Propp Revisited: A Structural Analysis of Vuk Karadžić’s Collection Serbian Folk Fairy Tales

Voiceless tongue (Nemušti jezik)

I: Once upon a time there lived a shepherd who worked (α) for a rich man (this could be regarded as a situation of initial lack, lack of sustenance (a ⁵). He left home (β ³) and came upon a snake caught in a fire (D ⁷) and saved it (E ⁷) by reaching towards it by a stick which the snake coiled around. The snake ordered him to take it to its father, the Snake King. Upon the snake’s advice the shepherd asks to be given the ability to understand voiceless tongue (F ⁷). He pledged on his life that he would not tell a soul (y ¹). Thanks to the unusual gift the shepherd found a place with buried treasure (G ⁴) and came into unexpected riches (K ⁶), bought a house and got married (W).

II: When he and his wife visited their pastures (β ³), the husband overheard a conversation between a pack of wolves and his dogs and understood from it that only one old dog would not betray him (D ⁷E ⁷F ⁹). When the two were returning home, the husband could not help laughing upon overhearing a conversation between his stag and his mare. The wife was curious to know why he had laughed and was so persistent (a ⁶) that the husband decided to tell her although he knew it would be the end of his life (M). He prepared a coffin and lay into it. Nevertheless, he overheard one more animal conversation, that between his faithful old dog and his rooster. The rooster was not in the least concerned about his master’s imminent death. He offered an example of himself and his many hens and the way he treated them (using force against the curious female was advised and the tale has a misogynic note to it). The man took the advice (N) and beat his wife (U) making her into a meek and docile spouse (w ²). Consequently, he was never asked any unnecessary questions.

Stojša & Mladen (Stojša i Mladen)

I: An emperor had three daughters and kept them hidden in his castle (α). When they were first allowed out to play and dance outside (β ³), a whirlwind appeared and they were taken no one knew where (A ¹). The emperor died of broken heart leaving his pregnant wife behind. She gave birth to a son and named him Stojša. When he reached adulthood, his mother told him about his sisters and he went to seek them (B ⁴ C ↑). His mother gave him their three handkerchiefs. Near a spring, next to a town, the youth found his eldest sister and then, in the same way, the other two (G ²). They were all abducted by dragons and wedded to them, but the brother did not take them home (K_neg), since when the dragons saw Stojša and his bravery they all welcomed him and they parted on friendly terms. Still, Stojša was enquiring about the way to deliver the sisters from their abductors, (δ ²ζ ²) found the Dragon Emperor (D ⁹), became his friend and ally (E ⁹) and helped him (F ⁹) attack and kill the dragon brothers-in-law (H ¹J ¹). Then, he took the sisters (K ¹) and went home (↓) to his mother (W _*).

The devil’s apprentice (Đavo i njegov šegrt)

I: There was a father who had an only son (α) and sent him off to learn craft (they were poor, a ⁵) and become an artisan. The boy obeyed and joined his father in search of a master (B ³ C ↑). By a river they met a man in green robes and they agreed he would be the boy’s master. The man in green was the Devil himself. He took the boy underwater and gave him over to an old woman. The woman revealed to the boy the true nature of his master and promised to teach him everything about the devil’s art (D ¹E ¹F ¹). Still, the boy was not to tell his master that he had any success in the devilish skills. The Devil grew tired of the untalented apprentice and threw him out of his world. The boy arrived home (↓) and told his father they should go to a fair. There he shapeshifted into a horse and warned his father that when selling him, he should not give the horse collar to the buyer. The buyer was apparently a Turk, but actually the Devil, his master. Then, the boy transformed himself into a huge shop, the Turk reappeared to buy it but the boy continued transforming himself, first into a pigeon chased by a sparrow-hawk (the Devil), then into a ring on an Emperor’s daughter’s finger (H ² ⁝). The Turk entered into the Emperor’s service for three years to be paid with nothing but the ring. But the boy was transforming into his real self every night and the girl fell in love with him. So, when the Turk came to take the ring, she threw it off onto the ground and it became corn crumbs. The Turk transformed into a sparrow and started pecking the corn, but a crumb grew magically into a cat which snapped the sparrow’s neck (J ²). The boy and his father took the Devil’s treasure (K ⁶), and a wedding is implied although not directly mentioned in the tale (w).

