Yu.E. Berezkin, E.N. Duvakin

Thematic classification and distribution of folklore and mythological motifs by area

Analytical catalogue translated by Jon F White

Introduction
Bibliography
Ethnicities and habitats

M59. An insidious passenger kills a carrier, K952.1.

(.20.21.) .42.-.44.46.48.-.50.

A small animal asks a large one to transport it across the river; consistently rejects all the seats on the carrier's body that he offers; climbs to where the carrier is You can kill when the crossing is over.

(Wed. Micronesia-Polynesia. Snail [The Rat told the Earth Crab to wait under the pandanus, it will climb and shed its fruit; eats ripe ones, throws off leftovers and rot; after learning that Crab loves coconuts, the Rat threw off some good ones fruits, they ate them together; the Crab invited the Rat to go by boat, made a hole, went to the bottom, the Rat asked the Turtle to transport it ashore; put it to sleep on the shore, cut off her head with a shell, cooked meat , ate, smeared her shell with her sewage, called Crab to eat; when she saw the sewage, the Crab asked the Cat to grab the Rat; since then cats have been catching rats]: Lessa 1961, No. 20:69-70; Ponape (oriental Carolins) [Rat, Heron, Plover, and Crab sailed in a boat to look for food to another island (the Rat did not want to take Crab with him at first); they picked up a coconut, only the Crab could split it, but did not receive any juice or mint ; then he made a hole in the boat; the birds refused to pick up the Rat, since it ate one whole half of the nut; the Turtle picked it up; on the shore, the Rat turned the Turtle over on its back; the Crab helped to drag and bake Turtle; at night, the Rat secretly dragged all the meat into its hole; the Bird demanded to share, otherwise it would tell Crab where the Rat's hole was; the Rat gave all the meat; then the bird called Crab, Heron and Zuyk, they killed the Rat]: Mitchell 1973, No. 13:46-48).

(Wed. Tibet is the Northeast of India. Lakher [The turtle asks the Monkeys to throw off its fruit; they raise the Turtle to the tree, leave it; the turtle cries, tears form a stream, animals come to drink from it; two types of deer offer them to jump on their backs; the turtle rejects one first, then the other, their back is very narrow; jumps on the Elephant's back, breaking its spine; eats elephant; Monkeys take turtles bowel movements for meat, they eat; the turtle tells them this; they defecate themselves near the Turtle's house, hide in the basket; the turtle throws the basket into the abyss; one pregnant female has escaped from her current monkeys are happening]: Parry 1932:545-546).

(Wed. Micronesia-Polynesia. Snail [The Rat told the Earth Crab to wait under the pandanus, it will climb and shed its fruit; eats ripe ones, throws off leftovers and rot; after learning that Crab loves coconuts, the Rat threw off some good ones fruits, they ate them together; the Crab invited the Rat to go by boat, made a hole, went to the bottom, the Rat asked the Turtle to transport it ashore; put it to sleep on the shore, cut off her head with a shell, cooked meat , ate, smeared her shell with her sewage, called Crab to eat; when she saw the sewage, the Crab asked the Cat to grab the Rat; since then cats have been catching rats]: Lessa 1961, No. 20:69-70).

NW Coast. Bellacula [Porcupine asks Caribou to transport him across the river; refuses to cling to the front, wants to be from behind; stabs thorns in Caribou's ass, killing him; looks for a knife to freshen the carcass; Wolverine gives he has a knife; Porcupine feeds Wolverine to the dump, says his latrine is high on a tree branch; prunes a branch in advance; Wolverine falls, Porcupine is fresh too]: McIlwraith 1948 (2): 428-430.

