Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M26A — Ducks carry the catcher (strung on a rope), ATU 1881
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
OverviewThe character catches birds by feeding them bait tied to a rope, which they swallow one by one, or by shooting several birds with one bullet, or by soldering birds drunk and tying up. Birds usually take off and carry away a catcher holding a rope.
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.
M26 has 1 other sub-motifs
RelatedM26. The character dives under waterfowl and ties a rope to their legs to catch them. Birds soar into the air, lifting the catcher with them. It later falls.
M26a. The character catches birds by feeding them bait tied to a rope, which they swallow one by one, or by shooting several birds with one bullet, or by soldering birds drunk and tying up. Birds usually take off and carry away a catcher holding a rope.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M199I | 99.97% | A man and a giant (devil, bear, etc.) compete to see who can make the loudest sound (whistle, shout, sneeze, etc.). The man blindfolds his opponent and hits him with a heavy object; blows a trumpet; wraps his head so that it does not burst; etc. The opponent admits defeat or refuses to compete. |
| M91C6 | 99.86% | A person sells a hat to others, convincing them that it pays the bill, you just have to lift it up (throw it on the floor, etc.). He actually paid the innkeeper in advance. |
| M199C | 99.84% | A person pretends to throw or is about to throw an object somewhere from which it cannot be retrieved (often into the sky, the clouds, or the sea). The opponent asks them not to do so and to stop the contest. |
| M106G | 99.83% | A man lifts a cow (donkey, ox, wife) onto the roof so that the animal can eat the grass growing there (the wife has gathered turnips, etc.) â usually by throwing a noose around the neck of the wife or animal. |
| K128 | 99.81% | A character orders the hero to graze animals (or birds) and promises to execute him (deprive him of his reward) if even one animal is lost. Cf. K128B (ATU 570). |
| M135 | 99.81% | Two ungulates â usually after the wolf agrees to share the meadow between them â gore the predator from both sides, killing or maiming it. |
| M136 | 99.81% | Some people do not know what to do with cutting tools; they try to use tools that are not suitable for these purposes instead. |
| I120A | 99.80% | Entering the ear of an animal (usually a horse or a cow) and coming back out, the character becomes beautiful (well-fed, well-dressed). |
| M39A4E | 99.75% | Fool sells property to a tree (stump, pole, a cross in the countryside) and believes that it will pay him. Trying to get his money, he finds treasure |
| M114B3 | 99.74% | When a girl is asked to weave clothes, given a negligible amount of yarn, she asks in return to make her weaving tools from sticks, twigs, straw, etc. |
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: Poles, Slovakians, Slovaks, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, Vepsians, Western Sami, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari (Cheremis), Udmurt, Komi (Zyrians and Permyaks), Japan, Russian Federation
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