She-dragon and the emperor’s son (Aždaja i carev sin)

I: An Emperor had three sons (α). Two elder sons left home (β ³) and got lost while hunting, that is they were deceived by a hare, which was a she-dragon transformed (η ³θ ³). The she-dragon fed on humans, and therefore, was extremely dangerous (A¹⁵). The two elder brothers perished (β ³η ³θ ³A¹⁵), but the youngest was more careful although he, too, took the same route (β ³η ³). The third prince did not chase the hare (θneg3) but went on searching for something else to hunt. He was roaming the mountain and came across an old woman (D). The prince was well-mannered (E) and the old woman decided to tell him that the hare was actually a she-dragon. The old woman was the she dragon’s captive. She plotted against the she-dragon (F⁹) with the young prince and they decided that the woman should find out where the monster’s strength lay (ε³). She succeeded and the secret was revealed (ζ ³) – the dragon had a boar within it and the boar had a hare. Again, there was a pigeon within the hare and a sparrow within the pigeon. And the strength was in the sparrow. The prince went on to seek the strength (B³ C ↑) and started working as a shepherd (o) hired by another emperor in whose country was the lake where the she-dragon lived. He wrestled the she-dragon for three days and for the first two days the dragon regained its strength by dipping its head into the lake some time about noon (H¹ ⁝). The third day the prince-shepherd asked for the emperor’s daughter to come with him to the lake and kiss him on the forehead. The lady was afraid and reluctant but her father made her go so as to deliver their people from the dragon nemesis. She acquiesced and kissed the boy, he regained strength, overpowered and killed the dragon (J¹), including all the strength keepers within it. The prince then revealed his identity (Q). The princess and the hero wedded (W *), the prince returned home (↓), liberated his brothers (K¹) and ascended to his father’s throne (W_*).

Snakegroom (Zmija mladoženja)

I: There was an old lady (α) who prayed to God to bless her with offspring (a¹) even if it be but a snake. And it was so (K¹). As soon as she gave birth the snake slipped to the ground and sneaked off into high grass.

II: Twenty years passed and the snake reappeared asking to marry the emperor’s daughter (a¹). His mother went to the emperor and told him everything (B⁴ C ↑). The emperor laughed at the request but gave a seemingly impossible task to the snake – to build a bridge from pearls and jewels (M). The snake managed to complete the task – he built a pearl and jewel bridge all the way from the woman’s house to the emperor’s castle (N). The emperor wanted more. He wanted the snake’s house to become a castle larger and finer than his own (M). The snake completed that task (N), too. The emperor agreed to the marriage (K⁴), and the woman took the girl home (↓) and wedded her to the snake (W *). The princess got pregnant. She confided with her mother in-law that the snake was actually a fine young man at night when he cast off his snake’s skin. The snake’s mother decided to set the snake’s skin on fire while simultaneously pouring water on the sweeting boy in the bed so as to liberate him from the snake’s curse forever (T³).

Snakegroom, version II (Opet zmija mladoženja)

I: In the second version of the tale, it was an empress (α) who wanted offspring (a¹) and prayed. She gave birth to a snake and took care of it for 22 years (K¹).

II: The snake prince wanted to get a wife (a¹) and sent his mother to find a girl for him (B⁴ C ↑), and so she did (K⁴). She brought a girl to their home (↓) and wedded her to the snake boy (W *). However, the wife got pregnant and when the mother learned the truth, she wanted her son to be young and beautiful all the time, not only at night.