The coast is the Plateau. Quarry [Caribou agrees to transport Porcupine across the river; D. sits on his back, kills him with his tail in his back; Ducks throw D. a knife to cut the carcass; Wolverine says she herself cuts; tells D. to wash giblets for her in the river; D. eats all the fat; R. beats him, thinks she killed him, follows the family; D. carries the meat to the tree; tells R. and her household to cover themselves with a blanket when he throws meat at them; throws a sharp bone himself; R. sees what he throws in the hole, bounces; D. agrees to help R. climb the tree; R. chases D., jumps, falls, breaks]: Jenness 1934, No. 70 : 250-252; chilcotin [Caribou agrees to transport Porcupine across the river; D. sits on his back, kills him by stabbing a needle into his anus; looks for a knife to remove his skin; Wolverine helps to remove his skin, demands fat; D. eats fat himself; R. beats him, thinks she killed him, follows the family; D. carries the meat to the tree; tells R. and her household to cover themselves with a blanket when he throws meat to them; throws a sharp bone himself; R. sees bounces into the hole he throws; D. agrees to help R. climb the tree; R. eats meat, wants to relieve himself; D. tells him to sit on a thin branch for this purpose; R. falls, breaks]: Farrand 1900, No. 25:40; shuswap [Moose agrees to transport Wren across the river on his back; he cuts him with a knife, says he takes out ticks; kills; looks for a large knife to cut the carcass; Wolf picks up the carcass for himself, cuts with a knife; Wren offers to take the meat to the Wolf's children, takes the pieces to the top of the cliff, cooks the meat; the Wolf asks him to throw off a piece; the Wren throws hot meat into the Wolf's mouth, he dies; kills Wolf cubs in the same way; birds feast]: Teit 1909a, No. 60:751-752; ne perse [Porcupine clings to Bison's feet, kills him with a knife]: Spinden 1908, No. 9:21-22; sanpual [Woodpecker sits on Moose's neck; halfway across the river, cuts his throat with a knife; pulls out a rib to make a bow; shoots at the sky, makes a chain of arrows]: Ray 1933, No. 11:152; Klamath [Porcupine asks Bison (possibly Moose) carry him across the river; refuses to sit on his horns, on his back, hold his tail, climbs into his ass; cuts his liver, kidneys, heart; goes out, looks for a knife to cut meat; Coyote gives a knife, but demands to compete on the run with him; the winner gets all the meat; the Coyote wins, hits Porcupine, leaves his hat as a watchman, runs after his children; Porcupine throws his hat into the fire, raises the meat to the tree; Coyotes they line up below, asking for meat; Porcupine sheds its spine, killing the Coyotes; the youngest cub escapes, the current coyotes come from it]: Barker 1963, No. 3:17-21; modoc [Elk offers Porcupine to transport him across the river; he replies that he is afraid to ride on his back, head, ear; climbs into his mouth, then inside the Moose; on the other side he hurts his heart, crawls out, looks for a knife to cut meat; The black-brown fox gives him his own, offers to jump over the carcass; the winner gets it; wins, kills Porcupine, leaves his hat as a watchman, runs after his children; Porcupine comes to life, tears his hat on pieces, lifts meat to the tree; Coyotes line up below asking for meat; Porcupine sheds his spine, killing all Coyotes]: Curtin 1912:272-275; lower chinook [little grandson hunts mice and chipmunks; calls Moose, thinks how to get inside him (through his mouth, ears, nostrils?) ; climbs into the anus, cuts her elk's stomach, kills; grandma refuses to carry any part of her body but her ass; masturbates with her moose penis on the way home; he sent her to get water, she wrote in all the baskets, said that it was water from the river; while the meat was cooking, it made holes in all the spoons and bowls; the grandson poured broth on it, wrapped it in leather, threw it into the river; Malinovka and Blue Jay caught the parcel, found their aunt there, revived it hers; two warrior boats went to fight with her grandson; he flew out of the house set on fire and escaped]: Boas 1894a, No. 8:119-122.

The Midwest. Western Marsh Cree (Stone Cree) [Wīsahkīcāhk asks the Deer (Moose) to take him across the lake; sitting on his back, cuts off pieces of meat from his butt; when the Deer goes out to the lake shore, V. cuts his throat; bakes and eats meat; asks two birds to squeeze it so that he can empty his intestines; birds squeeze him and do not let go until others eat all the meat that is left; V. whips birds (species not identified) with a willow branch, they have stripes left]: Brightman 1989:37-38; menominee [Porcupine asks the Cow to transport it across the river; she suggests holding her by the horns, by the tail; The porcupine replies that he will fall into the water; agrees to get into her ass; pierces her heart with a thorn; looks for a knife to cut the carcass; Menapus offers his own, freshens the cow, chases the Porcupine away; while walking for his wife and children, Porcupine takes meat to the top of the pine tree; M. sees the reflection of Porcupine in the river, dives with a stone tied to his neck; defecates, the wife takes the surfaced crap for Porcupine's giblets; M. unties a stone, sees Porcupine in a tree; he refuses to throw meat at it]: Bloomfield 1928, No. 84:237-245.

