The Mythology and Folklore Database
K75B - Three melons from three daughters.




26 Myths, Legends and Folktales
25 Unique Narratives for Motif K75B
15 Cultures & Traditions where K75B is told
54 Mythemes Indexed
6 Sub-Motifs of Motif K75B


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 Motif Summary  -   Motifs with Simlar Dispersals  -    Map of Myth Distribution   -   List of Traditions  -   Myths



Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.



Summary of Motif

Wanting to show that it is time for them to marry, daughters of different ages send their father fruits of varying degrees of ripeness (bread baked in different ways).

Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes

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


K75 has 6 other sub-motifs


K75.  The girl (usually the youngest of the sisters) does not reject the hero, who temporarily takes the form of an animal, a freak, an old man, a poor man, or a loser, or she picks up the hero's remains and he comes back to life. After some time, the hero reveals his true nature.
K75a.  The character chooses one of many suitors (a woman chooses a husband, a boy chooses a father, a young man chooses a bride) by throwing an object (often an apple) at him. Cf. motif K113A (throwing an object at random, not at a person who is nearby).
K75a1.  The ruler orders his youngest daughter (and her chosen husband) to live in conditions that do not correspond to her status. He does not know that her chosen one is not a poor wretch, as he seems, but a mighty warrior and a handsome man.
K75a2.  Appearing incognito to an authoritative figure, the hero works for him as a gardener.
K75a3.  Appearing incognito to an authoritative character, the hero works for him as a groom.
K75b.  Wanting to show that it is time for them to marry, daughters of different ages send their father fruits of varying degrees of ripeness (bread baked in different ways).
K75c.  The devil promises a person wealth if he does not wash (cut his hair, etc.) for a certain period of time; both keep their promises.

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Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns

MotifSimilarityMotif Summary
K102B99.24%In order to destroy the hero (heroine), the antagonist must first get rid of his beloved animal (usually a horse). When the animal is about to be slaughtered, the hero (heroine) mounts it, rides away and escapes.
M14699.19%Knowing that the meat is in a trap or poisoned, or that there is a trap ahead, a zoomorphic character provokes another to try the meat first or to go ahead.
J32C99.15%At night, a demonic character comes to the grave of the deceased, intending to harm him.
M198A399.06%One of the brothers secretly takes valuables belonging to all of them or is illegitimate. The brothers come to an authoritative figure to determine who is the thief or illegitimate child. Usually, the figure tells a story and determines the culprit based on the reaction of those who have come.
M198A99.02%Brothers (rarely: one person) determine the characteristics of a domestic animal they have not seen, or of the person who stole the animal, based on subtle clues. {In ATU, plots 655 and 655A are combined; in Aarne, Thompson 1961 and in regional indexes, our motif M198A corresponds to plot 655A} (Type 655A only in Aarne, Thompson 1984. In ATU mixed with 655).
E4198.95%A skilled blacksmith, as a special gift, can take iron heated in a furnace with his bare hands, knead it like dough, and shape it as desired. Usually, he breaks a certain taboo and loses his gift. (The motif was identified and the material collected by Ruslan Doutalieyev).
M91C398.91%A person releases an animal or a bird - supposedly with his wife instructing his wife to cook food, etc. Another does not understand deception and buys an animal.
I8998.82%There is a star that brings death and misfortune; it is usually told how people mistake a star or constellation rising at night for the Morning Star, set off on a journey and lose their way.
L40B98.74%To make the character come closer, absurd actions are performed in front of him. The character does not understand the deception and comes closer to explain how to act correctly.
M19898.63%In the house of the khan (judge, king, etc.), three brothers (rarely one person) determine that the food and drink served to them smell of dead flesh, dog, goat, etc., and (or that) the host who receives them is illegitimate or of low birth. After questioning the servants and his mother, the host is convinced that the brothers are right.

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Map of Motif Dispersal

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This motif has been recorded in 15 traditions: Arabs of Iraq, Iraqi, Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Moldovans, Albanians, Balkarians, Persians, Ingush, Nogai, Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Hui (Dungan) of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (Dungan texts from Southern and Eastern China are clustered with the Chinese ones), Turkmen, Bashkirs, Kordofan, Berbers of Algeria


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