III: This time, however, when the mother and the daughter in-law burnt the skin, the prince disappeared leaving (A ⁷) them with a prophecy that only when his wife wore off iron shoes would she be able to find him (y ²δ ²). In addition, she would be pregnant all the time until she found him. Three years passed and the wife decided to look for her husband (B ³ C ↑). She visited the Sun’s, the Moon’s and the Wind’s mothers (D ²), behaved well towards them (E ²) and each agreed to help her (F ¹). Nevertheless, only the Wind saw the prince in a faraway kingdom and helped the young woman to reach there (G ⁴). The prince was remarried there to the empress of this far-away kingdom, while under the spell. The Mothers of the Sun, Moon and Wind provided his real but forgotten spouse with gifts which she was later able to offer to her rival in exchange for three consecutive nights with her former husband. She needed these three nights to break the spell. The jealous empress drugged the husband so he could not stay awake and the woman (his real wife) could not talk to him. The third night the empress failed to drug the husband (H ²J ²) and he could see his former wife and reach with his hand over her body thus helping her deliver a gold-haired and gold-handed baby (K ¹). The next morning he left with her to his former kingdom (↓), where they continued to live and rule the country (w ²).

He Who is in God’s Grace Should Fear No-one (Kome Bog pomaže, niko mu nauditi ne može)

I: Once upon a time there lived a husband and a wife and they had three sons (α). The youngest was nice and naïve and therefore considered a fool. When the sons reached adulthood they all wanted to get married (a ¹). The parents decided to find a wife for the one who brings the most beautiful handkerchief from the town. The sons agreed and set off to search the most beautiful handkerchief (B ³ C ↑). The youngest son ended up in a town where lived a beautiful princess who had a vampire father who would chase off all suitors at night (M). The boy kept praying and evil spirits could not do him any harm (N). The night of ordeal passed and the boy was still alive (D ⁸E ⁸ ). The princess rewarded him with a handkerchief (F ¹). The father, however, gave his sons another task – to bring a chain that could encompass their house nine times (M). The boy did it (N) but the brothers believed he was a thief and told their parents so. The third time, the father wanted them to bring girls with themselves. The boy had to spend yet another horrible night surrounded by a host of evil spirits. He survived by keeping vigil and praying all night long. He resolved the task successfully and thus earned a bride (K ⁴). They robed him in a royal garment (T ³). The next morning he and the princess got married (W**) and they set off to his old house (↓). He first got unrecognized (o) and had to don his rags again for them to recognize him (Q). They eventually recognized and accepted the son and his wife. The wedding party continued (w ²).a1B3D8E8F1K4T3W**w2

Gold-haired Ram (Zlatoruni ovan)

I: A hunter was killed by a gold-haired ram (α). Many years later the hunter’s son went hunting (β ²) although his mother tried to discourage him (γ ¹δ ¹), the ram encountered the hunter’s son trying to kill him as well. The boy invoked the name of God and was given strength to kill the animal (D ⁹E ⁹). He skinned the ram and took the Golden Fleece home (f ¹).

II: The emperor was informed that the boy had a Golden Fleece (ζ ¹). The emperor wanted to possess the fleece but the boy refused to relinquish it (A ⁸). The boy’s paternal uncle was one of the emperor’s counselors and he advised the emperor to task the boy with three impossible endeavors: to grow a vineyard and make wine in a week, to build an ivory castle and to bring them a beautiful princess from another kingdom (M ⁝). The boy accidentally earned a girlfriend and helper who advised him (D ²E ²F ⁹) on how to complete all these tasks sucessfully (N ⁝).

III: (Within the second move) The third task was to bring a young princess to the emperor (a ¹). He could not but obey, so he set off to find the girl (B ² C ↑). During the third task, the girl helper taught him how to acquire animal friends and assistants – a carp, an eagle and a pigeon (d ⁷h ⁷f ⁹). He arrived to another kingdom (G ²), resorted to cunning ways to win the girl, and succeeded (H ²J ²). He snatched the princess while she was on his barge (K ¹) and went back home (↓). The princess was an enchantress herself and she fought back using magic. However, the boy’s magic and his animal helpers were stronger and he brought the girl safely to his country. The third difficult task (M) is thus resolved (N) and both moves, II and III end.

