, No. 110:312-313; Slovenes, Croats, Macedonians, Romanians, Greeks: Uther 2004 (2), No. 1225:79-80.
Central Europe. Poles [a bear bit off a man's head; others can't remember whether he had a head or not]: Krzyżanowski 1963, No. 1225:30; Czechs: Uther 2004 (2), No. 1225:79-80; Russians (Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Karelia, Ryazan), Ukrainians (Galicia, Kherson), Belarusians [A fool (pop) without a head (bitten off by a bear, torn off with a mill); others (wife) remember that He had a beard, but they don't know if he had a head]: SUS 1979, No. 1225:275; Russians (Teresky Bereg) [7 stupid brothers, all Falileas; they climbed to sleep on a spruce tree for the night; they went down in the morning, there was no seventh; they became pull off with ropes, their heads come off; five say that there was no head, the sixth said that it was; they went to ask their parents, they say it was; they considered that sixth was smart, left five sent him back to the forest; his parents decided to marry him; sent him on a horse to cut wood; he warns the horse that branches are flying; the horse killed by a female; F. threw an ax at the ducks, the ducks flew away, the ax drowned; taking off F. began to look for clothes, did not find it, the clothes also disappeared; went to the bride, accidentally smeared himself with resin, then fell into feathers; the parents refused the bride, sent this F. to the forest]: Balashov 1970, No. 138:383-385; Russians (Arkhangelskaya; recording on a steamer on the Dvina, a storyteller from the upper reaches of the Mezen, worked in Arkhangelsk) [Men from a stupid village go hunting and see a hole in the snow from which they come vapors. They can't understand what it is and they bring Dogada, who is known to be smart among them. He couldn't understand, he was being held by the legs, and he fell into a hole. The hole turned out to be a bear's den. The bear bit off Dogada's head. The men held their legs for a long time, and when they pulled them out, they could not remember whether Dogada was with or without his head before. We went to Dogada's wife, but she could not remember either ("... the beard was dangling. And there was a head, no, I don't remember. I'm not good at it!")] : Ozarovskaya 2009, No. 50:369-370; Russians (Tverskaya, Andreanopolsky District, 1926) [the townspeople sowed salt in autumn; there was nothing in the spring, only a wolf trail across the field; they thought that the salt had risen, but the wolf took it ; one climbed into a wolf hole; when he was pulled out, there was no head; they don't remember - was it? went to his wife; "Yak slurped jelly, his beard was shaking"]: Barashevich, Ponomareva 2000, No. 21:240; Belarusians [the man sowed rye, then buckwheat did not degenerate; salt did not rise either; saw bears footprints, decided that because of the bear, he turned to the ass; found a hollow, where the bear, the pop climbed, the bear bit off his head; the priest was pulled out, began to argue whether there was a head; the worker does not remember; the farmhand scratched her ass braids, but I didn't remember whether there was a head either]: Vasilenok et al. 1958:238-239.
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Adygs [the hunter climbed into the hole to pull out the fox; the fox gnawed off his head; other hunters carry their torso around the village for identification; when asked if the hunter had a head, the wife replies that she was she wasn't, but she sewed him three hats a year]: Tkhamokova 2014, No. 1225:195; Ingush [hunters saw a hole, one climbed into it; a she-wolf sitting in a hole ate his neck; he managed to jerk his legs and comrades they pulled him out; they began to wonder if he had a head, went to his wife; she said that she did not remember, but every year she sewed him a hat; an intelligent man judged the hunters: if their friend climbed without knowing what in a hole, he was headless]: Dakhkilgov 2012, No. 57:62; Chechens [three people noticed a hole, thought it was a fox; but there was a bear; one climbed, the bear bit off his head, his comrades pulled out headless body; went to ask my wife if her husband had a head; she replied that she did not remember his head, but he definitely made a new hat every year]: Dirr 1920, No. 84:279-280; Dargins [three highlanders hunted a bear; one climbed into the den, warning him that if he jerked his legs, he should be pulled out; it happened; he was pulled out, but his head was gone; comrades were not sure if the head was; asked wife; she: I don't know, but he bought a hat every year]: Kapieva 1991:132-133; Georgians [Headless pop. The priest's wife recalls that her husband's beard shook like a goat in the morning. But does not remember whether the head was there]: Kurdovanidze 2000, No. 1225:85; Azerbaijanis [One cold winter day, Molla and his friend went to a neighboring village. On the way, they met a wolf. Molla and his companion made such a noise and scream that the wolf got scared, ran away and hid in a hole. "I must kill this wolf," said Molla's friend. "Please don't mess with the wolf," Moll begged. - Are you tired of life? - You can't joke with a wolf, he doesn't understand requests or promises. But the friend did not want to listen to anything, so he went to the hole