M56D. Fill the vessel with flies. 12.29.

The character promises to fill the vessel with small flying living creatures. He bets with them that they will not be able to fill the vessel. Creatures climb inside, the character closes the lid. Cf. K60B motif.

Ashanti, Bambara, Mankanya, Fulbe, Wolof, Dagari, Turks.

West Africa. Ashanti: Barker, Sinclaire 1917 [Anansi (spider) demanded that the supreme god Nyankupon be called stories about N. from now on, A.; N. agreed that A. would bring he had a jug with live bees, a boa constrictor and a leopard; A. took the vessel and began to wonder aloud whether bees would fit in it; they showed that they would fit inside; A. sealed the vessel, sent N.; took a stick and began to wonder aloud whether it was longer than the boa constrictor or not; the boa constrictor allowed himself to be measured, A. tied it to a stick, sent N.; sewed up his eye, came to the leopard, began singing and shouting admiration; explained a leopard who sees extraordinary things with his eye sewn up; the leopard allowed himself to sew his eyes; A. sent it to N.; he allowed stories to be called stories about A.]: 29-31; Rattray 1930 [Ananse spider comes to the god Nyankonpon for heavenly stories; he says that those who came in stories; he says that he did not give rich cities translated by Capt. R.S could not buy them; demands to pay to bring them he has a boa constrictor, a leopard, a hornet, a fairy (Fairy); each A. receives a hint from his wife, and then knows what to do; 1) pretends to argue with his wife whether the boa constrictor is longer than a stick, he allows himself to be tied to a stick: 2) puts a banana leaf on his head, the hornets believe that it will rain now, hide in a calebass, A. clogs it; 3) digs a trap hole, the Leopard falls, A. invites him to stretch his paws (so that he pull out), hits the head; 4) the fairy sticks to a resin-smeared wooden doll (tar-baby); N. tells A. heavenly stories]: 55-59 (about the same Herskovits, Herskovits 1937, No. 2:56; in Belcher 2005:109-111); fulbe [Hyena and Bunny come to the marab (sage, witch doctor), asking them to be trained; he tells them to bring him an elephant tusk, little birds, lioness's milk first; the bunny did a slippery place on the elephant path, one elephant slipped, fell, broke its fang, the Bunny took it; told the Birds they might not be able to climb into his calebass; they climb in, he closes the hole; climbed with a calebass to the lions, took milk; told Hyena how he got everything; Hyena made a slippery place, asks the Elephant to fall, break its fang; barely escaped from it; tells the birds to climb into the calebass, they they peck her in the head, fly away; ask for milk from the Lioness, hardly runs away; the marabou tells the Hare that if his cunning increases even more, he will become dangerous to the world; it is useless to teach Hyena; drives both away]: Labouret 1952, No. 5:121; bambara [the god Mangalla promises a hare to make him king if he brings a calebass with flies, mosquitoes, a snake wrapped around a stick, wild buffalo milk, saddled hyena; old Domma man: M. will not keep his promise; refuses to help; the hare makes a small hole in the calebas, tells the flies that M. allegedly said that there are not so many flies in the world that fill this calebass; flies climb into the calebass to show that there are enough of them, the hare closes the hole; the same with mosquitoes; says to the snake as if M. does not believe that it is so long as wrap the stick around the stick; the snake wraps around the stick, the hare ties it to it by the tail and head; says to wild buffaloes that M. does not believe that they have milk in their udders; they allow themselves to be milked to assure M. the opposite; the hare tells the hyena that he is being made king, he will be able to slaughter cattle without restrictions, he will only take his heads; for promising to give her carcasses, the hyena allows himself to ride; comes to heaven to M .; he tells you to come on a road that does not have Friday and Monday; the hare goes to D., who says that he warned the hare that M. will deceive him, such a road does not exist; at this time the hyena escaped from harnesses, returned to the ground, barely pulled out her ass, so the hyena behind is lower than in front; in the evening, the mosquito made a hole in the calebass, the mosquitoes flew out and have been active in the evenings ever since, and the flies are free in the afternoon]: Frobenius 1922b, No. 82:151-153; mankanya [the king will give a daughter to the Hare if he brings 1) a living Boa; the Hare tells Udava that some do not believe that he will fit on poles by wrapping her around her rings; pretends to measure it with a rope, ties it; 2) elephant fangs; The hare invites the Elephant to knock down the tree, its fangs get stuck, the Hare screams that there is a fire, the Elephant runs away, leaving its fangs; 3) a cage with birds; The hare tells the king of birds that some do not believe that all birds will fit in a cage; slams the door shut; the hare gets the princess and the throne]: Mendelssohn 1971:58-63; wolof [ the hare asks God for a higher position; God tells the calebass to be brought sparrows; the hare, in the presence of sparrows, begins to discuss aloud whether all sparrows will climb into one calebass; sparrows showed they could; the hare closed the calebas and brought it to God; he drove him away: if you give power, you will turn the world upside down]: Basset 1903, No. 74:184 (similar options in Reuss-Nliba, Reuss-Nliba 2018:184- 186 [the hare was the size of an elephant; when he brought the bag of birds, God decided to make it small, otherwise the hare would be too dangerous], 187-189); dagari [Der brags he could fill a vessel with flies, bring a cobra on a stick and ride an elephant; tells the flies that he argues with the vessel: he does not believe that flies can fill it; flies fill the vessel to prove the opposite, D. closes the lid; tells the cobra that the stick does not believe that the cobra is longer than it; the cobra stretches next to the stick, D. ties it; asks the elephant to give him a ride, because he is sick, comes riding an elephant, shows a cobra and a vessel with flies]: Métuolé Somba 1991:15-18.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. Turks [(cf. Mosi in West Africa, M57B motif); the hare asks God to give him reason; God: fill the hose with sparrows; the hare bets with sparrows that they will not be able to fill hose; sparrows get in there, the hare brings a hose; God: If you give you intelligence, you will destroy the whole world]: Eberhard, Boratav 1953, No. 16:36.

(Wed. Baltoscandia. Latvians [same text as Basset 1903, No. 74:184 for Wolof, but with reference to the Latvian folklore archive; obvious mistake or hoax]: Barovskis, Kursite 2017:160).