IV: The uncle continued plotting against his nephew and suggested to the emperor that the boy should be beheaded (L). The emperor did so (A ¹⁴), but the foreign princess-enchantress brought him back to life using magic water (K ⁴). The emperor was afraid that the boy would be allpowerful now that he was resurrected and demanded the same procedure for himself (U). The princess, however, refused to revive him (Ex). She got married to the boy that went into great trouble to bring her to that country. The people of the country decided to make him their emperor (W**).

Justice & Injustice (Pravda i krivda)

I: Once upon a time there lived two brothers-princes: one was good and kind and the other evil and unjust (α). When their father died (β ²), the evil brother banished the good one and he had to leave home (A ⁹). The good brother wandered the world and then again met the evil brother who conned him out of all his money and his horse (A ⁵), and then gouged his eyes out (A ⁶). The good brother stayed by a spring. The spring was visited by fairies at night and the blind prince overheard that the spring water had healing powers (D ¹E ¹F ²). The next morning the blind prince washed his face with the spring water (K ⁴), and then took some of the water to take it to a faraway kingdom where a princess lived affected by leprosy (G ²). The boy used the water to cure the princess (K ^IX). She became his wife and her father left the throne to him (W**). The evil brother wanted to learn some of the secrets of the fairies himself but instead of revealing anything to him, they killed him by the magic spring (U).

Devil’s Delusions vs. God’s Power (Đavolja maštanija i Božja sila)

I: Once upon a time there lived a prince who was very keen on hunting (α). The prince went hunting through a snowy landscape (β ³). His nose started bleeding and he liked the contrast the red drops of blood created against the whiteness of the snow so much that he wished a wife with complexion as white as snow and cheeks and lips as red as blood (a ¹). He decided to look for such a girl (B ³ C ↑). He encountered an old woman and politely asked her if there were girls like that (D ²E ²). She confirmed but said that many suitors came for the girl and none survived. She provided the boy with a piece of magic bread (F ¹). Then he encountered another old lady, and this time was given a hazelnut (D ²E ²F ¹). The third old lady gave him a nut explaining also what to do with the three gifts and he was instructed to use the bread to feed the beasts guarding the girl and to use the other two gifts when in the greatest of troubles (D ²E ²F ¹). The boy reached a castle (G ²) where a golden haired girl lived. She immediately fell in love with him (K ¹) and decided to follow him wherever he went (↓). Her mother was a monster who bewitched the previous suitors and transformed them into beasts. The couple eloped but the mother-witch chased them (Pr ⁶). The boy first used the nuts to stop her but eventually asked God for help and made a sign of a cross (Rs ²). God intervened by throwing lightening to burn the witch (U). The girl was baptized and wedded to the boy (W *).

Fine Clothes Can Do a Lot (Lijepe haljine mnogo koješta učine)

I: Once upon a time there lived a tsar who had a daughter famed for her beauty (α). The girl needed a husband (a ¹). She had many suitors and they were all tasked with guessing where the princess had a birthmark (M). They all failed and were either transformed into lambs or beheaded.

II: A poor, but clever youth (α ), who needed a wife (a ⁵) decided to try his luck, leave home and present himself at the royal court to ask for the princess’ hand (B C ↑). He came to the court (G ²) but was discouraged by the many beheaded princes and lambs frolicking around. Still, he was not allowed to cower back. However, he did not present himself to the girl as a suitor but as a tailor hired to prepare her wedding gown (H). Thus, he could see where the mole was (J) and solved the task (N). He married the princess and inherited the kingdom (W**).

Magic Bird (Čudnovata tica)

I: There was a man who had a huge family (α) but was very poor (a ⁵). He went to the woods (β ¹) to try to find a means to deliver the family from poverty. He did not manage to find anything useful (K _neg). He only found a colourful little bird (F ⁵).

