N38. Which key is better. .15.16.27.31.

The character asks others which key is better - lost and found or new. This refers to a forgotten and newfound marriage partner (less often a direct question is asked about this).

Spaniards, Bretons, Germans (Pomerania), Romanians, Hungarians, Danes, Finns, Estonians.

Southern Europe. The Spanish [the childless queen wants at least a crocodile; he bites off the nipples of the nurses; finally, Mariquita's girlfriend agreed to feed him when her chest was covered with iron; he grew up asking marry the girl; Mariquita's older sister goes first; the crocodile tells her not to sleep, he will come at midnight; she falls asleep, he killed her; the same with her middle sister; M. does not sleep, the crocodile says that this girl is his will spell; took off 7 crocodile skins, became handsome, told his wife not to touch her skin; M. told her mother-in-law, she came in, burned her skin; the husband flew to the castle Go, you won't come back, his wife would find him, wearing out 7 pairs iron shoes and the same number of her son, whom he will give birth; they were almost worn out; St. The virgin gave M. three nuts with valuables inside; the eagle carried M. and her son on her back from the eagle castle to the castle Go, you won't come back; M. opened the first nut, in which the spinning wheel, sells her husband's bride for the right spend the night, but she gives the young man sleeping pills, he does not wake up; the same second night (spindle); the third time a golden egg, the servant threw away the sleeping pill, the husband recognized M., the spell was removed; told everyone that found a lost key and a new one is no longer needed]: Camarena, Chevalier 1995, No. 425A: 241-246.

Western Europe. Bretons [the fisherman has 6 children, the catch is always poor; he has caught a mermaid, she promised a rich catch, but wants to kiss a boy whom the fisherman's wife just gave birth to; after baptizing the baby, the fisherman brought it to the mermaid; she gave it a piece of gold to be put on the edge of the hearth; then gold would fall from the chimney all day; the mermaid tried to pick up the child, but the fisherman took it away; the mermaid disappeared saying that the boy (his name is Fanch) still belongs to her; the fisherman became rich; people thought that the fisherman sold himself to the devil, stopped communicating with him; F. reached the age of 18, went on a journey, taking a servant; father forbid him to approach the seashore; the wolf, the hawk and the bumblebee argue over the horse's carcass; F. divided: meat to the wolf, giblets to the hawk, blood to the bumblebee; they gave F. the ability to take their form; F. for testing became a wolf, the servant got scared and rode away; there was a pond in front, there were geese; F. swam on horseback, giving the geese bread; the main goose promised to help; on the way ants, F. gave them all the rest of the food, they promised to help; F . came to the castle, there is food and wine, a soft bed; in the morning the old woman throws a purse with money into the well and tells her to get it, letting the sink scoop out water; otherwise she will kill; F. calls the goose, she dives, brings; the next day is to divide the three varieties of grain (ants divided); on the third day, find out in the dark which of the three sisters is more beautiful, for three old women are the enchanted daughters of the Spanish king; let F. marry beautiful; the bumblebee will buzz around the head of the one to choose; the old women have become princesses, but F. said that he is still too young and will come to Spain later; returned to Paris, lives in front of the palace, sees the princess, became a hawk, let the princess catch himself; at night he becomes a young man; the pregnancy is obvious, the king was told he ran into his daughter's room, F. opened, had to marry him to a princess; her former fiancé, a Turkish prince, invited F. to go by sea, pushed him into the water, F. was picked up by a mermaid; two years later, F. asked her to lift him above the water for a while, flew away hawk to Paris; tomorrow his wife's wedding to a Turkish prince; F. came to the wedding in a luxurious outfit, opened to his wife; the princess asks the king and Turkish fiancé what key to keep: old and found or made in return; both answer that he is old; F. tells the Turkish prince to be thrown into a hot furnace; all is well]: Luzel 1887 (2), No. 10:381-418; Germans (Pomerania) [after serving, soldier Johann got lost in the forest, came to the castle; there is a mermaid in his barrel; asks him to silently endure the torment of demons for three evenings in a row; J. coped, the mermaid turned into a princess with a golden crown on her head; she will make Y. a husband, but must first visit her country Semiradier; I will be back tomorrow one hour before noon; a maid witch in the castle mixed J. with sleeping pills in the wine; the princess did not wake up, left her handkerchief, writing that she would appear twice more and then fly to Semihradiye forever; on the third handkerchief there is an inscription: goodbye forever; J. hopes to see her on the glass mountain; came into the robbers' house, the maid hides it in a chest; one robber says that today he stole boots by leaps and bounds, an invisibility cloak and an inexhaustible purse; the robbers are going to put the wonderful ones first the objects in the chest where J. is sitting, but then decided to hide them under a tree; J. dug them up in the morning and flew with his girlfriend to the glass mountain in an invisible cloak; poured gold to the girl, and tried it himself get up, but it was too cool and slippery; went to the inn, whose owner commands the animals; he whistled and the animals showed up; they don't know about Semihradiye; the owner's Schwager lives a hundred miles away, he rules the birds; the last was the crane, just from Semirady; carried the soldier to the top of the glass mountain, but only half, from where the soldier went down again; he hears the noise: three brothers are already a hundred years old fighting over their father's inheritance - a white horse that flies through the air; soldier: step a hundred steps away, whoever gets faster will get a horse; jumped on it himself and climbed the glass mountain; the princess goes to church with her new fiancé; the soldier showed her three scarves; she addresses the guests: she lost her key, ordered a new one, and now she has found which one is better; everyone thinks it's old; wedding]: Jahn 1891, No. 56:304-311; the Germans (Pomerania) [the miller's daughter does not know how to spin at all; he spreads a rumor that she can turn straw into gold threads; the townspeople laugh, but the king believed and brought it to him left straw for the night and told me to spin; an hour before midnight, a man appeared and promised to turn straw into gold if the girl paid; she gave the ring, fell asleep, and in the morning gold instead of straw; the same the next night (she gave the jewelry); for the third time she has nothing else; agreed to the little man's offer to give her first child if a boy is born; seeing gold, the king is delighted, celebrates the wedding; a boy was born; an hour before midnight, a little man came, but the Queen did not give him the baby; he disappeared; Prince Alvin grew up and guests gathered for his 14th birthday; the prince rode with his peers to the sea and disappeared into the water with his horse; the grassy sunny plain was under the water; by evening A. rode to the house where the woman was; she was the wife of the one to whom A. was sold; he would be able to return to earth if he did errands; he must boil the bones and potatoes, fill 300 bowls, serve them to three hundred cats, then take the bowls back to the kitchen, wash them and wipe them; A. fell asleep at midnight, and at 3 the witch woke him up, gave him black wool, took her to the lakes and ordered it to be washed white by sunset; a girl in a black dress came up, warned that his wool would not turn white; A. fell asleep, and when he woke up, there was white and dry wool nearby, but the girl is gone; cat dinner again in the evening, go to wash his hair again in the middle of the night; A. suffers from hunger, because he cannot eat cat food; again the same, but in the morning another job: clean the stall to shine; when he opened the door, snakes, toads and rats rushed at him - the door had to be closed; the girl in black promised to do everything; warned him not to touch the food that the witch would give; she would offer to choose the reward is one of the cats; you must take a small colorful one that will sit in the corner; the witch is happy; tells you to feed the cats for the last time and then A. will return home; in the morning the witch let me sleep for the first time; offered a roast goose, but A. was not tempted and hid the goose in the oven; said he ate it with seeds; the goose shouted that he was here; witch: he was too tough; the same with the rooster and the pig; since A. chose and takes her favorite cat away, the witch refused to show him the way home - let him look for himself; by the lake, the cat turned into a girl in black, promises to help if A. marries her; for 3 days he should not eat and drink; took his hand and they found themselves on the shore; the girl disappeared, and A. returned home; it turned out that he had been away not for 5 days, but for 10 years; A. could not resist eating the dishes offered and forgot what happened to him was at the bottom; he was chosen to marry a princess; a girl in black came to the wedding feast, two pigeons on her shoulders, they began to talk; A. remembered everything; addressed the guests: I lost the key to the casket, ordered new and then old one found; which one to use? everyone said he was old; A. married a girl in black]: Jahn 1891, No. 1:1-9; the Germans [the old woman predicts the childless king that he will have a son but will disappear in the 12th year; when Ferdinand is 12 years old, he goes with his parents to a wedding, chases a deer, loses her way; an old woman appears, offers to carry it, takes him across the river to her house; she has 3 daughters, the youngest