Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

K119D — Puss in Boots.

38 Myths, legends and folktales
38 Unique narratives for motif K119D
22 Cultures & traditions where K119D is told
5 Sub-motifs of motif K119D
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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

Overview

A cat helps a poor young man marry a princess (a girl marry a prince).

Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes

This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.

K11 has 5 other sub-motifs

Related

K11.  Brothers (brother and sister) kill a monstrous bird. Its eyes turn into heavenly bodies (among the Oaxacan Indians) or something else (among the present-day Condors of the Yokuts).
K11a.  Plucked feathers of a (huge) bird turn into actual birds (or their plumage) or humans emerge from them.
K11a1.  Pieces of flesh or feathers from a monstrous/unusual bird turn into present-day birds (or their plumage).
K11b.  The bones of a huge bird are turned into reeds or bamboo for making arrows or sarbacanes.
K11C.  The plucked feathers of a huge bird turn into plants.
K11D.  Pieces of flesh from a huge creature that has fallen apart or been cut into pieces turn into ordinary animals, birds or fish.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of K11’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny
MotifSimilarityMotif summary
F73B99.95%The bear (wolf, lion, dragon) believes that the vulva is a wound inflicted on a human being.
K128B99.94%The ruler will give his daughter to the one who can herd (gather, train) hares (squirrels, sheep, poultry, partridges) without loss. A poor young man accomplishes the task with the help of a magic device. To have an excuse to refuse, the ruler's family members try to buy one hare (a magic pipe, etc.) so that the suitor cannot fulfil his promise, but as a result they find themselves in a humiliating position.
A32D299.93%A man with a pitchfork in his hands can be seen in the silhouette of the moon's spots.
H6C399.93%Large birds that fly in wedge formations (storks, cranes, swans, geese – German: ZugvΓΆgel) are associated with the otherworld (they bring children from there, carry children away to the non-human world, control living and dead water, etc.).
K56A4E99.93%After meeting a supernatural character, a kind person receives valuables, while a greedy person burns to death upon returning home.
M20399.91%A supernatural being conveys a message to an unknown recipient through a passer-by. By fulfilling the request, the person provokes an unexpected reaction from another supernatural being (usually living in his house). Most of the material was collected by K.Yu. Rakhno.
M38C199.91%The character (supposedly) forges a person, rejuvenating or reviving him, the other unsuccessfully tries to imitate him.
M39G199.90%fool does not pull pants or boots over his feet, but jumps in them from above.
N2299.90%fairy-tale text ends with a formula that says that if the characters are not dead, they are still alive. {Motive at work, more data}.
H7B99.89%A person asks Death (a spirit) to climb a tree or sit on a bench, to which they stick and can only be freed with his permission.

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Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

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Traditions

22 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 22 traditions: England, British, Bretons, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Maltese, France, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, Norwegians, Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Armenians, Bashkirs, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Lutsi (Ludza), Terek Cossacks, Transylvanian Saksons

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