II: The next day, the poor man went to the town (β ¹) to sell the bird so as to procure some food for the family (a ⁵). He encountered a man who wanted to pay whatever he said for the bird whose heart and head he wanted to eat and the poor man accepted his offer (D ²E ²). However, the poor man’s sons ate the bird – one the head and the other the heart. The son who ate the bird’s head became a clairvoyant and the one who ate the heart found 100 gold coins under the pillow every morning (F ⁷). Since then, their conditions improved a lot (K), and one of the brothers became a tsar (W _*).

III: Nevertheless, the brothers became enemies and one of them killed the other taking the magic agent from him (A ¹⁴ , A ²) thus ceasing to be jealous of him (K ⁶). The brother killer became tsar (W _*). He married a princess (W *). His wife scared him inardventantly one day and he spat out the bird’s head and heart. He spent the rest of his life repenting his brother’s murder.

Ewe, Emperor’s Daughter (Careva kći ovca)

I: There was a tsar who had a wife he liked very much and a daughter (α). The tsarina made her husband promise her at her deathbed that only the girl on whose right hand index finger the tsarina’s ring looked most becoming he should wed. Otherwise, he and his marriage would be cursed (γ ¹δ ¹). When the woman died (β ³) the tsar sent his emissaries all over the world to look for the bride (ε ¹) – however they could not find any girl that suited the description. Angered, the tsar threw the ring away but his daughter found it and put it on the right hand index finger (ζ ¹). The tsar was surprised but decided to act according to his late wife’s death wish. The girl could not believe her father wanted to marry her (A ^XVI) and since she could not dissuade him, she decided to kill herself (K ⁹). However, the tsar asked a witch doctor for advice and she gave him a quill to play from dawn till dusk to resurrect the daughter. So he did and the daughter came back to life. The father started wedding preparations. The girl, however, cut one of her arms and burned the other (K ⁹). The witch doctor came to aid again and the girl’s limbs regenerated. She was then guarded by servants so as not to inflict any harm on herself. Somehow the girl found a golden stick with an inscription in blood reading: Do not touch. As soon as she touched the stick, she turned into an ewe. This time the witch-doctor was helpless (K ⁹). The eve and the tsar continued to live together and they even died on the same day.

Three Eels (Tri jegulje)

I: There was a fisherman (α ), who was extremely poor (a ⁵). He caught three eels in three consecutive days. One of the eels told him that he should kill one of them and feed his wife, bitch, and mare each a quarter, and to plant the remaining quarter in his backyard (D E F ⁷). This should lead to twins born by the woman and each animal. It happened as the eel predicted. The fisherman got two sons. One day, one of the brothers decided to leave home in search of adventure (B ³ C ↑). Prior to departure he gave his brother a bottle of water which should tell him by the level of cleanliness whether his brother was alive or in mortal danger. After much wandering, the young man arrived in a rich kingdom (G ²). He managed to rise above poverty (K ⁵). The brother who left was lucky to marry a princess (W *).

II: One day, he saw a blazing red mountain from the castle’s window. His wife warned him of the danger of the mountain from which no soul returned alive (γ ¹). He would not listen (δ ¹), and left (β ³). On his way he encountered an old lady who showed him into a backyard (η ²θ ²) where he turned into stone alonside his dog and his horse (A ¹¹). The water in his brother’s bottle got dark. The man informed their parents that his brother was probably dead and that he would set off to seek him (B ³ C). He departed (↑) and reached the castle (G ²). His brother’s wife took him for his brother (o) but he only accepted to lie in bed with her when he was allowed to put a sword between the two of them. When he realized where his brother was, he went to the mountain himself (↑), found the old woman and threatened her with a sword (H), which scared her (J). She revived his brother (K ⁸) and all the other men she had bewitched. In the end they killed the hag (U) and headed home (↓). The married brother reunited with his wife (w ²).

