He Will Strike Me, but Kill You: Lithuanian sakme

During a thunderstorm a man with a pipe notices a crouching Velnias under the eaves of an old house

Genre

Mythological sakme

Source status

folkloric

Motifs

storm, Velnias under the eaves, strike of Perkūnas, pipe, dangerous nearness

The sakme

During a thunderstorm a man was going home and slipped under the eaves. There he found a shrunken Velnias hiding from Perkūnas.

The man scolded him: could he not see that Perkūnas was lying in wait to kill him? Velnias answered briefly: he will strike me, but kill you.

The man lit his pipe. Velnias drew so close that he sat on the pipe. When the man took a puff, Perkūnas struck. The man was killed, and Velnias, as people say, escaped.

Interpretation: what does this sakme mean?

This is one of the sternest sakmes about dangerous closeness to Velnias. The man thinks he is watching another being’s trouble, but he becomes the target himself.

The pipe is an intimate everyday object. When Velnias sits on it, the hiding place of evil comes right up to the man’s breath and mouth.

The sakme warns that during a storm one should not seek out places where Velnias may be hiding, and should not assume that a supernatural conflict will leave humans untouched.

History, variants, and recording

This text is known from mythological sakmes about Perkūnas and Velnias. It is short, formulaic, and memorable because of the threatening phrase in its title.

Such sakmes functioned as rules for storm behavior: do not shelter in suspicious places, do not stand under trees, avoid high or liminal places where Velnias may be hiding.

It is a brief formulaic mythological sakme belonging to the large cycle of Perkūnas pursuing Velnias, one of the most widely recorded fields of Lithuanian mythological sakmes. Such a story functions like a memorate, a supposedly experienced or closely heard event. Norbertas Vėlius studied Velnias in Lithuanian sakmes, and variants are classified in Bronislava Kerbelytė’s catalogue (Lietuvių pasakojamosios tautosakos katalogas, vol. 3, 2002).

Why is the title so strong?

"He will strike me, but kill you" is not only Velnias’ answer. It is the whole moral of the sakme in one sentence.

It shows that danger may shift from the guilty figure to the careless observer. The human who stands too close enters the field of the strike.

He Will Strike Me, but Kill You: frequently asked questions

What is "He Will Strike Me, but Kill You"?

A short sakme about a man who finds Velnias hiding under an eave during a storm, and the strike of Perkūnas kills the man instead.

What motifs are most important in "He Will Strike Me, but Kill You"?

The main motifs are storm, Velnias under the eaves, the strike of Perkūnas, the pipe, and dangerous nearness. They show the fear, belief, origin explanation, or boundary that the sakme brings into view.

What does "He Will Strike Me, but Kill You" explain or warn about?

It warns that standing near Velnias during a thunderstorm can make the human, not Velnias, the victim of Perkūnas’ strike. The short formula teaches storm danger through a mythic encounter.

Why is the central motif important here?

The motif is a key to the plot: through it the sakme shows what threatens people, what boundary is crossed, or what unusual feature the community is trying to explain.

Is this text a word-for-word old source?

No. This page gives an original retelling based on recorded motifs and the listed sources, so the plot is clear to a modern reader.

How is a sakme different from a fairy tale?

A sakme is usually told as something plausible or at least possible: it explains an origin, a taboo, a mythical being, or a dangerous encounter. A fairy tale more often works through wonder, entertainment, and a freer adventure plot.