Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
M55 — Dangerous overnight stay
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 human or weaker animal character takes a stronger character to sleep in a supposedly dangerous place where hot coals, sticks, etc. can fall on those lying at night; when A strong character falls asleep, his companion burns or hits him, pretending that both of them have suffered equally.
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.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| F45A1 | 97.01% | A woman, against her will, conceives from the wind. |
| K104 | 97.01% | The youngest of the brothers stays at home, wounds a red swan or duck, and follows its trail. |
| M75A | 96.53% | The character lures a veteran to avenge his fall from the sky. Either the (potauatomi) shovel drops the character or leaves him on top to avenge being lured and caught. |
| M66A | 96.04% | After eating a certain food, the trickster leaves a mountain of excrement that is larger than himself. |
| M13A | 95.53% | A deity and a human meet so that the former can fulfil the latter's request. As a result, the human is turned to stone. Usually (except for the Squamish), one of the supplicants wants eternal life and is turned to stone. See motif M13. |
| B42A | 95.13% | Hunters chase a bear across the sky and kill it in August-October. The bear's blood or fat falls to the ground in the form of dew or colours the foliage red. See motif B42. |
| H37B | 95.13% | One character gives another his power (usually a skunk gives his volley). The other wastes the resource unnecessarily to test its effect. Usually, when the need arises, the resource no longer works. |
| L75 | 94.70% | One of two brothers is the embodiment of evil; at birth, he cuts open his mother's body, killing her. |
| M53C | 94.26% | trickster, inviting birds to dance around him with their eyes closed, kills them one at a time and threatens to turn red at the one that opens their eyes; this is an empty threat, or for a bird that opens eyes and eyes have really turned red ever since. |
| G30 | 94.12% | A long penis is cut into pieces, which turn into many edible plants or different types of trees. Cf. motif B53. |
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
4 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 4 traditions: Natchez (incl Avoyel), Alabama, Koasati, Cherokee, Pemon: Arekuna (incl. Kamarakoto), Taulipang (Taurepan)
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How to cite: Fielder-White, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com
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