Lenore; after a while the old woman tells 1) to scoop out the lake with a spoon (L. drains it); 2) turn the forest into firewood (L. performs); 3) build a palace not out of wood, brick or stone (L. builds from gold and silver); 3) choose a bride among an old woman's three daughters (L. has a speck of blood on her forehead); at night, L. turns 2 pillows into people, the young run, the old woman hits pillows with an ax; the middle sister chases, L. turns herself into a mug of beer , F. in the lid of the mug, tells her sister to hit the teeth; the older sister (a cherry tree and a thorny bush, the thorns are scratched); the old woman chases, L. turns herself and F. into two ducks, they swim across the river; the old woman sends her daughter a dowry across the river in three boxes; the prince leaves L. to prepare a reception at her father's castle; L. tells no one to kiss, the old nurse kisses, F. forgets everything; L. became a townsman, three of the prince's servants come to her one by one; the first she asks to close the door, he sticks to the hook; the second to the scoop by the stove; the third to the calf in the courtyard; the king marries the prince, the wedding carriage breaks down near the house in which L.; she gives the door to the boards to repair the carriage, asks her to take it to the wedding; wears the first dowry dress given by her mother; the young gives way to F. for the night for the dress, but F. puts F. to sleep; the next day, the gulf in the carriage broke, L. gives his scoop; the same; on the third day, only that calf moves the carriage; the servant told F. everything, he is waiting for L., but she accuses F. of forgetfulness, retires to a castle between earth and sky; F. goes in search; two giants argue over leaps and bounds; F. invites them to race, runs away himself in boots; the other two giants, a coat- invisible; still others are a saddle that carries through the air; F. gets to the mother of the Month, the mother of the Sun, the mother of the Wind; only the Wind knows where the castle is - he dried the laundry washed before the wedding there; F. appears in front of L.; her new fiance himself says that if you find old keys, you don't need new ones; F.'s wedding with L.]: Cerf 1992:53-76.

The Balkans. Romanians [the boy is predicted that at the age of 9 he will be blown away by a frantic wind (Rasende Wind); his mother turned to the king and he lodged the boy in a palace with 99 cellars; but nine years later, the wind blew away the palace and the boy (now like a young man} was on the mountain; the old man advised him to hide by the stone slab; at midnight a girl came out of the stove and tried to seduce the young man, but he did not move; the next the night was different; the third went out in the light of day; the girls gave a handkerchief, which again turned the pile of stones into a palace; the young man married one of them, a princess; missing home, the young man returned there with his wife ; his mother threw her magic whip into the fire; she flew away, telling her to look for her, wearing iron shoes; learned to play the flute, harmonica and accordion; the devils heard him play and called him to the royal wedding; the guests only like the young man's play; the bride, that is, the young man's wife, recognized him; the church announced that she had found the old key; let the guests decide which is better: new or old; everyone said it was old; she remarried a young man]: Bîrlea 1966:412-413; Hungarians (synopsis of Hungarian versions) [a royal couple living in a castle are childless, want a child, even if it is a snake; sometimes a son born in the form of a snake because of the witchcraft of a witch; a serpent grows up and demands that a princess be married to him; two express their disgust, are killed by a snake; the third is good; at night the serpent turns into a prince; the wife pregnant; a village witch or mother-in-law advises to burn a snake skin; the prince grieves that his wife did not wait for the spell to expire, disappears; the wife will find it when she plants a wheat seed and a chestnut, she will irrigate them with her tears, bake bread and a cake from ripe chestnuts; it will take 7 years and she will travel for another 7 years in search of her husband; her husband girds her with an iron hoop: she will not be born until he will not touch her belly with his hand; wife: no one will wash the blood stains on your shirt but me; some sisters feel sorry for the girl, their sons Sun, Month and Wind show her the way; she gets gold spindle, spindle and yarn; her husband is married to another princess, hunts all day; the girl is hired as a laundress; for three gold items she buys 3 nights with a prince, but the first days he is intoxicated with sleeping pills and she can't get to him; on the third evening, the servant tells him what he saw and heard, the prince pours out his wine; the wife gives birth to a gold-haired boy or twins; they are 7 years old, they play in the bedroom spouses; the new wife (and her witch mother) are punished; the old key found is better than the new one]: Dégh 1990:49-50.

