μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Transformation to reach difficult place.

Magic. · Transformation. · Miscellaneous transformation incidents. · Reasons for voluntary transformation. · view the constellation · filed as D641

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“Then they exchanged arrows, the Sun giving him four arrows of his own. The points of these arrows were made of coal." Now the young man began to climb the mountain. When he came up to the goats, he took one of the arrows, aimed it, and shot. It struck the animals, but fell down without killing it. The same happened with the other arrows. When he had spent all his arrows, they rushed up to him from the four sides, intending to kill him.”

Tales of the North American Indians, Tale 39 · served from our shelf  receiptuncorrected OCR — being verified against the scan

Attested across traditions
On our shelf — the index’s citations, resolved to served chapters
  • FinnishThe Kalevala, Rune XLIIIThompson cites: Kalevala rune 43
Scholars’ trail — 9references

The index’s own references — the collections where scholars sighted this story-shape, tradition by tradition. Titles on our shelf are live links; the rest is the frontier, not yet shelved.

  • IcelandicDe la Saussaye 261
  • FinnishKalevala rune 43 → on our shelf: The Kalevala, Rune XLIII
  • GreekFox 178
  • India*Thompson-Balys
  • ChineseWerner 270, 273, 365, Ferguson 159
  • MaoriDixon 79
  • N. Am. Indian*Thompson Tales 310 n. 117
  • S. Am. Indian (Toba)Métraux MAFLS XL 26.
  • general *Types 329, 665, 434. Irish myth: *Cross
Within the index

Filed under Reasons for voluntary transformation.

4 finer motifs beneath it
Lover as bird visits mistressTransformation to gain access to enemy's camp (fortress)Transformation in order to enter rival's stomach. (Cf. D651.2.)Transformation to travel to otherworld
Filed beside it
Transformation to escape difficult situationTransformation so as to rescueTransformation to travel fastTransformation to test heroesTransformation to be picked up (caught)Transformation to seek lost (or unknown) personTransformation to defeat enemies. (Cf. D615.)Transformation to receive foodTransformation to steal. (Cf. K300.)Transformation to seduceMiscellaneous reasons for voluntary transformation
Travels with
King transformed to parrot frees captured parrots. (Cf. D641.)
Keeps company with — shares receipted episodes
Sun father-in-lawAnimal bribed with food. (Sop to Cerberus.)Animal as guard of person or houseGuardian animals evadedTransformation: man to eagleTransformation: man to featherProtean beggar: Person assumes successive forms in order to begTransformation combat. Fight between contestants who strive to outdo each other in successive transformationsTransformation to escape difficult situationTransformation to receive foodBurning magically evaded. (Cf. D1656.)Rock in sea created by magic
Carried in tale types

wander