Magic Knife (Čudotvorni nož)

I: Once upon a time there lived a very determined young man (α). He decided to marry a princess (a ¹) and left home to find one (B ⁴ C ↑). Her father laughed at it asking the boy to complete three strange (graded) tasks (M): to catch three very specific horses with a treasure for the tsarina on each of them. The princess saw the boy and liked him (D ¹E ¹). So she instructed him on how to find and catch the stallions (F ¹). The boy got a magic knife from the princess. The boy completed the task (N) and married the princess (W *).

Magic Hair (Čudnovata dlaka)

I: A poor man had many children (α, a ⁵). He was so destitute that he was thinking of killing the children, one by one. In a dream, a child appeared and provided him with magical agents he would find under the pillow: a mirror, a red handkerchief, and an embroidered shawl. The boy instructed the man to go to a mountain and find a beautiful nymph with waist-length hair embroidering sunrays into a frame made of young men’s hair (D E F – oniric donor). The man was not to talk to the girl but try to take one red hair from her scalp. Later, he was supposed to sell the hair. The man decided to trust the voice from the dream and went to the woods to find the girl (B C ↑). He found her and did as he was told. He stole the hair and left (↓). When the girl discovered the theft, she pursued the man (Pr), but he managed to escape (Rs) by throwing the three gifts at her so as to buy some time. The tsar himself bought the hair. The poor man became wealthy (K ⁶). The hair, in fact, contained old scripts on the ancient history of the world from its very beginning. It appeared that the child from the poor man’s dream was an angel.

Cinderella (Pepeljuga)

I: A group of girls were spinning yarn near a pit (α). An old man warned them that the one who dropped the spindle in the pit would lose her mother – she would turn into a cow (γ ¹). This happened to one of them (δ ¹). When she came home, she could not find her mother – she went out and joined their cattle (A ¹¹). After some time, the father remarried. He brought home a widowed woman who had a daughter of her own. The stepmother hated her husband’s daughter from the start since she was much more beautiful than her own daughter. She did not let the girl wash her face, take a bath, comb her hair, or put on new clothes. Hers was a life of torment and misery. Once the stepmother gave her an almost impossible task – to spin a huge amount of wool into fine threads within a day (M). Her mother – the cow – helped her twice (N) but on the third day the stepsister spied on them.

II: This resulted in her father killing the cow (A ¹³). However, the girl heard of the plan and told her mother – the cow. The mother told the girl not to eat from her flesh and to collect and bury the bones and always come to her tomb when she encountered a problem (D ³E ³F ³). The girl was called Mary, but everyone started to call her Cinderella. One Sunday, the stepmother went to church and left Cinderella at home to pick millet from the floor (M). The girl went to the tomb and saw two doves which led her to a trunk full of beautiful robes. The doves promised to pick the millet for her (N) so she could dress up and go to (B C ↑) church (G). This happened twice and the girl (o) was noticed by a prince who followed her (Pr) and found her lost shoe (Rs) on the third Sunday.

III: The prince fell in love with beautiful Mary (a ¹). He started looking for the girl to whom the shoe belonged (B C ↑), but when he came by the girl’s house, the stepmother hid Mary under a trough (L) and offered him her own daughter instead (Q). However, a rooster led the prince to the girl (T ³). The prince found Mary and took her to the castle (↓) where they got married (W *).

Evil Stepmother (Zla maćeha)

I: A rich man remarried to an evil woman. He had a daughter by his first wife, beautiful, gentle and kind (α). The stepmother hated her very much. When the man left to serve in the military (β ²) she sent her servants to take the girl to a mountain and kill her (A ¹³). They were supposed to bring back her heart and her severed hands as proof. The servants did not kill the girl but severed her hands. The father saw it all in a dream (D E F oniric). In his dream, he was told to take horse hair to restore his daughter’s hand. This he did (B C ↑) and found the girl (G ⁴) and restored her hands which were of pure gold now (K ⁹). When he got home (↓) he severely punished the wife – she was drawn by horses and quartered (U).