and slowly put his head in her. Molla waited for him to pull out his head, but his companion lay motionless. Finally, with courage, he came over, grabbed his legs, pulled him out of his hole, and saw that he had no head. Throwing his mind, Molla returned to the village, came to his friend's house, knocked on the door and asked: "Sister, when your husband left home this morning, did he take his head with him or not? Did he accidentally forget it at home?] : Tahmasib 1975:230; Turks [the bride weeps: if she marries and gives birth to a child, he may fall off a tree; a man goes looking for even more stupid ones; fools try to bring sunny people into the house with a sieve light; they cannot take their hand out of the jug and are going to cut off their hand; they drag a cow to the roof to eat the grass that has grown there; a man tells a woman that she is going to hell, she gives him food for the deceased a relative; her husband rides after the deceiver; when he sees the chase, the deceiver tells the miller that he is about to be captured, the miller tries to run away, the woman's husband follows him, and the deceiver rode his horse; a miller sells a crazy bag to fools for a bag of gold; one of them grabs the bag, runs, opens it (it has only air), hits a rock, is left without a head; others find the corpse and, together with the wife of the deceased discuss whether their friend had a head or not]: Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 331.II: 365-366.
Iran - Central Asia. Uzbeks [Mullah Seyid Ruhullah had a big turban and a thick beard; he tells him to pray to Allah and pay him; the stork is the son of God, let the mullah bring food for him to his house; the people demand that the son live in their presence; the mullah is forced to climb into the nest; storks beat him with their beaks, he calls for help, people pull him off, but his head is separated from his body; they ask the mullah's wife if he had a head; wife: when my husband was eating, my beard moved, but I don't know about my head]: Konovalov, Stepanov 1986:333-336 (=Rogov 1980:250-254); Tajiks [Once a stork flew to the village to fools and sat on top of the plane tree. The fools ran from all sides to look at the stork. They gathered under the plane tree, raised their heads up and asked: "What is this? But everyone just asked and no one could answer. Finally we decided to call the wise man. They showed him a stork sitting at the top of the plane tree and asked: - Tell me, what is this? "God will punish you," said the wise man, "didn't you know who it is? "No, we didn't know," said the fools. "Why, this is a child of God," said the wise man. "Well, if this is a child of God, then we must welcome him, give him something to eat! After all, a child of God came to visit us! "The fools said. "Of course, he should be treated to a drink," said the sage. "What does it eat? - someone asked. - Butter cakes, - said another. - Sour milk! - said the third one. They ran and brought yogurt and butter cakes. - Climb a tree and treat God's child! "The fools said to the sage. "I'm a stranger to him," said the sage. "If he doesn't like something and he hits me. Who's going to take me off the tree then? If you want me to treat him, bring a rope and tie it to my legs. If I see a child of God angry, I'll shout to you from above "pull!" Then you're pulling me down so I don't die from his anger. They brought a long rope and tied it to the sage's feet. The sage placed a bowl of yogurt on his head, put the cakes in his bosom, and climbed the tree. He had almost reached the top of the tree when suddenly the stork flapped its wings, curled and flew. The wise man shouted in fear: "Pull, pull, he will eat me now! Several people pulled the rope at once. The wise man's head is stuck between the tree tree branches. Then everyone under the tree grabbed the rope and pulled it with all their might. The sage's head came off and remained on the tree branches, and his body fell down. Someone asked, "Where is his head?" The other said, "Did he have a head?" - I don't know. How would I know? - said the first one. And no matter how much they asked each other if the wise man had a head, they all said, "How do I know?" Someone said, "We should ask his wife if the wise man had a head. A few people went to the wise man's wife and asked, "Hey, aunt, did your husband have a head? - How would I know? - the woman answered. - I only know that when he chewed bread, his beard always moved]: Ulug-zade 1967 {=1969}: 328-330; Bukhara Arabs [four shirins saw a stork sitting on top of the poplar , and considered him "the baby of Allah"; one brought a bowl of sour milk, said he would give it to a stork, and told the others to tie a rope to his feet; when he climbed onto the poplar, the stork flew away; those below , decided to check if the stork had carried away their comrade; pulled the rope - the crawler's head was stuck between two sukáms and came off; his body fell to the ground; others began to wonder if he had a head ; they asked his wife, who replied: "And I don't know, but when he ate, his chin moved!"] : Vinnikov 1969, No. 54:313; Persians (Kerman, Isfahan) [people can't remember whether the deceased had a head, they only remember the beard]: Marzolph 1984, No. 1225:192-193.
