- Genre
- Mythological legend
- Source status
- folkloric
- Motifs
- funeral meal, crumbs, returning dead, little squirrel
The story
A woman’s husband had died. After the funeral, the daughter-in-law was clearing dishes from the table at night when the newly buried man appeared to her.
He offered to help clear away, asking that she give him the crumbs in return. She told him not to take them: she could provide plenty of food instead.
But the visitor said he did not need much. He called himself a little squirrel and said he ate very little. He gathered the crumbs and went away.
Reading the story
The dead man returns to a family meal in this short account presented as a personal recollection. He calls himself a squirrel, but the text does not describe a visible transformation into an animal. Crumbs suffice, and a larger offering is declined.
Told by Elzbieta Grybienė in Užugajai, Anykščiai district; recorded by S. Vaitkevičius in 1940. LTR 2412(44).
Source and retelling
Lietuvių tautosaka, IV (1967), Nr. 441, p. 483: „Mirusiojo maistas“. An original retelling of the recorded traditional narrative cited here. The sequence of events and ending are retained in modern language.