Baltoscandia. The Danes [the king is lost hunting, the horse drowns in the swamp; the sorcerer promises to help if the king gives him the first male being born; the king returns and has a son Irregang; when he is 15 years old, the sorcerer demands a young man, leaves his stick, the young man flies to him on a stick like a horse; in the house, Maid Misery's maid is a kidnapped princess; the sorcerer tells 1) to cut down the forest in a day (M. raises his apron, the forest falls down; before that and every time further, I. swears that he will remain faithful to M.); 2) clean the sheep's pen (M. tells the shovel to work); 3) drive the stallion to the watering hole (he is puffing) with fire, M. easily pacifies him); M. hears how the sorcerer agrees with his mother to fry her and I.; leaves the firewood responsible for himself; runs together with I., sitting on the sorcerer's horse; M. turns I. into a bush, himself into a pink bud, a horse in a stick, the sorcerer does not recognize, returns; next time: church, priest, churchyard; now the sorcerer's mother is chasing herself; duck, duck, stream; witch throws an apple on a string, to attract the fugitives, but the duck bites the thread; the witch bursts, turns into flints scattered on the shore; M. turns the horse into stone; tells I. to go home first, for 7 years have passed; his the mother is dead, the king has a child with his new wife; let no one kiss I.; the dog licks I. in the face, he forgets M.; she turns a stone into a calf, is hired as an employee, she is asked to sew a shirt for the prince on wedding; the coachman wants to stay with her overnight; she asks him to throw ash at the fire in the hearth, he sticks to the scoop, M. lets him go only in the morning; the next night another servant sticks to the latch; then groom: take the calf to the barn, it sticks to the tail; in the morning, the wedding carriage is in trouble, everything breaks; each time Prince I. himself is forced to ask the maid (i.e. M.) to replace the glob with a shovel that has burst bolts - latch, horses - calf; replacements are great; at a wedding feast, M. throws grains, pigeons flock, begin to tell her story; I. remembers everything; tells a parable about the lost and the key to the box found; M. explains that the dog that licked I. became the current bride; M. asks to throw her into the water; then becomes a normal woman, unable to witchcraft, and her gray the calf becomes a prince; it was her bewitched brother]: Grundtvig 1920:83-109; the Finns [the wife gave birth, but the baby was one head; grew up and demanded that a princess be married to him; the king demands by tomorrow, 5 live foxes; the son has got the head; the same is 5 bears; create a castle like a king's; a wedding; the husband warns his wife not to say that he is turning into a man, his legs are silver, his hands are golden, the sun on her forehead, the moon on the back of her head; but her mother-in-law gave her a drink and she told her; when she spoke, flowers fell from her mouth and nose; when she heard this, the husband became a dove, broke the window and flew south; the wife went to look for him; After 7 years, she went to the house; they answered that her husband flew by 7 years ago and left a parcel for her; 7 years later, the same in another house; food and drink in the first package, clothes in the second; told me to go to city, where her husband is a noble man; she met him; he sent letters asking whether marriage was true first or second; everyone said it was the first; he sent away a new bride; they returned home, all is well]: Löwis of Menar 1922, No. 39:119-123; Estonians (Rannu) [the king saw a spring in the forest that did not exist; leaned down to drink, captured; released, promising to give what He does not know at home; and then he guessed that he had forgotten about his son; the devil took the boy and left him in the forest, but so that as soon as you knock on the stump, food appears; the young man has grown up; the old man teaches: three women will arrive, take off their clothes, they will swim; you must take the clothes that will be put away from the others; the guy takes the clothes twice and the girl picks them up twice; the third time the old man teaches not to show; the girl promised to stay; she does not the daughter is like others, and was kidnapped by him as a child; hell tells them to build a stone bridge across the lake; cut down the forest and make beer {apparently finish all the work: sow barley, etc.}; girl everything performs; tame a black stallion; girl: it's the devil himself, you have to put a hot scrap in your throat and hit the head with a hammer; recognize the girl among others (the handkerchief will be beveled to the left; then one leg to the side) ; now we have to run, the girl left a spit to answer for her; the farmhand catches up with the devil, the girl became a herd of geese, the guy became a goose herd; then she was an ox, the guy was a plowman; the lake and the duck; hell in the lake to catch a duck, but the shores came together and he was gone; the guy went ahead to the house; girl: do not kiss anyone; but when he put his younger brother to bed, he kissed him and forgot everything; the girl came to the wedding with a new the bride, the guy recognized her; asks the guests what is better - an old gold ring or a new one; guests: old; the guy told everything; wedding]: Mälk et al 1967, No. 51:121-126.