Baltoscandia. Latvians [A headless man in a bear hole. The bear tears off the man's head. Others wonder if he even had a head]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 1225:344; the Swedes [seven Dalecarlians set off; to start a fire, one asks to hit his ear, sparks will fall; but the fire did not break out; they decided to pull the bear out of the den, one climbed, the bear bit off his head; they began to argue whether he had a head; one says he remembered: when he ate porridge yesterday, there are two grains in his beard stuck; they went through a flax field, and they think they were swimming across the sea; they began to believe that five came out (who thinks he does not take himself into account), decided that one drowned]: Braude, Zolotarevskaya 1969:356-358; Norwegians [the fool put his head in the bear's den, the bear tore it off; his comrades do not understand what's going on, to argue whether he had a head]: Hodne 1984, No. 1225:229; Western Sami, Karelians: Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, No. 1225:251; the Veps [men find a big hole in the forest; they are curious; one of them sticks his head in there; when he is pulled out by the legs, they doubt it was whether he has a head; his wife says: "I don't remember the head, but there seemed to be a small beard"]: Onegina, Zaitseva 1996, No. 112:210; Finns: Uther 2004 (2), No. 1225:79-80.
Volga - Perm. Mordva, Udmurts: Kecskeméti, Paunonen 1974, No. 1225:251; Kazan Tatars (6 variants of the west on the Volga, 1 in the Novosibirsk region) [three clever men sowed salt; when it snowed, they thought that the salt had sprouted; they decided to guard the field, they thought it was a thief; the river ran out of tracks, the clever guys thought that the thieves had sailed away by boat; decided to swim on a log; in order not to fall, they were the first to tie his legs under a log; they wonder why he began to dry his bast shoes before he reached; two crossed the river on a log; one climbed into the bear's den, the other pulled it out - no head; went to the village; complained to the wife of his first friend that her husband was drying all her bast shoes; the wife of the second could not remember whether her husband had a head]: Zamaletdinov 2009, No. 138:458-461; Bashkirs: Barag 1992, No. 18 [someone tramples on oats; the field owner comes to the hole and climbs into it, telling his sons to pull it out by the rope; the hole turned out to be a bear's den, he bit off the old man's head; the sons pulled out the body: hands are empty, but there is no head; sons ask the mother if the father had a head; she replies that the beard moved when her husband ate pancakes, but she will not remember whether the head was], 467 (550) [the inhabitants of the village went to bear hunt; one put his head in the den, the bear tore it off; others ask his wife if she remembers if her husband had a head when he went hunting]: 56, 273.
Turkestan. The Kyrgyz [Apendi and a friend went hunting once. Suddenly they met a wolf. While they were tracking him, the wolf climbed into the hole. Apendi's friend, saying "will the one who misses the prey that comes into hand be lucky", climbed into the hole head forward and did not get out. Then Apendi dragged him by the legs. He looks, but no head. Apendi was very surprised, returned to the village, came to a friend's house and asked his wife: "When your husband left home today, did he have a head?] :http://tyup.net/page/bashy-bar-bele, sent and translated by Ruslan Doutaliev
Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Khakas [three brothers went hunting, lost the cauldron; when they returned, water boils in the middle of the ice (this is an ice-hole); they began to put cereals in it - it does not thicken; one brother was lowered into the ice-hole, by the legs they hold; he kicks, they decided that they were asking them to go deeper; when they calmed down, they decided that he was eating porridge; they began to pull - no way (he froze to the ice); they pulled again, his head came off; began to wonder if he had his head; one: he had a mustache like his father; without remembering, they left him and left]: Torokova, Sychenko 2014, No. 44:581-583; the Buryats [three hunters climbed into the den to get a bear; when they got out from one no head; others argue whether she even existed; his wife says she doesn't remember her head, but every year she sewed her husband a hat]: Eliasov 1959:126-127.