Plains. Crowe [Bison agrees to transport Porcupine across the river; he says he will fall off the back of Bison's head, back, thigh, agrees to get into his ass; when Bison reaches the opposite shores, pierces his heart with needles, crawls out, looks for a knife to cut meat; Coyote gives Porcupine a blunt knife, let the meat be taken by whoever jumps over the carcass is the first to cut it; loses, but still goes to call his family; Porcupine carries meat to a tree, makes a fire on a branch, roasts meat; Coyote jumps into the river when he sees its reflection, thinks it's too light, ties rocks, can't emerge defecate, his children think it's ash; the Coyote pops up a little alive; the cub notices Porcupine laughing, who sheds pieces of meat, killing four cubs one by one; Coyote says the fewer coyotes the better, he will get more; tells porcupines to eat bark from now on, not eat meat]: Lowie 1918:34-36; assiniboine [the person asks the fattest Moose to transport it across the river; kills with a knife; The wolf covers man and meat with a heavy skin; he has difficulty getting out and turning into a bird]: Lowie 1909a, No. 44:201; Osage: Dorsey 1904c, No. 12 [The turtle goes to war; I agree take the Wolf and the Deer with them, they run as fast as she does; asks the Bison to transport her across the river; he invites her to sit between her horns - no, I'll fall; sit on her back - I'll fall too; climb into the anus; the turtle agrees, eats the Bison's guts; crossing the river, he dies; the turtle hangs a refreshed bison on a tree above the river; Wolves jump into the water, seeing its reflection; enemies catch the Turtle; offer cook, burn them; she promises to burn them with hot spray, coals; pretends to be afraid of water; thrown into the river, runs away; at home, the wife breaks it with a stone], 13 [The turtle follows the scalps; the Bison suggests carry her across the river, let him sit on his back; no, I'll fall; then in his mouth; no, you'll see it; then into the anus; I agree; I ate the Bison's insides, he fell on the other side; the Wolf offers to jump over the carcass, wins, takes meat for himself; goes to call friends; Turtle asks the Bear to hang the carcass on a tree; Wolves jump into the water for reflection, drown]: 15-16, 16-17; throw off the pawnee [The turtle asks the Bison carry it across the river; climbs into his anus, gnaws at his insides, the Bison dies; the turtle sings that it would be good to get a knife to fresh his prey; the Coyote offers his own on the condition that the meat gets to the one who jumps over the carcass; wins, goes to call his family; the turtle asks two Eagles to move the meat to their nest on the poplar; there he makes a fire and cooks meat; the Coyote brings his children, sees the reflection of the fire in the water, thinks it's a Turtle, dives, gets its head stuck between two driftwood; its excrement floats up; the turtle asks its cubs if they want meat; they cry and run away]: Dorsey 1906, No. 130:453-454; Comanche [The cow wants to transport someone across the river; the Coyote offers himself; does not want to ride on her back, neck, head, ear; agrees in her stomach, climbs there through the mouth; kills a Cow when she gets to the opposite bank; eats meat]: Canonge 1958, No. 6:19-20; Kiova-Apache [Bison offers Porcupine to transport him across the river; he is afraid cling to the wool, wants the Bison to take it in his mouth; on the other side he pierces his heart with thorns; looks for a knife to fresh the carcass; Coyote pretends to be chrome, offers to jump over the carcass; wins by getting all the meat; while he is away, Porcupine carries the meat to a tree by the river, cooks it; the Coyote sees a reflection, jumps into the water with a stone, sinks; Porcupine asks the Coyote's children to lie down with their eyes closed; throws ribs instead meat; kills everyone but the youngest, who opens his eyes; calls him to the tree, feeds him to the dump, tells him to sit at the end of the branch; it breaks, the Coyote falls, crashes to death]: McAllister 1949, No. 17:62-64; wichita [The turtle asks the Bison to transport it across the river; does not want anything but to climb into his anus; on the other side he gnaws through the Bison's intestines, goes out; looks for a knife to cut the carcass; the Coyote gives offers a running competition; wins meat, goes after the family; The squirrel helps the Turtle carry the meat to the tree; the Coyote dives into the river for reflection, almost drowns]: Dorsey 1904a, No. 44:271-274.

California. Maidu [The tick agrees to ride only on the Deer's chest; cuts his throat with a flintlock blade]: Dixon 1902, No. 11:95.

Big Pool. The porcupine asks the Bison or the Deer to get inside it; it cuts his heart with its needles. See K8C motif. Utah; southern payut; chemewevi [The South Fox comes to the river, asks one of the geese girls to transport him; each asks if he wants it, he replies what the other one is; so until last, it is the biggest; he gets inside it; asks if the water is deep; she replies that to the calves, hips, etc., and then in reverse order; when it is clear that they are on the other side, the LE cuts off her heart; when she falls, the Goose girl turns into a killed bison; YuL sings that he is looking for a knife to cut meat; the Coyote hears; runs away for a knife; in fact, the YuL had a knife; after cutting the carcass, he tells the pine tree to grow; pine understands him and meat; Coyote brings his family; LE tells everyone to lie under a pine tree, he will shed meat; sheds bones, killing everyone but the Coyote girl; tells her to climb to the end of a thin branch shakes, it crashes to death]: Laird 1974b: 220-221.

The Great Southwest. The porcupine asks the Bison, the Moose, or the Deer to get inside; it kills it from within. See K8C motif. Jicarilla; chiricahua; lipan; navajo; teva; havasupai.