Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
H49B — The debtor gives his dog as collateral, Th B221.2.2; ATU 178B.
Source data for narratives and traditions is drawn from Berezkin’s Analytical Catalogue. If you use this data, please acknowledge and link to it: Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of motif
OverviewA man gives his dog to another man. The dog is of great use to him (it finds stolen goods and drives away thieves). The man who received the dog sends it back with a letter of thanks. The owner thinks that the dog has run away, kills it, and only then finds the letter.
Berezkin category: Paradise Lost
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
H49 has 4 other sub-motifs
RelatedH49. A dog or other animal kills a creature that threatened a small child. The owner or other people mistake the saviour for an aggressor and kill it.
H49A. A man does not understand that a dog or cat wanted to save his wife or preserve her honour and kills the animal.
H49b. A man gives his dog to another man. The dog is of great use to him (it finds stolen goods and drives away thieves). The man who received the dog sends it back with a letter of thanks. The owner thinks that the dog has run away, kills it, and only then finds the letter.
H49c. A tame bird (rarely: a domestic animal) shows visible aggression towards its owner (usually a falcon knocks a bowl out of the hands of a thirsty man). The man kills the bird (animal) and then discovers that they saved him from death.
H49d. A character (usually a bird) brings a healing (rejuvenating) fruit (seed, branch). Accidentally or maliciously, poison gets into the fruit. The person whom the fruit-bearer wanted to help kills or is about to kill his benefactor, and then learns of his mistake.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M152A | 99.36% | A strong predator (a giant cannibal) and a weak predator are tied together with a rope to feel more confident. The strong one flees and drags the weak one behind him. |
| I132 | 99.35% | A deer props its antlers against the sky, and a person climbs them to reach the upper world. Alternatively, a person finds themselves in the sky when they touch the deer's antlers. |
| K101C | 99.35% | The bride stipulates that she will only be with her husband during the day. The husband discovers that at night she meets with heavenly maidens (and usually flies away to dance in the sky). He follows her and in the end she stays with him on earth. |
| K116B | 99.11% | In order to take possession of the girl, the antagonist creates a situation in which her relatives are forced to put her in a chest (barrel, sack, etc.) and leave her there. The girl is secretly replaced by a ferocious dog or other animal. When the antagonist opens the chest, the animal usually kills or mauls him. |
| C31C | 98.50% | The bat turns out to be smarter and wiser than other living creatures. |
| I50C | 98.50% | Describes a hoofed animal with a second set of legs on its back that runs either normally or upside down. This makes it tireless. |
| L90B | 98.50% | One tooth (fang) of the creature touches the sky, the other reaches the earth or the underworld. |
| M195B | 98.50% | A person sticks a needle (thread, stick) into the ear of two or three dolls (skulls). In different dolls or skulls, the object comes out of different holes (or does not go inside at all, remains inside, etc.). This refers to people who react differently to what they hear (inattentive, talkative, wise). |
| M23A | 98.50% | The turtle says that before eating it, it must be properly soaked in water, but once in the water, it swims away. |
| M78A | 98.41% | A tiny little man emerges from the severed tail of a goat or sheep. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Traditions
16 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 16 traditions: Amhara; Zay, Harari; Silte, Gogot, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Telugu (incl. Yanadi, Chenchu), Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Sindhi, Kashmiri, Gujarati, Assamese, Balahi; Lambadi (Banjaaa), Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), France, Mongols (Khalkha), Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), China
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