Stepmother & Stepdaughter (Maćeha i pastorka)

I: There was an evil stepmother who hated her stepdaughter for being fairer than her own daughter (α). She made the girl’s father hate the daughter and leave her in the woods (A ⁹). The girl had a loaf of bread with herself. While roaming the woods, the girl found a house where she fed a rooster, a dog and a cat (D ²E ² F). Then appeared a lion and a monster in bear’s skin. However, this was actually not a monster but a handsome young man in fine robes. It was a prince who was there hunting. She told him her story and he asked for her hand. They went to his father, the tsar, and got married (W *).

II: After some time, the princess wished to visit her father (a ¹) and she left for her old home (↑). She brought presents to the stepmother, told her what had happened to her and returned to the castle (↓).

III: The stepmother was afraid at first but then decided to do the same with her own daughter hoping that she would find happiness as the stepdaughter did (A ⁹). However, the girl treated the rooster, the cat, the dog and the lion badly, and the animals killed her (Dneg2Eneg2, F _contr ). The prince and the stepdaughter informed the stepmother and, desperate, she killed herself (U).

Stepmother & Stepdaughter, version II (Opet Maćeha i pastorka)

I: A widower remarried (α). He had a son and a daughter (β ²) and the new wife brought a daughter of her own. After some time she managed to persuade the man to leave the boy and the girl in the woods (η ¹θ ¹). The children overheard that (ε ²ζ ²), and filled the pockets with cinders to mark the path home. The father left them in the woods (A ⁹), but they followed the trail they made and managed to find their way back (G ⁶). Another time, the situation repeated (ε ¹ζ ¹η ¹θ ¹). The father left the children in the woods (A ⁹).

II: They tried a similar strategy, but since they used cereal bran, it was soon eaten by animals. The kids were found by some crooks who took them home to their mother (A ¹⁵). The boy was incarcerated and fed to grow bigger so that they could eat him (A ¹⁷). The girl suggested that they could push the old woman into the oven (B C). Eventually, they threw her in a huge cauldron she had prepared to cook the boy (H ²J ² ). They managed to escape from the captivity of the cannibals (K ¹⁰). The cannibals pursued them (Pr ⁶), but the children managed to save themselves (Rs ⁶). They set off for home (↓) and on their way encountered a river nymph. The girl helped the nymph comb her hair and the nymph blessed her to shed pearls instead of tears and golden roses instead of words (D ²E ²F ¹). The nymph helped them find the way home (G ⁴). The children were safe again (K).

III: The stepmother liked the girl’s gift (a ⁶) and sent her own daughter to the nymph (↑). However, her daughter was spoiled and rude and her “gift” was very different (D ²Eneg2). She shed bloody tears and would drool excessively whenever she tried to utter anything (Fcontr1). She too got back home (↓). The girl with pearls and roses was heard of all over the country and the court learned of her gift. The tsar wedded the girl to his heir (W *). She took her brother to the court as well.

It Served Them Well (Kako su radile onako su i prošle)

I: Once upon a time there lived a girl (α) who had a stepmother (β ²). The stepmother hated the girl since she preferred her own daughter. The girl only grew prettier and the stepmother decided to make her leave home (A ⁹). The orphaned girl found a small cabin and tidied it all up, lit the fire and waited for the owner (D ¹E ¹). The she-dragon arrived and was satisfied with what had been done, so she decided to reward the girl. When the she-dragon asked the girl if her head gave off bad smell the girl answered “no” and said that, on the contrary, it smelled pleasantly of immortelle. The next day the dragon ordered the girl to feed her cattle. There were different beasts there but the girl treated them all well and with respect. For some time the girl lived with the dragon, and after a while the dragon sent her home ordering her to take one of the trunks from the cabin. The girl took the lightest and the dragon asked her why she had chosen so. The girl said she could not have earned more for such a short time. When she opened the trunk at home, she saw many pieces of pure gold (f ¹).

II: The jealous stepmother (a ⁶) sent her own daughter to seek the same fortune (B C ↑) but this girl was rude and disrespectful (D ¹Eneg1). She took the heaviest trunk (Fcontr1) and returned home (↓). When she and her mother tried to open it, two adders sprang up and gouged their eyes out (U).