Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M163 — Dear Cat, ATU 1281, 1651.
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 arrives in a country where there are many mice (rats, snakes) but no cats. He sells a cat there and receives a reward.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior.
M16 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedM16. The wife or relatives (often the mother) of the sick person do not care for him. He recovers, and those who treated him badly are punished. Cf. motifs F62 and F96.
M16a. A character (usually a loon) restores a person's sight and/or health by diving into the water with them. See motif M16.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M90A5 | 99.89% | The story mentions the golden fruits (rarely leaves) of a tree, usually golden apples. |
| K107A | 99.88% | Before reaching their goal, the character must wear out iron shoes or an iron staff. |
| L114B | 99.87% | After receiving the task or on his own initiative, the trickster enters the character's house (usually that of the cannibal) several times, each time taking one of his belongings or one of his family members. |
| K27Z1 | 99.84% | The assistant teaches how to steal the desired object, but not to take anything else (take the bird, but not the cage, the horse, but not the bridle, etc.). The character takes what he should not, is caught, released on the promise to deliver another object, then the girl. In the end, the hero keeps both the girl and everything he stole. {ATU 550 includes a much wider range of texts; in particular, the Indian, Burmese and Persian variants mentioned in Uther 2004 do not correspond to our definition}. |
| K122 | 99.83% | Having penetrated the world of a powerful woman, unattainable without the support of supernatural helpers, the man returns. The deceiver tries to take credit for the feat. The woman whom the hero met in her world finds him and punishes (rejects) the deceiver. |
| L100F1 | 99.80% | A worker (the young son of the master) arranges things so that the food prepared by the mistress for her lover, who is working in the field, goes to the master, and when the master goes to the man, not knowing that he is his wife's lover, the man thinks that the husband is coming to kill him and flees. |
| J32F | 99.80% | While standing guard, the hero discovers who is stealing fruit (usually apples) from the garden. |
| M138 | 99.78% | At first, everyone was given 20 or 30 years. For animals, this is a long time, but for humans, it is short. Humans received part of the lifespan of animals. |
| M106F | 99.76% | A stranger tells a woman that he has come from the other world. The woman gives him money and belongings with a request to pass them on to her deceased son, husband, etc. Usually, the woman's (new) husband (or son), upon learning of the deception, rides after him, and as a result, the deceiver steals his horse. |
| K131B | 99.75% | Having received and then lost a magical object, the hero returns it with the help of a new one (a club, a box with an army, etc.), received in exchange for the first or obtained by the hero's brother. The episode may be repeated several times. |
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
67 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 67 traditions: Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Saho, Afar, Mandingo (Manden, incl San, Samo), Kagoro, Bambara (Bamana), Malinke, Kassonke, Diula, Minahasa (incl. Tondano, Tentemboan), Bantik, Ireland, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Catalan, Aragon, Sicily, Sicilians, France, Dutch, Flemish, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Czech, Czechs, Slovakians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Macedonians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians), Slovenians, Slovenes, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Livonians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Norwegians, Danes, Danish, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Uzbek, Yazgulami, Sarikoli, Persians, Karachays, Balkar, Laks, Nogai, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kara Kalpak, Kirghiz, Turkmen, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Daur (Daghur), Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), Icelanders, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Frisians, Bosnians, Morocco, Egypt, Russian Federation
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