Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif

L93A — The fox as helper.

382 Myths, legends and folktales

382 Unique narratives for motif L93A

161 Cultures & traditions where L93A is told

4 Sub-motifs of motif L93A

Please log on to view the narratives.

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

The fox, jackal or coyote, resorting to cunning, helps the hero, heroine or people in general, saving them.

Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits

This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 9, Identification of protagonists of the stories with particular animals or persons with particular qualities.

L93 has 4 other sub-motifs

L93.  A demon, a man-eater, chops down a tree or a rock on top of which the hero is hiding. While he is resting, the animal throws his axe into the water, carries it away or damages it. See motif L92.
L93a.  The fox, jackal or coyote, resorting to cunning, helps the hero, heroine or people in general, saving them.
L93b.  The hare or rabbit, resorting to cunning, helps the hero or heroine, saving them.
L93c.  The monkey, resorting to cunning, helps the hero or heroine, saves them.
l93d.  The hedgehog, resorting to cunning, helps the hero and saves him.

🌐 See a combined distribution map for all of L93’s motifs

Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns

Phylogeny

Motif	Similarity	Motif summary
K27X2	99.38%	The character is able to get an egg or chick (and put them back) from under a bird in a nest, or change the bird's feathers (pluck feathers), or get a fruit from an animal's womb so that the bird or animal does not notice.
K73A4	99.16%	Malicious women replace the newborn with a puppy (telling the father that his wife has given birth to a puppy). See motifs K73, K73A.
K119	99.02%	An animal promises to make a poor man rich (usually by marrying him to a rich bride; or by marrying a poor girl to a prince) and, resorting to deception, fulfils its promise.
H16B	99.01%	The narratives (in various contexts) mention a milk pond (river, lake, wave in the sea) existing on earth (but not among the stars). Cf. motifs H16, K33F, N34.
K106	98.48%	The hero (a miraculous infant, a magical rooster) is thrown at the feet of animals, but they do not trample him.
L104	98.45%	The fleeing character successively takes on the appearance of various creatures or objects; the pursuer also changes his appearance, each time transforming into someone who is dangerous to the pursued in his current form.
K73A	98.44%	Malicious women replace the newborn with an animal or an inanimate object (they tell the baby's father that his wife gave birth to an animal or an object). See motif K73.
K36	98.41%	The hero (heroine) is temporarily transformed into an animal (usually a dog/coyote or a donkey, with the face of the former]: 151-152t to the ground; and the strength of 99 men; if she had taken the hundredth, she would have remained a woman; if the young man had ground, a horse). When he or she is helped to regain their former appearance, the antagonist is transformed into an animal. In some texts, either only the hero or only the antagonist undergoes metamorphosis. Cf. motifs K62B, J62b1 (the character transforms many people into animals).
M170	98.28%	Pretending to be concerned only with performing religious rituals or following rules (confessing sins, going on pilgrimages, giving up meat, etc.), a zoomorphic character kills those who trust him.
K102	98.26%	A woman who is initially friendly to the hero (his sister, mother, less often his wife or lover) then tries to destroy him by acting in concert with his enemy. To this end, she persuades the hero to take actions that are fatal to him.

See the 100 most similar distributions →

Map of motif dispersal

Distribution

Drag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below

🌐 Open as Airocean (Dymaxion) map ↗

Traditions

161 recorded

This motif has been recorded in 161 traditions: Sumer, Arabs of Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan); Bedouins of Sinai, Algeria Arabs, Nuba, Saho, Afar, Dinka, Atuot, Nuer, Shilluk, Anuak, Omotic: Ari (incl Baka, Male, Schangama, Ubamer), Kafa, Dime, Banna, Basketo, Nao, Hausa, Akan, Ashanti, Akwapim; Ga (Accra), Kra, Twi (Chwi, Chi), Santali, Turi, Mahli, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Oraon (Kurukh), Konds (Khonds; language is Kui, incl Kuttia, Konda-Dora), Koya; Pengo, Gondi (mostly Northern Gondi), Tamil, Muthuvan, Marvar, Tamils, Bengali, Punjabi, Seraiki (Multani), Sindhi, Nepali; Tharu, Marathi (incl. Bhamta; incl. Mumbai area), Hindi-speaking peoples and casts (incl. Teli, Parahiya; incl. Chhattisgarhi) of Northern and West-Central India, Konkani (incl Goa), Assamese, Sinhalese; Vedda, Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), Ireland, England, British, Bretons, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Spain, Spaniards, Portuguese, Portugal, Basques, Catalan, Sicily, Sicilians, Sardinia, Corsica, Sardinians, Corsicans, 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, Poles, Kashubians, 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, Albanians, Balkarians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Setu, Finns, Vepsians, Western Sami, Eastern Sami (including Skolts), Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Danish, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Uzbek, Wakhi, Ishkashimi (including Sanglich), Munji, Yazgulami, Sarikoli, Tajik, Persians, Abaza (Abazins), Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Abkhaz, Abkhazians, Karachays, Balkar, Ossetians, Ingush, Rutul, Tsakhur, Tabasaran, Aghul, Dargin (Dargwa), incl. Müregin, Khürkilin, Kubachi, Laks, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Kumyk, Terekemen, Nogai, Tats, Mingrelians (Megrelians), Laz, Georgians, Armenians, Kalmyk, Gagauz, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kurds, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uyghur, Turkmen, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Mordvins, Chuvash, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Mansi, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Oirats (incl Torgouts, Derbets, Oilots), Mongols (Khalkha), Darkhad, Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Khakas, Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians, Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians, Nenets, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Central Yakuts (Sakha), Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Western Tungus (Evenki), Western Siberia Tungus (Evenki): Sym River, Ket River, Uilta (Orok), Nanai, Kerek, Reindeer Koryak, Maritime Koryak (Alyutor), Chukchi, Central Yupik, Dogrib, Slavey, Upper Tanana (Nebesna), Tanacross, Tanana, Bering Strait Inupiat (incl. King Island), North Alaskan Inupiat, Polar Inuit, Lkungen (Straits; including Samish, Songish, Sooke, Lummi), Klallam, Western Sahaptin (Upper Cowlitz, Klikitat, Tenino, Umatilla, Yakima, Wallawalla), Nez Perce, Tillamook, Coeur D'Alene, Kalispel (Pend d'Oreille; incl Spokane), Flathead, Caddo, Wapishana (incl Ataroi); Mapidian; Taruma, Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), Upper Chinook: Wasco, Wishram, Clackamas, Kathlamet, Oriya (incl. Dom/Domba/Dombo, Ghasi, Bhat and other Oriya-speaking castes of Odisha), Chechens, Kumaoni (Central Pahari), incl. Garhwali, Wallons, Picardie, Galicians, Dhimal, Parachi, Ormur, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori, Toto, Rabha (northern Western Bengalia), Transylvanian Saksons, Ilimpii Tungus/Evenki, Yerbogachen Tungus/Evenki, Tungus/Evenki of Nercha - Chita area, Bosnians, Morocco, Kuwait, Russian Federation

Please log on to view the narratives.

If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help

How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com

0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.

Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.

Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.

Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.