The Mythology and Folklore Database
M191A - Bell on a cat's neck, ATU 110.
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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
Mice decide to hang a bell around a cat's neck or tail so that they will know when it is approaching. Usually, none of the mice are able to do this.Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 11, Tricks and competitions won thanks to deception, absurd and obscene behavior
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M39A6G | 99.87% | person explains that he lends part of his earnings, and pays the debt in the other part, i.e. raises children and supports parents. |
| J32F | 99.86% | While standing guard, the hero discovers who is stealing fruit (usually apples) from the garden. |
| K67C | 99.83% | The character agrees that under certain conditions another person may tear the skin from his back or cause him some other bodily harm. |
| M90A5 | 99.82% | The story mentions the golden fruits (rarely leaves) of a tree, usually golden apples. |
| M106F | 99.81% | A stranger tells a woman that he has come from the other world. The woman gives him money and belongings with a request to pass them on to her deceased son, husband, etc. Usually, the woman's (new) husband (or son), upon learning of the deception, rides after him, and as a result, the deceiver steals his horse. |
| K80B | 99.78% | The mother or stepmother kills the boy (rarely a girl) and usually feeds her husband, i.e. the child's father, his flesh. The boy is reborn, usually (at first) in the form of a bird that tells the story of what happened. Cf. motif K80A. Traditions in which the boy is killed by his own mother are highlighted in bold. |
| K120 | 99.78% | The girl's father (rarely: stepfather) intends to marry her (since she is the only one who meets the requirements for a bride). Usually, the girl manages to avoid the marriage. |
| K107A | 99.74% | Before reaching their goal, the character must wear out iron shoes or an iron staff. |
| L114B | 99.73% | After receiving the task or on his own initiative, the trickster enters the character's house (usually that of the cannibal) several times, each time taking one of his belongings or one of his family members. |
| F70E | 99.70% | A girl pretends to be a man, magically acquires male nature and lives with his wife. Cf. motif K137 (in Uther 2004, plot 514 mistakenly includes a Karakalpak text with our motif K137). |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 42 traditions: Yemen, Somali, Ireland, Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish, Portuguese, Portugal, Catalan, Sicily, Sicilians, 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, Hungarians, Greeks (modern), Balkarians, Bulgarians, Balkarians, Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians, Slovenians, Slovenes, Lithuanians, Latvians, Livonians, Estonians, Finns, Vepsians, Western Sami, Swedes, Western Ukrainians, Tajik, Persians, Ossetians, Ingush, Lezgians, Archin, Kürin; Khinalug, Georgians, Armenians, Kurds, Kazakh, Mongols (Khalkha), Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans, Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Italians: Central (Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio), Germans: South (Upper German dialects): Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Bawaria, Swabia, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sudeten, Austria, Frisians, Yemen